Amazing - stunning views and scenery (Grand Canyon National Park)

Member Name: emmajt81

Product:	Grand Canyon National Park
Date:	21/09/09 (40 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Views are breathtaking

Disadvantages: None

Going to Vegas we decided to do a trip to the Grand Canyon - a once in a lifetime trip to one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. It's about a 2 and a half / 3 hours drive from Vegas and as my friend is scared of flying we did the coach trip rather than helicopter (which I wanted to do)!

We booked before we went and it cost $140 per person (about £85) and included the coach tour, lunch and a walk out on the Skywalk (more on that later). Not a bad price to be honest. Ours was the West Rim Bus Tour (the best tour is the West Rim one).

We got picked up at Ballys Hotel (opposite ours) in Vegas and were shuttled to Planet Hollywood where we had to queue up and get our tickets. We didn't have to pay til the day of the trip (just reserve it on a credit card) and we paid cash. We were given stickers to wear with our coach number on it and then were allowed a free drink (water or fruit juice) and a breakfast bar (cereal bar) for the coach journey. We got on the coach and our driver was also our tour guide and we set off at 7.30am. Our driver was very knowledgeable and narrated during the whole drive. He knew everything - we drove through Henderson, Boulder City and up to the Hoover Dam which is on the Nevada and Arizona state line. You get out for a photo op here - and a stop at the gift shop of course! Then you set back out on the road to the Canyon in Arizona. You have to drive along a dirt track (which is apparently being concreted next year) so was a bit bumpy towards the end. You drive through a Joshua Tree forest on the way as well which is quite stunning - in fact all the scenery is as you drive through the desert.

Arriving at the Canyon you get off at the main terminal. You follow your driver into the terminal where you are handed your park tickets. If you've bought Skywalk or helicopter tickets in advance you'll be given these too. We got there at about 10.45am in the end and were told to return to the coach at 2.45pm - so we had 4 hours at the Canyon which is more than enough. There are three main places at the Canyon West - Eagle Point where the Skywalk is located, Guano Point which gives better views and a better place to eat lunch and an Indian Tribe point where again you can eat, and watch tribal dances from the Walapai tribe. There is a coach service which does all these points (all included in the ticket price). You can also buy tickets for the helicopters here if you fancy a ride to the bottom of the Canyon on one - you will need state issued ID for this though (i.e. a passport). We were told to bring passports along for our trip but never showed them once. From the main terminal you can get on a coach to go to the Indian Tribe point, and then when you've finished you come back to the main terminal and get another coach to Eagle Point - this bus also drops off at Guano Point afterwards. The buses are about every ten minutes. We didn't go to the Indian Tribe point, just Guano and Eagle so we got on the bus that went to those.

Stopping at Eagle Point first, we were stunned by the scenery - it is beautiful. The Walapai tribe who own and maintain the National Park don't believe in handrails or anything, so you can literally just walk off the edge. I suppose it so it stays as natural as possible but it is quite dangerous - people were teetering on the edge to get pictures looking down - one wrong move and they'd have fallen to their death! Was simply stunning though. You can just about see the Colorado River from this point but its better viewed from Guano Point around the corner of the Canyon. Eagle Point is named because of the rock formation looks like an Eagle with it's wings spread. The Indians believe it will keep their nation safe. It's quite easy to spot this - but careful you don't fall off the edge trying to get a picture! There are cracks all over the Canyon (some quite wide), so as you step over them you can see straight down for 4000 feet. Very scary!

Eagle Point though is where the Skywalk is situated - if you didn't buy tickets in advance you can buy tickets there and then (cheaper in advance though). The Skywalk was opened in 2006 and is basically a manmade structure or bridge that hangs 70 feet over the Canyon. The floor is glass so it's literally like you're walking on air. Not for the faint hearted. My friend held onto the handrail the entire time! I thought it was amazing though - looking down and seeing thousands of feet of nothing underneath you is quite surreal and breathtaking. Not only that but because you descend 70 feet over the edge of the Canyon a little bit you get much better views. You can't take anything on the Skywalk (no cameras!) and you have to wear plastic bags over your shoes. You get free lockers to put your stuff in which you get back after the Skywalk. There are plenty of official photographers though (of course) so you can have loads of pictures taken and pick the best ones. They have you laying down, sitting down, everything! It's like a mini photoshoot! It's pretty amazing being out there in thin air though. The glass sheets have half inch gaps between them (on the floor) which makes it even more scary and there is also a gap all the way round between the glass floor and the glass wall (about a foot). My friend wasn't impressed!! I thought it was amazing though.

Photos are quite expensive - they were $30 each or 4 for $100. I paid the $100 (gasp) and ended up with all rest of the pictures we had taken put on a USB stick for free (about 20 pics) so I can print these off at home if I want to. The pictures come framed and you also get a free gift which is some pens, a hat and a t shirt. So if you're going to buy all that junk anyway at least you get it free! There's a gift shop at Eagle Point too that sells lots of old toot (all the usual souvenir tat but you have to buy something - it is the Grand Canyon after all!).

Then we queued up for the coach to take us to Guano Point. There are much better views here and you can walk around a lot further than at Eagle Point. There are lots of hills which people were climbing all the way to top of and taking pictures up there - I didn't wear the best footwear for this outing so I didn't bother with that! There's some stunning views of the Colorado River and I got some great pictures that look like they are out of a book the views are so stunning. It really is quite eerie and magical standing there amongst it all. We walked around the corner to a bit where there were no people and literally just sat on the edge overlooking the river and Canyon in the slience and it was amazing. We had lunch here - you hand in your meal voucher that was attached to your park ticket - it wasn't great - I think it varies everyday but it filled a rather large hole! There are benches outside so you can eat your lunch with the view of the Canyon around you - amazing. There's no gift shop here - there is a big gift shop at the main terminal though for when you head back.

We probably had time to go to the Indian Tribe point but instead just sat at Guano Point and took in the views (and a lot of pictures!). We didn't fancy rushing about in the heat and felt that we had seen what we wanted to see at the Canyon. We headed back at about 2pm to the main terminal on the bus and browsed the gift shop (where you get a free certificate and gift if you buy something) and then headed back onto the coach. We had a film played for a couple of hours (Iron Man) until we reached the Hoover Dam again, and then our driver made 2 extra special stops - he says he doesn't do it all the time but I bet he does. We stopped at Lake Mead next to the Dam on the Nevada side -which was stunning. And then in the town of Boulder City to look at some curly horned sheep (the national animal of the state of Nevada). Quite random but extra bits to our trip we weren't expecting!

We finally got back to Vegas at about 7pm and were dropped direct back at our hotels which was nice. The Canyon was amazing - once in a lifetime experience and I would highly recommend doing this if you're going to Vegas. It does take a whole day and is rather tiring (we were up at 5.30am and back in the hotel at 7.30pm) but is SO worth it. The views are stunning and I am so glad I went. Plus it wasn't very expensive either.

Summary: Very high, no handrails and not for the faint hearted, But AMAZING and a must see!!