Best of the American West & Eclipse (Reverse)

Our trip begins in Las Vegas, a name that conjures up images of flashing lights, wedding chapels, slot machines and limousines - you will find all of this and so much more in this decadent, sense assaulting metropolis.

Due to the number of evening flights into Las Vegas, your Leader plans to do the welcome meeting on the morning of day two, and will leave a message in reception with details on timings and everything else that you'll need for the day. There are no activities planned today, so you are free to arrive in Las Vegas at any time. We don't provide arrival transfers on this tour, but information on how to reach the hotel will be provided in your final documentation.

If your flight arrives earlier in the day, you could choose to take a stroll along the strip where you can see dancing fountains, a pirate ship, an erupting volcano, a pyramid and the Eiffel Tower all within a short walk of each other or take the opportunity to try and win a little holiday spending money! With multiple bars and restaurants to start your culinary journey in the US, Las Vegas is a great place to really get into that holiday mood. Stay: The Strat Hotel (Premium)

You will meet with your Tour Leader after breakfast this morning for the initial tour briefing before we leave behind the bright lights of Vegas and drive towards the, aptly named, Grand Canyon. We will travel today along Historic Route 66, one of the most well known driving routes in the world and one of the original highways within the US Highway system. The route is well-documented in songs and television programmes, and we will stop for lunch in the quirky Route 66-themed Seligman before continuing on to the first of our National Parks, the Grand Canyon.

Once described by Theodore Roosevelt as 'the one great sight every American should see', the canyon extends some 445 kilometres from east to west, from the western edge of the Navajo Reservation, to the Nevada border around Lake Mead. Reaching a depth of 1600m the canyon's floor is littered with some of the oldest rocks on the planet and as watch the sunset at the Canyon this evening, we gaze out across a land that has taken over 2 billion years to create. Stay: Red Feather Lodge (Comfortable)

This morning has been left free to make the most of this natural wonder at your own pace. You may wish to hike various parts of the rim trail (easy to moderate walking), taking you along the top edge of the canyon with some stunning view points; or perhaps the Bright Angel Trail, a steeper walk that takes you further down below the rim of the canyon and into the abyss itself. There are a multitude of different walking options available, all of which will offer you some spectacular scenery of this amazing landscape.

In the afternoon we leave the Grand Canyon behind us, taking in one last photo stop at the Desert View viewpoint before our departure. Our destination is to Page, a small town in northern Arizona situated on the shores of the magnificent Lake Powell. Stay: Best Western Plus at Lake Powell (Comfortable)

This morning we have the option to visit the famous Antelope Canyon, a beautiful peach-gold canyon formed by the force of flash floods coming from the plains above, or otherwise spend time at the enormous Lake Powell, with its scenic azure waters.

Before leaving Page, we will also take a short walk to the famous Horseshoe Bend overlook on the Colorado River, an impressive 270 degree horseshoe-shaped bend in the river canyon.

In the afternoon, we drive out to Kayenta, located on the largest First Nations (in this case, Navajo) Reservation in the country, founded in 1888 to provide a protected region for the Navajo people.

Monument Valley lies within the heart of this vast tribal area and in spite of its familiarity through the exposure by Hollywood, nothing can truly prepare you for the sheer grandeur and spectacle of this incredible setting. Isolated monoliths, sandstone pinnacles and towering spires rocket skywards, as much as 1000m above the desert floor. This will be the dramatic location of our eclipse viewing tomorrow. Stay: Monument Valley Inn (Comfortable)

An annular eclipse of the Sun will take place today, 14th October 2023. Our location for the eclipse is Monument Valley. As the only way to experience the park's dramatic backcountry, we'll be accessing the eclipse location by jeep, with a Navajo guide. We won't just drive directly to the location, but we'll also have the privilege of being guided around some of Monument Valley's most iconic and cinematographic scenery.

This morning, at around 10.29am, you can expect to experience some four minutes and 27 seconds of annularity (weather permitting).

Eclipse glasses will be provided to allow you to view this natural wonder safely and we will be accompanied by an expert astronomer to provide an insight on the science behind the eclipse, and to answer any questions you may have. There will be other Explore groups with us, and we'll be able to share stories about our travels so far.

