Vegas-Grand Canyon (South Rim)-Palm Springs

[Muddy Rivers]

We have a rental car and are planning on leaving Vegas 6AM on a Monday morning in June to head to Grand Canyon South Rim. We will be spending one night at El Tovar. We will then be leaving the Canyon with a one night stop in Palm Springs on our way to Disneyland. Would love to get advice on:
-Is 6AM too late to leave since we only have one day at the Canyon?
-I have read the drive is anywhere from 4- 5 1/2 hours. What is most realistic?
-Is there a preferred route we should take?
-Where can I get Grand Canyon park passes in advance so we can enter in the prepaid lane thus avoiding some traffic?

-What route would you suggest from the Grand Canyon to Palm Springs?
-How long should we expect the drive to be?
-Any great places to stop for lunch along the way?

I know we have many questions and would appreciate any information fellow DIS members can provide. Thanks to all!!!

 

[StephOz]

I think leaving at 6AM would be fine - I went from Vegas to the South Rim last year and left about 7AM (and on a tour bus, which is always slower than driving yourself) with multiple stops, including a full sit down lunch in Williams, and it was probably a five hour trip out there. We had about 3-3.5 hours at the canyon itself which was more than enough to time to do some walks, take loads of pictures etc. It was a long, but extremely enjoyable day!

 

[Muddy Rivers]

Thank you so much for the info. That's exactly what we were looking for.

Does anyone have any info about leaving the Grand Canyon and heading west? We were thinking that stopping at Palm Springs might be a good place to stop. How bad is it to drive straight through to Anaheim? Not sure what the best route would be. We would be leaving the Grand Canyon on a Tuesday morning in June.

 

[lpizzuro123]

Your trip sounds like what we want to do, hit Las Vegas, Grand Canyon and Disneyland all in one trip.

We will be going in November of this year and my main concern is Grand Canyon in November (early November). We cannot change our dates as we will be celebrating a friends birthday in November and she wants to be in Vegas on her birthday.

Looking forward to reading more.

Linda

 

[VegasDisney]

If you go to Palm Springs look for The Sandwich Spot. The best sandwich I have ever had! Their "secret sauce" was so good, and the Dutch crunch bread is the stuff dreams are made of!

 

[Muddy Rivers]

Just looked at the menu for Sandwich spot. Looks like a great choice. Sometimes a place like this is a welcome change to huge sit down meals.

Thank you for the suggestion!