When you begin to think about touring the United States’ national parks, you are probably envisioning a road trip of some sort. What makes national parks different than so many other types of entertainment is that they are created from natural spaces that exist in the country, being protected through governmental actions. They are not constructed the way a theme park would be, taking into consideration the patrons who would be ultimately visiting them. Instead, national parks are undeveloped spaces that may have a few conveniences built in like a paved road or maybe a bathroom in specific areas. Some spaces may also be equipped with safety features along developed paths and trails as well as informational signs that will provide some guidance. This will generally be the extent of the development, and visitors must understand that in order to maintain the natural state of the space, modern conveniences must be kept to a minimum. Another aspect of the national parks that many people do not realize is the remote nature of them. Quite simply, they are relatively far away from major cities, probably having a lot to do with the fact that the protections that they enjoy constrain the area surrounding as far as development. No matter how popular a national park is, there is going to be limited access to hotels and transportation around them, the law restricts creation of these types of things. Because they are far away from cities, you are going to have to travel by car to get there, and this is going to mean a drive from the nearest city or starting point through undeveloped areas.
In the southwestern United States, we find several national parks within driving distance of Las Vegas, which is the logical starting point for most trips. Las Vegas is a large city that supports commercial airline traffic and has a large number of hotels and restaurants. Leaving from Las Vegas, you can drive to Zion Canyon in about 2.5 hours, or Bryce, Monument Valley and The Grand Canyon in about 4 hours. The drive is going to be through the desert no matter which park you are visiting, and if you have not driven through the desert before you might not want to make this your first trip, especially if you are driving a car you are not familiar with. The drive can be monotonous and boring, and also can be dangerous if you were to break down as there is no cell service in many areas.
A far better idea is to arrange a private tour of the national park you want to see, or take a semi-private tour by booking a seat on any one of our products. The private tours will reserve the entire bus and will also allow you more say in exactly what we do or see during the trip. The semi-private tours follow a structure and path that we have done many times, one which will assure you that you will see the best stuff and do the best things. Don’t leave it up to chance, potentially get lost and miss seeing the things you drove all that way to see. Let us do the driving for you, and make the arrangements.