Cosmos Tours

Exploring America's National Parks Reviews

24 Exploring America's National Parks reviews from past travellers that booked with Global Journeys.
4.75
AVG. RATING 4.75 / 5
24 Reviews
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National Parks superb scenery   1 , NSW, Australia, May 2023
We are not new to Global Journeys and our fabulous consultant, Jemma. We will continue to use them for future travels. The Cosmos tour of the western National Parks covered an enormous area. We travelled in early May and it was just perfect. We still had snow on the mountains, beautiful days and the wildlife coming awake after winter- stunning! Our ...read more tour director, Daryl and driver, Mark were professional and very experienced making the journey comfortable and interesting.
National Parks   4 , CT, United States, Oct 2022
Breathtaking experience of the National Parks with an unbelievable tour director, Steve Osten, who has a wealth of experience and knowledge of the National Parks and driver Gerry Rodriguez, who was a safe, experienced driver who took meticulous care of his bus!!! Both were exceptional!! I would take a tour with these guys anywhere!!!!!
Best coach trip we have ever been on. 3 , NSW, Australia, Jun 2022
On behalf of my wife and I, this is a review for a 15 day Cosmos motor coach tour of USA National Parks, from Las Vegas, that we recently experienced. We were blessed with wonderful blue skies every day which made great contrast for good photos with the many beautiful coloured rock formations and canyons we visited. The many National Parks we saw were ...read more all different which added to the experience, Mother Nature at her finest, just awesome. My highlight was the Bryce Canyon, even outdoing Grand Canyon. Another highlight was Yellowstone National Park and because of the ample time allowed by our Tour Director of over 2 hours, we experienced 2 eruptions of ' Old Faithful ' Geyser.

Our Tour Director, Matt Ojile, was extremely professional in every way. Nothing was too much trouble, his commentary was very entertaining and we learnt much about the history and geology of where we visited. Matt was backed up by our very safe driver, Ricardo. We did over 3,400 miles for the whole journey. The rest stops every 2 hours or so, were well accepted. The overnight accommodation was good but a few didn't have coffee making facilities or fridge, otherwise, very comfortable. We also had no problems with Covid. Would certainly use Global Journeys and Cosmos again in the future.
Canyons and National Parks of America. 3 , NSW, Australia, Aug 2019
Highly recommend this sightseeing tour of the most amazing topography anywhere could offer. The Cosmos tour was well run and accommodation was clean & very comfortable. A fast paced tour that covered over 5,000km with a careful and courteous driver. The scenery was amazing, our brains are full!!!
An Awesome Tour of Nature's Wonderland 6 , NSW, Australia, Jun 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed this tour and would highly recommend it to others. I have a love of nature and natural landscapes and am a keen amateur photographer, so this tour was perfect and everything I had hoped it would be. We had a group of 36 from various countries as well as some from the USA, which was a good number and everyone got on very well.

Our ...read more tour guide Matt was excellent, and his knowledge of the national parks we were visiting was awesome, as he has done long hikes in most of them. Just a warning to anyone considering this tour who can’t handle heights at all – there are a lot of high mountain passes (many with winding roads and lots of hair pin bends), as well as high lookouts! In fact, I was surprised at the amount of times we crossed high mountain passes.

The road through the Colorado National Monument is extremely high, narrow and winding, with no barriers – I didn’t enjoy that section of the trip (about 2 hrs of driving) as I don't like high roads, although the views when we stopped at the lookouts were amazing. Our driver Randy was an excellent and experienced driver and drove up and down the winding roads extremely carefully.

There was so much to see on this tour, but the highlights for me were Arches National Park, Mt Rushmore, Yellowstone NP and Zion NP. We saw some amazing wildlife both in the national parks and as we drove along outside the parks - black bears, bison including calves, elk, deer, prairie dogs and moose.

The hotel accommodation was excellent and much better than I had expected – at least 4 star in all places except Cody, where we had individual rustic cabins - only about 3 star. Although acceptable, I think Cosmos should review the accommodation at Cody, as the Buffalo Bill Resort has 2 other hotels on site that would be better than the cabins.

