Archive for April, 2007

Tokyo skyline

Tokyo is a blast! It’s a full-on head-rush and an explosion of sensory stimulation – sights and sounds, and the tastes of real Japanese food. Here the cutting edge and the traditional coexist in ethereal harmony — kimono-clad computer warriors, punk rockers with impeccable manners.

There are some excellent multi-day tours that depart from Tokyo, including the two- or three-day Kyoto & Nara by Bullet Train (Sunrise Express) and the three-day Mt Fuji, Hakone, Kyoto and Nara by Bullet Train Tour. But if you’d rather make your own arrangements try some of the following.

Day 1: Introducing Tokyo

Take a Tokyo Morning Tour that first takes you up the dizzying heights of Tokyo Tower, which, at 1,092 feet (333 meters), is the tallest self-supporting tower in the world. Below, there are sights and shopping opportunities aplenty.

Kabuki Japanese Theater

Grab some lunch and then check out some Kabuki (Japanese Theater) at Tokyo Kabuki-za. If you fancy something a little more visceral than high-fallutin’ Kabuki theatre, get on the bus for the Sumo Wrestling Tour.

The Tokyo Night Tour and Japanese dinner is a highlight and very popular. The famous Sanju Sangendo restaurant is the venue for your authentic Japanese meal where you can sample sukiyaki, sashimi and tempura. Afterwards the tour goes across Rainbow Bridge to the futuristic Aqua City at Odaiba and then through Akasaka and Ginza to the Roppongi Hills for fantastic over Tokyo at nighttime.

Day 2: Fujisan & the Bullet Train

Mt Fuji

At 12,388 feet (3776 meters), Mt Fuji is one of the iconic images of Japan. The Mt Fuji and Hakone Day Tour (return by Bullet Train) is a fantastic day tour that takes you from Tokyo by deluxe coach past scenic countryside and up to the Mt Fuji 5th Station at 7562 feet (2305 meters). After lunch there’s a cruise on Lake Ashi, a cable-care ride up and down Mt Komagatake, and then onto Odawara to board the Shinkansen super-express (the Bullet Train) for your return journey to Tokyo.

Day 3: Nearby Nikko or Kamakura’s Great Buddha

We get rave reviews about the Nikko World Heritage, Toshogu Shrine, Lake Chuzenji & Kegon Waterfall Day Tour. Little Nikko is at the entrance of the Nikko National Park, and is most famous for the lavish Toshogu Shrine & Mausoleum. For centuries Shinto and Buddhist worship has been practiced here amongst the mountainous landscapes, lakes, waterfalls, hot springs and wild monkeys. The tour goes over the Irohazaka mountain road with its many spectacular hairpin turns. Lake Chuzenji is in the Nikko National Park at the foot of sacred Mt Nantai, an extinct volcano.

Alternatively, spend a day doing the Kamakura Walking Tour including the Great Buddha. At Kotokuin Temple there’s the imposing bronze Great Buddha at 37.4 feet (11.4 meters) high. The walking tour takes in Hase Kannon Temple with views over the town and the Pacific Ocean, a rickshaw ride to historic Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine and Komachi shopping street full of art and craft shops.

Check out the full list of Tokyo tours and activities as well as what’s on offer in Kyoto and Osaka.

-Bruce Melendy

What is the world buzzing about this week?

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, it’s comeback time: the zeppelin is in the skies again, and visitors are returning to the shores of the lakes of Kashmir. Next door, the Chinese are building a 21km-long dragon to celebrate the country’s ethnic diversity - it’s due for unveiling in 2009. The Herald also helps you plan something other than a honeymoon in the Maldives.

On the SMH Travel Blog, the perennial debate over Australia’s best beaches continues. There are also lively discussions about women traveling alone and the world’s cheapest destinations.

Thinking about a visit to the Isle of Wight? The San Francisco Chronicle has an overview. This being Spring, it’s a good time to go to the mountains or the desert and savor the explosion of wildflowers.

The New York Times surveys cooking classes around the world, runs down 36 hours in Portland, Oregon, and explains how to check the safety records of overseas carriers.

If you missed out on tickets to Glastonbury, the Guardian tells about 20 other off-kilter festivals. Looking for a place to stay in the UK? Try a farm. Looking for a £7 (U$14) transatlantic flight? Try Ryanair, who plans to introduce them soon.

The LA Times has a series of articles on Nicaragua’s Corn Islands, as well as Carmel, California. They’ve also got some tips on how to get comfy and catch some winks on plane flights.

-Bruce Melendy

What’s not to love?

