For those who aren't aware, a few things to note are while the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is inside the National Park, the West Rim is not. As far as views, the South Rim is way more spectacular than the West Rim because this side of the canyon is deeper, wider, more colorful and more intricately carved. Saying this, the West Rim will be very impressive for a first timer if they have not seen the canyon before. I personally like walking around the canyon but the helicopter ride to the bottom is a lot of fun and memorable (though very expensive).
Timing for the Grand Canyon is also very important. Mid-September/May is when I would recommend to visit to avoid the crazy hot weather and bumping into people everywhere you go. As far as exploring the Canyon, you can drive or take buses but you can easily just walk along the Rim Trail or the South Kaibab Trail which are the best Grand Canyon trails there.
My tip is to stop in Sedona on your way to the Grand Canyon and arrange a tour there. Apart from hiking in the Grand Canyon, it's great to see it from the air and also from the river. You can fly over the Grand Canyon from Tusayan airport to Page in a small plane then, get on a bus back to Tusayan airport. By the way, the views from Cedar Ridge are spectacular!
If you want to see the Grand Canyon but you're not into the crowds, you could head north to the North Rim. Note that it's quite a haul from the South Rim to the North Rim, so you can't really do both on the same vacation unless you want to spend lots of time in the car. The North Rim does shut down in the winter because of the snowfall, but the rest of the year, there are resorts and visitors centers in the North Rim area.
I've been there on January 1st and this is the best time to go there! Not a lot of tourists are around
grand canyon from los angeles is also a good choice i think it would be a good source of information for the first timer.