xyz99

We are planning a tour of the Utah National Parks in September (the entire 2 weeks itinerary is on some other post).

After Grand Canyon, the next stop will be Page, where unfortunately we only have 1 day (and 1 night). We are planning on leaving GC in the morning to get to Page around noon for the Antelope Canyon tour. Since there will be no time for either a raft trip nor a float trip on the Colorado river, I was thinking of taking the Canyon King Dinner Cruise on the Lake Powell (this is the only type of cruise in the afternoon/evening). Has anyone done that? Can you please share your impressions? Did you enjoy it? How was the scenery? Was the food decent?

Then - how long is the drive + hike from Page to Horseshoe Bend? We will probably do that the following morning. But if the cruise dinner is not worth it, do you recommend having dinner in Page somewhere and do the Horseshoe Bend the same day? So many places to go and see, so little time…

Thanks

utahtea

I've never done the dinner cruise on Lake Powell.

The Horseshoe Bend hike is about 5 miles from the town of Page. The hike itself is about 3/4 miles round trip. Pretty easy hike and great destination! Here is a web site that give exact directions:

http://www.travelsw.com/southwest-tr.../horseshoe.htm

The 1/2 day morning float trip that leaves at 7:00 A.M. gets back to Page, AZ by 1:30 P. M. Is it possible to squeeze in the moring float trip before heading out to your next destination?

Utahtea

Momof3boys

We did the dinner cruise last summer on the Canyon King and my boys and I enjoyed it. It was well over 100 degrees so this was an ideal way to have a nice breeze and be on the water. Dinner was prime rib, I believe, and was actually pretty good. After dinner, I walked around the deck outside taking pictures and the boat captain provides a dialogue about the hx of the lake, different facts, sights, etc. If you have small children w/ you, they will let them go on the bridge to "drive" the boat - hold the wheel for a photo. Like I said, my boys and I all enjoyed it but didn't expect gourmet food so pleased w/ the quality and better way for us to spend the evening rather than sitting on land in restaurant. Have fun!

FAYALA

I was with a tour group in Lake Powell, most agreed they would have skipped Lake Powell, just taken the flight to Monument Valley, as you get to see the Lake and Rainbow Bridge from the air.
I was in Antelope Canyon--which was
excellent--you could not believe the pictures when developed---even more beautiful than when I was actually there--as the colors were more evident and the walls of the canyon looked like colored marble. The drive to the canyon in open air jeep gives your teeth a good cleaning!

xyz99

Utahtea,
Thanks for the Horseshoe Bend link. Having good directions is priceless, especially when you try to maximize what you can do in a given amount of time.
We are usually slow travelers, this is our first faster paced trip – we’ll see how it goes. I will definitely post a trip report when we get back.
Having said this, no, we cannot squeeze the float trip the next day – we will need to get to Monument Valley and we’re planning an afternoon tour there.

Momof3boys,
Thanks. It will be just the 2 of us, no kids, but maybe the captain will let me ‘drive’ the boat We enjoy good food, but in the case of this cruise, we will not expect it. I agree, it’s for the scenery, not necessarily the food. But if it happens to be good, even better.

Fayala,
Yes, Antelope Canyon is the major reason we stop in Page; looking forward to see the colors everybody is talking about! And because we’ll be there for the night, too it seems a shame to miss some sort of water-related activity. Unless there is something else (better? – I know, very subjective) to do in the afternoon. I guess we’ll try the dinner cruise.