Canyons and Navajo Lands

Visit three awe-inspiring Southwestern USA National Parks

This 8 day tour to the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas visits the best National Parks and Native American lands that Southwest USA offers. Travel along the Grand Staircase taking in the towering red sandstone cliffs of Zion National Park and the supernatural hoodoos of Bryce Canyon National Park. Enjoy a two-night stop at the breathtaking and awe-inspiring Grand Canyon, a truly unrivalled natural wonder. Visit the spiritual heart of the Navajo Nation, Monument Valley, where a Navajo guide takes you on a 4x4 journey into the backcountry to learn how the landscape shaped Native American myths and hear stories of Navajo legends.

People, Places & Planet

We work hard to create trips that have a positive impact on the people and places we visit and look after the planet we explore. Learn more about our sustainable travel ethos and practice here and find out about the work of the Exodus Travels Foundation here.

Some sustainable travel highlights of this trip include:

People

How this trip helps improve life for local communities.

• Local guides keep you well informed about local traditions and cultural-social sensitivities.
• This trip brings income and opportunity to the destination community through the inclusion of locally owned hotels, restaurants, and other enterprises, and by championing locally produced food wherever possible.
• The group goes on a guided backroads tour in Monument Valley which is run by members of the Navajo Nation so this provides income for local families.
• Read more about our other initiatives here.

Places

How this trip helps protect and conserve local landscapes and nature.

• By travelling in a small group we ‘tread lightly’ to minimise our impact on local resources and the environment.
• We work with our partners on the ground to proactively reduce waste; this includes eliminating all single-use plastic water bottles by providing refills for re-usable bottles.
• The payment of entrance fees to natural reserves generates income which is used for upkeep and development of these important sites. In this trip we visit the Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks.
• Our trips adhere to ABTA’s industry-leading animal welfare guidelines to ensure the best possible practices regarding working animals and wildlife viewing. Our animal welfare policy can be found here.
• We rewild 100 square metres per passenger to compensate for all trip and flight emissions.
• Read about our commitment to nature protection and restoration here, including our rewilding commitment for every customer who travels with us.

Planet

How we seek to keep the carbon footprint of this trip low.

• Accommodation and restaurants in the itinerary use locally sourced food which has not been transported long distances.
• Our local partner is a member of the San Francisco Green Business Program. The San Francisco Green Business Program recognizes businesses, non-profit organizations, and institutions in the City and County of San Francisco that meet high environmental standards.
• Read about our climate action here, including our carbon reduction and compensation commitments.

Tips for sustainable travel on this trip

• Leave no trace: we do all we can to ensure we leave no rubbish in the wild and beautiful places we visit; we ask that you do the same. If there are no recycling facilities in-country, consider bringing recyclable materials home with you.
• Plastic waste reduction: please bring a re-usable water bottle on this trip, also consider avoiding single-use hotel toiletries, which generate a large amount of plastic waste.

Visa

USA

Travellers from the UK and most EU countries can enter the US under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) provided they have registered for an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) – which costs US$21 – and are in possession of an onward air ticket and machine-readable passport when entering the US. Visas are required for some nationalities and requirements often change; it is your responsibility to obtain any required visas and fulfil any requirements for this trip. We recommend that you check with the nearest embassy or consulate of your chosen destination(s), including any countries you may be transiting or transferring through.

Some local governments provide guidance on what visas their citizens need. To help, we’ve gathered a selection of useful links below.

• Australia: www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/americas/united-states-america
• Canada: www.travel.gc.ca/destinations/united-states
• United Kingdom: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/usa/entry-requirements

Please note, regulations stipulate that any person who has travelled to Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen since March 2011 (or has dual nationality of Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria) may no longer qualify for the VWP. In addition, if you have travelled to Cuba since 12 January 2021, you will not be eligible for the VWP and should instead apply for a visa to travel to, or transit via, the USA.

