Southwest Trip

vvblue

Earning My Ears
Joined
Nov 10, 2005
I was wondering if anyone is back from the Southwest Trip? If so -
1. How much free time did you have?
2. Did you visit the National Park Welcome Centers?


Thanks -

We leave in August and are trying to make plans :woohoo:
 
My husband and I just returned 6/2 from the trip. You have some free time on most days. The amount varies by where you are. You visit the welcome centers at Montezuma's Castle on your way to Sedona and the Grand Canyon. The only National Park that you will not stop at the welcome center is at Arches outside of Moab.
I plan on giving more details later when I do a trip report but if anyone has any questions feel free to ask.

Mary
 
Thanks for posting - I look forward to reading your report -- we are very excited :):upsidedow
 
how was the hotel at the Grand Canyon??? There are many mixed reviews on tripadvisor... also, how do you manage to do some sight seeing on your own during free time if you don't have a car???...and last question I promise!!!...how was the rafting?? smooth or scary??? well that's all your trip report right there!!!:rotfl:
we are leaving on june 30th and are very excited!!!!
 


My family is on the trip next week- so we would love to read anything you have time to share!

Thanks.
 
What was the highlight? What needs to be improved upon? Was there alot of Mexican food? Which were your favorite meals? How was the jeep ride? What was the weather like? How large was your group, and how many kids? Who were the guides? Did you visit the GC at sunset and sunrise? Also interested in the rafting. Did anyone set out on their own to horseback ride? Any recommendations for clothes to pack or footwear?
Thanks for sharing!:thumbsup2
 
My husband and I just returned 6/2 from the trip. You have some free time on most days. The amount varies by where you are. You visit the welcome centers at Montezuma's Castle on your way to Sedona and the Grand Canyon. The only National Park that you will not stop at the welcome center is at Arches outside of Moab.
I plan on giving more details later when I do a trip report but if anyone has any questions feel free to ask.

Mary

Mary I am looking forward to hearing about your adventure as I will be on this one in September
 


First the trip will take your breath away. I've personally never traveled to the southwest so I didn't know what to expect. As an East Coaster, I can tell you I never imagined that it would be that beautiful.

I'm going to break the answers up by who asked them. 3littlepeas asked about the Grand Hotel. The Grand Hotel is what I would call serviceable. It is not as nice as the Amara in Sedona or Red Cliffs Lodge in Moab. The room at the Grand was clean, the bed comfortable, the bathroom was clean, the shower water hot and the food edible. That is really all I look for in a hotel room.

With regards to sightseeing you have some time in each location. We used our free time in Sedona to explore the town. Our free time at the Grand Canyon we walked the rim and then went back to the Hotel for a few hours. We used this time to get a pizza from a pizza place that was recommended by our guides. Our time in Red Cliffs was used to explore the resort and return to Arches. You have several periods of time where you can do activities that are based from the Lodge. We had something else planned-a Hummer tour but cancelled when our tour through Arches was originally cut short and a return trip to other areas in Arches was added to the schedule. Some of our group did the Hummer tour and it sounds like it was a lot of fun.

Don't worry about the rafting. It is a lot of fun and the rapids are only Class I and Class II rapids. We had a gentleman who turned 87 on this trip and he joined us for the rafting trip!

More answers in the next post.

Mary
 
Dizma asked alot of questions and I'll try to answer them.
The highlight of the trip was definately the Grand Canyon. Again, I'm an East Coaster who had never made it this part of the country and I was amazed at the scenery. It truly took my breath away.

The only thing I would like to see them improve is staying at a hotel within the Grand Canyon National Park, but only if it won't change the cost of the trip dramatically. If you or anyone in your family is a Coke product drinker be warned all the hotels only have Pepsi products. We were able to get Diet Coke's in Sedona and at the Grand Canyon but in Moab I ended up drinking Diet Dr. Pepper since I can't stand Diet Pepsi.

The only Mexican food available to you is meals that you eat on your own. There is a Mexican restaurant just accross the street from the Amara in Sedona.

The Jeep ride in Sedona is GREAT! When they say off road they mean off road. The ride in Monument Valley was so-so. We didn't spend a lot of time in Monument Valley because it is the one day that you are travelling for hours.
You stop in Monument Valley to break up the ride from the Grand Canyon to Moab. You appreciate the break at the time.

The weather was diverse. 100 when we landed in Phoenix, 90 when we got to Sedona, 80 when we got to the Grand Canyon and 80-90 when we were in Moab. Water is always available on the bus and you need to drink plenty of it. I brought the wal-mart flavor packets for water since I can't stand plain water. It helped me down all the water.

