| rev:text
| - This tour (GC West Rim) had some good parts and some really crappy ones and I'll do my best to tell you about it all. BTW, I'm 35, female, and outdoorsy.
We drove to meet the bus at Planet Hollywood at 6:15. We were told "Be here at 6:15, 6:30 at the latest." We sat, waiting, on a RUNNING bus until 7:30! At 6:30 am, an hour and fifteen minutes of waiting seems like eternity. Apparently we were waiting for one other couple who never arrived.
Bus driver was fine -- not terribly entertaining or funny, but he delivered his script of historical information and drove safely. The speaker in the bus was very loud and I wished I had ear plugs so he wasn't yelling in my ear. The air conditioning vents were also broken, so be sure to bring a jacket as you'll probably have cold air blowing directly on you.
The drive is fine -- super bumpy dirt road for about 20 minutes, but not curvy or sickness inducing at all! We brought pillows and were glad we did.
After you arrive at the reservation, your driver gives you your tickets for the park and wishes you well. You'll meet up with him and your bus about 4 hours later to leave. The park requires you to ride their shuttle buses from stop to stop. Jump on the first bus and head to the Skywalk area. We didn't spring for the skywalk cause we'd read reviews that it's waaay overrated. You can walk around there and learn a bit about Native American dwellings as well as enjoy the views of the canyon. Jump on the shuttle again and head to Guano Point where there is a 10 minute (if that!) walk out to a viewing point. Do not let anyone tell you this is a hike -- it's flat and nearly paved. Other than this walk, there aren't any other recreational opportunities at Grand Canyon West. No hiking into the canyon here!
Jump back on the shuttle and they take you back to where you started. There's an additional stop outside of the park area where you go to meet the tour bus for your return trip. This last area is a Wild West themed part that's pretty crappy. It's totally out of place and super lame. That said, I did learn to rope a metal steer and was proud of my accomplishment!
As for food, your ticket price includes a breakfast "snack" which is your choice of a package of pop tarts, donuts, granola bar, etc. Bring other food/snacks for the bus ride -- you'll be glad you did! You also get a lunch coupon which you can use at one of two places at the park -- the food is mediocre at best, but hey, it's "free" right? We were glad we had snacks with us to supplement our meals. There is a snack bar at the park too but I'd guess it was pretty pricey.
The trip to the park took about 3 hours. The trip home took 4.5!!! First, we had to wait an additional 30 minutes for a family on our bus that failed to meet at the appropriate time for the return trip. I get that people can be running late, but our driver didn't even acknowledge it or say something like, "Sorry folks. I'll do my best to make up some time on the way home." We stopped at the Hoover Dam on the way back too, and got out for 15 minutes to stretch our legs. This was unnecessary as we were in the parking lot and couldn't walk down to the actual dam. There were also no restrooms here, so you had to go on the bus. We were an hour past schedule at this point and I wish he'd just cut this part out entirely.
Here's the part they don't tell you about: In the morning, they send around several shuttle buses to gather everyone at their hotels and bring them to Planet Hollywood. In the afternoon, they drive the one big bus to each of the drop off points, so depending on where your hotel is, you may be on the bus an additional hour for each of these stops! We were supposed to return around 5, but didn't get off the bus until 6:45pm. Luckily we didn't have tickets to a show or anything, but I would have been super pissed if we had. This dropping off process is exhausting, given that you've already been on the bus for 3 1/2 hours.
If you're still reading, here are the pros:
- You don't have to drive, so you can sleep, play games on your phone, etc.
- No need for directions or navigating
- Great views of the GC only 3 hours from Vegas. We went solely to take my parents who had never been and they thought it was great. As my husband and I have been to the North Rim for camping/hiking, it was just "ehhh" for us.
Cons:
- Bus was kinda crappy and uncomfortable
- Bus driver wasn't anything special
- Didn't show movies or any sort of entertainment along the way
- Food was marginal
- Trip home seemed to last an eternity
All in all, I supposed I'd recommend this trip, as long as you know what you're getting in to. I probably still would have gone had I known all of this before, because I'd already driven from LA to Vegas and was tired of being behind the wheel. As I said, we brought snacks, drinks, jackets and pillows and were so glad we did! You can leave stuff on the bus so don't worry about bringing too much! Comfort is key!
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)