Grand Circle Tour: Nat'l Parks
 

My husband and I are considering taking the Grand Circle Tour 17-day Nat'l Park Tour. Has anyone done it and is it worth the price? We are in our late 50's and thought this tour sounded perfect, but before I make a reservation, I would like to hear any comments. Thanks.

We did a Grand Circle tour to Northern Mexico a year ago and enjoyed ourselves so much that we are going with them this year to Nova Scotia. The guide was very well informed and our highlight was the home visit where we had dinner with a Mexican family.

If their Nat'l Park tours are a good as the Mexican one, then you should enjoy it. We got to go to places we never would have found and stayed in nice hotels that we probably wouldn't have known about otherwise.

We met some wonderful people on our tour and hope to meet more on our NS tour. One couple came to stay with us in Florida in March and we are going to their house in Boston in July.

We felt we got a lot for our money, and thought the trip was very well planned and organized. We talked to several on the tour who had gone on 5 and 6 GC tours and liked everyone of them.

Try it! Have a good time. Email me if you have other questions. [email protected]

I've never done a tour like this but I was curious as to where you would be visiting and how long you would have at each place, but I couldn't find the tour you're talking about. Do you have a website?

Utahtea

I took a look at the itinerary on the website: http://www.gct.com/gcc/general/default.aspx?oid=37559.

It doesn't allow much time at any place. Only 1 day allowed for Yellowstone. Doesn't get to Arches, Canyonlands, Zion, or the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. It makes a stop at the North Rim on the way from Bryce to Lake Powell.

I personally prefer to do this on my own. If I were to cover this much territory it would take me alot longer than 17 days. Looks like you will be spending alot of time on the bus. But that is just me.

If that's the tour, then I agree with sharrin. I was reading some of the days tours and it seems like they spend a lot more time in the cities than the national parks.

You need more than part of a day to see Yellowstone. There's so much more than Old Faithful!

You will be traveling about 2,400 miles in 15 days. Day one and day 17 are fly in and fly out days.

I too would go on my own and either take a longer trip to do all these areas or concentrate on just a few of the places.

Utahtea

I'm also for touring yourself...you determine when and where you go and how long you stay. Most organized tours don't give you enough time at the major sights...It's like taking someone who's never seen the ocean to the beach, putting them on the boardwalk and saying there's the ocean, you have 5 minutes to take a picture. If they can't get in the water, jump a few waves, taste the salt, step on a crab, eat some boardwalk treats, they may have "seen the ocean" but did they really experience it? Truth be told, I'm probably too much of a control freak...I don't want someone telling me when I'm eating, when we leave, etc., etc. :-) However, if you've never traveled before and the thought of traveling to new areas makes you nervous or you don't like making travel arrangements, then a group tour is probably better for you. Really study all the itineraries and choice the
best one to fit your style. And I'm not a youngster....48 and taking my 75 yr old mom on her first trip out West to see Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon and Yellowstone.
Either way, you'll see incredible sights...and have a wonderful time!!!

Just a thought, I saw on the travel channel a neat way to see several Nat'l Parks. It's called the American Orient Express. Your trip begins in Salt Lake City and you travel by train with different stops. If my memory serves me correctly, the stops are: Yellowstone, Teton Nat'l Park, Bryce Canyon, and oh, I forgot, but it's close to Bryce Canyon. I think the last stop is Grand Canyon and the train ride ends in Albequere (spelling) New Mexico. Looked like a wonderful trip and train travel is very relaxing and enjoyable. Food for thought!