The Grand Canyon is one of the most spectacular areas that you will ever visit in your life, and many people who are traveling to the southwestern portion of the United States will consider taking a few days to visit the Grand Canyon during their vacation. Generally, this will consist of people who are either going to drive straight to the Grand Canyon from wherever they live in the country, or they are going to fly into a major city and use that as their starting point. For most, that is going to either be Salt Lake City or as Vegas, as the Grand Canyon is within driving distance of both. More people will opt for Las Vegas due to the fact that it is a tourist attraction in it’s own right, and they will plan on taking some time out of their Las Vegas visit to travel to the Grand Canyon either as part of a tour, or they will rent a car and drive there themselves. For this reason, there is a lot of advertising for tours of the Grand Canyon when you land in the airport in Las Vegas, and the majority of it advertises the convenience of only a 2 hour drive to the area, along with the grand views from the Skywalk. Unfortunately for some, they do not realize that there are more than one area of the Grand Canyon to visit.
The West Rim of the Grand Canyon is where the Skywalk is located. The Skywalk is a man made glass bridge that is embedded into the canyon wall. While it is certainly dramatic, it is not very natural and is not what many people are looking for at the Grand Canyon. When they get there they notice that it is very brown and although it is dramatic, it just doesn’t look quite like those pictures you have seen in books and magazines. This is because the West Rim is not the traditional viewing point of the Grand Canyon, and instead that honor belongs to the South Rim.
When we provide tours of the Grand Canyon, we go to the South Rim. This area is 4.5 hours from Las Vegas and although it is considerably farther to drive, it is well worth it. The views are far better, and the area is much greener with vegetation and animal life. There is far more to do at the South Rim viewpoints like hiking and exploring, rafting, camping helicopter rides and more. Because the South Rim is the traditional area that people went to, those pictures you have seen are probably from this spot. Our tours of the Grand Canyon are created with time in mind, and while we do have a tour that only lasts one day overnight, we suggest the multi-day tour that also visits Zion, Bryce and Monument Valley. We like to maximize our adventure time and minimize the drive time, so the multi-park tours are the ones we think you will enjoy the most. Keep in mind that all Grand Canyon tours are not alike and do not offer the same views. Make sure you pick the right one before you book.