Best of the American West
Experience Overview
Take a road trip through the lunar landscapes of America's Southwest. Packed with natural wonders, this area is a quintessential road trip destination, and we'll squeeze in six spectacular national parks over eight adventurous days. Get set for awe-inspiring scenery as we travel from vibrant Vegas to the Grand Canyon.
Six national parks - Starting at Zion, visit all of Utah's 'Big Five' parks before winding up at the Grand Canyon, Arizona
Sunrise to sunset - Witness magnificent dawns and dusks through the windows of Arches, over the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon, and at the incomparable Grand Canyon
Monument Valley - Discover this Navajo Nation's park, looking out over the iconic sandstone buttes that emerge from the scrub
Highlights
Week-long itinerary visiting six national parks|Discover Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park on foot|Watch the sunrise over the Grand Canyon and the sunset at Delicate Arch
Trip Details
Product Code: 20432
Tour Type: Small Group
Accommodation: Moderate
Transport: Maxiwagon
Guide Language: English
Tour Operator:
Explore Worldwide
Supplier Code: VV
Starts: USA
Finishes: USA
Duration: 9 days
Departures: Guaranteed
Physical Rating:
Easy
Includes
Explore Tour LeaderAccommodation
- Sleep Inn & Suites Hurricane
- Bryce View Lodge
- Big Horn Lodge
- Courtyard Marriott
- Red Feather Lodge
- The Strat Hotel
Price
Price per person: (Double Occupancy) CAD $4,040 ($449 /day)
Itinerary
Our trip begins in the 'Neon City' of Las Vegas. We'll meet our tour leader in the lobby of the Strat Hotel, before leaving the bright lights for the wild landscapes of the southwest. Our minibus will leave the Strat Hotel at 2pm. In order to arrive at the hotel for this time, the latest your flight can arrive is 12pm. We don't provide arrival transfers on this tour, but information on how to reach the hotel will be provided in your final documentation. We'll travel together as a group to our hotel in the Utah city of Hurricane (a two-hour journey). With its warm weather and close proximity to Zion National Park, Hurricane is the perfect place to start our trip. If flight times into Las Vegas prevent you from landing at 12pm, or if you want to experience this energetic city before your tour starts, we recommend booking an additional night's accommodation at the Strat Hotel. Alternatively, there are a multitude of hotels on the famous Vegas Strip.
We'll have an early start this morning as we head into Zion National Park (a one-hour drive away). The main area of the national park that we'll visit is Zion Canyon, a 24-kilometre/15-mile rift in the beautiful red and tan Navajo sandstone. We might take a walk along the Watchman's Trail, a moderate hike of approximately two hours that will take us past many of the park's famous geological formations, including the Towers of the Virgin and the Altar of Sacrifice. The very end of the walk brings us to a spectacular overlook of the Watchman, a red rock pinnacle that dominates the skyline. Photographic opportunities are plentiful, with a great contrast between the red of the rocks and the running rivers that we'll pass. There are so many walking possibilities in Zion, and our tour leader will outline our options from the easy to the strenuous. You might like to walk up to Scout's Lookout, a meandering hike that begins with 21 steep switchbacks, known as Walter's Wiggles, and culminates in one of the most spectacular viewpoints in Zion, a challenging journey of around four hours that rewards you with breath-taking views down across the valley. There are also plenty of easier options for people to enjoy. For those of us who aren't hikers, the park's shuttle bus takes people along the valley floor with regular stops to get out, explore and jump back on the next vehicle. Quite simply, there is something in Zion for everyone. We'll return to our hotel in Hurricane this evening.
This morning, we'll set off early to Bryce Canyon (a 90-minute journey). Bryce is without doubt one of the natural highlights of this journey - a world of surreal kaleidoscopic sandstone forms that are steeped in the tales of the Paiute tribe. Legend has it that the sandstone 'hoodoos' of Bryce are in fact the petrified followers of the Coyote God, turned to stone as they stood listening to his angry tirade. Looking out over these towering pillars that litter the floor of Bryce Canyon's great amphitheatre, you could almost believe that you're facing a crowd of people, all awaiting their judgement. On arrival, we'll explore the myriad shapes and shades of this fairytale realm, hiking along the Navajo Loop, or taking in the grandeur of the Queen's Garden. Bryce was created as a national park in 1928 and as you look out across the pink, orange and red spires it is easy to sympathise with Ebenezer Bryce, a Mormon farmer who is best remembered for the profound words, 'Well it's a hell of a place to lose a cow!'