According to weather records, this day in Monument Valley has had some level of cloud cover 21% of the time (since 2000), although we are unable to make any guarantees regarding the weather conditions and the likelihood of seeing the eclipse.

In the afternoon, we'll drive out of native lands to Moab, Utah's adventure capital and home to both Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.

Note: While on your jeep tour and at the eclipse, food will be provided - we have listed this as 'lunch', but depending on timings it may be more like a 'brunch'! Stay: Redstone Inn (Comfortable) (L)

Arches National Park is home to the world's largest concentration of natural sandstone arches. With over 2000 arches, giant sandstone fins, balancing rocks and towering spires, the park provides a unique setting for this morning discovery. We may take in the Devil's Garden, a three-hour hike that takes us through a landscape littered with arches, including one of the world's longest - Landscape Arch. Time-allowing we may also take a more gentle walk around The Windows Loop (approximately 1.5 hours), before leaving the park.

In the afternoon we visit Arches' neighbouring park, and the last of Utah's Big Five National Parks, Canyonlands. The park is a wilderness of countless canyons and buttes carved by the Colorado River and its tributaries, which also divide the park into four districts: the Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze and the rivers themselves. We plan to head into the Island in the Sky district, where we will take an easy trail to the spectacular Mesa Arch, a natural rock arch on the edge of a cliff that gives us panoramic views of the region.

We'll drive back to Moab this evening. Stay: Redstone Inn (Comfortable)

Today we drive east to Bryce Canyon, taking State Highway 24 directly through the most remote and undervisited of Utah's 'Big Five' National Parks: Capitol Reef. The red rock park encompasses a landscape of colored sandstone cliffs, twisting canyons, monoliths and spires. We'll stop en route to take in some of the parks many awe-inspiring viewpoints before continuing to Bryce. Stay: Bryce View Lodge (Comfortable)

Bryce is without doubt one of the natural highlights of this journey - a world of surreal kaleidoscopic sandstone forms that are steeped in the tales of the Paiute tribe. Legend has it that the sandstone 'hoodoo's' of Bryce are in fact the petrified followers of the Coyote God, turned to stone as they stood listening to his angry tirade. Looking out over these towering pillars that litter the floor of Bryce Canyon's great amphitheatre, you could almost believe that you're facing a crowd of people, all awaiting their judgement.

This morning we see Bryce at its most radiant, in the golden hues of sunrise as we drive up to Sunrise Point to watch the dawn break across the landscape. This afternoon we will explore something of the myriad shapes and shades of this fairytale realm, hiking along the Navajo Loop, or taking in the grandeur of the Queen's Garden. Bryce was created as a national park in 1928 and is actually a part of the Grand Staircase that follows the rim along the Paunsaugunt Plateau. As you look out across the pink, orange and red spires it is easy to sympathise with Ebenezer Bryce, a Mormon farmer who is best remembered for the profound words, 'Well it's a hell of a place to lose a cow!' Stay: Bryce View Lodge (Comfortable)

This morning we will drive to Zion National Park, aiming to get there early to explore.

The main area of the national park that we will visit is Zion Canyon, a 15 mile rift in the beautiful red and tan Navajo sandstone. We may take a walk along the Watchman's Trail, a moderate hike of approximately two hours that will take us past many of the park's famous geological formations, including the Towers of the Virgin and the Altar of Sacrifice. The very end of the walk brings us to a spectacular overlook of the Watchman, a red rock pinnacle that dominates the skyline. Photographic opportunities are plentiful, with a great contrast between the red of the rocks and the running rivers that we'll pass.

There are so many walking possibilities in Zion, and your Tour Leader will outline the options to you from the easy to the strenuous. Scout's Lookout is a challenging, but extremely worthwhile, hike of three hours that affords breath-taking views across the valley. For those of us who aren't hikers, the park's shuttle bus takes people along the valley floor with regular stops to get out, explore and jump back on the next vehicle. Quite simply, there is something in Zion for everyone.

Later, we take the short drive to Hurricane for our final evening. Stay: Sleep Inn & Suites Hurricane (Comfortable)

Our trip ends today on our return to Las Vegas. We will have two drop-off options: one at The Stratosphere Hotel at 11am, and the second at Las Vegas International Airport (LAS) at 11.30am. If you're booking a flight today, we recommend that this is not before 2.30pm.