How much of Zion a Bryce day trip shows you
Zion is the other half of the day, and on most Bryce tours it is the shorter half. Depending on the operator you get about 40 minutes of stops or about 2 hours, plus the drive through the park on the way. This guide sets out what each tour does there and what no day trip from Las Vegas includes. If Zion is the park you came for, the last sections cover the alternatives.
Utah's first national park, briefly
Zion became Utah's first national park in 1919. Its main canyon was cut by the North Fork of the Virgin River, and the sandstone walls rise up to about 2,000 ft (600 m) above a floor that sits around 4,000 ft (1,200 m). Above the visitor center stands the Watchman, the red peak behind most photos of the entrance sign. On the east side, the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway climbs out of the canyon through a tunnel 1.1 miles (1.8 km) long, finished in 1930. Beyond it lies slickrock country, where Checkerboard Mesa shows its cross-hatched face.
A Bryce day trip touches only the edges of all that. Las Vegas to Zion is about 160 miles (260 km), or 2.5–3 hours, and Zion to Bryce adds about 85 miles (135 km) and another 1.5–2 hours, so most of the clock goes on the road before anyone sets foot on a trail.
National Park Express, a short look
National Park Express, from ~$219, is our pick for the day as a whole, but Zion is its thin side. Its GetYourGuide itinerary lists a 10-minute photo stop at Checkerboard Mesa and about 30 minutes at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center, plus the drive through the tunnel. The company's Mercedes Sprinters are custom-built to fit the tunnel, where larger vehicles need an escort and pay a fee, so the van rolls straight through. Viator lists Zion before Bryce, and the order can flip with the weather.
Too little time in Zion is the complaint reviewers raise most often, and it is a fair one. Forty minutes covers the entrance sign, a long look at the Watchman and a wander around the visitor center, not a hike. Road closures after rockfall can also move the Zion stop to another part of the park; the operator has used the Kolob Canyons section when the main road was shut. If Zion matters to you as much as Bryce does, read on.
MarVit Tours, two hours with viewpoints
MarVit Tours, from ~$229, splits the parks more evenly, with about 2 hours at Bryce and then about 2 hours in Zion. Reviewers praise guides such as Anthony and the frequent photo stops at viewpoints. Groups are capped at 13, and some reviewers had as few as five on board, which makes each stop quicker to get going. The catch is lunch, which you buy yourself at a stop along the way, and a long day of 12–14 hours. Viator also shows a handful of one-star reviews among many good ones, so read a few before booking.
Two hours in each park
MarVit Tours gives Zion roughly the same time as Bryce, about 2 hours each, in a van of 13 guests at most, from ~$229. Lunch is not included, and Viator lists reduced rates for children. Both sites refund in full until 24 hours before the start.
What no Bryce day trip includes
Zion's three best-known experiences stay off every listing we compare, and knowing why saves a disappointment on the day.
- Angels Landing. The final chained section needs a permit won in a lottery, and the hike takes much of a morning. No day tour from Las Vegas schedules it;
- The Narrows. Wading up the Virgin River between the canyon walls fills a day of its own and calls for special shoes plus a check on the water level. It is not a stop on a 13-hour van tour;
- The Zion Canyon Scenic Drive. Park shuttle buses serve the road up the main canyon for most of the year, and private cars stay out while they run. None of the day trips lists the drive.
If any of those is the reason for your trip, plan a night near Zion with your own car; the driving guide sets a rental against a tour.
Zion is the hot park
The two parks feel like different climates. Zion's canyon floor lies thousands of feet below Bryce's rim, and in summer it often reaches about 100 °F (38 °C) while Bryce sits in the 70s to low 80s °F (21–28 °C). On a July tour you can want a fleece on the rim at midday and shade by the visitor center a few hours later. Pack for both ends with what to wear and bring to Bryce Canyon, and see the best time for a Bryce Canyon day trip if you can still choose the month.
A Zion-only day, or several days
If Zion is the park you most want, Jupiter Legend's Zion small-group tour, from ~$148, spends its 12 hours on that one park. It drives through the Zion-Mount Carmel tunnel and stops at the visitor center, then walks the Canyon Overlook Trail before a deli lunch inside the park, with 13 guests at most and a 4.7 rating from 105 reviews. The catch is obvious once said, because there is no Bryce at all. If the hoodoos were the reason for the trip, this is the wrong day.
At the other end of the scale, Empire Vacations' 3-day tour, from ~$590, spends two hotel nights on the road between four parks. Zion and Bryce are two of them; Antelope Canyon and the Grand Canyon are the others. Its catch is the pace. Four parks in three days still leaves only a few hours at each, with long stretches in the minibus and meals at your own cost. Our page on overnight stays compares it with a slower plan.
Choosing by how much Zion you want
- Bryce comes first. National Park Express, which adds lunch to a guided walk below the rim. Zion gets a short look;
- Both parks equally. MarVit Tours, about 2 hours in each;
- Zion only. Jupiter Legend's day, which also costs less;
- Long hikes or The Narrows. A night or two near the park in your own car.
For every price side by side, see what a Bryce Canyon day trip costs. Visitors from abroad should also read park fees and the non-resident surcharge, since the fee applies at Zion and again at Bryce. What you do on the rim is in Bryce viewpoints and the walk among the hoodoos.