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| - I had a great trip this weekend with Grand-Adventures. After trying to decide whether it was cheaper to do the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam on our own or as a tour, we realized the price difference was actually not too much and the tour would allow us to sit back and relax/nap in the van. The southern rim of the Grand Canyon is the closest part to Vegas (about 2.5 hours away). The Sky walk and shuttle buses at the Canyon are not that cheap, but the tour cost includes these and the guide gets everything for you, so you never have to wait in line. Also the cost covers meals, bottled waters, and snacks. For two people it costs ~$350. But tell me what you can find in Vegas that will teach & entertain you, feed you, and show you one of the 7 wonders of the world for 12 hrs at that price?
Bret was our guide and did an awesome job the entire day. He picked us up in a small van at our hotel right on time (6:30AM). I actually enjoyed it because the van felt cozy with only four rows to it (they only have two people in each 3 seat row, so there is plenty of room to relax). Also, you are not wasting your time waiting for 20-30 people to get on an off a big tour bus like other groups we saw.
Within the first hour, Bret pretty much knew everyone's names in the tour and was extremely conversational with us. Not in a fake, this is my job way- but in a real genuine, down to earth way. He would teach us what he knew, answered questions, but never made us feel we had to be stuck to his side. Bret let us do our own thing if we wanted and gave us the proper safety warnings and check back times when needed.
1st Stop: McDonald's (you order whatever you want and the guide will pay) and the Vegas sign which has a really fascinating history I learned.....
2nd stop: Grand Canyon. The Sky-Walk is neat. I hate glass bottom bridges so I barely looked down on it. But everyone else seemed to really enjoy it. Key to know: you are not allowed to bring cameras on it (they have people taking photos that are $30 each). The Guano mines stop was next and a beautiful view that was not crowded. I liked this stop more since it was less commercial. You could climb up on a rock and just sit quietly, taking in the beautiful landscape with the Colorado river below. Bret had home-style cooked Arby's sandwiches for us (not fast food tasting, actually a good deli sandwich for those of you who have not tried it), cookies, and grapes. It was also 95 degrees that day, so he was constantly making sure we had enough water and were not getting too hot.
3rd: Hoover Dam- we did the bird's eye bridge view, where you could see the whole thing, but never walked on the dam. At first I was a little bummed, but the scorching heat and fatigue of being on the road all day made me happy to skip that part too.
At the end of the day, he dropped us off at our hotel (6:30PM) and I felt that trip was the highlight of my Vegas trip. If you want comfortable, friendly and enjoyable service- Grand Adventures is the place to go!
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