There’s a new documentary coming out titled “Let’s All Hate Toronto” and it will premiere at Toronto’s very own Hot Docs film festival. And yes, as you might guess, it’s all about Canadians who hate Toronto. Here’s a description from the Hot Docs website:

This tongue-in-cheek road doc follows “Mister Toronto” as he embarks on a coast-to-coast Toronto Appreciation tour, encountering “recovering Torontonians” and those who would be quite happy never to step foot in our fair city. Are we really Torauma, Onterrible? Yes, according to a “professional Toronto hater.”

After being shocked that people hated Toronto (a city I visited for the Toronto film festival last September, and really loved), I went on to be shocked that Canadians we’re being so vocally mean about it. They always seem so nice and inclusive. I love Canadians, and Canada, and yes, even Toronto. But I take issue with this film. Issue!

So to combat this documentary in my own humble way, I present 5 reasons to LOVE Toronto.

1. Superb restaurants. Bymark, Canoe, and the Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar are all as tasty as any food you can get in New York or San Francisco or any foodie city. Certainly better than say, Ottawa. Take that Ottawa!
2. The Hockey Hall of Fame. Shame on you Canadians for not loving the city that houses your Hockey Hall of Fame. Shame.
3. The Toronto Blue Jays. the only Canadian team left in major league baseball, and a pretty decent team at that.
4. Lake Ontario. It borders Toronto and it’s one of the Great Lakes. See, GREAT is right there in the name.
5. Diversity. The United Nations cited Toronto as one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world. And I have to say I’d agree. Jealous one hit wonder Montreal? Yeah, yeah, we know you’re all French, or Quebecoise or whatever.

So please, give Toronto a chance. Let’s be lovers not fighters, after all we all love some good gravy fries and a nice hockey game.

– Kelly G

Be nice to Planet Earth

Are you tired of reading about Earth Day on the Viator blog and over on Viator.com?

No problem. Give your tired eyes a rest while you download an Earth Day podcast from Viator’s very own Rod Cuthbert. Rod claims he’s the CEO and founder of Viator; we think he’s actually a slightly mad globe-trotting surfer in disguise.

Either way Rod has some tips on minimizing your carbon emissions and greenhouse gas contributions. Rod is a firm believer in the importance of sustainable living and sustainable travel. Download the podcast and hear what else Rod has to say…

• Download an MP3 version of the Viator podcast
• Download an iTunes-friendly version of the Viator podcast
• To hear a streaming version, head over to the PR Podcast Website and click “play”

When you’re done getting environmentally inspired, head over to Viator’s Earth Day Writing Contest for a chance to win 100,000 miles of carbon offsets and Viator.com gift certificates.

–Scott McNeely

Small girl peering round Daisy’s comedor in La Hoya

With charter flights pouring into the Dominican Republic at a cost no greater than that of a weekend break in Spain or France, one imagines this land to be little more than one big hotel complex catering to the two-week bronzers.

However for the intrepid traveller with a desire to take advantage of these cheap flights, there is a world within this tiny island that is a far cry from the tourist-impacted northern and eastern shores, a world that offers an ecological paradise not yet touched by the packaged-holiday resorts.

The southwest of the Dominican Republic is often seen by its fellow provinces as being the donkey’s rump of the island. It has seen little of the country’s booming development, as the money made in the north and east of the island rarely manages to trickle down through the stunningly arid landscape that separates this oasis of natural beauty from its richer neighbouring provinces. The Barahona district boasts one of the most modern airports in the Caribbean, but without the tourists it lies empty.

This lack of traveller interest does not mean that there is nothing to visit or do within the region. The road from Barahona down the coast runs parallel to the beach, uninterrupted for more than 200km (124 miles) arching up and down the lush dramatic landscape that crests the sky-blue Caribbean ocean. Small villages of colourful houses that spread the various valleys lead to empty beaches frequented only by fishermen and children playing truant, which on weekends come alive with Dominicans of all ages dancing to the hip swaying sounds of Merengue and cooking fresh fish on open fires.

Fancy a perfect beach?

Baoruco beach

Quemaito, a 10-minute drive from Barahona, is a beautifully quiet beach with calm turquoise waters accentuated by the brilliantly white round pebbles of the beach. Its shallow reefs make for excellent snorkelling and its two food shacks grill freshly caught fish for lunch.

Further on down the road lies the small fishing village of Baoruco, the sole home of the semi-precious Larimar gem, whose breathtaking colour resembles the waters that lap its shores. Walking along the empty beach you are bound to find handfuls of the stone that wash down from the forested mountains that crest the village.

Next stop along is the most thriving beach of them all, San Rafael, with its long stretch of pebble beach crested by the forested mountains that arch strikingly up to the sky. On weekends the fresh water pools at the waters edge, that are fed by the waterfall rushing down the mountain side, play host to Dominicans young and old. Here you can drink rum, eat fish and dance to bachata at the pool side shacks or just follow the waterfall up to its source and enjoy the awesome views at the top.

