Tauck World DiscoveryDiscover Our JourneysWhy Travel With TauckPlanning Your Trip Ask and Share
Journey Finder

Search by Destination:

 
Search by Travel Type:
Arizona Vacation
2009 Itinerary featuring 8 days from $2,399      Family Travel  One Week  US National Parks  
Ask & Share

Visit the NEW www.tauckbridges.com for interactive maps, enhanced slideshows and more information about Tauck's Arizona family vacation and other family tours from Tauck Bridges.

Request a Brochure - Join our mailing list to receive our free full-color brochures by mail.

E-Newsletter - Register for our e-newsletter and get the latest news and offers from Tauck delivered by e-mail.


Share your favorite travel photos taken while traveling on a Tauck vacation, and enter them in our photo contest for a chance to win travel vouchers for Tauck World Discovery.

Share the awe-inspiring wonders of nature’s magnificent handiwork with your family at the Grand Canyon on this enchanting Utah, Nevada and Arizona vacation. Explore Bryce Canyon and Zion national parks, float down the Colorado River through Glen Canyon on a raft, and see the sun rise over the Grand Canyon. At Lake Powell, flightsee over beautiful Rainbow Bridge – then enjoy a choice of activity: explore the area by land on an excursion via four-wheel-drive vehicle to Antelope Canyon, or sightsee the lake on a boat cruise. Discover the cliff dwellings of Montezuma Castle National Monument, ride a horse or mule along scenic trails at Bryce Canyon and view its famous hoodoos, and take a hike at Zion National Park. Every member of your family will be enchanted by all that you’ll see, do and learn together.
Need To KnowSimilar Journeys
Print friendly versionPrinter Icon

2009 Itinerary


Day 1 – Welcome to Arizona, the "Grand Canyon State"
Your family's Arizona vacation begins at Fairmont Scottsdale at 5:30 PM. A transfer is included from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to Fairmont Scottsdale. Arrive early and enjoy the three swimming pools and other resort amenities at your hotel. Meet new friends who will join your family on this Arizona vacation adventure at a welcome barbecue tonight.
Meal: Dinner
Lodging: Fairmont Scottsdale, Scottsdale, AZ

Day 2 – Cliff dwellings at Montezuma Castle
Marvel at the "high-rise apartments" of the prehistoric Sinagua Indians – built more than 600 years ago – at Montezuma Castle National Monument on your way to incredible Grand Canyon National Park. Stay in the heart of the park and experience one of nature’s masterpieces with your family after the crowds depart – and be sure to watch the sun set over the canyon! More than one mile deep, the Grand Canyon is connected with Bryce Canyon and Zion Canyon by a series of cliffs known as the Grand Staircase. Spend the night at your inside-the-park lodge on the canyon's South Rim.
Meals: Breakfast, dinner
Lodging: Kachina or Thunderbird Lodge, Grand Canyon, AZ

Day 3 – Explore the Grand Canyon’s East Rim

Watching the glorious sunrise at the Grand Canyon makes getting up very early for a hike along the canyon's rim well worth it! Keep an eye out for mule deer, squirrels and other wildlife as you spend the rest of the morning enjoying the Grand Canyon as you please. On a guided driving tour of the canyon's East Rim, you’ll stop at Moran Point and Desert View Lookout, each offering a different view of the Grand Canyon, en route to your next destination, lovely Lake Powell in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
Meal: Breakfast
Lodging: Lake Powell Resorts & Marinas, Page, AZ

Day 4 – Fly over Rainbow Bridge and explore more of Lake Powell
Your adventures at man-made Lake Powell, formed from the Colorado River by the Glen Canyon Dam in the 1960s, will be a highlight of your Arizona vacation. Get a bird’s-eye view of the amazing Rainbow Bridge, Glen Canyon and Lake Powell itself on a flightseeing expedition*. (You may wish to take an optional 4-hour flightseeing excursion* to explore famous Monument Valley with a Navajo guide, available at an additional cost of $195 per person; see Available Tour Options at right for details). Later, set off on a boat cruise on the lake or an off-road
expedition by 4-wheel-drive vehicle* to mystical Antelope Canyon in the Navajo Nation. A variety of water sports are yours to enjoy this afternoon at your lakeside resort.
Meals: Breakfast, dinner
Lodging: Lake Powell Resorts & Marinas, Page, AZ

Day 5 – Rafting in Glen Canyon and visiting a cowboy town
No Arizona vacation would be complete without a canyon rafting experience – and your family will never forget floating along the Colorado through Glen Canyon together aboard a pontoon raft* today! Enjoy real western entertainment during lunch in Kanab this afternoon, a town you may recognize as the setting for many "cowboy" movies and TV shows. Continue on to an overnight inside Bryce Canyon National Park, where you're treated to spectacular views of natural bridges, limestone cliffs and astounding stone spires, known as hoodoos, in shades of pink, red and orange.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Bryce Canyon Lodge, Bryce Canyon National Park, UT

Day 6 – Ride the trails of Bryce Canyon's geologic wonderland
The amazing geologic formations of Bryce Canyon put on a magnificent "performance" as the rising sun plays over them – so you may want to get up extra early at your rustic lodge and walk a short distance to catch the show! Weather permitting, you'll saddle up and share the adventure of a trail ride*, on either a horse or a mule, escorted by a cowboy guide who will point out hidden sights within Bryce Canyon. After lunch, it’s off to Zion National Park.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Zion Lodge, Zion National Park, UT

Day 7 – Natural and neon wonders from Utah to Nevada

Spend the morning exploring Zion National Park’s natural treasures – deep canyons, lush valleys, sandstone cliffs, mountain peaks, emerald pools and pink-colored gorges – as you please. This afternoon, journey across the desert to legendary Las Vegas; take in the neon wonders of this "city that never sleeps" before joining us for a farewell dinner as your Nevada, Utah and Arizona vacation comes to an end.
Meals: Breakfast, dinner
Lodging: New York-New York Hotel, Las Vegas, NV

Day 8 – Journey home from Las Vegas
Tauck's family Arizona vacation ends: Las Vegas. Red Rocks & Painted Canyons ends today as you say goodbye to the friends you’ve made. Check-out time is 12:00 noon. Fly home any time; a transfer is included from New York-New York Hotel to Las Vegas' McCarren International Airport. Allow yourself a minimum of two hours to check in for your flight.
Meals: Breakfast
* For activities marked with an asterisk (*) in day-by-day descriptions, participation is at your own risk and a signed liability waiver will be required.

Make 2009 the year to share a Utah and Arizona vacation
with your entire family!




Click here to  chat online with a member of  our Reservations Staff

Check Available Dates
2008 Prices
Book This Journey
View ful size map
View Itinerary Map

Overnight Accommodations
Image gallery
Discuss This Journey
Email A Friend
Print Version
Tour Options
Extend This Journey
TauckAir
View Reading List
Tauck Travel Protection Tour Options

Request A BrochureContact Us