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Grand Canyon Twin Rim Tour |
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The Twin Rim Adventure
(Week-long; all-inclusive; limited season; group or custom tour booking only.)
The
reasonable all-inclusive price of this tour is $1,950.00
(single occupancy) and $1,675.00
(double occupancy). The price of this tour is subject to change and will
be confirmed at time of booking.
However, we are reasonably sure our MD tour prices are set for the season. For
all other general information about MD tours, company, and tour policy, refer
to the main (MD) page on our Web site. Lots of
good information is posted there which covers most of the FAQ's, besides. Thanks.
Please note: This tour is only available for special tour group booking only; otherwis, it will be an open tour listing for the 2008 season. The minimum number of guests for this tour is 8 and the maximum is 50.
When booking this (or any other tour) we will always advise you what to bring
with you so that your tour will be more comfortable, as well as to help cut
down on your luggage.
Keep in mind our MD all-inclusive tours include the following: choice accommodations;
lunch and dinner (with the evening meal starting on the first full day of your
tour) (*), but alcoholic beverages are not included in the price of the
tour and may be purchased separately when dining out; snacks and refreshments;
transportation (from our meeting place and a return to same); all National Park/Monument
entry fees and special admissions; all your camping gear (if the tour warrants);
all host and special guest speaker fees (if the tour warrants); and all side
excursion tours, such as rafting, jeep tours, horseback riding, etc.
(*) A continental breakfast is usually included in most of the hotels we use on all of our tours, but breakfast is otherwise on your own when not available in the hotels we use along the way in any of our SD or MD tours. Please inquire at time of booking.
TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:
This preferential tour is for those of you who want to see how truly unique
both rims of the Grand Canyon really are - all in one tour of diverse scenery,
delight and things to see and do. Get ready for a grand adventure at an affordable
price.
Here is a day-by-day account of what we have in store for you on this full week's adventure. . .
DAY 01/SUNDAY:
If you're traveling by air, we'll meet you in Phoenix where you will spend the
night in a high quality resort hotel (pool, spa, HBO, restaurant, etc.). There
is a regular airport shuttle service available to this choice location or we
would be happy to arrange a limousine transfer for you. Evening is at your leisure
and dinner is on your own once you get there. If you're flying into Las Vegas
instead we suggest booking a flight to Phoenix as this EZ CIRKLE tour begins
and ends here in the valley. Connecting flights are inexpensive and frequent.
We recommend flying (or driving) in early so that you can take in some of the
great sights the Phoenix region has to offer. And if you are driving to meet
us, when you depart in the morning your vehicle will be perfectly safe to leave
in the parking lot of the hotel.
DAY 02/MONDAY:
Your host will meet you in the lobby of your hotel at 8:30 a.m. Following
introductions, your high country adventure will take you north toward the magnificent
Colorado Plateau country, headed to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Along
the way we'll stop for lunch in breathtaking SEDONA, about 2 hours away, allowing
time for sightseeing in this land of red rocks and stunning beauty. After lunch
you'll drive up nearby Oak Creek Canyon for the ride of your life. We'll slow
down on the curves that wind through this gorgeous scenery and there will be
plenty of time for photo opportunities. Once at the top of this highly scenic
route, you'll drive through the city of Flagstaff, home of Arizona's tallest
mountains, the San Francisco Peaks. Another 2 hours drive through the cool,
high forests of this mountain-volcano landscape and you'll be just outside the
South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Just outside the park entrance, you'll
be taken to another excellent hotel located in Tusayan (pronounced "too-see-ann")
where you will have time to freshen up before the evening that's still ahead
of you. Before dinner you will enjoy seeing the Grand Canyon on film at the
highly acclaimed IMAX theater - a giant 7-story high presentation that brings
new meaning to the phrase "in your face." Over dinner your host will gladly
discuss and entertain the questions you and your traveling companions are bound
to bring up now that you are finally here.
DAY 03/TUESDAY:
After breakfast, you will enter into GRAND CANYON National Park (just 2 miles
away) at the South Gate entrance where you will enjoy an entire day of leisurely
sightseeing. We even know some select, private vistas where you can avoid the
usual crowds, thereby creating an almost private setting for you and your traveling
companions. Later in the day you will depart for the eastern sector of the canyon,
toward Desert View. From this perspective you can see across the vastness of
the famed Marble Platform that lies far below the high canyon rim country. And
below the canyon's elevated shores you will also see the equally awe-inspiring
Painted Desert. Soon after leaving the South Rim at the eastern sector, you
will stop for a visit and take a closer look at the huge and ragged scar of
the Marble Platform you first saw from Desert View. This is the gorge of the
Little Colorado River, one of the principal tributaries that feeds into the
mighty Colorado River. The nearby Navajo and Hopi Indians also sell their art
work along this stretch of the road, so if you're in the mood for Native American
shopping you might find what you're looking for here. By late in the afternoon
you will arrive near Cameron where you will settle in for the night, including
enjoying a fine dinner. Here on the desert floor, you are now on the Navajo
Indian Reservation and your host will be happy to talk to you about the history
and culture of these fascinating people who now prefer to be known as the "Dineh"
(pronounced, dee-nay), which means "the People."
