Best of the Southwest

Fifteen nights through the Southwest national parks, self-drive with the flights included, from Las Vegas round to Sedona.

Las Vegas takes the first two nights, with the Bellagio fountains and a guided food tour of the downtown. Zion follows for three, with a guided day on e-bikes through the canyon, which is the sensible way to cover it since private cars are kept out of the main road for most of the year.

Bryce Canyon comes next for two nights, where the hoodoos are rock spires left standing by frost shattering and erosion. Page follows with a guided slot canyon visit and Horseshoe Bend, then Monument Valley, where the tour is led by Navajo guides and covers the history and the geology from a Navajo perspective, which is a different account from the film version. The Grand Canyon takes two nights with a helicopter flight, then Sedona for three, with a jeep trip through the red rock and Puebloan dwellings that have stood for more than eight hundred years.

Flights, fully insured car hire, the named activities, all the accommodation and round-the-clock support while travelling are included, and the price is quoted per person. Sixteen days with multi-night stops at every park is the right way to do the Southwest, since each one needs a dawn and a dusk rather than an afternoon. Spring and autumn are the seasons, since the canyon country in July is extremely hot and the higher parks hold snow into May. The helicopter flight is weather dependent, and the Navajo-led tour at Monument Valley is the part of the route most people rate highest.