2023 Tour code: RM-ABFA-23
About the tour
This 9-day tour takes you through the southwest in autumn, one of the most beautiful times of year to see the splendid colors and formations of Arches and Mesa Verde National Park, and of course, to gaze in awe at the hundreds of colorful balloons contrasting Albuquerque's blue skies during the International Balloon Fiesta. Your journey begins in Chicago, San Francisco, or wherever along the California Zephyr route is most convenient for you. After a night aboard the train to Grand Junction, you'll continue by motorcoach to the breathtaking red rock landscapes of Moab, Utah. The geography here is like nothing else in the country. Visit Arches National Park, featuring more than 2,000 natural stone arches. Continue to Mesa Verde National Park, where you'll explore the more than 600 ancient cliff dwellings dating back to A.D. 600. Next, aboard the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, you'll journey along the Animas River and through the stunning Rocky Mountains, bursting with fall colors this time of year. In Santa Fe, you'll learn about the Spanish colonists that formed the city and saw the oldest building in the United States. Finally, you'll head to Albuquerque where you'll join visitors and locals alike to watch as hundreds of hot air balloons are launched into the sky, floating into the sunrise in the perfect photo moment. Tour Albuquerque and enjoy ongoing festivities around the city before gathering again to watch the balloons at sunset, complete with a fireworks show. A spectacular southwest adventure you'll remember for years to come!
Highlights
Activity level Natural Explorer
You don’t mind spending the day on your feet. You enjoy sightseeing that includes walking, standing or stair climbing. You’re okay with longer days that are more active, such as multiple sightseeing stops, longer motorcoach journeys and getting on and off ships and trains.
What’s included
Itinerary
Arrive at Chicago Union Station and board the California Zephyr. Settle into your onboard accommodations and prepare for your overnight rail journey. Travelers may elect to travel from San Francisco or points in-between and meet your tour manager in Grand Junction. Overnight train.
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Reviews
4.0 / 5 · 29 reviews
DENNIS BRYAN BREEDEN
Submitted 15 Nov 2022
I enjoyed it very much. We learned that even if a roomette on the train is extra we would have slept better and would be worth the money. Enjoyed all the stops and Sheryl was very informative. Wish we could have stayed at the stops a bit longer but we did have a lot of ground to cover. Albuquerque was WONDERFUL! Wish we would have had more time there. But one thing we learned. Getting in the festival by bus is the only way to go. Thank you.
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MELINDA LEE WALTER
Submitted 26 Oct 2022
We had the most fun filled memorable trip! Everything was perfect and even when it rained, our wonderful and creative tour director, Ed went with us on the walking tour. He put his heart and soul into our trip, always ensuring that he gave the best information and stories about each stop. Our bus driver was the best. He kept us safe while always making sure the elderly were assisted on and off the bus. Some of the roads we were on were quite winding and scary, and Ron handled it all with confidence and care. We will book another tour, but only with Ron and Ed.
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RICHARD KUMBIER
Submitted 22 Oct 2022
In reviewing our recent Travel by Rail trip we did have a good time and will recommend similar trips to others. However there were three items that caused frustration, doubt and discomfort. The first was the extreme difficulty in obtaining our travel tickets. We were notified by my brother-in-law in Buffalo, with whom we were traveling, that he had received tickets. We had received nothing. He forwarded copies of his to us. They included our passage from Chicago to Grand Junction but none of our tickets from Milwaukee to Chicago and our return trip from Albuquerque. It took over three calls and a week to secure our tickets. Each time a different representative assured us that they had been sent. We received nothing until it was suggested that we try another email address. I dusted off an old unused address and sure enough it got through. The difficulty was that address worked only on my phone and could not be printed. I eventually forwarded the message from my phone to my regular email address to print it. I was told that my computer was blocking it as spam. I doubt that explanation because all planning, billing, and current requests for evaluation come to my regular email address with no difficulty. The second was that the roomette on the Amtrack was far too cramped for our mobility restricted bodies. I doubt if we will ever travel by Amtrack again if this is the required accommodations. All of the Vacation by Rail people we dealt with on our trip were extremely com-petent and caring for our comfort and enjoyment and deserve an A+ rating. But there was one exception. The sleeping car attendant on our return trip was sub-par, and she was missing for all but the first 40 min of our trip. Pinky came into our roomette about 20 min into the trip and crossly asked “How did you get in here?” I replied that this is where she told us to go when we were on the plat-form while loading. She then asked “Do you have your lunch time assignment?” I replied that yes, she had given it to us on the platform before loading. She stormed off. Pinky returned about 20 min later giving us two bottles of water. I inquired about all the sheets scattered around the roomette. She took the dirty sheets left by the last occupant and left the clean ones. That is the last time we saw her until the next afternoon as we approached Chicago. We then saw her in the upstairs sleeper car. We did attempt to call for her help Friday evening to make up the beds for sleeping. We pushed the call button about 8:30 pm. The call button remained on for the remainder of the trip, never answered. After over an hour I attempted to make the beds. I found sheets but no blankets. In the morning again I looked for help setting up the seats and found none! We did find a dirty blanket on the floor of the closet area as we collected our belongings to leave the train in Chicago. Again all others we encountered on the trip were excellent. Our tour coordinator Ed, our driver Ron, and all other Amtrack staff both on the train and in the station were excellent.
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Louise Bock
Submitted 19 Oct 2022
Excellent tour manager and bus driver. Loved the history and details that our tour manager and other tour guides imparted to us. We were able to see and learn about people and places that we would never have known existed if we had gone on our own. Thank you for all the people that made this trip so special!
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David
Submitted 18 Oct 2022
The trip was really great except for the rails part. The tracks were not in good condition and the ride to Grand Junction was horrible once we got to Missouri. Track were uneven and rough, and the overnight was absolutely unbearable. The tracks back on the Southwest were much nicer but still not good. It's a shame Amtrack does such a lousy maintenance job. The bus tour segment was marvelous with a great host and driver. Stops and activities were well planned and interesting. Accommodations were excellent for the entire trip.
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Georgia
Submitted 17 Oct 2022
The trip itself was good if you exclude the train ride during the night time hours. It was so rough we thought we were going to be thrown out of our beds! The scenery on the way out was fantastic but not enough time was planned for all of the stops and especially at the Balloon Fiesta, a total of 5.5 hours was not enough time to really enjoy it. An extra day should be planned for the Fiesta in case of rain, which is what happened to us, we were rained out.
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