DAY 04/WEDNESDAY:
After breakfast there will be time to stop and shop at the nearby Cameron Trading
Post. At this famous trading post you will find an abundance of authentic hand-crafted
Native American jewelry, rugs, baskets, pottery and art work, most of which
is fairly priced. By mid-morning we will depart for the 'other' Grand Canyon,
the NORTH RIM. Along the way we will drive past some of the most stunning geologic
scenery that is common throughout this crossing from South to North. Sometime
before lunch you will cross the Colorado River where it slices its way into
the beginnings of the Marble Gorge you have been riding across for most of the
morning. We'll stop for a unique photo op from the bridge where the Colorado
River passes quietly below your lofty perch. Then we'll take a little detour
and visit the Southwest's most famous river crossing, Lees Ferry, an historic
gateway where Mile 0 of the Grand Canyon officially begins (by way of river),
and where all the rafts are launched for this rousing aquatic odyssey. A little
later, you will stop near the Vermilion Cliffs at the area's most famous (and
in our view, the best) restaurant. They even offer a menu of over 130 beers
from all over the world. By early afternoon you will be driving back up the
other side toward the high Kaibab (pronounced "ki-bob") Plateau which takes
you to the North Rim. Be on the lookout for the region's newly reintroduced
California condors - huge vultures sporting 10 foot long wingspans. Once at
the top of the plateau you will drive through the dense, lush forests that surround
the (cooler) North Rim country of the Grand Canyon. By late afternoon we will
be at our destination for the night, in comfortable lodgings located just outside
the park entrance. After you have had time to freshen up, you and your traveling
companions will drive inside the park where a place has been reserved for you
at the best restaurant throughout the region.
DAY 05/THURSDAY:
After breakfast, we'll drive back into the park where you will have plenty of
light to see the canyon in all her splendor from this, the higher North Country
view (averages 8,000 to 9,000 feet in elevation). Unlike the view from the opposing
(and lower) South Rim, here on the high North Rim the buttes, amphitheaters
and ramparts of the inner canyon (also known as the "Mountains below the summit")
are astonishingly close to view. The North Rim thereby affords a more personal,
intimate (and certainly a less crowded) view of the Grand Canyon's exquisite
tapestry of color and scenery. You will spend most of the day touring some of
the North Rim's most famous viewing sites such as Point Imperial, the highest
point along the rim (nearly 9,000 feet above sea level), and Cape Royal. There
will also be plenty of time to rest, relax, shop, or take even more photos or
video shots of this geologic paradise. Later, we will spend the evening and
night on the famous "Arizona Strip" country, at Kanab, Utah - a rustic setting
of historic importance for the early pioneers who came to settle this rough
region of isolated geography. Your choice accommodations will welcome you to
a good night's rest, preceded by a great dinner.
DAY 06/FRIDAY:
You're not quite finished with the Grand Canyon country yet, because we have
a very special scenic treat in store for you today. Just after an early breakfast,
and weather and road conditions permitting, we are going to drive to a place
where the canyon walls actually come as close as one half mile - the TOROWEAP
OVERLOOK. Much of the scenery along the way will be through the dense forest
and pygmy forest (the juniper and pine country) that complement the region.
The drive will be worth the distance to travel, for the exhilarating view straight
down to the bottom of the canyon is some 3,000 feet. From this lofty perch the
Colorado River now seems more like a thread than it does a fast flowing river
of notable size. For lunch we will plan on a picnic near the overlook, just
so we can have more time to spend in the solitude and seclusion of this western
Grand Canyon setting. By late in the afternoon we should be somewhere back on
the main highway and headed toward world famous LAKE POWELL. The changing scenery
along the way, from high forests to desert sculpted landscape, is magnificent.
You will have time to visit the colossal concrete dam where the waters of the
Colorado River are first impounded above the Grand Canyon. Elegant accommodations
awaits you after your long day; your evening first topped off by a memorable
Southwest-style farewell dinner for you and your traveling companions.
DAY 07/ATTURDAY:
We've got a long and scenic drive ahead of us, and just after breakfast we'll
be driving toward Flagstaff where we'll stop for a farewell lunch. But first
we want to show you what many consider to be the finest overview of the Marble
Platform country you came through on your way across to the North Rim country.
From the viewing area high atop the Echo Cliffs just outside of Page, the astonishing
view out in front of you seemingly goes on forever. Sometime by the late afternoon
you will be let off at the hotel where you first began, and where your host
will bid you farewell, safe travels and happy trails. The evening as well as
dinner is on your own, but your spacious comfortable room is still on us. Bus/limo
or cab service is available and there are decent to fine restaurants within
walking distance if you prefer to eat away from the hotel.
HAPPY TRAILS from all of us here at ECOSOUTHWEST.COM and we hope to see your smiling face on this exciting adventure. Contact us (preferably by e-mail) and let us know if you need more information. We're good for it and a whole lot more.
FYI: The following (average) mileage between the major scenic points is what highlights this particular tour:
| Phoenix | Sedona | 113 m. |
| Sedona | Flagstaff | 85 m. |
| Flagstaff | South Rim | 32 m. |
| South Rim | Cameron | 59 m. |
| Cameron | Marble Canyon | 74 m. |
| Marble Canyon | Jacob Lake | 41 m. |
| Jacob Lake | North Rim | 43 m. |
| North Rim | Kanab | 80 m. |
| Kanab | Lake Powell | 75 m. |
| Lake Powell | Flagstaff | 134 m. |
| Flagstaff | Phoenix | 145 m. |
Here is some additional mileage for those of you considering extending your tour in this region:
| South Rim | Jacob Lake | 165 m. |
| South Rim | North Rim | 208 m. |
| North Rim | Zion | 250 m. |
| North Rim | Panguitch | 275 m. |
| Zion | Lake Powell | 117 m. |
| Flagstaff | Kanab | 207 m. |
| Flagstaff | Bryce Canyon | 223 m. |
| Flagstaff | Page | 134 m. |
| Flagstaff | Monument Valley | 151 m. |
| Flagstaff | Canyon de Chelly | 225 m. |
| Flagstaff | Gallup | 186 m. |
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