The Grand Trek

Like most trekkers I was ridiculously nervous the first night in the Holiday Inn, anxiously waiting to meet my tour group. Thankfully the group I met were a bunch of crazy, hilarious, fantastic people who I will never forget. My tour leader Art is one in a million and he always made us feel like we were getting the best from the tour.

By the end of the first night we were all like a big family. Your fellow travellers really will make this trip for you. Although I cannot stress enough how amazing some of the places you will go are and how unforgettable some of the things you will do will be, the group you travel with will become some of your best friends. The giggles in the van (mainly arguing over what music to listen to and endless snaps of each other sleeping) and the laughs around the campsite after a few cheeky Coronas are memories I'll keep always. I was a sobbing mess the final night of the tour and if I could go back tomorrow I'd be on that plane like a shot!

The whole tour is fantastic. Watching sunrise over the Grand Canyon, white water rafting, dancing the night away in New Orleans, hiking in Yosemite, the list really is endless. It's the best thing I have EVER done and I would recommend it to anyone. If you are considering this then DO IT! Book it now and it will be the best summer of your life.

P.S. Caitlin, Katie, Usha, Ellie, Lisa, Phyllis, Hannah, Vicky, Ali, Helen, Iain, Pete YOU ARE FANTASTIC! Miss you all so much xx

Absolutely incredible 6 weeks going cross country with The Grand Trek! Had an AWESOME time! It was my second trip with Trek but my first time travelling alone and it was the best experience ever. I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

Before getting started on the highlights of the trip, a big shout out to everyone who made up our trip especially my 2 tent buds Ellie and Hannah, and of course our tour leader Art Frasier-thanks for putting up with us for 6 weeks! :) Tour leader in a million.

I have so many favourite places and so many highlights ranging from the obvious big time attractions to the nights around camp and the van banter!

The jeep tour in Monument Valley was so interesting and the views were ace, including the lightening storm we watched whilst eating birthday cake on Caitlin's 19th! Our first rodeo in Cody; Rave night in Badlands NP - the ranch we stayed in was gorgeous with the involvement of 'Art's Marvellous Medicine'!; White Sands was absolutely stunning; White Water Rafting in Tennessee was exhilarating; Looking like Smurfs on the Maid of the Mist!; Washington DC by night was cool too. Our stumble down Bourbon Street was brilliant, experiencing Hurricanes and Hand Grenades and dancing the night away! San Francisco was just as I remembered it-head to Johnny Rockets on Fisherman's Wharf to taste the best milkshakes on the planet! The limo ride, gambling and all other shenanigans in Sin City was fab!; The bike tour in Chicago was excellent, seeing all the sites by night light was really cool.

All of the national parks were great and the views from the hikes were fantastic! A few of the stops are for 2 days so my advice would be to make the most of the free days, there's definitely plenty to keep you occupied!

These highlights aren't exclusive, I could go on and on. I AM going on and on! If you're thinking about it just go for it! That's what I did and I don't regret it for a second! I have made an awesome group of new friends and we are still all keeping in touch! It's you and your fellow trekkers that make the trip so make the most of it! The memories will stay with you for a lifetime!

Been back about three weeks now and I wish I was back. I was a solo traveller, as were most of the group, but within a couple of days everyone was really comfortable in everyone else's company, it was as if we had all known each other for a long time. It was such a good laugh, and the memories will last a lifetime...Monument Valley at sunrise, Chicago, Alcatraz, Helicopter in the Grand Canyon, Vegas, Angel's Landing....the list could go on! My advice - just do it! Leave all your preconceptions and fussiness at home, and just go with the flow...and the road.

Litreally the best three weeks of my life. I was working at a summer camp in Louisiana and it was coming to an end and I had a 1 month grace period in America, which I had no idea what to do in. Id heard of Trek America, but never dreamed I would be able to go on one of the trips. I booked quite last minute on Westerner 3, to be honest, I hadn't heard of most of the places on the itinerary but thought why not.

I met my trek group in the Hacienda hotel in LA and all I can say is..I didn't expect there to be so many girls! With all the national park and hikes on this trip I thought it was going to be mainly male dominated, how wrong I was. We had 10 girls and one lad, then there was our Trek Leader Justin. At first I thought this might be a bad thing...how wrong I was!

