southwest adventure tours day trips

We went to the Brice and Zion day tour and it was a wonderful experience. Our tour guide, Jim, was knowledgeable about both areas and very friendly. This was the only tour we found that left Las Vegas on a day other than Tuesday or Thursday. We would recommend this tour to anyone.

just got back from this trip and it was excellent! i've had bad experiences with guides/tours in the past but this company & our guide (Tommy) had it together. they were very professional and helpful. the hikes started out easier and got more lengthy and harder was the tour went along. the hotels were the 3 star type and comfortable. the food was pretty generic and nothing special as a lot of places were closed in the off season. there was a moderate amount of driving in a 10 passenger van but it was comfortable and to be expected due to the nature of the tour.note: pay attention to temps at the parks when planning your trip. our feb visit was cold in the morning but got to ~60 during the day. since it was sunny, it was perfect hiking weather. avg in the summer is 90+ and the area is semi-desert without a lot shade.i highly recommend making this visit to Utah's 5 national parks if you want to hike and be out in nature.

While staying in Santa Fe, NM, we booked a tour to Bandilier Monument. Monique, our guide, was so informed and excited to show us the sites at the hands of Mother Nature. A result of a volcano, millions of years ago, she was so thorough in her explanations of what happened and the results of it. For someone who probably does this tour regularly, she was so fresh and excited to share her region with us. We felt very special as it was only the two of us booked on this tour, the glories of off season, and it was great to learn about Monique and her passions and love of nature. Great history- even better scenery - and the best company!

This was the most wonderful day, Jim our guide was great with my elderly parents and modified the tour appropriately so that we could visit a couple of extra spots as well as allow time for my friend and I to take time to walk around the various canyons. The weather was really wonderful and we were blessed with a fine day with lots of sun so the colours of the canyons were extraordinary. Jim was knowledgeable and gave of this freely in an entertaining manner. Email dealings with the company were really efficient and prompt replies were appreciated especially when booking from the other side of the world.

Overall, the Mighty 5 Utah tour was a nice tour experience. I did not want to do all of the driving myself, so this was a good alternative. We had 9 people in our van, and it was cozy. Anymore would have been too cramped. It was a fast paced tour with many stops at the 5 National Parks, and some State Parks. I believe we were able to see more sites on this tour than doing it alone. Our guide was very organized and knowledgeable. She kept on schedule without shortchanging the trip.We were on the go from around 7 AM to 5 PM every day. The hikes were moderate to strenuous. If the hikes were too strenuous or long, you can opt out, which I did at times. The selected hotels/motels were adequate for this type of tour. Some better than others. The meals were good, especially at lunch. Nice lunch locations were selected by our tour guide. It was a nice way to see a good portion of Utah, enjoy the scenery, and meet new people.

Trip was great. Kim was a wonderful tour guide. Lots of hiking and amazing sights. Lodging was comfortable and food was good. Hikes were a good combination of different scenery, experience levels and length so never felt like we did the same thing twice.

My sister and I just completed this trip and we really loved it. I'll admit that we were not quite prepared for how much hiking there would be (approx. 3-5 miles/day) and it was often challenging for us. Fortunately, we had a patient guide (Tom Parmer) and a great group of fellow travelers. It's tough to try to see so many amazing parks in such a short amount of time, especially factoring in the travel time between them, but SWAT has done a great job of planning the itinerary (while still allowing for some flexibility if the group wants to make some minor adjustments). Although we left the tour feeling that we could have happily spent more time in all of the parks, we felt that we got a good flavor for each of them and saw amazing, gorgeous scenery.The tour registration process was easy and, although you have to switch hotels almost every day, they make the check in process as easy as it could be (the guide goes in to pick up the room keys and distributes them to each guest and your luggage is unloaded practically at your doorstep). It's great having the breakfasts and lunches covered as part of the tour and also nice to have some flexibility on where you have your 'on your own' dinners each night.We were very lucky with the weather - it was pretty cold for us (we're from California, so...), but most days were bright and sunny. The real bonus of going this time of year was how uncrowded the parks were - there were times that our group were the only ones at the site and it felt like we had the park all to ourselves. It was great for pictures!The vans were reasonably comfortable, but if it's an issue for you, keep in mind there is a fair amount of driving time from place to place and lots of getting in and out of the van. Personally, I was just thrilled to be leaving the driving to someone else! The company provides bottled water and a nice selection of snacks.From reading the other reviews, it sounds like everyone loves their guide and we were no exception. We'd highly recommend Tommy; he kept things fun, laid back, and entertaining, while always keeping his guests' safety a top priority. It started snowing in the mountains driving back to Salt Lake City on our last day, but Tommy's used to driving in those conditions and we felt very comfortable about our safety with him at the wheel.Heed their advice about packing layers...we had a wide swing of temperatures. Also, comfortable hiking shoes and socks are a must.We're already thinking about doing another tour with SWAT.

