Grand Canyon Expeditions — Attraction in Four Corners States

I did an 8 day motorized raft trip with Grand Canyon Expeditions in late Aug. When not adventuring I run a large Sailing School in the Pacific Northwest. I see a lot of parallels between teaching someone to sail and rafting the Grand Canyon. Both experiences take people out of their comfort zones and into an environment that has some element of risk. Many of those risks are novel to the participants. The participants come with some level of excitement, anxiety and expectation. My company works very hard to put our participants at ease while maintaining a high level of professionalism and customer service. Our reviews are outstanding. Here is my review of Grand Canyon Expeditions. Overall experience, 3 out of 5. I will say that the Trip Leader made efforts to provide the whole trip with the best experiences. He planned stops and campsites with intention to get us to waterfalls and hikes before or after other large groups. We were the only group at Havasu Creek for 90 minutes which was outstanding. Here is where my review is going to deviate from the others. I found the customer service skills of both the Trip Leader and the other Boat Captain to be lacking. The overall disrespect was so bad that on the morning of day #4 I took both TL and BC aside to express my level of dissatisfaction with the disrespect I was experiencing. Some of the disrespect was around an autoimmune disorder which precludes me consuming any gluten products. Another participant on the trip is also gluten free. We both filled out our paperwork prior to the trip stating this. While on the trip I continued to stay vigilante as I am completely incapacitated by gluten. My inquiries into ingredients were often met with annoyance, and sometimes flat out disrespect. Other instances of disrespect centered around inquiries I made not related to food.

Day 3, post-dinner. TL comes goes over to a group to talk about tent setup (it was raining on and off). Someone mentioned my name and the weather forecast I had downloaded on my inReach. I joined the conversation and started to say something about the BC and her downloaded forecast but could not finish before the TL cut me off with “Jesus Christ” and walked away. I also saw TL treat another woman traveling alone disrespectfully. He left a beach without her on board because he did not do a head count. She was in the river emptying her bladder. He then made it about her and how he was doing her a favor this one time when he returned to the pick her up. Those of us in industries that serve clients know that we don’t like all of them. It’s actually ok to not like a client. What is not ok is for the client to be treated disrespectfully. I have a number of people interested in my experience who are looking for a Grand adventure. You can imagine I will not be recommending Grand Canyon Expeditions. Someone on our trip said Grand Canyon Expeditions was the only one with availability still in Aug and we went on our trip 6 clients short. Perhaps there is a...

Nearly 30 years ago, on our erstwhile honeymoon, penniless, driving across country with everything we owned in my Jeep, we stopped at the South Rim for a couple of hours. Took some pictures. Wandered through the visitors center. Then got back on the road. Stupidly, I was in a hurry to start my new life after the Army. I remember telling Jules, "Not to worry, we'll be back soon, and we'll do it right."

Well, almost 3 decades later, we did it right.

8 days on a raft with an excellent outfit - Grand Canyon Expeditions.

Soaked to the bone most of the time.

Raging through famous Class 10 rapids - Crystal, Lava Falls. Shivering.

Caught out in howling monsoon thunderstorms with hurricane-force winds that flattened tents, blew away our camp, and pelted us with rain like stinging bees.

In awe as the sky was ripped by spiderwebs of lightning all night.

Sipping scalding coffee in the predawn gloom and watching the sun hit the upper rim and the sky glow with a tapestry of color.

Witnessing seldom seen waterfalls born 1000's of feet above us and cascading in steps down to the river, like something from Lord of the Rings.

Some days soaking up glorious sunshine, skies of cobalt blue.

Hiking narrow slot canyons to clear, cool pools and a lush breathtaking oasis on Deer Creek.

Climbing up to ancient Native American ruins.

Gazing up at the most jawdroppingly star-filled skies you've ever seen.

Bathing in the silvery beams of a full moon.

"Bathing" in the chocolate-milk silty river.

And peeing in it.

Tossing down countless Modelos.

Belly laughing with new friends who instantly felt like old friends.

Chatting amiably with fellow rafters as we wait in line to do the daily deuce in a communal metal can.

Chowing down on amazing meals with the most gobstopping views you can imagine.

"Sleeping" under the open sky in soggy sleep gear.

Speeding through the final miles of what was Lake Meade at 40 MPH in a jet boat.

Jules was a trooper. A badass. I'm the luckiest guy I know. She tells me she gets to plan our 35th. 🙂

Our boatmen and swampers were outstanding - Art, Bacco, Maddie, and Laure Lee!

It was the trip of a lifetime. Been dreaming of it for 30 years. Sure hope I get to do it again someday. d

I can recommend Grand Canyon Expeditions without reservation. We had an...

I had the opportunity to take an 8 day rafting trip with Grand Canyon Expeditions in early May, 2016.

Let me cut to the bottom line: I am a very difficult person to please / satisfy. That said, I couldn’t be any happier with the experience I had with Grand Canyon Expeditions. I literally had nothing to complain about. Can you imagine satisfying a difficult client for 8 straight days (AND, all of my communications with GCE’s beforehand)? Well, this company did.

Admittedly, GCE’s has competitors. I cannot speak to what they offer their clients. I can only reflect on my experience with GCE. I feel very confident that you will be pleased with your experience with GCE as well.

Our river guides were Adam and Ann-Marie (spouses). They typically only take one trip a year together (due to children). I genuinely believe having either one on your trip would meaningfully increase the enjoyment of / on your journey…they were both awesome. Period.

I want to briefly touch on specifics that may matter to you (and speaks to the attitude of GCE’s). Coffee served every morning on our trip was locally roasted, very good, coffee. They had a form of milk for the coffee (versus powdered creamer). Meats served were locally raised, organic, and free range. Fruit served was fresh, and cut up every morning. Eggs were often made to order. Salads were fresh and very good indeed. I am a pescatarian. I recognize this could potentially be a hassle for all involved. They bent over backwards to satisfy me – and they did so daily (offering me a variety of fish and vegetables, again, daily).

Make no mistake: this is a firm that pays attention to details. Further, I feel confident that you will genuinely like their staff. I strongly believe that I will utilize them again in the future…

A final thought, like nearly everyone else, I strongly encourage you to raft the Grand Canyon. I have been all over the world…I have never experienced anything like this trip. I would caution you to choose the time of year you go carefully. Weather is undoubtedly a consideration in the desert. Good luck and enjoy the experience … I...