Rockies to Red Rock: Yellowstone, Arches, Antelope Canyon and Zion, 7 Nights

Jackson's small airport sits inside Grand Teton National Park, so the first view on landing is the mountain wall. A representative meets you and takes you into town. Jackson is a western town with boardwalks and a square framed by arches made of shed elk antlers. In the evening you are taken to dinner, included tonight as on every night of the trip, and back to your accommodation.

An early departure north through Grand Teton into Yellowstone, the world's first national park. The day follows the park's southern loop: Old Faithful and the boardwalks of the geyser basins, the wide blue of Yellowstone Lake, and the Lower Falls pouring into the yellow-walled Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Bison, elk and sometimes bears are seen along the roads. Dinner on the way back to Jackson, included.

Breakfast, then a day with the Teton Range, which rises straight out of the valley floor without foothills. The route usually takes in Jenny and Jackson lakes, the river bend at Oxbow, and the weathered homestead barns of Mormon Row with the peaks behind them. Moose feed in the willows, and pronghorn and bison graze the sage flats. Dinner in Jackson tonight, included.

Check out after breakfast for the drive south through the valleys of western Wyoming and into Utah. In Salt Lake City a short tour takes in Temple Square and the domed Tabernacle, the State Capitol on its hill, the historic mansions of South Temple and the Cathedral of the Madeleine. The afternoon ends at the Great Salt Lake, whose salty water holds swimmers up. Dinner at an Indian restaurant, included.

The road drops south-east into the red-rock country around Moab. Arches National Park holds more than two thousand natural stone arches, and the tour follows the scenic drive: Balanced Rock, the Windows and Double Arch, and a view towards Delicate Arch as time allows, ending at the viewpoint across to the snowy La Sal Mountains. Summer days are very hot, so carry water. Dinner, included, then the Moab area for the night.

A long day on the road, rewarded in the middle. The route crosses into Arizona to Page, beside Lake Powell, where a Navajo guide leads the tour through Upper Antelope Canyon, a narrow slot worn smooth by flash floods, its walls glowing orange; around midday in summer, shafts of light often reach the sandy floor. Then north across the Utah border to Kanab for dinner, included, and the night.

A short drive west enters Zion National Park from the east side, where the checkerboard sandstone of the high plateau gives way to the deep red canyon of the Virgin River. Time for viewpoints and a short walk, then on through the desert into Nevada and Las Vegas by the evening. Dinner is included once more, and the Strip is at its brightest after dark.

Breakfast and check-out, then a transfer to Las Vegas airport for your flight home or onwards. If you have extended your trip, Las Vegas is also a good base for the Grand Canyon, the Hoover Dam or a night at one of the big shows, and we can add nights and excursions before you fly.