Travelling independently has its advantages, but exploring the world accompanied by a friendly and knowledgeable escort also suits many – and in the US there are a number of escorted tours available.
(Photo: TourRadar.com)
Escorted tours are hosted by Travel Directors hailing from wherever you booked your trip and see them accompany you and your fellow group of adventure-seekers. In a country as large and diverse as the US, this can be a particularly popular form of travel, allowing you to benefit from your escort’s insights as well as the convenience of having all of your transit taken care of. We’ve dug deep and picked out 5 of the best escorted tours of the United States currently on offer.
Southwest National Parks Grand Canyon Camping Tour (7 days)
Starting and ending in Las Vegas, this immersive week-long tour centres around some of the southwest United State’s most famous national parks. As part of a group of up to 14 fellow travellers, you’ll get to enjoy some of the region’s finest natural wonders and experiences, including marvelling at the sandstone spires in Bryce National Park, standing on the edge of awe-inspiring Grand Canyon, and speed down Route 66 towards Las Vegas. The tour also includes a memorable overnight camping stop-over in the breath-taking surroundings of Monument Valley. Additionally, optional add-on activities are available, such as helicopter flights over the Grand Canyon. From £1,332 per person.
Magnificent Alaska
(Photo: Southwest Adventure Tours)
Often described as the last frontier, this 10-day escorted tour takes you into the vast wilderness of Alaska. Travelling by sea, land, rail and air, you and your intimate group will explore the state and its diverse wildlife. Beginning and ending in Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, you’ll travel south to the Kenai Peninsula, where you’ll see classic regional scenery. You’ll then catch a seaplane to Katmai National Park for grizzly bear watching, before moving on to Seward where you’ll embark on an ocean cruise through Kenai Fjords National Park, famous for its rugged coastline, tidewater glaciers and abundant wildlife. Heading inland, you’ll also take a jet boat tour, a land tour into the interior of Denali National Park, and a flight over North America’s tallest Peak, Denal. From £6,371 per person.
Book at Southwestadventuretours.com
Pioneer Adventures of the Old West (8 days)
There are few more evocative parts of the US than the Old West, where the legends of Billy the Kid and Butch Cassidy are never far away. This 8-day tour offers visitors the chance to don their metaphorical cowboy hat and visit some of the settings that inspired Wild West silver screen classics. Over the course of the trip, you’ll visit some of America’s most iconic national parks and natural attractions, including the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley, Lake Powell, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and Wild West Junction. There’ll also be chances to enjoy scenic drives in Red Rock Country and Oak Creek Canyon, plus a captivating train ride aboard the historic Grand Canyon Railway. From £2,335 per person.
New England’s Fall Foliage (8 days)
(Photo: InsightVacations.com)
The north-eastern US region of New England is picturesque at all times of year, but perhaps never more so than during Fall. This 8-day tour invites you to embrace the area’s abundant beauty while exploring some of it’s most vibrant and historically important towns and cities. Highlights include a visit to Boston, where you’ll traverse part of the red-brick Freedom Trail; a chance to admire the bronzing leaves of Vermont’s lush trees; a visit to a maple syrup farm in Montpelier; and a gondola ride into New Hampshire’s White Mountains. There’ll be culinary stops too, including decadent fresh lobster dinner in Portland, home to some of the world’s finest lobster. From £3,475 per person.
Best of Hawaii (10 days)
The string of grand, tropical Hawaiian islands in the Pacific are among the US’s most idyllic destinations. For 10 immersive days, this tour takes you around some of the islands’ most revered beauty spots as well as several notable historic landmarks and places of interest. For the former, there are spectacular beaches and lush valleys; for the latter, there’s Pearl Harbor National Memorial and the USS Arizona Memorial, to name just a couple. Other stop-offs include visits to a coffee plantation, a salt farm, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and the distinctive black sands of Punalu’u Beach, famous for its population of sea turtles. From £4,194 per person.