Grand Canyon Bus Tours

[BklynChick]

Well, it looks like my on-again, off-again trip to Las Vegas with my sister, her boyfriend (both turning 21 shortly) and my stepmom maaayy be back on again. While I'm a Vegas veteran, I've never been to the Grand Canyon - and sis really wants to go. I've been looking online for bus tours from LV and they all look the same. Can anyone recommend a particular tour company? Also, the tours seem to boil down to two types: a 14 hour tour that includes breakfast and lunch, and a 10 hour tour that includes an Indian BBQ lunch - any idea which is the better option?

Mods, if it's not appropriate for people to post this kind of info, let us know and they can PM me.

Thanks!

[NJGIRL]

We didn't do a bus tour but drove there ourselves from Vegas. I highly recommend this if you have 3 days to spare. It only takes 5 hours one way (easy driving) and we stayed on the South Rim at the El Tovar Hotel which was very cool. IMO the Grand Canyon (especialy if your not planning to go back) needs more than just a couple of hours.The views and trails were breathtaking. It's something that our family will never forget.

[prprincess]

The last time we went to Vegas, we booked a Gray Line bus tour to the Grand Canyon. And honestly, no complaints. We were picked up at our hotel at the crack of dawn, and dropped back off around mindnight.

The motorcoach was very comfortable, and we made a quick stop at the Hoover Dam for pictures. We also stopped a few times at rest areas, and then for lunch at this really cute train depot themed restaurant. The driver also had a few DVDs with him, and let us watch them to pass the time. I highly recommend them, but since it was year ago, their itinerary may have changed.

[NotaGeek]

I used to be a travel agent living in Phoenix and I have booked these trips thousands of times. They are all the same, my advice would be pick a reputable company (Gray Line Tours was my most requested) and just buckle up for a LONG day. People often times chose the car rental route, and if you stay overnight, I have done the El Tovar and I love it. It's RIGHT on the rim of the Canyon ... and you can get amazing views. There is no better sunrise. BUT, if you don't have the night to stay, bus tour is a good option since nothing is going on in Vegas during the day anyway.

[Janmac]

Just wanted to chime in here with a general word about Grayline, altho not Grand Canyon. We did a Grayline tour of Washington DC with our grandkids a couple of years ago and were quite happy. We're not the tour types, usually doing the driving ourselves, etc.

With the tour, we got to see enough stuff - but not too much - and we were able to relax and see where we were going instead of watch the road, traffic, etc. Didn't have to do the whole look for parking spots or try to get unlost.

Come to think of it, tho the getting unlost may not apply at the GC, I understand that parking is very tight there. Something like half the spaces to accommodate the tourists. Not a problem on the bus.

We enjoyed our Grayline tour and found the driver very knowledgeable. We'd do that sort of thing again.

Good luck

Jan