Our group was relatively small-32 people with 2 guides on a motor coach that seated 52. We had lots of room to spread out, which was nice. The ages in our group ranged from 5 to 87. There were several multi generational groups on our tour. We had about 10 kids in our group. We had a few couples, so you can see we had a good mix of people from all over the country.

Our guides for this trip were Chris B. and Chris F. If anyone has done the Wyoming trip you may have had Chris F. as your guide. He did Wyoming last year and is doing Wyoming and Southwest this year. They were great.

You visit the Grand Canyon at Sunset and it is spectacular! You can ride horses at Red Cliffs Lodge. It is one of the activities you can do at added cost. You can also do a Hummer tour, an ATV tour, get a message at the lodge and do a bike tour. I'm probably missing something, but you get the idea.

With regards to clothing: For the jeep tour in Sedona wear something that is not white and old. You kick up a lot of dust and it loves to settle on clothing. Check a weather site for what the weather is going to be during your trip and pack accordingly. Light colors and loose clothing will probally work better in the heat, but you may need something warmer in the evenings. I wore shorts the entire time, but ended up buying a sweatshirt on evening when the temperature dropped into the 50's. Bring comfortable shoes that are broken in. You have the opportunity to do a lot of walking and you want to be comfortable. Also a pair of water shoes or old shoes that you can toss for the raft ride as you will get wet. Don't need to bring a towel for this as the are provided for you!

Mary
 
Thank you for your report

Couple of more questions

What did you think of the Adventure by Disney product in general, would you take another one to a different location? How was the food at the meals that were provided, enough of a selection for picky eaters, were they buffets or order off the menu type of places
 
Thank you Mary!!
You've answered most of my questions and worries about the Grand Hotel!!! Glad to hear it's OK...I tought it was within the GC though...a bit disapointed...I am very excited!!!
About horseback riding, do you have to be an experienced rider or first timers OK? the kids would love this for sure!!!
Thanks again!
Julie
 
Memyers,
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer all our questions. Quite curious how this compares to the Wyoming trip.
 
Mary,

Thank you so much for the information!
 
I really enjoyed the ABD product and plan to go on another one next year. Just waiting for those pesky details to be released.
The horseback riding at the Red Cliffs Lodge is good for any type of rider. From what I understand many of the kids went on the ride.
The meals provided were buffet for the most part and even the most pickiest eater (of which I am one) will find something to eat. It was usually a chicken and beef/fish entree along with salads, veggies and dessert. There is an adults only dinner at Red Cliffs Lodge that has a special menu for ABD that had 5 or 6 entrees to choose from. All breakfasts provided were your standard buffet type foods.
I can't compare this trip to Wyoming as this was my first ABD trip. I did talk to Chris F who was a guide in Wyoming last year and is splitting time between the two adventures this year aboutn Wyoming. He said that both adventures have alot of outdoor activities, the two differences I remember him telling us was that Wyoming has a little less bus time and that when they are at the ranch all of the activities there are included. At Red Cliffs they are extra because they use Moab companies.
Red Cliffs Lodge does have a winery attached an the wine was really good! I took a real liking to the Chenin Blanc!
Trust me everyone will have a great time. For me and my husband this was a great introduction to ABD and I look forward to traveling with them again next year.
 
Thanks for the information- I do have one more question -

Was it easy finding meals on your own - should I make any reservations ?

We have a party of 6 (4 Children) and would like to be prepared LOL :lmao:

Thanks again -
 
We didn't have any reservations except for the adults dinner that was on Night 6, the kids have their Junior Adventurers only dinner with the guides. The guides and local experts will give you lots of suggestions of restaurants that they enjoy. The one piece of advice the gave us in Sedona was if you want to eat at the Cowboy Club to get there just prior to them opening at 5PM and get your name on the list. We waited maybe 5 minutes and then were shown to a table. Enjoy the trip!

Mary
 
Mary -

Thanks again-

I noticed you are from Maryland - I lived at Ft. Meade for several years then attended the University of Maryland- I worked in Annapolis for 4 years also-


Sara
 
Mary I am looking forward to hearing about your adventure as I will be on this one in September
Did you get a call from Maurice? If you haven't called back yet, when you do, could you please ask WHO the reporter will be? I have a sneaking suspicion it might be Samantha Brown!!! :yay:
 
Did you get a call from Maurice? If you haven't called back yet, when you do, could you please ask WHO the reporter will be? I have a sneaking suspicion it might be Samantha Brown!!! :yay:

I haven't received any calls at all. What did they say when they called you?
 
You're on the same trip as us, correct? September 14? There will be a reporter and camera operator along for the trip with us.
 

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