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Étaperia

American Southwest road trip: 12-day itinerary

Zion, Bryce, Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon and both rims of the Grand Canyon: the mythical heart of the West.

Sequenced by Kylian Updated on 23 August 2026

The buttes of Monument Valley at sunset
  • 12 days
  • 30 places
  • 12 nights
  • sustained pace
Start
Zion, Utah
End
South Rim, Grand Canyon
Main transport
Car, plus the compulsory shuttles of Zion and the South Rim
Recommended season
Mid-May to mid-October: the Grand Canyon's North Rim is open from 15 May to 15 October, and Zion and Bryce are snowbound in winter

What you get

  • The complete itinerary: 12 days sequenced Morning / Afternoon / Evening / Hotel
  • The card of every hotel, with the address and a direct booking link
  • Quota tickets, fixed-date tickets and surcharges flagged in advance
  • The country quick guide: weather, transport, formalities, budget
  • A PDF file of 18 pages

What the price does not include

  • Flights
  • Hotel nights
  • Tickets and admission fees
  • Travel insurance
  • On-the-ground assistance during your trip

The travel book preview

The free day in full, with its hotel card. This is the sample.

Day 10

From the North Rim to the South Rim

Morning

Cape Royal Road: Roosevelt Point, Walhalla Overlook, Cape Royal and Angels Window, Cape Final, Point Imperial

The north rim scenic road, quiet and wooded: the Angels Window arch framing the Colorado at Cape Royal, the easy Cape Final walk (6.4 km there and back) to a deserted promontory, and Point Imperial, the park's highest viewpoint (2,683 m), facing Mount Hayden.

Afternoon

The road to the South Rim and the Desert View Drive

4 hr 15 by way of Cameron to change rims (350 km to cross 16 km as the crow flies). Entry from the east and the Desert View Drive: Mary Colter's Watchtower (1932), inspired by Anasazi towers, then Lipan, Moran and Grandview Points, each opening a new angle on the abyss.

Evening

Sunset at Lipan Point

The best sundown on the south rim: the Colorado visible in two places, the Unkar Delta rapids, and the strata catching fire layer by layer.

Hotel · Night 10

Maswik Lodge, Grand Canyon Village

A park lodge in the pine forest, 400 m from the rim and the trailheads: comfortable motel rooms, a handy food court after the big hikes, park shuttles at the foot of the building.

Address
· 202 South Village Loop Drive, Grand Canyon Village, AZ 86023
Website
· grandcanyonlodges.com (new tab)
Check-in
4:00 PM · Check-out 11:00 AM
Book this hotel (new tab)

Buy this itinerary

€39 incl. tax

that is €3.25 per day of travel

The buy button becomes active once the box is ticked.

  • Secure payment through Stripe, bank card, Apple Pay and Google Pay
  • Available immediately in your customer account: online reading with clickable booking links, downloadable PDF for offline use
  • Method: what is checked, and when

A hotel in the itinerary closed or impossible to find, a place to visit permanently closed?

Within 12 months of purchase, email contact@etaperia.com

Itinerary corrected within 7 days, or refunded in full. Terms in article 12 of the T&Cs, on top of the legal warranty (new tab)

€39 incl. tax · 12 days

Buy

A question before buying? Email Kylian, reply within 48 working hours.

The day-by-day rundown

12 stops, 670 km as the crow flies

  1. Day 1 Zion Canyon and The Narrows Zion Canyon and The Narrows Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  2. Day 2 Angels Landing, then the road to Bryce Angels Landing, then the road to Bryce Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  3. Day 3 Bryce Canyon, the stone forest Bryce Canyon, the stone forest Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  4. Day 4 Fairyland Loop and Scenic Byway 12 Fairyland Loop Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  5. Day 5 Capitol Reef, the stone reef Boulder Mountain, Hickman Bridge and Fruita Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  6. Day 6 The legendary road to Monument Valley Moki Dugway, Muley Point, Goosenecks State Park, Mexican Hat and Forrest Gump Point Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  7. Day 7 Monument Valley on Navajo land Guided Navajo tour in the restricted area: Ear of the Wind, Big Hogan, Mystery Valley Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  8. Day 8 Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon The road to Page and Horseshoe Bend Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  9. Day 9 The Wave, the lottery day The Wave, Coyote Buttes North — only if you win a permit Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  10. Day 10 From the North Rim to the South Rim Cape Royal Road: Roosevelt Point, Walhalla Overlook, Cape Royal and Angels Window, Cape Final, Point Imperial Free
  11. Day 11 South Kaibab and the historic village South Kaibab Trail to Skeleton Point Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  12. Day 12 Bright Angel and the Hermit Road Bright Angel Trail to Havasupai Gardens Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF

Found an error in this itinerary? Report an error

Country quick guide and logistics

The essentials of the country, scannable in ten seconds.

Weather and when to go

  • Late spring and early autumn are the best windows: the Grand Canyon's North Rim closes off season, and winter buries Zion and Bryce in snow.
  • Bryce Canyon sits above 2,400 m: nights are cold there even in summer, and the Sunset campground calls for a warm sleeping bag.
  • The Narrows is hiked up the river itself: gear rental in Springdale, and watch the flash-flood risk, which closes the canyon without notice.

Transport and permits

  • Car for the whole module, about 1,700 km. Getting from the North Rim to the South Rim takes 4 hr 15 by road via Cameron: 350 km to cross 16 km as the crow flies.
  • Zion and the South Rim impose their shuttles in high season, the car stays in the car park.
  • Scenic Byway 12 and the Moki Dugway are spectacle roads in their own right: allow time and stops, not just driving.

Formalities and safety

  • Short tourist stay under ESTA: $40.27 per person, only on esta.cbp.dhs.gov, at least 30 days before departure.
  • Sensitive bookings: The Wave advance lottery 4 months ahead on recreation.gov (48 permits a day), Antelope Canyon on a compulsory Navajo guided tour 2 to 3 months ahead, recreation.gov campgrounds 6 months ahead, the Angels Landing lottery the day before.
  • Monument Valley and Antelope Canyon are on Navajo land: any visit off the open trail must go through a Navajo guide, and payment is often in cash.
  • No compulsory vaccine; up-to-date routine vaccinations recommended. Insurance covering US medical costs is essential.

Budget and meals

  • America the Beautiful annual pass at $80, valid for the whole vehicle: four national parks on this module alone, it pays for itself many times over.
  • The Navajo guided tours (Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon) and the Narrows gear rental are extras on top of the pass; budget for them separately.
  • Meals: $15 to $25 at lunch, $30 to $50 in the evening, plus tax and an 18 to 20% tip. Four camping nights out of the twelve.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly do I receive?

Your Étaperia itinerary, available immediately in your customer account after payment: readable online with clickable booking links, and downloadable as a PDF for the trip. Every day is sequenced Morning / Afternoon / Evening, with the hotel for each night, its address and its booking link, and timed-entry tickets flagged in advance.

How is this better than what an AI gives me?

A generative AI composes a plausible list in seconds, without saying what was checked or when. At Étaperia, every itinerary is sequenced by hand, place by place, with the booking constraints spotted before it is too late to get them. The Method page says what is checked, against which source and on what date.

Can I adapt it to my dates and my pace?

Yes. The days are self-contained blocks: you can shift the departure, stretch a stage or skip a day without breaking what follows. Only timed-entry tickets require adjusting the dates accordingly, and they are all flagged.

What if a hotel or a place in the itinerary has closed?

Email contact@etaperia.com within 12 months of your purchase. If a hotel in the itinerary is closed or can no longer be found, or a place to visit has closed permanently, the itinerary is corrected in your customer account within 7 days, or you are refunded in full. A hotel fully booked on your dates, a seasonal closure or a change in opening hours or prices is not covered. This guarantee comes on top of the legal warranty of conformity; details in article 12 of the terms and conditions of sale.

Who is selling you this itinerary

  • Kylian, sole trader, SIRET 927 587 709 00035
  • Consumer mediator: ANM Consommation
  • Payment handled by Stripe: Étaperia never sees your card number
  • Publisher, not a travel agency: you book flights, hotels and tickets yourself

In the same country

This module is one leg of the full itinerary: American West road trip: the complete 89-day itinerary

The complete itinerary

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