Incredible views, great food and wonderful memories! This was an incredible trip which exceeded my expectations! The National Parks on the itinerary were all places I'd wanted to visit for a long, long time but actually visiting them was much more impressive than I had imagined. Often this was due to the scale of these natural wonders which you just can't get a sense of in photographs or it was due to the varying colours of the rocks such as in Zion or the Grand Canyon which made the views all the more enjoyable. Unfortunately when we visited Yosemite there were forest fires nearby and the smoke spoiled some of the views but luckily the park itself remained open! Yes there are some long drives but the varying landscapes, regular stops for photos or snacks, WiFi, good conversation and a wide range of music available on the tour leader's iPhone all made them pass fairly quickly. It's a fairly busy itinerary but I did feel it provided enough time in each place to really get a 'feel' for them! The vast majority of restaurants I ate in were terrific (be prepared for large potions), the standard of hotels was very high and it was a great group of people to be on holiday with!
I have actually shared this tour experience while still at the Grand Canyon on the tour operator Facebook website encouraging everybody to take this tour. Best itinerary with very diverse experiences on offer. The hotels were fabulous, our guide Corrine was just perfect and so attentive to everyone's needs. Daniel was our extremely cool and expert driver considering that the roads were so hard to navigate. I'll keep on recommending this tour i swear.
This was my favorite US vacation. The mix of scenery, outdoor activities, and animal viewing was beyond expectations. I shared many pictures with my associates at work, and many of them mentioned a desire to travel to Alaska and asked for my itinerary.