The subsequent beach in this line is Los Patos another small fishing village with a large fresh water river that meets the sea. Along its banks are scores of little shacks serving up the mornings catch with plantains and rice. Like San Rafael this small stretch of shore comes alive on weekends with bathers from as far away as Santo Domingo.

How about some animal & bird life?

It is not just the soul-wrenchingly picturesque shores, with their small coconut-bark thatch huts, that make this part of the island the most attractive. The hills that stretch back all the way from the coast into Haiti are seething with life. The Dominican Republic has a greater variety of flora than any of its neighbouring Caribbean islands, with more than a 100 different species of hibiscus alone. A walk into these mountains from any one of the villages along the coast and you will be blessed with spectacular views, hidden communities, all manner of fruit trees, refreshing streams to swim in and the occasional load laden donkey.

True coffee lovers should take a trip up to Polo nestled in the peaks far behind San Rafael, although to reach it one must take the road to Cabral on the Santo Domingo — Barahona road. Here, reputedly, some of the world’s best coffee is grown in the milder climate of this small rural community where there are more donkeys than cars. On the way up stop off at Polo Magnetico, a small stretch of road where round objects, wheels of your car included, seem to role up the hill. This optical illusion confounds both the eye and the stomach.

Fishing boats on the shores of Barahona

In this part of the country the people are the friendliest on the island. Even if someone glares at you, grace them with a beaming smile and the stare will crack into a broad welcoming grin. Speak in Spanish and it’s a fair bet you will be invited home for dinner to meet the family.

Morals permitting, a description would also be apt of Lake Enriquillo with its flamingos, crocodiles and dachshund-sized iguanas, the colourful and dubiously aromatic Haitian markets, and the pounding discos… but then if all were to be detailed here, then this hidden gem would no longer remain the Caribbean paradise that it is.

Finally, my tip for home-cooked Dominican food: catch a 10-minute motorbike taxi (motoconcho) from Barahona to the village of La Hoya. At the entrance to the village there is a small light-green coconut-bark house on the banks of an ox-bow lake where the proprietor, Daisy, serves up the best true Dominican food to be found in the whole region. The setting of this comedor truly compliments the food of this little family establishment.

–Chris Courth

Planning a trip? Check out Viator’s list of things to do in the Dominican Republic, including tours & attractions in Puerto Plata and things to do in Punta Cana. There are more suggested itineraries for the Dominican Republic over on Viator.com.

Launches Earth Day Writing Contest Offering 100,000 Free Miles of Carbon Offsets to Help Travelers Minimize Climate Footprint

San Francisco, CA (April 10, 2007) – As the annual commemoration of Earth Day approaches on April 22, Viator.com, the leading online resource for researching and booking activities in 75 countries worldwide, is helping travelers minimize their climate footprint. Viator’s diverse selection of eco-friendly activities in destinations around the world and new suggested guidelines for sustainable living and travel will help travelers truly experience their destination while taking steps to protect the environment.

As part of its Earth Day commemoration, Viator is also giving away 100,000 miles of carbon offsets from Carbonfund.org and Viator Gift Certificates as part of a Writing Contest to encourage traveler awareness and participation.

Last week, Viator announced a partnership with Carbonfund.org and its intent to become 100% carbon neutral, starting with offsetting the company’s corporate travel, and helping to educate travelers about minimizing their own climate footprint. Information on Carbon Offsets, Sustainable Life and Travel, as well as the Earth Day Writing Contest can also be found on the Viator Travel Blog.

Viator’s in-house travel experts have hand-selected some popular eco-friendly activities around the globe.

A Little Legwork Means a Smaller Footprint
Cycling tours are a great way to help protect the environment and to truly experience the vibe of a destination by riding through its streets without any barrier between the traveler and the local sights, sounds or smells. Viator offers nearly one-hundred cycling tours around the world. The Half Day Cycling Tour of Barcelona with an entertaining native English speaking guide offers a different perspective of the city, some fun, and the chance to meet other travelers. The Sydney Cycling Tour features the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbor Bridge, The Rocks, Darling Harbour, and more than 30 other important sights. A quick trip on the train from Paris with bike in hand culminates in the Cycling Tour of Versailles with up-close access to Marie Antoinette’s Petit Trianon, the Grand Canal and the famous Chateau of Versailles. The Half Day Berlin City Afternoon Cycling Tour packs two full days worth of independent sightseeing into a 4-hour, expertly guided experience including historical overviews and glimpses into the Berlin of today. Other cities easily explored on two-wheels through Viator.com include Chicago, London, Maui, Montreal, Paris, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.

