For people coming into Las Vegas the options of places to go and things to see are almost limitless. The only question is, what is the best way to go about seeing them?
If you have spent any time at all on the streets of Las Vegas, there is no doubt you have seen some large pink jeeps (they call them Tour Trekkers) heading to many of those popular tourist destinations. And that is where you will find the answer to your question; Pink Jeep Tours!
Founded over 50 years ago in Sedona, Arizona, Pink Jeep Tours started operating in Las Vegas several years ago. Their easily recognizable vehicles now take thousands of people a year to some of the most popular vacation destinations in and around the Las Vegas area.
Traveling in small groups, people can go to places such as the Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon, Red Rock Canyon, the Valley of Fire, Zion National Park, and more. We decided to join them on their Hoover Dam Upgrade tour.
We chose this tour because even though we had been to the Hoover Dam many times, we had never taken the tour inside the facility, or the boat ride in the Colorado River. And checking out their website this seemed like it would be a lot of fun.
One great thing about Pink Jeep Tours is that they will pick you up from your hotel. There is no need to take a cab to some facility somewhere off the strip.
Our tour guide was Todd. We met up with him, and he explained to us how the trip would go. After he picked us up, we made three more stops to pick up the other people that would be joining us for our tour.
On our particular trip, a bag of snacks awaited us in our seats. Water was also available in a cooler in the back which is nice because we all know it can get hot in Vegas.
Our first stop was scheduled to be the boat tour at the base of the dam. However, since we arrived a little bit early, Todd took us to several of the scenic overlooks for the dam. It gave us a great view and allowed us to take some pictures. That’s another great thing about a small group like this. If you have a special request, they are more than willing to accommodate you. So if you see a great place for a photo op, just let them know! Todd did that for us as we headed back after the trip, allowing us to take a group photo overlooking Lake Mead.
Following that, we changed vehicles and headed down a private road that would lead us to our boat. The boat, which was actually more like a motorized raft, was operated by Black Canyon River Adventures. For us, this additional part of the tour, was the key and made the entire trip worth it.
Of the millions of people who visit the Hoover dam, very few ever get to see it from this perspective. That’s a shame because to me, this is the best view of the dam and the bypass bridge overhead that there is. Todd told us that less than 1% of the people who visit ever get to see it from the Colorado River.
We climbed aboard the raft, received our safety briefing, and headed out. The views were absolutely amazing and we were able to get some great pictures. Our guide was hilarious and told us all about what happened in this part of the Black Canyon during the construction of the dam.
As he explained things to us, I couldn’t believe the difficulties people experienced while constructing this technological marvel. In fact, you can still see many of the relics that remain more than 80 years after the dam was built.
After this part of the tour, we headed back up to the top to begin our tour of the inside of the dam.
Todd gave us all our tickets, and we went inside. We began with a short 10 minute film that gave a history of the construction of the Hoover Dam.
Following the film, a guide provided by the dam took us down to show us inner workings of everything. It was fascinating to see how it all worked, especially since this was all built so many years ago!
We wrapped up the tour with a trip to the observation deck where we got a beautiful view of the dam from up high. We took a few more photographs, and headed back to meet up with the rest of our group.
Everything took about five hours in total. Even though I’ve been to the Hoover Dam many times, this was by far my favorite trip. It is so much better to go as part of a tour led by a professional guide, where you can learn so many things you would never learn by going alone.
The rest of our group had a great time too. They came from New York, South Carolina, and Rhode Island. And even though we came from different parts of the country, we all had a great time together sharing in one common experience.
To me, the upgrade tour is the only way to visit the dam. But if boats aren’t your thing, they also offer a traditional Hoover Dam trip that excludes that portion of the trip.
In my six years in Las Vegas, I have often seen the pink jeeps on the street. I have always wondered what it be like to go on one of their tours, and now I’m so glad I finally did! The only problem is, now I have to decide on which of their tours I want to go on next!
The Grand Canyon trip seems incredible, and I think it would be great to see that from either a helicopter or an airplane. But another option that sounds fun, is a trip to Red Rock Canyon in their new open air jeeps. Going off roading in one of those would give me a chance to do something I could never do my own.
No matter what it is that you want to do in Las Vegas (or California and Utah), chances are you can do it with Pink Jeep tours. They are even willing to customize a tour for you and your group.
I have never been big on tours like these, but after this experience, I have been converted. You learn so much more, and are able to relax while leaving all the details in the hands of someone else. We didn’t have to worry about directions, tickets, or anything else. We left that in the hands of Pink Jeep Tours.
The people in the office that helped us set up the trip, our tour guide Todd, and all the other people responsible for organizing our trip were absolutely wonderful. I can’t thank them enough for giving us such a wonderful day and experience.
The best thing to do is visit their website at PinkJeepTours.com and see what kind of trips they have that are most interesting to you. I am sure you’ll find something that will excite you. So check them out and be sure to tell them that Rosario sent you! It will be one of the best decisions you can make for your vacation (or for locals looking for fun) to Las Vegas.
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