This morning, we can choose (weather dependent) to see Bryce at its most radiant, in the golden hues of sunrise as we drive up to Sunrise Point to watch the dawn break across the landscape. After breakfast, we'll drive west to Moab (a four-hour drive), taking State Highway 24 directly through the most remote and under-visited of Utah's 'Big Five' National Parks: Capitol Reef. The red-rock park encompasses a landscape of coloured sandstone cliffs, twisting canyons, monoliths and spires. We'll stop en route to take in some of the park's many awe-inspiring viewpoints before continuing to Moab. This evening, we plan to make a sunset visit to Arches National Park. It's a two-hour walk to Delicate Arch, probably one of the most iconic arches in the American Southwest. This natural rock archway is a perfect spot to watch the sunset on this magnificent landscape. After sunset, the lack of light and air pollution in the area should afford us a dazzling display of stars. After our walk, we'll head back to Moab for the evening.
Arches National Park is home to the world's largest concentration of natural sandstone arches. With over 2000 arches, giant sandstone fins, balancing rocks and towering spires, the park provides a unique setting for this morning discovery. We might take in the Devil's Garden, a three-hour hike that takes us through a landscape littered with arches, including one of the world's longest - Landscape Arch. Time-allowing we might also take a more gentle walk around The Windows Loop (approximately 90 minutes), before leaving the park. In the afternoon, we'll visit Arches' neighbouring park, and the last of Utah's Big Five National Parks, Canyonlands. The park is a wilderness of countless canyons and buttes carved by the Colorado River and its tributaries, which also divide the park into four districts: the Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze and the rivers themselves. We plan to head into the Island in the Sky district, where we will take an easy trail to the spectacular Mesa Arch, a natural rock arch on the edge of a cliff that gives us panoramic views of the region. We'll drive back to Moab this evening.
Today, we'll drive to the town of Page via the Navajo Reservation, the biggest in the country, founded in 1888 to provide a protected region for the Navajo people. The Navajo Nation constitutes the largest tribe left in the United States, the last survivors of a people who were decimated by the arrival of the white man and his quest for land and gold. Monument Valley lies within the heart of this vast tribal area and despite its familiarity through the exposure by Hollywood, nothing can truly prepare you for the sheer grandeur and spectacle of this incredible setting. Isolated monoliths, sandstone pinnacles and towering spires rocket skywards, above the desert floor. Here, you have the chance to take an optional guided jeep tour of the valley with a Navajo guide, affording a closer exploration of this compelling land before we head on to our night stop in Page. As we continue through native lands towards Page, the warm embrace of the late afternoon glow alters the landscape's appearance as the sun dips towards the horizon. Time permitting, we aim to experience the final dip of the sun at the famous Horseshoe Bend on the Colorado River.
This morning, we'll have the option to visit the famous Antelope Canyon, a beautiful peach-gold canyon formed by the force of flash floods coming from the plains above, or otherwise spend time at the enormous Lake Powell, with its scenic azure waters. Later, we'll continue our journey towards the southern rim of the Grand Canyon (a three-hour drive), arriving this afternoon. Once described by Theodore Roosevelt as 'the one great sight every American should see', the canyon extends 445 kilometres/283 miles from east to west, from the western edge of the Navajo Reservation to the Nevada border around Lake Mead. Reaching a depth of 1,600 miles/5,249 feet, the canyon's floor is littered with some of the oldest rocks on the planet and as we take in the views from Desert View, we'll gaze out across a land that has taken over 2 billion years to create.
This morning, you're free to explore this natural wonder at your own pace. You might like to hike various parts of the rim trail (easy to moderate walking), taking you along the top edge of the canyon with some stunning viewpoints; or perhaps the Bright Angel Trail, a steeper walk that takes you further down below the rim of the canyon. There are a multitude of different walking options available, all of which will offer you some spectacular scenery of this amazing landscape. This afternoon, we'll leave the Grand Canyon behind us and return to the big city, Las Vegas, arriving in the evening.
The trip ends after breakfast at our hotel in Las Vegas. There are no activities planned today, so you're free to depart from Las Vegas at any time. If you'd like an airport transfer today, you'll need to depart from Las Vegas International Airport (LAS), which is a 15-minute drive away.
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Tour Operator
Explore Worldwide
A prominent adventure travel company with over four decades of experience, this business that offers a comprehensive array of unique and thrilling experiences worldwide. Catering to various interests, they provide small group journeys, walking and cycling trips, solo holidays, and family adventures.
