Take a hike deep into the Grand Canyon, marvel at the Grand Tetons, view Yellowstone’s spectacular erupting geysers, wander beneath natural arches, venture up Angel’s Landing Trail or through the legendary Narrows in Zion and so much more on this affordable camping journey.  Not only does this adventure reveal famous natural wonders, but you’ll experience some of the country’s best kept secrets, too! See Monument Valley by horseback or on a jeep adventure accompanied by a local Navajo guide.  An opportunity to trek through the marbled walls of Antelope Canyon will leave you mesmerized.  A hike through Kodachrome Basin State Park and a day spent on Channel Islands National Park may make you wonder why these spots weren’t already on your dream itinerary. 

Welcome to the Green Tortoise!

Meet at the bus loading zone at the intersection of Columbus and Montgomery Street in downtown San Francisco with your e-ticket.

The bus departs at 7:00 AM.  

Plan to arrive 30 minutes prior to the departure time. 

Day 1

Today’s destination is Lake Tahoe.  Take a hike to explore the backcountry and stunning vistas overlooking the lake on the Tahoe Rim Trail.  You may choose to stroll around the many shops and eateries in the Village Shopping Center.  Renting a bicycle is a fun option to explore more of the shoreline. We’ll have dinner out and then experience our first miracle! We’ll transform the interior of the bus from seats to beds and head for the Ruby Mountains!

Custom Sleeper Coach Drive Night

Showers Available

Day 2

Wake up in the beautiful Ruby Mountains in Nevada, for a delicious Green Tortoise breakfast!  Take a hike through the pine-studded flanks of the largest valley in the Ruby Mountains, to the glacier-carved lakes of Lamoille Canyon.  Feel the exhiliration of an alpine dip!  In the afternoon, we’ll head to the cascading Shoshone Falls in Idaho, where we share our first dinner together.

Custom Sleeper Coach Drive Night

Optional Swim

Meals Included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Day 3

This morning begins in the Wild West with a stop in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  You’ll have the option to raft the class III rapids of the Snake River or take a self-guided hike beneath some of the most distinctive mountain peaks on earth. In the afternoon, take an easy trek around Jenny Lake and beyond as you explore Grand Teton National Park. Forge deep into the Teton Mountain Range through Cascade Canyon to the 200 foot tall Hidden Falls. In the evening, vistas of the towering Teton Range will guide us to our camp near the gorgeous, crystal clear waters of Jackson Lake.  

Camp Night

Optional Swim / Possibly Showers Available

Meals Included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Day 4

Majestic Yellowstone National Park beckons today, the world’s first national park.  The park preserves the most extraordinary collection of mudpots, geysers, hot springs, and fumaroles on Earth!  The one square mile within Upper Geyser Basin is the most densely concentrated geyser region in the world, including the legendary spout of Old Faithful. Trek to Biscuit Basin to get a better look at the colorful mudpots and bubbling geysers.  Keep your cameras poised — not only are some of the geysers consistently timed, but this mountainous terrain is home to grizzly bears, wolves, and herds of bison and elk.  Enjoy a night of big skies overhead, humbling peaks nearby, and crickets singing us to sleep.  

Camp Night

Optional Swim / Showers Available

Meals Included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Day 5

Start the day with a dip in Yellowstone Lake.  Antelope Island on the Great Salt Lake is our destination.  We’ll stop in Idaho Falls for a few hours of exploring along the bank of the Snake River.  We arrive on Antelope Island in time to swim and explore. Part of the Great Basin, this is the largest of the Great Salt Lake’s islands.  It’s is home to pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, American bison, porcupine, badger, coyote, bobcat, and millions of waterfowl. 

Camp Night

Possibly Showers Available  

Meals Included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Day 6

We have the chance to ditch the hiking boots for a bit and explore Salt Lake City.  Take a free tour of the gardens at Salt Lake Temple.  You may even catch a free concert!  Take a stroll around downtown to marvel at the art galleries, sculptures, and historical architecture. You may choose to take the time to relax at a local bakery or deli.

Camp Night

Optional Swim / Showers Available

Meals Included: Breakfast / Dinner

Day 7

Onward to Bryce Canyon National Park! This lesser-visited park is home to a brightly layered landscape rivalling the Grand Canyon. Bryce is not actually a true canyon, but instead a series of amphitheaters that cut into the earth. You can hike to the wind-sculpted “hoodoos,” otherworldly looking spires of rock, that rise alongside the Rim Trail. The trail stretches five miles to Fairyland, Inspiration Point and the Queens Garden.  We camp at Kodachrome Basin State Park this evening and watch the sun set over broad spires jutting from the earth.

Camp Night

Optional Soak / Showers Available

Meals Included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Day 8

Today, explore beneath the towering sandstone cliffs of Zion National Park.  Challenge yourself on an exhilarating hike to Angel’s Landing or take a short walk to witness the hanging gardens on the sandstone arch of Weeping Rock.  Wade through the legendary Zion Narrows, where the north fork of the Virgin River has etched and carved its way through copper-colored sandstone creating a stunning slot canyon.  If you’d simply like to cool your heels, splash around in the crystal clear Virgin River.

Camp Night

Meals Included: Breakfast /  Lunch / Dinner

Optional Swim / Showers Available

Day 9 

Hop on the free shuttle to explore even more of Zion National Park.  Challenge yourself on a hike to Observation Point.  Gaze into the breathtaking waters on the Emerald Pools Trail.  You may choose to take a relaxing inner tube ride down the Virgin River.  Whatever you decide, it’s guaranteed to be full of epic views.

