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| - Pink Jeep Tours is nearly perfect.
As a New Yorker, I am always suspicious of tours and weary of travel-related scams in general, so my radar was up when I started searching for a tour in the Vegas area. However, thanks to Yelp, I found Pink Jeep Tours (as you can see, they have very good ratings).
I was in Vegas for a week in early June 2014 for a business trip. I had one whole day at the end for serious sightseeing. I was hesitant to sign up for a Grand Canyon tour because it is so long (8-9 hours for West Rim Classic tour, 10-11 hours for the combo westrim+Hoover Dam, and 12 hours for the South Rim!).
However, I didn't know when I'd be able to get back to the area and I had never seen the Canyon before. I kind of wanted to see both the Dam and the Canyon, but I finally decided on the West Rim Classic tour because I did not want to spend a whole day out. Turns out, I got to see a little of the Dam anyway, which was a nice bonus!
The Pink Jeep (actually it's a heavy duty Dodge pickup with a custom-built cabin that has 9 comfy seats in it) picks you up from your hotel rather early in the morning (around 6AM). The great thing about Pink Jeep is they are so distinctive, you will not have trouble spotting them. One issue I had though was that I went out to the parking lot and tried to chase down a Pink Jeep that I saw leaving; turns out that one was for another tour, and mine was just around the corner.
The truck has a large door and fold-down steps at the rear. The inside has three rows of seats; two seats on the left side and one on the right. I took a seat on the right because I was alone; three couples ended up sitting on the left side. There is also a passenger seat at the front of the truck, so I guess they can accommodate 10 customers, plus the driver. In fact, I think the front passenger seat might even have a slightly better view than the normal seats in the cabin. This is because the cabin is raised up higher, and while you have a big window next to you, you can't see out the front window too well.
I was aware that the tour provided lunch, but I didn't know they also provided a small breakfast. At each seat was a bag with an orange juice, cheese danish, and a napkin. Also, the driver had two coolers of ice cold (and some room temperature if cold water disagrees with you) water bottles that he continually passed out throughout the trip if you wanted them.
I also noticed (at least in the first row of seats behind the driver) there is a 12VDC cigarette lighter power outlet, so if you have a car charger for your phone or camera, you should be able to recharge it in the truck.
If you are one of the first to be picked up, you will have to wait as the driver goes around to the other hotels and picks up the other guests; they decide this ahead of time, based on the quickest path through the city.
I was concerned about the length of the drive from Vegas to the Canyon, but it actually went quite fast. The stops were timed well and broke up the trip nicely so it would not be monotonous.
As I said, I had wanted to see the Hoover Dam; it's actually rather close to Vegas, and we drove right through that area, which was a nice surprise, because I didn't think I would get a chance to see it at all. The combo tour goes inside the dam and looks at the internal structure, which is neat, but I didn't have the time. We got good views of the dam and lake Mead, and we even stopped for some pictures!
The next two stops were nowhere really special; a gas station and a convenience store, but it was an opportunity to use the bathroom or pick up a souvenir. We kept to a tight schedule so there was no lounging around, but enough time to stretch your legs and buy something.
Another thing that made the trip go quickly was the tour guide had lots of things to say about the area and it's local flora and fauna.
When you get on the truck, you wonder why there's a need for such a huge off-road vehicle with big wheels and big suspension. Well, I don't know how often this happens, but there were 2 large sections of the main road that were detoured due to construction. The detour was over a dirt/gravel road that was very rough. I saw other tourists in rental cars who were having a tough time of it, but we were perfectly safe in the big pink 'jeep'.
See my review here for the canyon itself: http://www.yelp.com/biz/grand-canyon-west-rim-las-vegas
The ride on the way back to Vegas is much quieter, our tour guide told us that some people sleep on the way back. There were still rest stops, and you get to see the Dam and Lake Mead again. In fact, we stopped at a rest stop that had a really nice view of the lake.
After being dropped at the hotel, some people tipped the driver and some did not. I am not sure what the etiquette is on that.
Next time I am in the area I would not hesitate to take a Pink Jeep Tour, maybe the Hoover Dam or South Rim (just to try something new)!
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