In Business Since 1981
Reviews
Anonymous - Traveled, May 2025
Tour leader Pierre was excellent
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 05/22/2025
Rose - Traveled, May 2025
Excellent, fast paced trip! A few places (Zion NP and Bryce Canyon) involved optional quite strenuous hill walking in intense May heat but the views and sense of achievement were worth it! At least one walking pole is essential. Pierre was a very patient and knowledgeable guide and his passion and enthusiasm for the incredible natural wonders on the itinerary was tangible and infectious. He was also an excellent driver which was comforting, especially as we covered over 1,500 miles by road! The Navajo guides for Antelope Canyon and Monument Valley were also excellent. All hotels/motels were comfortable but the final hotel near the Grand Canyon had some rooms greatly in need of updating that a few of us needed to be moved from (the hotel was quick to arrange this when we asked).
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 05/21/2025
Anonymous - Traveled, May 2025
This trip was amazing - it certainly is full on with little or no downtime. Accommodation was mainly good, apart from the Red Feather Lodge, towards the end of the trip, where the rooms assigned to our group were in dire need of an upgrade. The smell of air freshener, or some other product they used before our arrival, was vile. Hopefully they will already have taken our feedback on board and it will be better for future trips. The Strat in Vegas is a good distance from the main Strip so you will need to use Uber, taxis, or the Deuce bus to get there. Rooms assigned to Explore guests are also in need of an upgrade but are fine - you probably won’t spend much time in your room - no fridges here, I understand you may be able to rent one from Reception. Some hotels served a basic breakfast, and lunch was generally a picnic stop - you usually have to buy whatever you need for lunch and snacks the evening before, but your guide will advise of this on a daily basis. A walking pole (or two) is essential as some of the hikes are fairly strenuous, or at least of moderate difficulty - you can always opt out if needs be. I highly recommend the optional activities - the Jeep tour of Monument Valley and Antelope Canyon - both well worth doing. We were a group of 7 so the van/bus was comfortable but I would not like to be on it if the group is bigger than 8 or 9. As Explore advise, it will be a ‘bit cramped’ if the tour is full but is this acceptable? I haven’t travelled with Explore before so haven’t experienced a full bus, but for the money you pay, I believe customers deserve better. Some travel days are long, and your daypack will be quite full with sunscreen, hat, walking pole, and enough food and water for maybe a ten hour day of travel and sightseeing. There’s no overhead space to store anything. I will leave it to those who have been ‘cramped’ to comment on how it was for them, but for me it’s not good enough to pack 14 people into this size van, and this is something Explore need to look into.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 05/21/2025
Michael - Traveled, October 2024
Was only able to complete three of the nine days due to illness. But what we did and saw to that point was excellent, need to return to complete the full trip.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 11/12/2024
Steven and Sarah - Traveled, October 2024
This is a great trip that packs in a lot of the best landscapes of the west in a short space of time. Its great to compare and contrast the characteristics of the different parks. Tour leader Zak was laid back and was able to adapt the trip to the varying levels of fitness among the group members. Not everybody wanted exactly the same focus e.g. walking, taking photos, meal preferences and Zak did an excellent job of balancing these needs. The accommodation overall was ok, fairly basic, but fine for short stays. We were disappointed with the last night at The Strat in Las Vegas which is enormous and impersonal. That said we would thoroughly recommend this trip.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 11/12/2024
Barbara - Traveled, September 2024
Brilliant holiday & excellent guide. A full on holiday packed with fabulous sights every day. Loved it!
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 10/12/2024
Helen - Traveled, October 2024
An excellent trip taking in the spectacular parks of Utah and Arizona. The contrast between Las Vegas and the desert could not be more stark. This was a busy trip taking in a range of sights such as Zion, Bryce and the Grand Canyon. That necessitated some early starts and long journeys but was worth it to see these magnificent natural Landscapes. Bryce Canyon, Monument Valley and Antelope Canyon were amazing. Smaller and easy to navigate. The Grand Canyon is simply mind blowing in its vastness. The trip entailed a bit more walking than we’d anticipated and it was HOT which meant carrying lots of water but worth it to see the amazing sights.. All in all a fantastic trip.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 10/15/2024
Robert - Traveled, May 2024
Each of the National Parks (and Navajo Reservation at Monument Valley) was magnificent, and every day was different.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 06/11/2024
Anonymous - Traveled, May 2024
Great trip overall. The tour leader was very knowledgeable and always friendly and professional, despite the fact that she had to deal with one extremely difficult customer. The hotels were average, some better than others. I didn't know that the Strat (like most hotels in Las Vegas, apparently) allows smoking, which I found quite unpleasant as a non-smoker. The itinerary was great, just felt a bit rushed at times. It's a lot to fit into the available time.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 06/11/2024
Barbara - Traveled, May 2022
Arches and Canyonlands as I'd been to Zion, Bryce and Grand Canyon in the past.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 06/02/2022
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