This is a lengthy trip report so it will be submitted in several parts.

Copper Canyon with Caravan Tours

The following are just some highlights from the January 18th, 2008 departure. Normally, I travel independently and am certainly no expert on group tours (this was my 4th). Also, since this trip report will be linked from several places on the web, let me emphasize that this is only about the Caravan Tour of Copper Canyon which departed January 18th. Many readers will have traveled with other companies and want to compare their experiences with mine and tout their company/experiences. That’s fine but this is not a competition. Personally, I find that “King of the Hill” mentality tiresome. This is simply one person’s (63 year old retired male) experiences on one trip.

Since Caravan is known as a “budget” tour provider, let’s go ahead and address that. At no time during the tour did I feel that the hotels, provided meals, or service was less than what I would have experienced traveling independently. Sure, I’ve stayed in some nicer hotels and certainly had nicer meals; however, I have also had worse. One of the ways Caravan kept the cost of the tour down was the size of the group. This was the largest tour group I’ve ever been with as there were 44 people scheduled and 42 actually traveled. One couple had to return home from El Paso for personal reasons prior to departing for Mexico. The logistics went surprisingly well for so large a group.

I was traveling unaccompanied and paid the $300.00 single supplement. I have read that quite often the single rooms in hotels are quite small. All the hotel rooms for me were double rooms as well as having an open seat beside me on the bus and the train.

Also, be aware these reports are primarily written for family and friends and therefore things are “personalized”. Posting them on the web is “payback” for all the reports I’ve read of other people’s adventures. If you have any specific questions, I’ll do my best to answer them.