Day 15: May 27 The Grand Canyon

The day started simple: wake up, grab breakfast at the hotel, and hit the road for the Grand Canyon South Rim. No matter how many photos you’ve seen beforehand, nothing quite prepares you for seeing it in person.

First Look at the Canyon

The South Rim is the most visited section of Grand Canyon National Park, and it’s easy to see why once you’re standing at the edge. We made our way to Mather Point, one of the most iconic and accessible overlooks in the park, just a short walk from the Grand Canyon Visitor Center. It’s often the very first view visitors get of the canyon, and it did not disappoint. The sheer scale of it is hard to process at first — layers of red and orange rock stretching for miles, carved out over millions of years by the Colorado River. It’s easily one of the most breathtaking views I’ve seen anywhere in the US.

Getting Around: The Free Shuttle System

One thing that made exploring the park a lot easier was the free shuttle bus system. The National Park Service has operated shuttle service on the South Rim since the 1970s, and it’s genuinely one of the best-run systems I’ve experienced in a national park. The shuttles are completely free with park admission and run along a few different routes — the Village Route, the Kaibab Rim Route, and the Hermit Road Route — connecting the Visitor Center to major viewpoints, trailheads, and lodges without you ever needing to worry about parking. If you’re planning a visit, my advice is to just park once and let the shuttles do the work; it makes hopping between overlooks so much easier than driving and searching for parking at every stop.

Where We Stayed: Super 8 by Wyndham, Kingman

For our lodging, we booked a night at the Super 8 by Wyndham in Kingman, Arizona — about $64 USD per night (roughly ₱4,000).
Room: Spacious, with a genuinely comfy bed after a long day at the canyon.
Breakfast: Free, but basic — just bread and packaged juice. Not a hot buffet, but enough to fuel up before hitting the road.
Amenities: Elevator on-site (handy with luggage) and pet-friendly for anyone road-tripping with a furry companion. The bathroom was clean and well-kept.
Location: We picked this spot for its easy access to Kingman’s stretch of historic Route 66.

If you’re planning your own Grand Canyon South Rim visit, budget a few hours just for Mather Point and the nearby overlooks, lean on the free shuttle system, and if Route 66 nostalgia is your thing, Kingman is worth the drive.