What should I do at the Grand Canyon?

You should do what makes you happy. Look at the itinerares of the sunrise/sunset tours and see exactly what they include. Compare that with what you can do on your own. At the Grand Canyon you can see a lot on your own without spending so much money. Be sure to take a little time to go inside the El Tovar Hotel and learn about its historical significance. Have a wonderful trip!

Since I'm a Canyon and a former resident of NoAZ I tend to be a horrible tourist

First thing that you need to do is dress for wind warmth and high altitude sun ; you'll be at 7000' and it will get really cold and it will snow

I wouldn't take either the sunrise or the sunset tour ; You can watch the sun set over the canyon from anywhere on the S.Rim .If you feel like taking a hike out on the Rim Trail to say Maricopa Point to watch the sunset make sure to take a flashlight with you for the walk back

As far as sunrise goes ; the sun will be coming up thru the trees behind you so unless you have a car and can drive out to Desert View and then 6 miles downhill where the trees end , i wouldn't waste my time getting up that early

Speaking of Desert View : make sure that you find a way out there.

Hitchhike if you have to

The best view on the S.Rim is at Lipan Point ; What makes it so great is that almost all of the Canyon's geology is present and the River dominates the landscape

Speaking of geology ; make sure that you attend a Ranger led geology talk

As far as day hiking goes be aware of the seductive Grand Canyon altitude trap

The trap is that once you lose altitude fast

The seductive part is after losing 1500' aka the first cliff level ' really quickly

You say Hmmm that was really easy lemme see what another hour brings

Trap

Because altitude that is lost must be altitude that must be regained

as rule it takes you twice as long to get back up as it did to go down

To further complicate things is that in winter you're not only heading up into colder temps But you could also be heading up into bad weather.....tired

My rule is to stay above the Supai Formation

Best hike

Hermits Rest > Hermits Trail downhill > Jct Dripping Springs Trail make a Left > Jct Boucher Trail

enjoy the view and back to Rim

There are number of great guided tours available at Grand Canyon National Park.The most popular are helicopter tours, and they are availabe in either 30 minute or 50 minute rides. Here's are details:

30 minute

http://www.grandcanyonhelicoptertourreviews.com/pa...

50 minute

http://www.grandcanyonhelicoptertourreviews.com/pa...

There's also a new tour out there that combines a 30 min. heli ride with a sunset jeep tour. Here's more info on that...

http://www.grandcanyonhelicoptertourreviews.com/pa...

If a helicopter ride isn't your cup of tea, try an airplane trip. These last about an hour and cover quite a bit of ground. Go here for info...

http://www.grandcanyonairplanetours.net/best-grand...

That should tie your over as far as air tours are concerned. Have a great trip!