Grand Canyon Destinations — Local services in Four Corners States

It was an okay trip, but is was complicated by some questionable practices.

We took a trip to the South Rim the last week of March. We booked directly through the company nearly two months before. The day before the trip, we got several emails reminding us of our trip and breakfast options and upgrades. My wife called their office to see if there were outlets on the bus. The agent confirmed that there would be USB outlets on the bus. Before we hung up, the agent asked when we were going on the tour. We shared that we had reservations for the next day. The agent shared that they may be calling us to cancel and reschedule and that we needed to switch to a different day in order to guarantee a spot. What? They had already sent us at least three confirmations earlier that morning to confirm our trip for the next day, asked us to upgrade and buy breakfast, and now they are telling us that they need to cancel? If we were to cancel, we must provide at least 24-hours notice, but they don't have to provide the same courtesy.

They say that lunch in included. I ordered a corned beef sandwich. What they don't tell you is that your bus will pull into a Days Inn in Boulder City about a half-an-hour outside of Vegas, you will have to exit the bus, enter the hotel's restaurant, and wait in line to get your lunch at 7:30am. Since the USDA recommends the "2-hour Rule" for unrefrigerated perishables, you should plan on consuming that lunch no later than 9:30am. By the way, the corned beef sandwich boxed lunch that I ordered was actually a few slices of deli roast beef (not corned beef) thrown on a hoagie roll and tossed in a brown paper bag.

The bus did not have USB outlets. It had standard outlets. Fortunately, we were prepared. Since our bus was owned and operated by Windstar (Iowa-based), it is possible that other buses that they use have USB outlets.

The double-decker Windstar bus was okay. The seats could use a good cleaning. A young man a couple of seats in front of us attempted to fasten his seat-belt, but it would not engage. The driver attempted to help, but she was also unsuccessful. She advised him not to fall out of his seat. Fortunately, we were seated in the upper level with a nice panoramic roof. Had we been seated on the first level, we would have felt claustrophobic and confined.

Our guide was pleasant, hospitable, and informative. He offered the walking group tour at a discount on the day of the trip but shared that it had to be paid in cash because the credit card reader was out of order. A passenger across the aisle shared that he would like to take the tour but only had a credit card. The credit card reader was working again!

The website says that "you will have 3 hours to explore the park." The bus dropped us off at the Grand Canyon at 2:02pm. We were told that we needed to be back on the bus at 4:50pm. That's not three hours. While it's close, every minute counts when you give up an entire day of vacation.

The dinner stop was at the same restaurant located in the Days Inn that we stopped at for breakfast/lunch in Boulder City. Even though it was nearly 10pm, and we were only a half-an-hour away from our hotels in Vegas, we "needed" to stop for dinner. The restaurant smelled of fried food and kick-back to the tour company.

Finally, as we were arriving back in Vegas, our guide offered everyone a free gift in exchange for a good review. If you showed him that you left a favorable review online, he would reward you with a free gift. Wow. No thank you. I will leave an honest review and keep my integrity.

This was our second bus tour to the Grand Canyon from Vegas, but it was our first one with Grand Canyon Destinations. All in all, it was worth the trip. Would we do it again? Probably not with Grand Canyon...

We purchased Grand Canyon tour including Skywalk and guided walking tour at the grand canyon. We had such an amazing trip. We were collected at 5.30am on a large coach fully air-conditioned, given water and granola bars on arrival at the bus. We then stopped to collect breakfast if we wanted it (not included but could be pre paid on the bus before arrival at the stop, i got myself a coffee for only $3 amazing considering nothing else is open at this time of the morning). We also collected a pack lunch which was included, which even tho was just a sandwich and some crisps it was lovely, also another bottle of water. Our driver was Christopher, he was a brilliant driver considering the turns can be a bit much, i never felt i wasn't safe while he was driving for the whole tour. We then went on to stop at a truck stop so if we wanted could pick up snacks and go to the bathroom before moving onto the grand canyon. Our first stop was the Skywalk and yes it is well worth it. We decided to purchase the tour of the grand canyon with our tour guide Brandon from our bus and i genuinely don't think i would of seen or done as much in the 4 hours we had at the grand canyon without doing this. Brandon was absolutely brilliant his knowledge was amazing and he constantly made sure at every part of the tour he took everybody's photos. I got some really amazing photos. He never stopped helping us all with taking photos and making sure he showed us the best spots at the grand canyon. After we finished at the grand canyon we moved on to see the Hooverdamm. Just a photo stop but after a long Day that is all i wanted to do was see it in person. We then went on to collect dinner (not included) from the same place we stopped for breakfast. Brandon explained the food was lovely and he was definitely telling the truth. The food was lovely ready for when we arrived and Also it has been the cheapest dinner we have purchased since getting to Las Vegas 5 days ago. We arrived back at the hotel for 6.30pm. Its a long day but honestly i cannot recommend this trip enough we both fully enjoyed our day. Brandon was a brilliant tour guide he knew so much about every place we drove through, stopped at and was so nice and couldn't be more helpful. If you book this trip and you get Brandon you're in for...

The Grand Canyon is, without question, a stunning natural wonder—majestic, awe-inspiring, and absolutely worth the visit. The drive itself was smooth and professional, thanks to our skilled driver who provided a safe and comfortable ride. Rick was our great driver for the day.

However, the overall tour experience left much to be adjusted in several areas. One major concern was the tour host’s, Robert, repeated push to upsell a $25 walking tour. He refused to share any cultural or historical insights about the Hualapai tribe or surrounding community unless participants paid for this add-on. This was disappointing and felt exploitative, especially for a trip advertised as inclusive.

Another SIGNIFICANT issue was the meal stop at an icky place called “The Lighthouse.” This location appeared to be a makeshift conference facility with no visible working kitchen—just greasy boxed breakfasts in white plastic bags. We were kept there for 30 minutes, even if we weren’t purchasing food. Worse, we were told we could not visit nearby businesses during that time.

For people that did not order the mystery box breakfast, there was a 15-MINUTE stop at a gas station that happened to have a Subway, which was within a stones throw from a brand new clean and sparkly Starbucks. We did not have enough time to walk along the side of the highway to get a decent breakfast drink/snack.

My strong advice is to include a stop at the new Starbucks along the way. The Lighthouse stop was just plain weird.

To add to the frustration, on the return trip, the host attempted to stop at this same Lighthouse location again for dinner. No one on the bus expressed interest. That should send a clear message—this meal stop isn’t working and needs to be reconsidered.

In summary: The Grand Canyon was the true highlight of the day, and the driver was excellent. But the tour’s operational choices—especially around food and upselling—took away from an otherwise beautiful experience. With a few simple adjustments and more guest-centered decisions, this tour could be so...