We booked this tour because of the reviews that we’d both read on Tripadvisor and they came out pretty good. I was with my mum and we were keen for a tour which used small vehicles.
Dawn, at the tour company headquarters, was extremely responsive and very helpful. Considering we booked the tour at not much notice before we left the UK, after which I was without email access, everything was sorted very efficiently before we left. I was also given a call by Linda, at our hotel, the night before our tour to advise us of pick up time. This was particularly reassuring as I’ve had a few tours in the past which have failed to turn up!
First impressions were promising. Small mini bus (UK), van (US)!. Leather reclining seats with loads of leg room. Cup holders for coffee, water. Turned up on time. We did not have a full tour, 8 adults and a child so we had room to spread out, but everybody liked to stick with their companion.
Once everybody was picked up we had a talk from our pleasant and polite guide Daniel. He began by telling us about how it was his job to drive us around and get us back to Las Vegas safely. This was repeated on several occasions. He then went on to say that anything extra was a bonus and then spoke about gratuities. We were given a few typed pages about the trip and about how gratuities weren’t included and we needed to pay these at 15% and, again, were given highlights about how it was his job to drive us around safely and deliver us safely back to LV. All this was also highlighted IN BOLD on our typed pages about how gratuities were expected at 15% of the tour price.
Here is where the tour company let themselves down. They were the most expensive tour we found on the web at $179 which means that 15% of this x 2 would mean a tip or "gratuity" of almost $60. Now, US folks may be different but a tour/excursion in the UK/Europe usually consists of either one or two drivers who also act as guides. Tips or gratuities, and the amount thereof, are given at the discretion of the passengers for the service received. Otherwise, just take a taxi! Or even drive yourself! There really is no need to highlight this in bold on the blurb you are given, a simple “Gratuities not included” would have been sufficient, and there is no need for the driver to repeatedly tell us what his job is or isn’t. US people know how to give gratuities. This type of bull-dozing will only put Europeans off! And, quite frankly, 60 bucks on a day trip that has not been wholly satisfactory while the driver tells you how much he’s “done his job” is just rude in my opinion.
So, to the day. We were given a bag with a breakfast snack in it. This consisted of a nut bar, 2 x banana and nut muffins, a bag of peanuts ( you are getting the theme here!), a cheese string packet and some orange juice. While I don’t have an allergy to nuts, I don’t eat them. I didn’t consider breakfast may be a nut fest in this day and age of allergies so didn’t request an alternative. (Warning to all reading this).
Lunch was, as promised, a deli wrap, filling ordered in advance. Good filling, nicely fat. This was accompanied by crisps, cookie and an apple. This was handed out to us by Daniel in the bus where we were told to eat it. What a pity that we were not informed that there were numerous benches on our walk along the trail at the South Rim where we could have enjoyed our picnic soaking up the amazing and fantastic views of the Canyon. Again this was a missed opportunity by our guide to impart such information and therefore perhaps earn his "gratuity".
Looking at the reviews on Trip, we were expecting some interesting DVDs on the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon on the way there. It was a long journey which we were fully aware of but how much more interesting it could have been if we had had some insight into our destination by showing us some films of what we were about to enjoy. Instead the chosen film for us to watch was The Count of Monte Cristo. While this is certainly a good film it did nothing to whet our appetite on what we were about to experience!
Our guide took great pains to point out what he thought was an amazing feature of engineering, the new bridge across the Dam. And it looked pretty impressive. I really wanted to take some pictures of the structure. He did not stop. In fact, we only had a very limited stop for brief pics of the Dam at some distance, around the corner from the amazing bridge he pointed out..
On all stops, we were told to “hurry along”. “Less time at comfort stops, more time at Canyon”. We were all pretty prompt back at the bus. In fact, we all arrived before the driver who was insisting on our prudence with our stops. In the end, we only got 2.5 hours at the Canyon, despite the promised 3 hours on the website. And we didn’t dither anywhere!
We walked the trail, and nothing will take away that first breathtaking view of the Canyon at Mather Point. However, 2.5 miles when you are stopping for photo stops and weaving in and out of the paths takes a fair time. And we didn’t dither there either! We could really have done with the half hour at the end as there’s quite a lot to see at Angel Lodge (although I don’t believe enough to fill 2 hours of your time if you are just dropped off there).
Upon our return to Las Vegas, our driver/guide emphasised how he had “done his job” and dropped us off safely back in the City. When we were dropped off at our hotel, he got off the bus to say goodbye to us, but couldn’t even be bothered to put his phone conversation on hold while he did this, and carried on chatting into his cellphone.
To sum up, I would feel that it’s definitely worth the time from your vacation to visit Grand Canyon. The back-office staff are extremely efficient and really want to help you. We both loved the fact we had a small van rather than large coach, no waiting around for 50 people or whatever. We both really enjoyed doing the 2.5 mile Canyon trail, something which it doesn’t seem like all companies offer, they will drop you off at points for limited times to view only. On the day, I would agree with susselsprout on these reviews. Adventure Phototours have a great product, they have a great angle for their tours, but they are let down by (in my opinion) some of the guides, lack of information those guides give and the (junk style) food offered on the trip. So, tried hard but could do better.