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| - I took the West Rim tour. The first leg of the trip was absolutely torturous. We were picked up from our hotel at 5:45 AM by a smaller van to go to the transportation center to transfer to a larger bus. It was over an hour of circling around the different hotels and picking people up. This sucks but I understand it is the best way to do it. The part that was fixable, though, was the environment on the bus. They were blasting an obnoxious morning zoo type radio show, complete with screeching hosts and pop music. I still had my earplugs from the plane in my backpack, so luckily I could use them, but it was still too loud. We waited nearly 20 minutes at some stops. I understand being accommodating to latecomers but it wasn't hard for me to be on time. Maybe a five minute wait limit should be imposed. At one point they put a very loud documentary on the TVs on the bus. It was interesting but not needed. It's six AM, I would prefer to get a little extra sleep! I could've gotten a solid hour in if it wasn't for the loud music and movie, the bus lights constantly getting turned on and off, and the door being left open for 10-20 minutes at each stop letting all the cold air in.
The Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon were incredible and that part of the tour went very smoothly, but that part had nothing to do with the tour company.
The return trip was awful. Everyone made it back to the tour bus a little early even, and I was looking forward to making it back to Vegas around 6-7 for dinner and going to bed early for another early excursion tomorrow. The bus was having mechanical issues. They tried to have some knowledgeable people on the bus help fix it but it couldn't be fixed. A replacement bus was called and we finally got back on the road, over three hours later at 7:20. We were truly in the middle of nowhere and there were no other options. The driver was as communicative as he could be, and it wasn't his fault, but it was a very unpleasant situation. Also the replacement bus smelled like urine. They played Paul Blart 2 on the bus TVs (luckily at a normal volume) on the ride home. My trip was all adults and there was no need for it. I would have been happy to enjoy the scenery, sleep, or entertain myself (everybody has smart phones and the charging outlets on this bus worked, unlike the other bus) instead of having to listen to this dumbass movie. The middle of the trip was fantastic but between the poorly organized painfully loud pick up shuttle and the mechanical issues on the return trip it was pretty crummy. There really should be a better contingency plan for mechanical issues.
I took another tour (kayaking down the Colorado River) from a different company the following day and it was an absolutely delightful and smooth experience. Calm, quiet, efficient hotel pick up shuttle and a pleasant, prompt, and also quiet ride home. So, it can be done.
Nobody from the company has reached out about this in any way, not even a "hey sorry you were stuck on a bus in the desert for four hours" phone call or email or anything.
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