We had a couple of early starts, but we usually got in at quite a reasonable time each evening. We often stopped near supermarkets for morning tea or lunch, which made it great for buying something easy for lunch or to stock up on snacks/fruit etc. There were only 6 breakfasts included and a couple of these were only continental.

I chose to go on the optional Navajo Cookout at the end of our tour of Monument Valley, and although I enjoyed the barbecue and salad and the talk by the Navajo guide, I don’t think it was really value for money and another guest agreed with me, as we had expected more cultural things such as some dancing and native stories. I also did the optional dinner of the Temple Restaurant dinner in Salt Lake City. Although not cheap, it was a fantastic buffet meal 10 stories above the temple square. The food was superb and the atmosphere wonderful – I would highly recommend this optional tour.

Thanks so much to Madeleine Lewis at Global Journeys for her great patience with my endless emails! I would definitely use Global Journeys again.
Beautiful National Parks of America 7 , QLD, Australia, May 2019
This was a well organised trip that I would recommend to others. Lisa was an extremely good tour guide. The coast driver Randy was excellent. The motels were all good. I believe it was great value for money. Jemma from Global Journeys was a pleasure to deal with. Both my husband and I had an amazing time.
Great experience with wonderful scenery 2 , QLD, Australia, Jul 2018
This tour gave us a great experience of a number of national parks. The tour director and driver were great. Some days involved a bit of driving but that was expected. The scenery made up for the longer trips.
Those Awesome National Parks of the USA 9 , VIC , Australia, May 2018
This tour was new to Cosmos and it was a terrific experience. Our tour leader was Jim and his capable tour driver was Randy. These guys really complimented and upgraded the tour with their personal styles and presentations. The itinerary was sublime as we meandered through the most glorious scenery some in difficult driving spots.

There were many ...read more highlights being The Grand Canyon with the optional helicopter ride, Monument Valley, Arches National Park, Yellowstone, Bryce National Parks, Salt Lake City and the lovely unknown and friendly towns such as Cody and Custer. Las Vegas was an interesting visit---we had a booking glitch on our arrival and this was promptly sorted out by the hotel SLS to our satisfaction.

To our Global Journeys rep Madeline Lewis we say a big thank you for her care, warmth and patience. We had heaps of questions and even made a cancellation and a change of date - even had trouble using the website because we are computer dunces but Madeline handled everything with aplomb and patience. We would thoroughly recommend Global Journeys/Cosmos for the tour of your life.
Great Trip Through the National Parks 11 , WA, Australia, May 2018
This Cosmos trip was an excellent way to see the National Parks of America. It was fairly fast paced as there were only 2, 2 night stopovers in the 15 days. The accommodation was very good in all but one place, Cody. This accommodation was in a very small cabin, no fridge or coffee machine and very cramped with 2 double beds in the room. I would recommend ...read more that future tours include all breakfasts in the booking as there's not a lot of time in the mornings to find somewhere to eat before having to depart for the days journey.

Booking through Global journeys was easy and problem free, and I would book through them again. The Cosmos Tour Director, Jim Grenfell, was an excellent tour director, very knowledgeable about all the places we visited and nothing was too much trouble for him. I would certainly recommend this tour to anyone who wants a 'taste' of the National Parks as they are all very different and interesting.
Striking scenery 5 , WA, Australia, Sep 2017
Georgie at Global Journeys was friendly and efficient as always and the booking process through was smooth and seamless. The tour covered a lot of ground and the landscapes (when not shrouded in fog, mist and rain) were varied and spectacular. The sheer number of animal sightings was a highlight of the trip. Animals sighted included a herd of bison ...read more conveniently located next to the road, a foraging grizzly, pronghorn antelope, mule deer, elk (including a male with huge antlers encountered in the car park of the Grant Village Lodge), mountain goats (at Mount Rushmore), squirrels and prairie dogs.

Dense fog prevented the tour group from viewing the monument to Crazy Horse and the majestic peaks of the Grand Tetons. Heavy snowfall in Yellowstone led to the closure of roads within the national park which necessitated a series of detours that meant a whole day of sightseeing was lost. Bad weather is part and parcel of the travel experience and the tour guide, Todd did his best to lift the spirits of the group. He also found alternative accommodation for us in West Yellowstone when access to our accommodation in Grant Village was blocked.

