Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks

7 night tour - Starting in Jackson, Wyoming - ending in Rapid City, South Dakota.

A Tauck World Discovery Tour.

Celebrating 90 years in the travel touring business, Tauck offer the ultimate in luxury touring. Throughout the years, ingenuity and innovation, plus a focus on customer servce and authentic experiences, have grown Tauck into one of the world's leading travel touring companies. On your tour you can expect an itinerary carefully designed to create an unforgetable experience, ensuring the finest hotels, luxury motorcoaches and highly experienced tour directors.

Stay right in the heart of the world's first national park on Tauck's most comprehensive of Wyoming and Yellowstone tours. Explore Yellowstone's amazing geothermal features, Old West history in Cody, the colossal Black Hills masterpieces of Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial, and the peaks and glaciers of the Tetons! See Old Faithful, just outside your hotel... raft along the Snake River... enjoy a classic western ranch experience... attend a Wild West rodeo or a cowboy music revue... and join a park insider for a peek into the story of Grand Teton National Park and the effort to preserve its diverse environment.

 

2015 departure dates:
September 20th & 21st
 
2016 departure dates:
May 28th
June 4th, 11th, 18th & 25th
July 2nd, 9th, 16th & 23rd
August 6th, 13th, 20th & 27th
September 3rd, 10th & 17th
View Itinerary Details

Day 1: Welcome to Wyoming and the Tetons

This most engaging of Wyoming and Yellowstone tours begins at 6:00 PM at Jackson Lake Lodge. A transfer is included from Jackson Hole Airport to the Jackson Lake Lodge inside Grand Teton National Park. Welcome to Wyoming's iconic western landscape of vast grasslands and towering mountain ranges, the historic town of Jackson, and majestic Grand Teton National Park with its jagged peaks, glaciers, lakes, and dense forest. Join us for tonight's welcome reception and dinner at your scenic lakeside resort in the heart of the national park.

Lodging: Jackson Lake Lodge

Dinner

Day 2: Snake River rafting and more in Grand Teton National Park

Today, view some of North America's most spectacular mountain scenery – and keep an eye peeled for wildlife ranging from moose and elk to beavers and bald eagles during a ten-mile rafting trip* along the Snake River. During a free afternoon and evening, explore Grand Teton National Park as you please, enjoy optional activities from horseback riding to fishing (available at additional cost) at your inside-the-park lodge, or visit the historic town of Jackson. Enjoy dinner à la carte at the lodge tonight.

Lodging: Jackson Lake Lodge

Breakfast, Dinner

Day 3: A day in amazing Yellowstone National Park

This morning, join a park insider for a peek into the story of Grand Teton National Park and the effort to preserve its diverse environment. Heading out of Grand Teton National Park, see the snowy Tetons reflected in Jenny Lake, which was formed by melting glaciers. Arrive midday at Yellowstone National Park, established in 1872 as the world's first national park, known for its unique geothermal activity. Witness Old Faithful Geyser, shooting up to 184 feet in the air approximately every 90 minutes – the number-one attraction for all Yellowstone tours. Learn more about this phenomenon and check out the Upper Geyser Basin on this afternoon's guided excursion in the park; enjoy an à la carte dinner at your leisure at your classic inside-the-park hotel close to Old Faithful itself.

Lodging: Old Faithful Inn

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 4: Yellowstone's Grand Canyon and more

America's first national park is yours to explore today on this ultimate of Yellowstone tours; witness some of the parks abundant geysers, as well as hundreds of brilliantly colored hot springs, bubbling mud pots, steaming fumaroles, and other geothermal wonders that early 19th-century skeptics found too astounding to be believed. You'll follow the Firehole River to Fountain Paint Pot – a collection of colorful, bubbling mud pots – then view the dramatic Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Make your way through Hayden Valley before arriving for an overnight in a historic 19th-century hotel on the shores of Yellowstone Lake.

Lodging: Lake Yellowstone Hotel

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 5: Rediscovering the Wild West in Buffalo Bill's Cody

Leaving the mountains for the open grazing land of western Wyoming, arrive in the quintessential 1890s town of Cody, named for its famous founder, William "Buffalo Bill" Cody. For an authentic picture of the art and culture of the Wild West, visit the museums of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center – including the Whitney Gallery of Western Art, the Draper Museum of Natural History, the Plains Indian Museum and the Buffalo Bill Museum, which opened in 2012. Tonight, an evening of western fun beckons at either the Cody Wild West Rodeo (seasonal) or the Dan Miller Cowboy Music Revue, depending on the time of year.