Our tour guide was Kim Capron. She was fantastic! We had never been to Utah before. We are older adults 59,69. We aren't athletic. We enjoyed and were able to hike without problems. The altitude did affect our breathing though. It was great to enjoy seeing God's beauty. We had fun!

We had a great tour of the 5 national parks the last week of October and wish to thank Cindy for all of her hard work! The only suggestion that we would have would be to use a different motel in Moab because of their "breakfast".

I just returned from this tour and would like to recommend it to anyone with a medium fitness level, (I did go to the gym to prepare tho!). SWAT guide was very friendly and professional and helped me climb some pretty scary rocks at times, I would not have been able to climb them without her help, but the scenery was more than worth it, plus the self satisfaction was great. You don't have to climb any further than you feel comfortable with, but it really is worth going as far as you can, and the guide is there to assist you. The coach was clean and well stocked, accom also was very good.I had the best holiday ever and am looking forward to my next trip back to the Grand Canyon area.

We had a great 9 day tour with Haydee. She was a top notch guide who catered to everyones needs. The 7 National Parks we visited were amazing. Everyday is packed full with small hikes and different sights to see. If you don't want to hike, Haydee will make sure you get to see the park by vehicle. Our group (12 of us) rode in a small bus that was very comfortable. The accomodations were great, we stayed in some really unique places. We loved the Strater Hotel in Durango. If you are looking for a tour that will get you to all these great parks, this tour will give you a great sample of each park.

The guides were knowledgeable and very accommodating to meet every traveler's needs in our group. The company even rented a mini van for four in our group so the bigger vans wouldn't be too crowded.

Years ago my wife and I visited Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce with our then young boys. We visited on our own had a good time and learned very little.This time around we were escorted by Southwest Adventure Tours and had a GREAT time and learned everything! As a general rule I don't like escorted tours and especially with old people! My wife and I are seniors (I am 72 and she says her age is none of your business), and we took the 4 Parks in 4 days Tour. We purchased our trip in 2013 but you will recall the Federal Government closed the National Parks which required that our trip be rolled over to 2014. Obviously, we were very vulnerable regarding our rescheduling since we had already paid. Jason at Southwest Adventure Tours could not have been any more honest or accommodating in allowing us to reschedule to a tour that fit our schedule and without any additional charge.Our younger son and his family toured with Southwest Adventures Tours earlier this year and the degree of difficulty of their tour was beyond what my wife and I could have endured. Therefore, my wife and I were extremely antsy given our age related limitations. Salvo: Our tour leader, Cindi, was especially adept at adjusting the norm of our trip to OUR capability without depriving the younger members of our group from pursing more difficult adventures (e.g., the river hike in Zion), Cindi also proved adept in melding our group into a family, albeit somewhat dysfunctional. I have read some less praising reviews, below, and honestly find their complaints inexplicable and totally inconsistent with our experience. We are extremely experienced in worldwide travel (please see and enjoy my other blogs) and the complaints the other reviewers allege are overdone and should not dissuade you from using and enjoying Southwest Adventure Tours. Kenneth Cassell, AttorneyLapeer, MichiganGO BLUE!

My husband and I took the tour October 2014 and had the time of our lives. We loved every minute of it and the sights were incredible. Our guide Kim made our trip so much fun. She has a bubbly personality, very knowledgable and went out of her way to make our trip memorable. The folks in our van were wonderful and felt like family. Hiking was a major focus for our van but each group is free to decide how much hiking they want to do. The van was adequate, hotels were nice and food was good. All in all we would highly recommend this trip.

I traveled alone for the Arches and Canyonlands NP tour. My tour guide, Cindi, was amazing and super professional.When reading other reviews that are negative, it seems like most the folks had specific things they wanted to see/do. If you have an itinerary in mind, perhaps a group tour isn't for you.You should go with this tour outfitter if you want a relaxing trip that involves little to no decision making. You have to be willing to go with the flow in a tour group. Yes, you may not see all the things you wanted to see but at the same time, you will go places you never dreamt existed. I look forward to traveling with SAT again.