7-Nights Red Rocks & Painted Canyons - Tauck Bridges Family Travel from $4,990

Tauck World Discovery: Red Rocks & Painted Canyons

Day 1 Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
Arrive Phoenix

Tour begins: 5:30 PM, Four Seasons Scottsdale at Troon North. A transfer is included from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to Four Seasons Scottsdale at Troon North. Arrive early and enjoy the amenities of your desert resort; we invite you to join us this evening for our welcome reception and dinner.

Stunning red-rock formations like Coffeepot Rock, Bell Rock and Cathedral Rock form an awesome backdrop for your visit to Sedona, Arizona – just like they've provided the backdrop for many Western movies. Spend some free time exploring this beautiful, historic town with its own unique energy, loved by artists, New Agers and Old West fans alike, enjoy lunch as you please. Continue on to Grand Canyon National Park, where you'll check out the Grand Canyon Overlook and Mather Point, guided by instructors from the Grand Canyon Field Institute. Your family will spend the night at an inside-the-park lodge right on the canyon's South Rim, from which you can experience one of nature's masterpieces after the crowds depart. Enjoy dinner at a choice of restaurants on the South Rim tonight.

If you choose to, watching the glorious sunrise at the Grand Canyon makes getting up very early well worth it! Enjoy some time to explore the South Rim of the canyon as you please; keep an eye out for mule deer, squirrels and other wildlife on the cactus-studded landscape. Later, on a guided driving tour of the canyon's East Rim as you depart Grand Canyon National Park, stop at several points including Desert View Lookout, each offering a different view of the canyon, en route to your next destination... unique, man-made Lake Powell in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Have fun at tonight's private pizza party at your lakefront resort.

See remote corners of 186-mile-long Lake Powell – created from the Colorado River by the Glen Canyon Dam in the 1960s – from a variety of perspectives. Early morning, take an included 45-minute flightseeing expedition* (weather permitting) over remote corners of 186-mile-long Lake Powell – created from the Colorado River by the Glen Canyon Dam in the 1960s; view the unusual red-rock formations reflecting in the lake. Alternatively, you can take an optional 4-hour flightseeing excursion* to explore famous Monument Valley with a Navajo guide, available at an additional cost (ask at booking for details). After lunch at Lake Powell, take a private off-road excursion in an open-air 4x4 touring vehicle to explore one of the colorful slot canyons in the Navajo Nation. Return to your resort for dinner at leisure.

No southwestern family vacation would be complete without a canyon rafting experience – and your family will never forget floating along the Colorado River through Glen Canyon together aboard a raft* today, quietly spotting the animals who live amid the unique sandstone landscapes; pack your spirit of adventure – and your sunblock! After a stop for lunch, continue on for an overnight stay inside Bryce Canyon National Park. Bask in the spectacular views of the parks natural bridges, limestone cliffs and astounding stone spires, known as hoodoos, in shades of pink, red and orange.

The hoodoos, spires, pinnacles and other 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's ever-changing world of naturally carved amphitheaters, rocky spires, gravity-defying bridges, balanced rocks and sculpted limestone cliffs. After lunch, it's off to Zion National Park, where your family enjoys an overnight inside the park at historic Zion Lodge, with dinner at leisure at the lodge this evening.

Spend the morning exploring Zion National Park's remarkable features – deep canyons, lush valleys, sandstone cliffs, mountain peaks, emerald pools and pink-colored gorges – as you please; eight different rock strata, deposited over 200 million years and creamy-pink Navajo Sandstone cliffs soaring 2,200 feet in height, tell the story of Earth's history here. This afternoon, journey across a corner of the Mojave Desert from Utah to Nevada, arriving in legendary Las Vegas, a neon-bright world crafted by visionaries and entertainers. Take in the man-made wonders of this "city that never sleeps" before joining us for a special farewell reception and dinner as your family's southwestern adventure comes to an end.

Tour ends: Las Vegas. Check-out time is 12:00 noon. Fly home anytime; a transfer is included from Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas to Las Vegas' Henry Reid International Airport. Allow yourself a minimum of two hours to check in for your flight.