Lodging: Holiday Inn® Cody at Buffalo Bill Village

Breakfast, Dinner

Day 6: The Bighorn Mountains and a big helping of ranch life

Upon departing Cody this morning, traverse the Bighorn Mountains with their breathtaking vistas of rugged canyons, sparkling waterfalls, miles of grassland, and colorful vegetation en route to a double dose of authentic Wyoming ranch life.  First, feel the spirit of the West during an authentic ranch experience – including a cookhouse lunch, a horseback ride*, a horse whisperer and a roping demonstration – at the TA Guest Ranch in Buffalo, Wyoming. A real working cattle ranch in the heart of "cowboy country," the TA Ranch was the site of a famous siege and shootout during the infamous "Johnson County War" in 1892; you can still see the old gunshot holes in the ranch's original horse barn! Later, continue on to an overnight and dinner at your leisure at at yet another real Wyoming ranch – the Ranch at Ucross. 

Lodging: The Ranch at Ucross

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 7: Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse in the Black Hills

Travel into the Black Hills of South Dakota today, where you'll have lunch and visit the in-progress Crazy Horse Memorial. Work on the colossal rock sculpture has been ongoing for more than 50 years; it will be the largest stone carving in the world when completed. Continue on to one of America's best-known icons – Mount Rushmore National Memorial, where the faces of former presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln are carved into granite bluffs; learn about the monument's creation. Later, arrive in Rapid City, where you'll share favorite highlights of this most unforgettable of Yellowstone tours at tonight's farewell reception and dinner.

Lodging: Adoba Eco Hotel Rapid City

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 8: Journey home or extend your stay

This most memorable of Grand Teton and Yellowstone tours ends in Rapid City, South Dakota. Fly home anytime; a transfer from Adoba Eco Hotel / Rapid City to Rapid City Regional Airport is included. Flight departure times vary; allow a minimum of two hours for flight check-in.

Breakfast

Your Tauck Tour Highlights

Insider stories about the national parks during filmed narratives by Ken Burns & Dayton Duncan
Stays at sought-after inside-the-national-park accommodations in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks
Rafting adventure along the Snake River, surrounded by the spectacular scenery of the Tetons
A peek into the story of Grand Teton National Park and the effort to preserve its diverse environment with a park insider
Extensive exploration inside the world's first national park, Yellowstone National Park
Visits to the Crazy Horse Memorial and Mount Rushmore National Memorial
Wild West rodeo or a performance of the Dan Miller Cowboy Music Revue in historic Cody
Visits to the museums of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody for a comprehensive look at the history, culture, art and natural history of the West
Authentic working ranch experience at the TA Guest Ranch in Buffalo, site of a historic 1892 standoff in the Johnson County War
Airport transfers upon arrival and departure as noted
17 meals (7 breakfasts, 3 lunches & 7 dinners), service charges, gratuities to local guides, admission fees, taxes and porterage

Your Hotels....

Note: Tours of September 19 & 21 will stay at Best Western Premier Ivy Inn in Cody on night 5, and at the Holiday Inn Sheridan on night 6. 

Nights 1 - 2 : Jackson Lake Lodge - Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

It's hard to sit still here. Everywhere you look, wilderness beckons. See the spectacular Tetons rising out of the sky above the Snake River from the huge picture windows 60 feet tall in the main lodge. Gaze across the shimmering lake and spy glimpses of wildlife ambling near the shore as you sit down to eat in the Mural Room. Or peer through your handy binoculars – a must for "up-close" viewing of mountain slopes dotted with wildflowers – while you are enjoying the only swimming pool in Grand Teton National Park. Set in the heart of the park, the Lodge offers all kinds of outdoor activities, including horseback riding, float trips and boat excursions. So when you're not off exploring postcard-perfect sights near the Lodge like Jenny Lake and the wildlife-rich Snake River with Tauck, you're free to enjoy your stay as you like.

