Adventure Photo Tours

A Las Vegas day-tour company since 1998

Adventure Photo Tours is a Las Vegas company that runs its own guided day trips from the city's hotels to landmarks across the Southwest: the West Rim of the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Death Valley, Valley of Fire, the area around Area 51, and Hollywood. Its office is at 3111 S Valley View Blvd, Suite X-106, Las Vegas, NV 89102. The tagline sums up the pitch: "More fun! More stops! More photo ops!" Every tour on the site starts from Las Vegas, and the company sells both shared seats at a per-person price and private tours priced per party.

The about page says the company "officially opened in early 1998 with the intention of being a small 'Mom and Pop' operation" and that by 2014 it had "a substantial fleet of luxury vehicles" and a larger staff. A quote from Will (the page gives no surname) reads, "Well, I guess we failed at semi-retirement, but we're having a ball." The site says it is "the only tour company to have received the State of Nevada Governor's Tourism Award four times", a claim it repeats as "the only 4-Time Recipient of the Governor's Tourism Award" on the homepage. It gives no years for those awards.

The tours and their per-person prices

The homepage lists the shared tours with a "Season Special" price per person, each shown against a higher "was" price:

• Grand Canyon West & Hoover Dam VIP, was $437, now $387.
• Grand Canyon West 5 in 1 VIP Tour, was $393, now $343.
• Grand Canyon & Hilo VIP 6-In-1 Tour, listed in the menu as the Grand Canyon West & Helicopter VIP 6 in 1 Tour, was $648, now $598.
• Hollywood Day Tour from Las Vegas, was $393, now $343.
• Bryce & Zion Canyon VIP Tour, was $363, now $313.
• Zion National Park VIP Tour, was $335, now $285.
• Area 51 Top Secret Military Base, was $295, now $235.
• Valley of Fire VIP Tour, was $184, now $157.
• Hoover Dam VIP Tour, an "Extended Exterior VIP Tour", was $142, now $112.
• Death Valley VIP Tour, was $340, now $290.

The homepage also mentions Jet Boat Tours among its offerings, but no jet boat tour has its own listing in the tour menu.

The Death Valley page is the most detailed. The tour runs on Mondays and Wednesdays, or any day for combined parties of 6 or more, leaving at approximately 7:00 am with free hotel pick-up and returning at approximately 5:30pm. The first stop is the ghost town of Rhyolite, "a long abandoned gold mining town and the set for many movies and documentaries". The route then enters the center of the valley from the east, stops at Hell's Gate, and visits Badwater "at 282 ft. below sea level", Zabriskie's Point, the Devil's Golf Course, the Furnace Creek Museum, the Salt Lake, the Sand Dunes and Artists Pallet. The $290 per-person price includes lunch, bottled water and snacks; gratuity is not included. The page says the tour runs in spring, fall and winter and "also throughout the summer months" for "the truly adventurous".

Vehicles, guides and what to bring

Tours run in what the site calls luxury SUVs and VIP mini-coaches. The about page lists 3 vehicle types: luxury 7-passenger 4x4s for smaller groups and off-road sightseeing, driven by a professional tour guide; mini-coaches with leather or cloth interiors; and Mercedes-Benz Sprinters carrying 12 to 14 passengers. The mini-coaches and Sprinters are both marked "Affiliate vehicle", and the Death Valley page lists 7-passenger vans and 14-passenger mini-coaches as affiliate vehicles too, with the vehicle at the company's choice. So the larger vehicles on a given day may come from a partner fleet. The homepage says the tours come with "Breakfast, Lunch and Unlimited Snacks and Bottled Water", though the Death Valley page lists only lunch, water and snacks.

For Death Valley the page advises hiking or athletic walking shoes, long pants and a warm jacket from October to February, and shorts, a hat and a light shirt from March to September. It adds, "New Gov't fee DOES NOT apply to international travelers." The site also says all vehicles are "completely fogged & disinfected prior to a tour", and the Death Valley page still carries a line that "because of the Covid issue, slight modifications to tours may be necessary".

Private tours, groups and booking

The private tours page prices each tour for a private party of 1 to 3, 4 to 6 or 7 to 10 people; parties above 10 are asked to call. Some examples, at the discounted price shown: the Hoover Dam VIP Tour is $757 for 1 to 3, $779 for 4 to 6 and $1543 for 7 to 10; the Hollywood Day Tour is $1892, $1938 and $3846; the Grand Canyon West & Hoover Dam VIP is $2342, $2619 and $5053; the Grand Canyon & Hilo 6-In-1 is $3820, $4097 and $8009. Area 51 and Valley of Fire private tours are priced only for up to 6 people, at $1553 and $1621 and at $1014 and $1075.

Booking runs by phone at 702-889-8687 (the footer also lists 888-363-8687), by email, or through the Book Now buttons. The site repeats the line "Call Direct & Save the 'Booking Fees!'", but it does not say what those fees are or where they apply. Corporate and team-building groups can request a custom tour through a contact form, and the homepage adds, "Dine in the Desert if you wish."

What the site leaves open, and who it suits

The site does not publish a cancellation or refund policy, a deposit rule or accepted payment methods. The homepage and private tours page give no departure days or times for the other tours, so timing is worth confirming when booking. Guide languages are not stated.

Adventure Photo Tours suits Las Vegas visitors who want a guided day out to the Grand Canyon West Rim, Hoover Dam, Zion or Death Valley without driving, with frequent photo stops and hotel pick-up, and small parties who want a private vehicle at a set price. The testimonials on the homepage, the company's own selection, name guides such as Barry, Bob, Ken and Clayton and describe a Grand Canyon West day of about 10 hours with a bag breakfast, bottled water and a lunch voucher.