Custom Sleeper Coach Drive Night

Meals Included: Breakfast / Lunch

Showers Available

Day 10

Arches National Park welcomes us to wander beneath natural archways and lofty mesas.  We trek along the Devil’s Garden trail, which winds past the long, gravity-defying curiosity, Landscape Arch.  Along the trail, spy Double O Arch, Partition Arch, and chiseled sandstone fins that will eventually turn into towering gateways.  Enjoy lunch out in Moab, a small town with an adventurous spirit.  Later, we make our way along the mighty Colorado River, passing Native American petroglyphs, which leads us to our remote camp for the evening.

Camp Night

Access to laundry facilities /  Optional Swim / Showers Available

Meals Included: Breakfast / Dinner

Day 11

Enjoy a fabulous breakfast by the Colorado River, discover the nearby Corona Arch during a short hike, and then cool off in a clear-blue lake ringed by fragrant pine trees.  We make our way south across the Colorado Plateau to Mexican Hat, Utah, and the largest Native American reservation in the United States, the Navajo Nation.  Enjoy the breathtaking Goosenecks State Park where the San Juan River twists 1,000 feet below our viewpoint into a geological phenomenon known as “an entrenched meander.”  Tonight, we experience the way the native peoples have lived for thousands of years!

Camp Night

Optional Swim

Meals Included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Day 12

For the ultimate Western experience, take an optional horseback ride or a jeep tour through the rugged desert landscape of Monument Valley.  Take home a keepsake of Navajo art or jewelry and learn of the elaborate oral traditions during our time spent with the local community.  Lake Powell is particularly enticing in the afternoon for a refreshing plunge.  Indulge in the opportunity to take a tour of Antelope Canyon on our way to the quaint town of Page, Arizona for dinner out.  Get a little slice of Americana here — show off your vocal skills at a karaoke bar, score a strike at the bowling alley, or sample the popcorn in the movie house!

Custom Sleeper Coach Drive Night

Optional Swim

Meals Included: Breakfast / Lunch 

Day 13

Awaken at the awe-inspiring Grand Canyon.  Enjoy a stroll along the Rim Trail with plenty of opportunities to behold the canyon’s wonder.  Bright Angel and South Kaibab trails descend into the canyon to the Colorado River, where every bend in the trail reveals a new, mind-blowing panorama. A free shuttle bus offers transportation to the modern, informative Visitor Center, trailheads, lodges and vista points.  Get a thrilling perspective of the canyon with an optional helicopter tour. Perch at Hermit’s Rest for a taste of wilderness solitude and enjoy the sunset over one of the most glorious natural marvels in the world.  

Camp Night

Showers Available / Access to laundry facilities 

Meals Included: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Day 14

Bid the Grand Canyon farewell as we make our way through kitschy Seligman, Arizona, on Historic Route 66.  Experience Las Vegas, Nevada in style with a limousine tour of the Strip.  See the celebrated acrobats of Cirque du Soleil or ride the thrilling sky-high roller coasters on top of the Stratosphere Tower. At the Bellagio, cool off in the mist from the fountains and marvel at the lobby ceiling made of glass-blown Chihuly sculptures. For a taste of old Vegas admire the spectacle of light at the legendary Fremont Street Experience or try your luck playing roulette at the Golden Nugget. Tonight, we’ll slumber along the way to Ventura, California.  

Custom Sleeper Coach Drive Night

Showers Available

Meals Included: Breakfast / Lunch

Day 15

A short ferry ride brings us to the Channel Islands. The archipelago is home to 150 species of plants that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Our day is spent appreciating the island’s unique biology while hiking over rolling hills and meandering through farm houses restored from the Spanish colonization in the early 19th century.  There is an option to take a wildlife cruise or a kayak adventure for viewing sea lions, seals, birds and maybe even a dolphin or whale. 

Alternatively, you may decide to take the opportunity to spend the day beach combing in Ventura.  Rent a bike, go hiking or just sunbathe for a classic California experience.  Enjoy a dinner out with your adventure pals this evening in Santa Barbara.

Custom Sleeper Coach Drive Night

Meals Inlcuded: Breakfast / Lunch

Sunday, Day 16

We wake up in San Francisco to bid farewell until our next big adventure. 

• Travel By Comfortable Custom Coach
• 70% of Quality Crafted Meals
• National Park Entrance Fees
• All Camping Fees
• Semi-Guided Exploration of Cities & Parks
• Expert Guide & Professional Driver With Local Knowledge

• • Sleeping Bag*
  • Sleeping Pad*
  • Tent*

*Available for rent upon booking! 

• • Flight-Seeing Tours
  • Jeep Tour
  • River Rafting Trip
  • Rollercoasters
  • Casino shows
  • Horseback Riding
  • Channel Island Ferry
  • Hot Springs Soak
  • Antelope Canyon Tour
  • Water Shoes & Hiking Pole Rentals at Zion
  • Kayaking Tour

You’ll be traveling in a custom sleeper coach! 

A sleeping bag and sleeping pad are required for this adventure.  If you don’t have one, rent one from us upon booking!  

A tent is required.  On most occasions you are welcome to sleep on the bus or sleep beneath the stars.  However, we strongly recommend bringing along a tent for privacy and comfort. You may rent a tent from us (subject to availability).

Our coaches are equipped with a camp kitchen.  No need to bring your own cookware or utensils.  Bring a reusable lunch container to store your packed lunch and a reusable water bottle.

Once you’re booked, you will receive a detailed packing list in your e-ticket.

Departure:  7:00 AM – San Francisco California, Columbus and Montgomery St. Bus Loading Zone 

Arrival:  7:00 AM – San Francisco, CA, Columbus and Montgomery St. Bus Loading Zone