tomdominik

Hello. I am looking forward to visit Grand Canyon South Rim this since I heard it is much better than West Rim.

I live in Bay Area near SJC.

I was thinking of flying into PHX instead of LAS because it seems a lot closer from there but to my shock flights on average much more expensive than to LAS, unless I book a flight on Frontier from SFO. I looked it and it seemed that even with baggage charge, I would still come ahead about $100 in savings.

Is Frontier good airline? Should I be worried about it as another Spirit? I heard a lot of bad things about latter. I looked into booking US Airways or Southwest from SJC but the flight is closer to $300, almost as much as to Chicago!.

After I would fly into PHX, I would look toward renting a car or taking a bus group tour to Grand Canyon. I would travel by myself. I look forward to hear your suggestions.

stinger101

You could try Allegiant Air. They fly from oak into the secondary airport in Mesa. If you are going to rent a car anyway this may make sense. They may even fly from Vegas to oak so you could do an open jaw.

Hite

Good idea on the south rim. We did that last year and it was great. If you go at the right time of year you can actually drive to the different viewpoints in your own car and at your own pace which was cool. We drove from LAS and that was a pretty easy but long drive.

Big4Flyer

I second allegiant, while I haven't flown that route specifically it may be worth it if you don't plan on bringing many bags.

Depending on when you go you might be able to get a great deal if you do the open jaw idea, flying into LAS, renting a one-way rental to PHX, and departing from there. We did this last year when they were needing to move cars into Arizona and got a $5/day rental for a Camaro. That was a blast, our 3 year old still talks about "Daddy's Race Car".

Next time I'm renting a 4x4 and doing the North Rim, I've heard that one is much less crowded and the views are even better, but its obviously tougher to get to unless you fly into SGU

84fiero

What timeframe are you looking to travel?

I'd definitely get a car and travel independently vice doing a group bus tour. You'll have much more flexibility to do what/when you want and to stop off to see the little things that catch your eye.

If by the "West Rim" you mean the so-called "Grand Canyon West" private development, that's more of a tourist trap for Las Vegas day trippers and pales in comparison to the North and South Rims of the actual National Park areas. (There is a true West Rim inside the National Park between the village and Hermit's Rest.)

The South Rim is the classic views of the canyon that you're familiar with from movies, books, posters, etc. North Rim is less crowded, more remote (which are good things to me) and also has spectacular views, a different perspective from the South.

skitch23

My sister lives in the Bay area and has flown here to PHX a number of times on Allegient. No horrible experiences but since their routes are limited to a few flights a week, getting to/from could potentially be an adventure if your plane has a mechanical issue/delay. As long as you don't have any time restrictions, Allegient would be a good choice.

Another option would be to fly SJC/OAK-PHX using Avois on US Airways. It would only be 9k miles (vs 15k out of SFO). Look into the British airways visa card or one of the other Chase cards that earn Ultimate Rewards.

Award seats are limited tho so there is no guarantee that the flights you want to book would be available by the time you earned your Avios.

DavidDTW

No one has mentioned it, but Frontier is owned by the same parent company as Spirit and has recently taken on the latter's model of base fare and pay for everything else.

Also be advised that rental cars out of PHX can be very expensive too. At one point not too long ago their taxes were some of the highest in the country.

tomdominik

True, however I have a big IT company's corporate discount on rental and when take into this account, the price difference almost evens out, taxes are higher but slightly higher compared to LAS. The only difference I see when I look into booking off-airport sites, but not sure if with only 3 days, it would be worth taking a cab, I think I am better off renting directly.

It is interesting you mentioned Frontier is owned by the same company. I'd rather avoid allegiant air since their schedule wouldn't work. I think I would not need to add anything more than check-in baggage (since its cheaper than carry-on) on Frontier, but if Frontier has some bad surprises please let me know.

Otherwise I may look into longer drive from LAS. I have already been there 2x so I don't need to be there again, but compared to PHX, much more affordable flights.

RobertTheTraveler

All car rentals companies have great one-way deals from PHX to anywhere in CA all spring long. I just looked at Avis and a one week rental compact from PHX to SanJoseAirport from April 15-22 is $155+120junkfees. No drop fees. By comparison, Avis charges $299+190junkfees for a weekly rental returned to Sky Harbor.

If renting in PHX, you are going to pay the junk fees no matter what. Arguably its a better deal to fly oneway and drive back (since gas is still roughly $3-- just make sure to fill up on the AZ side before crossing into CA).

The deal is open for pickup all April and May.

They've had this deal every spring for a couple decades (!). Back in the late 90s and early 00s, I used to rent fullsize cars for $59-79 a week (plus fees) in PHX and drop them off all over CA, from SanDiego to Chico. Back then, you could keep the car for as long as 21 days. Always rent the smallest. Upgrades were often forced on me as they wanted the special luxury cars back in the CA market.

Hertz National and Alamo all have promos like this, though they may not promote them.