Arizona Cultural Tours &amp; Trips

Group Tour

Why we love them

Their unique emphasis on immersive cultural experiences combined with active exploration with personalized cycling experiences.

Lodging level

Premium - 4 star

Physical level

Strenuous

Trip pace

Full schedule

Visits

Arizona

Highlights

Explore the walking trails and fascinating exhibits of the highly regarded Arizona Sonora Desert Museum.
Bike and picnic among the beautiful saguaro cacti of Saguaro National Park.
Visit the Tumacácori National Historical Park for a self-guided tour, home to three Spanish mission communities and beautiful orchards and gardens.
Cycle on The Loop, named the number one bike path in America by USA Today, through vibrant Tucson, along the Santa Cruz and the Rillito Rivers.
Savor local cuisine infused with Native American, Spanish, Mexican, and Anglo-American influences.

Themes

Birding, Cultural, Cycling & Biking, Nature & Wildlife

What travelers are saying

"This trip is unbelievably fantastic. Two of the best rides of my life, were on this tour. The guides were very good and this was just the start, when we met them, at the hotel in Cortina. Cortina was the site of the 1956 Olympics, and is a small pretty village. Nothing was open the two nights we were there, so probably bad timing. Hotel was a typical ski village hotel, good Italian/German food, and very comfortable. Second day of biking was up an old railroad spur that is now a ski trail about 15-20 K up to a mountain pass called Cimabanche Pass, which is beautiful. We rode up in a snow storm, then rain, then finally clear skies. This was the number two best ride of my life. Starting out from the hotel in Cortina, up the old spur, through single track bike trails, past babbling brooks, up to this fabulous mountain pass. This is now where the fun starts. Mostly downhill on paved roads very little traffic, at good speeds, through the most spectacular valleys you would ever see on a bike ride. Breathtaking. It had to end back at the hotel for a big dinner. The best ride of my life was the last biking day out of Merano. We were bused up 1500 K, about 85-90 miles to Lake Resia, high up in the Dolomites, then rode around the lake, down, back to Merano. High mountain peaks, many valleys,small towns, many grape growing farms, scenery, the best, and cool brisk weather. This was truly a great bike tour, one I will never forget. The trip is rated easy, but maybe easy/moderate is closer. The Hotel in Merano is excellent, middle of old town, modern, has a thermal bath, rooms were very good. The town of Merano is a must see if in the area, small, beneath the high mountains of the Dolomites, good restaurants, lots of tourists."

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6 days From$3,145

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Cultures & Canyons of Western USA Self-Drive

By Audley Travel

preferred

4.9/5 Excellent

Self-Guided / Independent Tour

Lodging level

Standard - 3 star

Physical level

Easy

Trip pace

Full schedule

Visits

Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Las Vegas, Mesa Verde, Monument Valley, Santa Fe, Zion National Park

Themes

Cultural, National Parks, Nature & Wildlife

What travelers are saying

"It's hard to describe how lucky we are to have been able to work with Stephanie in planning our honeymoon to Japan. From the very beginning, Stephanie was friendly, flexible, and an absolute wealth of knowledge. We had several meetings with her leading up to our trip to come up with the perfect itinerary. Throughout this, Stephanie was mindful of our budget, without sacrificing anything. During our trip, Audley was available at all hours to help with anything and everything which was such a relief to know we had that resource available to us. I truly cannot imagine having planned this trip without all of Stephanie's guidance and knowledge- and cannot imagine taking another big trip like this without the help of Audley. Thank you again!"

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15 days From$3,072

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Natural Beauty & Native History: The Best of New Mexico & Arizona

By Road Scholar

preferred

4.4/5 Great

Small Group Tour

Lodging level

Standard - 3 star

Physical level

Easy

Trip pace

Balanced schedule

Visits

Albuquerque, Arizona, Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Santa Fe

Highlights

Explore ancient ruins at Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Visit historically significant sites across the southwest, from Hubbell Trading Post on the Navajo Nation, to Fred Harvey’s historic La Posada Hotel
Learn about archaeology and ethnology at the School for Advanced Research (SAR), and visit the vaults of the Indian Arts Research Center — a Road Scholar exclusive experience