Night 3 : Old Faithful Inn - Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

In 1987 the Old Faithful Inn was designated a National Historic Landmark because it was "the first building in a National Park constructed in an architectural style harmonious with the grandeur of the surrounding landscape". Its seven-story-high log lobby is unique in American architecture. Created with gnarled logs and rough-sawn wood from the Northern Pacific Railroad, it has a sense of place as identifiable as the park itself. But that's not the only thing special about this 100+-year-old hotel. It is also steps from the world-famous Old Faithful Geyser, where you can count on the clockwork timing of its plume of steam that soars skyward every hour. When you are not outside marveling at this natural wonder, you can enjoy the Inn's immense lobby and huge stone fireplace, comfortable rooms and a great restaurant.

Night 4 : Lake Yellowstone Hotel - Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Originally built in 1891, the stately Lake Yellowstone Hotel is the oldest historic hotel in remote Yellowstone National Park. The hotel, which is situated on the shores of lovely Lake Yellowstone, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its graceful, refined ambiance recalls the 1920s. The views from the hotel dining room out over the lake are magnificent, as are the vistas from the tranquil Sunroom.

Night 5 : Holiday Inn® Cody at Buffalo Bill Village - Cody, Wyoming

Did you know that more than 93% of all American travelers have stayed in a Holiday Inn? That's because they know they can find friendly services, comfortable accommodations, and welcome amenities at this well-known hotel chain. The Holiday Inn® Cody at Buffalo Bill Village is no exception. It’s just blocks away from the Buffalo Bill Historical Center and close to the Cody Nite Rodeo and Dan Miller’s Music Revue, offering you one of the best locations in this historic "Old West" town. There’s an outdoor swimming pool and a small fitness facility when you’re ready to wind down after a busy day and an on-site laundromat available to guests. The Bottoms Up Lounge is a great place to relax after a busy day.

Night 6 : The Ranch at Ucross - Ucross, Wyoming

No trip to the great American West would be complete without a visit to a real dude ranch. Days start with a cowboy breakfast spread, and end with a dinner buffet that has everything from grilled trout to Wyoming beef and tender chicken – with an apple pie that can't be beat. Lodging accommodations vary and feature views of horses grazing in the back pasture, or sage-covered hills well suited for a trail ride. There are so many activities here you'll never run out of things to do. You can choose to ride a horse or splash in the pool. Play tennis, soccer or challenge your traveling companions to a game of horseshoes. Board games make indoor time fun too. And believe it or not, there is one TV at the ranch but according to the ranch hands, there's hardly ever a kid in front of it!

Night 7 : Adoba Eco Hotel Rapid City - Rapid City, South Dakota

Ideally located in Rapid City's historic downtown district, The Adoba Eco Hotel Rapid City offers warm hospitality, an inviting atmosphere and is ideally located just steps away from popular entertainment options, shopping areas and businesses. Spacious guest rooms feature new 40-inch, 1080p, high-definition, flat screen TV's, on-demand movies, executive desks with ergonomic chairs and coffee makers. The hotel offers a heated indoor swimming pool, whirlpool, Fitness Center and Business center. The Enigma restaurant is known for its appealing menu and popular mystery dinners, while the 445 Lounge offers 65 delicious martinis.

Tour Only Cost: All prices quoted below are per adult person, per tour in British Pounds (GBP)

Departure Dates

Single Twin/Double Triple Quad
2015: All departures in 2015 £2526 £1984 £1819 Please call us
2016: All departures in 2016 £2868 £2216 £2053 Please call us

 

Special Solo Traveller Savings – save up to £180 off the single room price on select departure dates – Please call us for more details. 

Not included in your tour cost:
Flights – we can package your tour with flights at very competitive airfares using our airline partners. Please call us to discuss the best airline for your itinerary.
Pre or post accommodation - If you want to extend your stay at the start or the end of your escorted tour or add another destination to your booking please call us and we will be happy to provide a quote.
Meals, other than those listed in the itinerary.
The customary gratuities for the Tour Director and local drivers are not included.
 
FAQs:
There are many questions and considerations you might have when planning an escorted tour with Tauck. For more information please click here.
 
To book your travel arrangements:
Please call us on Freephone 0800 0336 335, We are open 7 days a week.
We will be happy to check the availability of your tour, offer a quote for flights and any pre or post nights you would like to add.
When you are ready to go ahead with the booking, we would require a non-refundable deposit of 20% or the full balance if you are due to travel within 8 weeks.