Trek America is a once in a life time experience (although I plan to do it again) I visited some overwhelming places and saw some amazing things. Highlights were - Navajo tour in Monument Valley, Las Vegas Limo Tour, Climbing Angels Landing at Zion National park and my all time favourite - Yosemite National Park. I didn't expect to enjoy the national parks as much as I did, everytime we went to a city (San Fran, San Diego, LA) I couldn't wait to visit the next National Park. We did a sunrise hike in every National Park we visited bar Monument Valley. Oh how I moaned about it at the time, waking up at 5am was not great, however looking back I am so thankful to our trek leader for motivating us to do it, we experienced Arches national park very early without anyone else there, so we could have to moment to ourselves for half an hour or so. I would recommend anyone to get out of that tent before light and see those amazing sights. If you do decide to choose this trip then you have to be willing to work as a team, don't be a fussy eater either that just makes things complicated. It is hard work at times, you will be so sick of putting up tents by the end of it and sleeping on the floor....but just think about what you get to experience. Sleep on grass at every given chance, don't bother putting up tour tent at Easterns cow boy camp in Utah, you will be to drunk to care where you sleep - its possible that I had my best nights sleep on that grass with some of my trek group. Vegas is definately all its cracked up to be - go to the Rio for the best buffet of your life, be prepared to walk FAR, don't wear heels at night...you will end taking them off, remember that everything looks alot closer then it really is. Set your alarm the morning you leave..as me and me Shiv found out. Play beer pong in O sheys or Excalibur. Don't try and get someone underage into a casino club..it won't work as we found out...and for accompanying a minor..I wasn't allowed in either. Don't let being under 21 stop you from going on this tour, half of my tour were under 21, and at times we did go to bars, but there is plenty of other stuff for them to do, and you can always drink around a campfire anyway. Food varies from tour to tour, depending on what everyone cooks as you take turns, we had a french/lebonise style meal one night, a korean meal, then things like Fajitas, Sausages & Mash, Spag Bol and Chilli Con Carne, all of which everyone made a hugh effort and the meals turned out to be really enjoyable, its easier then you think to cook for 11 over a camping stove!

There is so much more I could say about this trip, I would suggest it to anyone who wants to see a side of America that many people don't think exisit, its not all fast food, disney and interstates, its a beautiful and amazing country, with some amazing people. Thankyou Trek America!

hat trip was AWESOME!!

Just that it's said :-) At the beginning everyone was so silent but that changed fast. After Vancouver, we're heading up north... And there was just one goal we wanted to reach.. Alaska, or AK (in our group, we usually talked of AK instead of Alaska :-)) Long driving days were followed by days full of action. Class V River rafting, Canoeing, Ice Climbing and Hiking are just the best out of a superb itinerary.

I guess there was no day without seeing a deer, bear (grizzlies and black bears), eagle, moose or squirrels. Fantastic views all over the place, breathtaking moments close to everyday. Campfire and laughing were on every day's schedule. And: Have you ever caught a fat salmon by youself? I did it, and it was just awesome!

STRONGLY RECOMMENDED! :-D

Have fun!

Just finished the Gold Rush. Really enjoyed it. Pat, the tour leader was great even though it was only his second trek. Missing everyone already!

Had a really brilliant experience on this trip, Met some life long friends and visited some unforgettable places.Its really only when the trip is over you actually realise how much you have seen and done in 21 days.Camping out in places like the Grand Canyon & Monument valley, partying in New Orleans and Vegas or monuments & museums in Washington and santa fe.This trip has it all.Quite cold up north in April,so make sure to have a good sleeping bag!.

Just back from the most amazing trip ever, 10 days of pure adventure, Have to say the Canyon Adventure was brilliant from start to finish. It was a well thought out trip with plenty of surprises along the way and headed by a fun, knowledgable and just brilliant guide. I take my hat off to you Britta, thanks, and also thanks to all the group who bonded so well and we all had a blast along the way. Don't think about this trip DO IT,

TrekAmerica operates a food kitty where the group participates in cooking. Food was great with some diverse meals with passengers in the group from all over the world!