Themes

Cultural, Hiking & Walking

What travelers are saying

"Our family of four, including two adult children, took the Bicycling: Day Trips to Paradise in Canada. This trip is entirely outsourced to the owners of the inn, there are no Road Scholar employees involved in the trip. Two of us have taken bicycle trips all over the world and the bicycling component of this trip was disorganized, haphazard and almost unsafe. We all filled out forms giving details regarding our bicycle fitting months before the trip. On the first day, the leader Stephen, went around the room and asked the same questions and said everyone would get fitted in the morning before we began the first ride. The morning brought a rack of bikes, all different types in various levels of readiness. There were road bikes, hybrid bikes, mountain bikes and e-bikes. The rides were all on paved surfaces and the mountain bikes were heavy and the additional suspension added weight. The bike I received had rust on the chain and rear sprocket. When I asked about it, was told they were waiting for another van to show up with tools and equipment. Once it arrived, they gave me the lubricant to spray on the rust. My wife’s bike would not shift into the high gear on the front sprocket. Instead of adjusting the derailleur, they suggested spraying it with lubricant. Our one son is over six feet and needed a larger frame bike, even though he detailed it in the bike form months ago, there was no bike to fit him. One of the guides, then went home and brought a larger bike that was a full suspension mountain bike for him. The bike was very heavy, hard to control on the road and he felt unsafe. After two days, one of the guides convinced Stephen that they could adjust a hybrid bike to fit him. Clearly there was no work done to prepare the bikes for the trip. Many of the bikes needed adjusting and all needed lubricant to function easily. For every day, there was a tray of snacks placed out for us to take along the ride. None of the bikes had any baskets or attached bags, so if you didn’t bring a small day pack, there was no way to carry the snacks. For lunch on the rides, they brought exactly one sandwich for each rider. Since most of us get hungry while doing a day of exercise, it would have been helpful to have a few extras. On one day, they ran out of sandwiches and one of the leaders that were riding with us did not get lunch. Do NOT take this trip if you are expecting it to be a bicycling trip. We have used VBT and Discovery Bicycle Tours many times over the past 25 years and they are excellent bike tour companies. Lastly, after sharing these details with Road Scholar after the trip, their response was weak at best. After doing the full reviews and having to call them, their response was to give us $200 credit after spending $8000 on this trip. Not only was that insulting, they assumed that I would take another trip with their organization."

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11 days From$2,699

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Western Wonders

none

4/5 Great

Group Tour

Lodging level

Standard - 3 star

Physical level

Strenuous

Trip pace

Balanced schedule

Visits

Arizona, California, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Yosemite National Park

Themes

50 plus, Cultural

What travelers are saying

"We've taken over 10 group tours using Cosmos and Gate1. This trip last month, 9000 was not very good. -During booking, incorrect information was given about airport-hotel transfers -The whispers (listening devices) didn't work from the get-go, so no whispers were used during the 13 day trip. - Porters are no longer hired to bring your luggage to and from your room. (Very elderly had to handle their own luggage. Our friends had to help many of them.) -A few days into the trip one couple left. At the end of the trip we found out they had covid. Cosmos did not let us know; a few people weren't feeling well and two of our friends then tested positive. -One hotel was awful and not even up to "budget" standards -Many of the stops had castles, churches... but were not included, so be sure to count that in when pricing.  don't plan to use Cosmos ever again. Gate1 is the best in my opinion. When my husband's passport was stolen, they assigned someone to go with him to the embassy, translate, etc...It was above and beyond what we expected  "

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12 days From$2,409

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Exploring America's National Parks

none

4/5 Great

Group Tour

Lodging level

Standard - 3 star

Physical level

Extreme

Trip pace

Balanced schedule

Visits

Arches National Park, Arizona, Bryce Canyon National Park, Colorado, Denver, Jackson, Las Vegas, Moab, Monument Valley, Utah, Yellowstone National Park, Zion National Park

Themes

50 plus, Cultural

What travelers are saying

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15 days From$3,279

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Highlights of Route 66 with Mother Road Festival & Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

none

4/5 Great

Group Tour

Lodging level

Premium - 4 star

Physical level

Very Easy

Trip pace

Balanced schedule

Visits

Albuquerque, Arizona, California, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Texas

Themes

50 plus, Cultural

What travelers are saying

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16 days From$3,669

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Canyons, Rockies, and Rails with Rocky Mountaineer

none

4/5 Great

Group Tour

Lodging level

Standard - 3 star

Physical level

Very Easy

Visits

Arches National Park, Arizona, Canyonlands National Park, Colorado, Denver, Las Vegas, Moab, Monument Valley, Utah

Themes

50 plus, Cultural

What travelers are saying

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9 days From$3,639

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Highlights of Route 66

none

4/5 Great

Group Tour

Lodging level

Standard - 3 star

Physical level

Extreme

Trip pace

Balanced schedule

Visits

Albuquerque, Arizona, Bryce Canyon National Park, California, Chicago, Lake Powell, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Monument Valley, St. Louis, Texas, Utah, Zion National Park

Themes

50 plus, Cultural

What travelers are saying