Well Organized. Fun. Educational. Delicious Food. Worth every penny. These are a few of the sentiments we have about our recent trip to Asheville, NC on one of Veg Jaunts and Journeys fantastic tours. Kim, our tour guide and fabulous leader, made the experience very memorable by having our outings well organized and by her being flexible when we wanted to detour from the planned event.
3 National Parks
Epic Canyons, Pink Sand and Hoodoos
Oil Free Whole Food Plant Based Meals
Geological Wonders Abound on This Arizona and Utah Vegan Tour
On this amazing tour, you will experience three national parks in one week, along with other fabulous scenery and attractions. It’s difficult to find plant based food around the national parks, but not to worry, we’ve got that covered. Mark will pack bagged lunches for us for when we’re out sightseeing. He’ll cook our dinners but will accept help from anyone who’d like to lend a hand. We’ll take turns or all pitch in for nightly cleanup.
Why You’ll Love This Tour!
Visit Utah’s oldest national park, Zion, gaze out the window at an incredibly scenic drive and awe at the expansive canyon that averages 2,000 feet of depth
See Bryce Canyon National Park and the largest concentration on earth of Hoodoos, impressively tall spires of rocks formed by erosion
Visit the lesser traveled North Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park and see this amazing geological wonder without the crowds of the more popular South Rim
Click the Tabs to Find Out More
Essential Info
Essential Info
Price
$3800 USD/per person
*A non-refundable deposit of 25% of the tour cost, along with a registration form, are required in order to join the tour. Your space is not guaranteed until both of these are received.
Dates
April 29 – May 6, 2023
Tour duration
7 nights/8 days
Group size
14 people
Included
- 7 nights accommodations
- 7 breakfasts
- 6 lunches
- 7 dinners
- Sightseeing and activity admissions (except free time)
- Meditation sessions led by Mark (optional)
- Whole food, plant based, no oil cooking lessons from Mark (optional)
- Transportation between activities
- All logistics are taken care of for you
Not included
- Airfare
- Travel insurance
What to bring
Comfortable shoes and/or light hiking boots
Travel insurance is highly recommended for any unexpected emergency expenses.
About your guide
1 tour leader/guide and 2 in-house chefs
Trip Overview
This multi day tour of Utah and Arizona is a dream for National Park lovers; we’ll visit three during the trip!
Our tour begins the first day with a drive from Las Vegas to our house in Orderville, Utah where we’ll have a welcome dinner and get acquainted. The next day we hit Zion National Park for a scenic drive and hike.
Day 3 takes us to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park and Day 4 we head to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, which is even more impressive and sees much fewer visitors than the popular South Rim.
Day 5 of our trip, we have the opportunity to visit and volunteer in an animal sanctuary in Kanab, Utah. We’ll eat lunch at their on-site vegan restaurant before heading back to our accommodations for dinner.
Bryce Canyon National Park, which is home to the most hoodoos in the world, is our destination for Day 6 of our tour and the following day, the last full day of our trip, takes us back to Zion National Park for a final hike amongst this epic landscape. We will head out after breakfast the next day.
All meals are included throughout our trip and all meals are no oil whole food plant based, prepared by Mark, our in-house chef and founder of letseatgreat.com.
Two large houses very near each other in Orderville, Utah
Itinerary
Ideally, each guest will arrive in Las Vegas before Saturday afternoon. We’ll coordinate arrival times and set a meeting place at the airport or suggested hotel. We will have a fairly long drive to our accommodation, so you may want to grab a bite before we set out. Once we get to the house, Mark will prepare a welcome dinner, giving us time to settle in and explore our home base for the next week.
Sunday begins with a relaxing morning as you enjoy breakfast with lovely views. Then we head to Zion National Park, the first national park in Utah and home to one of the most scenic canyons in the United States. We’ll take the park shuttle along the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive, so you can get an overview of the park. Then, we will visit the Emerald Pools, and you can choose an easy, medium, or strenuous hike to reach different levels of pools. After a gorgeous day in this desert park among sandstone cliffs, rivers, and waterfalls, we’ll head back to our compound for dinner.
Meals Included
Day 1: Dinner
Day 2: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Today, we’ll take a short drive to experience Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. The dunes, estimated to be 10,000-15,000 years old, are made from Navajo sandstone eroded by high winds that blow through a notch in the nearby mountains. We’ll have a relaxing day hiking and playing in the pink sand. Dinner will be back at our lodging, and hopefully we can enjoy some stunning stargazing from our decks.
Day 4 starts early as we drive to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. This is a not-often visited yet more dramatic part of the canyon. We’ll take a scenic drive and then hike the short Bright Angel Point trail, for awe-inspiring views into Roaring Springs and Bright Angel Canyons. After dinner back at our lodgings, perhaps we’ll enjoy some games or a movie.
Meals Included
Day 3: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Day 4: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
On day 5 of our trip, we’ll visit the Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab, UT, a short drive away. Best Friends provides safe haven for over 1,600 rescued animals, including dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, horses, and pigs. We’ll have a grand tour of the sanctuary, with an opportunity to give some volunteer time. They’ve even got a vegan restaurant on-site, and we’ll support them by having lunch there. Dinner will be back at our house.
The next morning takes us on an hour’s drive to Bryce Canyon National Park, home to the largest concentration of hoodoos on earth. Hoodoos are irregular rock columns.There are also many natural amphitheaters, or horseshoe-shaped canyons, along eroded escarpments. These whimsical limestone formations were created by wind and rain, and on a clear day, this red rock wonderland offers stunning vistas with 150 miles of visibility. We’ll spend the day here, and you can choose a hike or two based on your ability. Then back to our sanctuary for a relaxing dinner.
Meals Included
Day 5: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Day 6: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
We’ll return to the magnificent Zion National Park for our last day. You can choose hiking trails based on your ability or join a ranger-led program. Alternatively, you can choose to spend your time in quaint Springdale, located at the entrance to Zion, and surrounded by towering red, pink, and white striped cliffs. You could also opt to stay at our house relaxing and chatting with new friends. Everyone will then converge back at the house for a final group dinner.
The next morning we’ll leave after breakfast for the airport in Las Vegas. Since the drive is about three and a half hours, please schedule your departure for mid-afternoon or later to make sure you make your flight.
Meals Included
Day 7: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 7: Breakfast
Good to Know
Amount of walking: 5 miles per day (approximate)
Please plan to fly into Las Vegas, Nevada (LAS) early the first day, as we’ll depart for our lodgings in the late afternoon via two or three minivans (3.5 hours). If your best flight option puts you in Las Vegas the night before the tour begins, we can help you book a reasonably priced hotel (at your expense). If you’re flying out on the last day, please remember the 3.5-hour drive to Las Vegas and book flights for later in the afternoon or evening to make sure you catch your plane.
Previous Guests Praise Veg Jaunts and Journeys
Our trip to Berlin was OUTSTANDING! Thanks so much, Kim! We could have never planned a trip like this without you. The vegan restaurants were out of this world!
5 stars
Thank you for putting together a great tour. The food was a wonderful treat. Your personal service and help prior to the trip were impressive.
