I telephoned JY this morning to enquire about the 7 hour excursion by plane, helicopter and boat to the Grand Canyon, (Grand Voyager/Grand Voyager with Skywalk) as I noticed it had disappeared from the web page.

It appears that this is no longer being offered by JY, so presumably anyone who had already booked it prior to it being ‘pulled’ will be refunded. The excursion to take it’s place, is the Tribal Spirit Tour. It is a little cheaper, and doesn’t include the boat trip. There are, however, a few choices of different things to do during the free hours in the canyon, including the skywalk, for which you pay an extra sum. $25 I think.

I am a little disappointed, but I guess there is a reason for the change. I am going to book the replacement tour.

Sue

I've visited the Grand Canyon twice with JY - the first time on the Golden West tour (now replaced by your tour - a much better itinerary, lucky you!!) and the second time on the National Parks tour.  I did the three-in-one tour on the Golden West tour and a helicopter ride while on the NP tour and the latter was MUCH better!  So if I were you, I'd ask JY whether you will be visiting the Western or Southern Rim and if it's the Southern Rim, I strongly recommend you do the helicopter flight - the views were incredible!  If you'd like me to go into any more detail, I'd be happy to do so.

Best wishes,

Bob

Hi Sue,

I've visited the Grand Canyon twice with JY - the first time on the Golden West tour (now replaced by your tour - a much better itinerary, lucky you!!) and the second time on the National Parks tour.  I did the three-in-one tour on the Golden West tour and a helicopter ride while on the NP tour and the latter was MUCH better!  So if I were you, I'd ask JY whether you will be visiting the Western or Southern Rim and if it's the Southern Rim, I strongly recommend you do the helicopter flight - the views were incredible!  If you'd like me to go into any more detail, I'd be happy to do so.

Best wishes,

Bob

Hi Bob, and thank you for the information. 

The Tribal Spirit tour goes out from Vegas to the western rim I think, but I have also booked the 45 minute helicopter tour which does go to the southern rim on the day we drive out from Flagstaff. I sincerely hope I’ve got that right.......

As the Grand Canyon is to be the highlight of my holiday, I wanted to see as much as possible.

Any hints/tips you have would be very much appreciated. I have gleaned some info from a previous traveller who said that the views at Guano Point are not to be missed. I think we get a choice of activities during the ‘free time’ in the canyon, and personally I am not sure I want to experience the Skywalk. 

Sue

Like Bob, I did the old version of this trip (America's Golden West) back in 2010 and think your version of the itinerary looks really great (although, being a bit of a maritime history buff, I did enjoy our couple of nights staying in Long Beach next to Queen Mary).

I also did the old Grand Canyon '3-in1' tour on the West Rim and, more recently, the helicopter tour of the South Rim on the National Parks Tour. I'm so glad you will get a chance to do that because, as Bob said, it is incredible. Tip - watch out for the man made pond below as you fly back to the heliport at the end of the tour because the local moose are very fond of it and you will often see them have a paddle - we saw a huge bull sunning himself in it!

I wouldn't worry too much about missing the boat trip if I were you. It was nice but pretty short and only went about a half mile down the Colorado river and then back. We actually got a little bit longer because members of our group in another boat got stuck on a sand bank coming back and we had to go out to rescue them!

The Skywalk is not that far from Gueno Point. It had only been open about a year when my group went but at the time we only had the option of doing the 3-in-1 or the Skywalk, not both. Members of my group that did it while we were on the boat trip were a bit disappointed because, at the time, people were not allowed to take their own cameras on to the Skywalk and had to pay for 'official' ones if they wanted a souvenir. I don't know if that is still the case.

We were given our picnic lunch boxes at Gueno Point and it really is a super place to stop for a while, eat and take pictures. (I could have done without knowing that the gueno, once mined there, was used to make mascara though....eewww!)

Like Bob, I'm always happy to help if you have any other questions Final tip - if you are staying in San Luis Obispo and there is time, ask your TM if you can have a brief stop at the Madonna Inn. It's nothing to do with the singer - it was founded by a Mr and Mrs Madonna and trust me - it's nuts!

Have a fab time

All the best

Mandy

I agree with what Mandy has said.  I didn't do the Skywalk but the view from a little further along the cliff is virtually as good - but as I said, the Southern Rim scenery is much better.  So if you have options, go for trips that take you to the Southern Rim and definitely do the chopper trip.  I found the three-in-one rather disappointing and as Mandy says, the boat trip was short and it was hard to get a proper sense of perspective from the bottom - at that point at least.  Have a wonderful time!

All the best,

Bob

Hi Sue (and Mandy),

I agree with what Mandy has said.  I didn't do the Skywalk but the view from a little further along the cliff is virtually as good - but as I said, the Southern Rim scenery is much better.  So if you have options, go for trips that take you to the Southern Rim and definitely do the chopper trip.  I found the three-in-one rather disappointing and as Mandy says, the boat trip was short and it was hard to get a proper sense of perspective from the bottom - at that point at least.  Have a wonderful time!

All the best,

Bob

Hi Mandy and Bob,

Thank you both for help and advice - I think I shall have to make some notes about what you have said to ensure I don’t miss anything! I can see you are right about the boat trip; it was going to be very short.....

The trip is just 4 weeks away - I am beyond excited!!!

Kind regards,

Sue