The standard of accommodation was better than I expected . The only disappointments were in relation to the hotels in Keystone (the room was the size of a shoe box), Salt Lake City (the wifi was intermittent and unreliable) and Page (the hotel corridors, lifts and common areas were grubby).
Covered some miles but an awesome sock dropping experience 9 , NSW, Australia, Aug 2017
We were part of a large 49 member tour group but we were comfortably seated in an almost brand new coach. Our driver, David, was excellent. Our guide, Steve, was an enthusiastic experienced guide who kept us entertained each day. We certainly travelled extensively through 5-6 States and saw a lot of country which was enjoyable.

What I wanted from ...read more the tour was to see some of the great natural landscapes - Black Hills of Dakota; Yellowstone; Grand Tetons, Zion, Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon. They did not disappoint and far exceeded my expectations. The accommodation providers varied; but overall, the only place I didn't like was Harrah's in Las Vegas. The highlight for me was walking around the rim of the Grand Canyon for 3-4 hours one afternoon enjoying the scenery, ravens and solitude. For my husband, he hasn't stopped talking about the Antelope Canyon in Page near Lake Powell. He would love to have another look.
Amazing Parks and Canyon tour   5 , NSW, Australia, Jul 2017
Had a great time on this trip especially seeing Bryce Canyon, Zion and Yellowstone. Enjoyed meeting a lot of new people from other countries. Accommodation was generally good and our coach was very comfortable. Most of the optional excursions were worth the extra money but found the Snake River Float way too long and expensive. We found Global Journeys ...read more very easy to deal with, as we booked this trip very late and nothing was too much trouble.
Amazing   7 , NSW, Australia, Jul 2017
The 14 day Cosmos tour of the National Parks and Canyon Country in the U.S was amazing. I enjoyed all the sites that we visited. I would have preferred to spend more time within nature at the parks and places of interest rather than move on so quickly. Time spent in nature would have been more restorative and perhaps given more opportunity to observe ...read more wildlife. The allocated time at some places of interest was too short to take in/or see all that was on offer e.g Buffalo bill Museum at Cody.

Overall an amazing trip and offered all that was promised. The optional excursions were all a treat and thoroughly enjoyable. The coach and bus driver were excellent. The accommodation was excellent - probably exceeded my expectations.

I found the tour guide O.K. There was an incident involving other guests which impacted other members of the group. I feel that the tour guide could have managed this situation in a more timely and assertive manner. Also, the return flight (Las Vegas-Los Angeles) was delayed which meant staying in los Angeles another night. This complicated the travel back home. Overall a great trip. I would like to do it again....and spend some extra time!
Well planned trip through Americas National Parks! A must!   7 , VIC, Australia, Jul 2017
A really well planned trip by Cosmos. Tour guide and especially driver were really friendly and smart enough to arrange special additional stops if we were doing good time. And what really stuck out for me was the quality of people Cosmos attracted. Really lovely people that had travelled Cosmos before. As you know there's nothing worse than travelling ...read more with awful people!
My lovely birthday trip   4 , New Zealand, May 2017
First we want to thank Leanne from Global Journeys NZ, who had made our trip run smoothly. She was a well organised person. Every query was answered on the same day, If she couldn't get it, she would dig the information out from the tour operator, so we would feel relief. It wasn't a worry if she was not available, someone from Global Journey's Australia ...read more provided us the answer. Will certainly go back to Global Journeys for the future trips.

As for the Cosmos tour itself, we felt so delighted. Though it classified as budget tour, we didn't feel that. This was also a well organised tour. The hotels mostly provided 2 queen beds and big rooms. Only 2 were smaller and dated. But it's not a big deal as mostly we spent only 1 night to have a sleep. Along Denver to Las Vegas, on the road, mostly the views were lovely. If some were boring, you could take a nap. At every washroom stop, you would get something beautiful to photo. The included views were so stunning and breathtaking.