Vaccination

USA

There are no required vaccinations. However, you may want to consider vaccinations for polio, tetanus and rabies. Please confirm with your doctor or travel clinic.

Eating and Drinking

There are two breakfasts included on this trip

Most meals will be taken in local restaurants. To help you budget for your meals on average hotel breakfasts cost from US$6-12, lunches from US$8-15 and dinners from US$13-30; this does not include alcoholic beverages. Wine costs approximately US$5 per glass and beer US$4 per bottle. Please also be aware that a tip of approximately 15%-20% is added to group meals in North American restaurants. Applicable taxes will also be added to all listed menu prices.

Your tour leader may offer your group the option to operate a ‘lunch only’ food kitty, this has proven to be a popular alternative to three daily restaurant meals. Leaders will explain this option while on your tour, and the whole group will have to agree for this system to run.

Vegetarians and vegans can be well catered for on this holiday - please do inform us before departure of any special dietary requests so that our local team can be well prepared. We will do all we can to accommodate for various other dietary requirements but in certain parts of North America certain food types can be limited.

Weather

The West is known for its very dry spring, summer and autumn weather and outstanding blue, sunny skies. Being as far south as southern Europe and Northern Africa, temperatures are normally much warmer than in northern Europe. However, temperatures vary greatly depending on the elevation you are at. Generally, the higher the elevation, the cooler the temperature. Spring and autumn will offer perfect hiking days in the deserts and cooler days at higher elevations. In summer, Bryce and the Grand Canyon offer pleasant temperatures ideal for hiking whereas some of the deserts might experience hotter temperatures. On warmer days, the leader will opt for early morning and late afternoon walks, leaving time for mid-day rest. Please note the hottest time of day in the deserts is actually 15:00 hrs. Most nights will be mild to warm. In the summer months you should be prepared for afternoon thunderstorms. Spring offers stunning displays of desert wildflowers, Summer offers mountain wildflowers and in Autumn the tree colours are beautiful.

Is this trip for you?

This tour has been graded Leisurely/Moderate

This walking tour is designed for active adults and offer a well-paced mix of walks for all levels of fitness. Most walks are of moderate difficulty and are up to four hours in length. For the more adventurous there are often optional, moderate to strenuous hikes of up to eight hours duration in some locations. Your tour leader will organise these on your behalf and you will pay locally in cash. You’ll find the main optional activities listed above under each itinerary day description, along with guideline prices. It may not be possible to do all optional activities listed on each tour.

Although each tour follows an itinerary, there is a certain amount of flexibility and from time to time your tour leader may suggest changes.This may be due to road conditions, weather or a visit to a special attraction or event that happens to be in progress. Flexibility is key and often a side diversion will be a highlight of the tour. Hikes and optional activities cannot be guaranteed and may vary depending on ability, group interest, local weather conditions and time of year. 

Angels Landing Hike in Zion National Park:

During the itinerary we have time to enjoy Zion National Park and its network of trails. One of the more strenuous and popular hikes in Zion is called ‘Angels Landing’. In response to growing concerns about crowding and congestion on the trail, the National Park Service in the USA has recently announced that after April 1, 2022, everyone who hikes Angels Landing needs to have a permit. Permits cannot be booked by a tour operator and instead individual customers would need to apply for a permit via a lottery system – unfortunately there is no guarantee of being successful in receiving a permit via this system.  

There are two options in the Permit Lottery System: Seasonal Lottery (you can apply for a permit 1-3 months before trekking date) and Day-before Lottery (you can apply for a permit the day before your planned hike). All guests are responsible for applying for their own permits if they wish to attempt this hike. 

Zion is renowned for its hiking and there are many excellent trails with wonderful views, such as the Watchman’s trail or the Narrows. Our group walk will be planned to discover these alternative trails. Anyone who is successful in securing their own permit will be able to hike at Angels Landing whilst the group complete an alternative trail.

All guests interested in further information about Angels Landing permits, such as application dates and prices should visit National Park Service page found here.