I got back from the Atlantic Dream trek 6 days ago and had SUCH an amazing time! I definitely recommend this trek, it has just the right balance of camping and lodging, cities/activities and evening group-bonding sessions - I made loads of great friends and it is the best holiday I have ever been on.

It's nearly two weeks since I came back from the Atlantic Dream trek and I am still remembering all the great new experiences I had on this tour.

We had Tiffani as our tour guide, who was extremely organised, friendly and helpful at some points it was just like having another trekker with us...

My favourite activity had to be Whitewater rafting... It was amazing and if you're brave enough (like I was) you can get out of the boat and go down some rapids by yourself!

I have made 11 new friends and we're all staying in contact and sharing photo's with the help of Facebook.

My favourite place was New Orleans, it's such an amazing place and friendly too! The night life was the best of course... the bars and clubs put on a real show to bring customers in!

Overall I would have to say this has been the best holiday of my life, so far! And I intend to do another trek next year!

It has now been 8 months since my holiday with TrekAmerica and it has been the best decision I've ever made to date. I was a single traveller and was added to a group of 10 other single people from all over the world. I got to know a few people first by looking on the message board of the website, so when I met them all on the meet up all I ever worried about was to get there on time. When we all joined up we got to introduce ourselves. After a while we all blended in straight away.

All 14 days of the tour were very well used. We started off from New York City to Miami. First stop was Washington DC where all the museum entrances were free to get in, a view of the White House and an emotional walk around the war memorials. Onto Great Smokey Mountains, near Virginia, where we had the opportunity to do some white water rafting and some beautiful hikes around the area. Then we hit Tennessee where the world famous Jack Daniels brewery was based where all you had to smell was the fumes of the whisky being made, good times! We visited the town next to it where the souvenir shops were and I purchased my prized item the Jack Daniels tumbler glass and shot glass :)

Then, the long haul trip down to the jazz and Mardi Gras capital New Orleans! We all went out on a Saturday night and it was amazing! We all sampled the famous jambalaya dish basically a mixture of rice, shrimp and chicken with spices delicious! While washing it down with a few hurricane cocktails woohoo! And that kicked started our night out in style. When you walk on the main street you had people throwing colourful necklace beads down from the first floor terraced houses as you're meant to wear them around your neck. I must admit I felt a bit like Mr. T off the A-Team. A heavy night of clubbing and drinking as much as you can around the bars AMAZING, but the only down point was a very sore head the next morning, ouch!

We then headed on to Panama City near Florida which was just spent chilling out on the beach before our next destination Orlando home of Walt Disney World checking out the latest rides and rollarcoasters, another day jet skiing along the coast and a rare sight of dolphins swimming along with you, wow! Then onto Key Largo crocodile country with a swamp tour and a crocodile wrestling show, Steve Irwin eat your heart out. Finally, onto Miami with the last day before my flight home. I was very sad to see my fellow trekkers leaving as we all became good friends so what we decided to do was to exchange phone numbers and email addresses.

I was very sad but felt I had an amazing time, one of the best holidays I have had for a long time. When my plane took off from Miami back to London Heathrow I am already planning my next trip. Thanks to all of the TrekAmerica team for organising my trip and for the tour leader on the trip Jessica Durcan, you guys are the greatest!!! If anyone is thinking of doing a trip with TrekAmerica JUST DO IT! If you don't you will regret it. The adventure continues??? You bet!!!

I have recently returned home after completing the Westerner 2 Trek which left LA on 30th July. I had a fantastic experience and enjoyed every minute of my holiday. Our tour guide, Alison Herbert, was excellent. She was well organised and gave us all the information we needed about the places we visited. Nothing was too much trouble for Alison and if she didn't know something she would take the time to find out the answer for us.

The Trek was very good value for money and I hope I will go on another Trek in the near future.

Just got back from LA, this was the most amazing holiday I have ever been on. Todd the tour leader was fab as were the rest of the group. Best bits were sunrise & sunset in the Grand Canyon, Hummer ride in Moab and Las Vegas which was awesome! Am already planning another trek for next year. Can't wait!!!