Best of the Canyonlands

This trip was awesome. It truly was a trip of a lifetime. Our guide, Jon, made our trip fun but was also very informative and helpful. Our driver, Ron, was the best driver we have ever had. He made us feel safe on some very treacherous roads. All in all we could not have asked for more. They went out of their way to make our trip special given that all but one of the visitor centers was closed due to the federal budget. Thank you gentlemen. Sincerely, Danny and Gloria Hill Jennifer Pridmore

This trip was a combination of at least 2 other trips. We joined the trip that was already on day 10. It would have been nice to know that beforehand. I enjoyed the trip. Our tour guide and driver were nice. There were a few hiccups, but things worked out. However, 2 days at the Grand Canyon would have been nice. Didn't get a chance to do a lot there as we had a speaker that talked a long time and then we had to leave for our hotel. Nobody told us that the canyon was just a 5 minute walk from our hotel. At least we were able to walk there and see the canyon the next morning before we had to leave.

Great trip (our second with Trafalgar). Well planned itinerary with lots of amazing, informative stops - some well known and others more unique. Wonderful tour guide; knowledgeable, entertaining, well organized. Bus was immaculate, driver was excellent. Will definitely travel with them again.

Our gorgeous canyon country was the beautiful backdrop for our smooth coach ride, which our wonderfuldriver, Archie, provided! Our tour team was courteous and kind every step of the way. JP, our guide, gave us back stories, and details that were interesting and entertaining. My two sister's and I felt safe, and comfortable no matter where we were. Each hotel stay had a charm of its own, and the scheduled side trips made for a unique experience that we never would have known about, had we traveled on our own. Altogether, it was a wonderful experience, I hope to travel with Trafalgar again some day. We had to leave this tour early, due to an unexpected illness for one of my sisters, and I can't speak highly enough for JP, who knew exactly what to do for us. He procured everything we needed, from the Park Ranger, amulance, taxi and a hotel in the town we went to for a hospital, making sure we were well cared for, and had the info we needed once we arrived. It would have been a more harrowing experience without JP's gentle guidance, and help.

Would like more options available. Also, start and end with same group. No joining another existing group.

This trip starts in Denver and ends in Las Vegas. We went to four National Parks. It is a whirlwind tour. Others have written that they should stay two nights at Grand Canyon and I agree. The place we stayed there Maswick Lodges was very nice and we were only a 5 minute walk from the rim but our guide never told us that we were and there wasn't very much time to look around when we did find out. I liked Monument Valley and the place we stayed there right in the valley. All the rooms had great views. Moab is a beautiful place and we had all morning at the Arches National Park which is the most beautiful place on earth in my option. The only reason I gave it a 4 star instead of a 5 star is that they had 49 passengers on the bus which is a lot and our group of 11 was joining another group of 38 that had been on the tour for 10 days. It is like coming into a performance in the second act. This is my third trip with Trafalgar and it was very different from the other two because of the size and the combined trips.

Although the itinerary was pretty much as advertised, and the 4 National Parks that we visited were pretty special (Arches, Canyonlands, Mesa Verde, and the Grand Canyon), there were several aspects of the tour that fell far short of what we have experienced with Trafalgar in the past. Most notably, the tour director was brand new, hailed from the East Coast, and had never been to the parks that we visited, and had spent very little time in the West. We feel that much of that is “on Trafalgar” for not vetting their tour directors. We were also surprised to learn that the 8 of us who had booked Best of the Canyonlands tour joined the Scenic Parks Explorer tour in Denver, on their 9th day! We were the newcomers, making it challenging to learn names, etc., as the 32 members of their tour were already paired with friends. The pre-tour communication we received was confusing, providing us with information that was not applicable to our specific tour! (Incorrect airport info, excursions for places that were not covered on our tour, etc.) Luckily, our driver () was terrific, and in my opinion, saved the day on many occasions.

Itinerary was good but tour directors lack of familiarity with the places had him constantly changing timing. It also lacked a lot of the interesting commentary about the area that we’re accustomed to from Trafalger in Europe. He was very nice and helpful but he needed a training session on the area before leading the tour.

We loved it! The tour guide and bus driver were real pros. The bus was very clean (windows were spotless!) and comfortable. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the area, giving us an overview before we arrived. The areas chosen for us to see were spectacular! I would definitely recommend this trip!