How to Choose a Grand Canyon Tour Company: 9 Questions to Ask Before You Book

1. How many people will be on my tour?

Coaches carry 40 to 55. Mid-size buses carry 20 to 30. Vans carry 10 to 14. The difference is not comfort, it is time: a 50-person group takes 20 minutes to get off a bus and use the restroom, which across six stops is two hours of your day. Our tours are capped at 10 because that is the number at which a guide can still talk to everyone.

2. Where, exactly, do we stop?

Ask for the list. A good South Rim day should include the Village and Rim Trail and several of the Desert View Drive overlooks (Grandview, Moran, Lipan, Navajo Point, the Watchtower). Many large-group tours do Mather Point, the Village and lunch, then turn around. If the East Rim is not on the itinerary, you are missing the best views in the park.

3. How long are we actually at the canyon?

Subtract the driving. From Flagstaff or Williams you should get 5 to 6 hours in the park. From Phoenix, 3 to 4. From Las Vegas, often under 3. Where you start from matters more than which company you choose.

4. What is included in the price?

Park entrance, lunch, hotel pickup, water and snacks are the usual variables. Ask whether "lunch included" means a sandwich in a box on the bus or a sit-down picnic at an overlook. Ask whether gratuities are expected on top. Our day tours include the park fee, a Route 66 café picnic and Flagstaff pickup; non-resident park fees are the one thing that may be extra, and we explain that here.

5. Who is my guide, and what do they know?

Driver-guides on large coaches are often seasonal. Ask how long the company's guides have worked at the canyon and whether they walk with you at the stops or stay with the vehicle. Look for reviews that name a guide and describe something they explained. That tells you more than a star rating.

6. Jeep, van, bus or private car?

7. What happens if the weather turns?

The canyon is spectacular in snow and after storms; a company that cancels at the first cloud is protecting its schedule, not your day. Ask about their policy. Ours: tours run rain or shine; if we cancel for hazardous roads or closures, you get a 100% refund.

8. Are they a permitted operator?

Commercial tours inside Grand Canyon National Park operate under a Commercial Use Authorization from the National Park Service. Reputable companies will say so on their site (we are an authorised permittee; it is in our footer). Operators on Hualapai or Navajo land hold tribal permits instead.

9. Does the price make sense for what you get?

A $70 seat on a 50-person coach from Las Vegas and a $199 seat on a 10-person van from Flagstaff are not the same product, any more than a motel and a boutique inn are. Work out the cost per hour at the rim, and the cost of the day you will remember.

See the Grand Canyon day tour from Flagstaff