This tour would give extra stops for you to take beautiful views. The falls, lakes, mountains, snows,etc. The weather we had on that time were mixed: windy, snowy, cold, warm & burning hot, but we didn't complain as we loved these and we couldn't ask for perfection. A little disappointment was the tour guide always put us on the very back of the hotel isles, so we needed to turn and turn to find our room when we already felt tired, while the others always had better room locations. Anyway we would go back to this tour again maybe in 3 years time. Thank you Global Journeys & Cosmos, you made our holiday beautiful.
Sightseeing at its best. 3 , QLD, Australia, Sep 2016
This holiday was one of the best holidays I have ever been on. The scenery was stunning and the tour guide Darren and bus driver Michael made this tour so much fun. Nothing was too much trouble and I loved that plenty of time was allowed for photos of the awesome scenery and sights. This tour absolutely exceeded all my expectations.
Covered some beautiful scenery 1 , QLD, Australia, May 2015
This was an excellent, well paced tour which covered some beautiful scenery. The weather was surprisingly cool for early June and we even had snow in South Dakota and Wyoming, but the rain held off most days so it was good walking weather. Some of the hotels were not up to the usual Cosmos standard but none were below 2 star. As always the tour guide, ...read more Scotty, was friendly and knowledgeable and the driver was extremely competent. I would recommend this trip to anyone.
A great tour and we would highly recommend it 2 , Australia, Sep 2014
Very good tour, covered a lot of ground and saw a lot. We feel that what would make this tour that little but more enjoyable is if most breakfasts were included. Although most hotels we stayed out offered breakfast at an additional charge, it would have been most cost effective and convenient to have it included in the tour cost. The coach driver was ...read more very friendly and helpful and kept the coach spotless. The tour guide was very helpful, personable and knowledgeable. We covered a lot of ground, and saw a lot. The regular convenient stops were appreciated, and the stops at places such as Walmart gave passengers a chance to stock up on cheaper snacks and food which again was appreciated. The optional excursions were good, and well organised. The only one which was a bit disappointing was the one at antelope canyon. Although the site was spectacular, we felt we were pushed through very quickly and weren't given a chance to really look at and appreciate the natural beauty. Overall it was a great tour and we would highly recommend it.
We had so many 'wow' experiences 4 , Australia, Sep 2014
This tour was excellent! We had so many 'wow' experiences as we travelled through superb scenery. Our tour guide, Kellie, was capable and informative whilst our driver, Juan, drove the brand new bus with much skill. We covered more than 3,000 miles during the tour but had regular breaks for photo opportunities, lunch and morning and afternoon tea. We ...read more learnt about characters from the Wild West and the history of the National Parks we visited. We spent two days in Yellowstone travelling around to see all the sights. Old Faithful performed on cue! Another two nights was spent in Jackson so we had more time to explore. I'd strongly recommend a bus ride out to Teton Village and a trip on the sky train up to the top of the Tetons. It was fantastic! Another highlight was a float down the Snake River outside of Jackson. A helicopter ride over the majestic Grand Canyon completed the experience. The accommodation varied, but on the whole, was very good and always clean. The group consisted of people mainly from the US with a smattering of Brits, Aussies, and Kiwis. They ranged in ages from 30s to a very fit couple of 80 year olds. Everyone got on very well. If it is scenery you are after, then this tour is a 'must do'!
Much better tour than we anticipated 2 , Australia, May 2014
We had a terrific time seeing the National Parks and Canyons in the United States, much better tour than we anticipated. The scenery was sooo good, from lots and lots of snow to thermal, bubbling pools, we also saw a remarkable number of animals ... 5 bears!!!!! Bison, elk, pronghorn deer, coyotes, marmots, eagles, etc Picked the right time to go! We ...read more had a fantastic guide, Matt, who was passionate about his job and the areas we visited, he was very thoughtful and respectful to all his travellers. Didier was a great driver too. We always felt safe with him at the wheel and he was always cheerful, polite and considerate. We had a wonderful friendly group who got on exceptionally well together, I'm sure many new long term friendships have been forged. Thanks for a well organised tour through an interesting part of the USA.
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