Travelers Stepping Lightly
Walking tours are among some of the most popular activities in any destination because of the full exposure they provide to the atmosphere of a destination, not to mention being carbon free. During the Venice Past and Present Walking Tour - St Mark’s Square, Bridge of Sighs, Grand Canal and Rialto, this enchanting city is discovered through its extraordinary architecture, labyrinth of narrow alleyways and prevalent medieval flavor. The roots of rock, punk and glam can’t be traced to one city or club, but the people and places that formed much of the foundation of those musical genres are explored on NYC’s Original Rock ‘n’ Roll Walking Tour throughout the historic Lower East Side. The goal of the Madrid Tapas Evening Walking Tour is to leave travelers with a lasting affinity for the city through an introduction to the real Madrileno lifestyle accompanied by traditional Spanish food and drink enjoyed in some of the hidden corners of central Madrid. Viator offers walking tours in more than 70 destinations, including favorites like Amsterdam, Florence, New Orleans, Prague, San Francisco and Tokyo - also well explored by foot.

Nature as the Destination
When the environment becomes a destination’s main attraction, one way to get close to it is by grabbing a paddle and taking to the water. The 3 Bay Cruzade from Los Cabos is a combination kayak and snorkel adventure that discovers the magnificence of secluded bays in Mexico like Twin Dolphin, Santa Maria and Chileno Bay. During the Canoe Cave Explorer Tour at Phang Nga Bay, Phuket, Thailand, a skilled canoe guide takes travelers through the famous Phang Nga Bay and up close to newly discovered sea caves and ‘Hongs’, open-air cliff-lined cylindrical tidal lagoons. The Half Day Double Island Sea Kayaking Tour explores Palm Cove Beach in Australia aboard single or double kayaks and includes time for snorkeling and spotting local wildlife like dolphins, turtles and manta rays. The Cayman Islands, Mission Bay in San Diego and Lake Mead in Las Vegas offer more opportunities to take to the water with Viator.com.

Dedicated readers of the Viator Blog will remember my post last month about the Webby Awards. That post was intended to explain, patiently, to the Webby judges why Viator.com should be nominated for a 2007 Webby award. In case you missed it, here is a recap of the reasons why:

1. While it is nice that you can buy stuff like an iPod or a CD online, it’s not as exciting as buying an astronaut training experience, a tour of New York City in convertible 1975 Chevrolet, a tornado-chasing expedition, a NASCAR driving lesson, a shark dive or any of the hundreds of unique tours and activities available on Viator. The iPod is cool, don’t get me wrong. But it won’t help you to meet the Pope or get hitched by Elvis.
2. We don’t pay lip service to being responsible global citizens, we are responsible global citizens. We support more than 900 locally owned tour operators in 84 countries worldwide, from Cambodia to Kenya, Italy to Ireland, France to Fiji. We have excursions to over 200 UNESCO World Heritage sites to promote tourism and preservation. And we’re working on a zero-footprint emission plan for our staff and travelers.
3. We’re real travelers, not desk jockeys. Between our staff (of around 90 people in San Francisco, Sydney, London and Las Vegas) we’ve basically been to every country in the world with just a few exceptions (… North Korea, Iraq, the Kingdom of Lovely…).
4. Travelers love what we do. And I mean love it. Read some of the reviews in Paris, Rome, Sydney, New York City, Singapore or any of the hundreds of destinations we cover. I won’t lie to you — things sometimes go wrong, tours are cancelled, roads are washed out, people have a mediocre experience. But the vast majority of our travelers love getting out there and doing things, meeting locals, meeting other travelers, getting beneath the skin of a destination and being travelers instead of mere tourists. That’s what travel is all about.
5. And yes, we’ll throw a big smash-up party if we win and invite everybody we know.

To make a long story short, the Webby nominations were announced today. And no, we were not nominated. Somehow the Webby judges overlooked my previous blog post. Oh well, there’s always the Darwin Awards, and there’s always next year for the Webbys.

On the upside, Viator has not gone empty handed this award season. We’d like to share some of the recent nominations we’ve received, mainly so that you, our loyal readers, feel better about all the time you waste, um, invest, in reading the Viator Travel Blog.

• T he BloggyAward site scored Viator 9 out of 10 points last Sunday! What we really like is this line: “As a commercial site’s blog you might expect it to contain entries that are sales pitch in disguise. However, the entries are genuinely informative and helpful, which does a lot more for Viator’s profit than a ’sales blog’ ever would.” We agree 100%. While we are a commercial site (we gotta pay the bills, you know), first and foremost we are travelers - or travellers, if you prefer - with a passion for exploring the world and getting beneath the surface of the destinations we cover. We appreciate being recognized as such. (And yes, BloggyAward, we will fix the crumbler so that the Viator.com Home and Travel Blog Home links are more clear, I’ve already scheduled the fix, check back in a week or so…)
• We captured the “Blog of the Day” award last week, hooray.
• We were nominated for “Best Travel Portal” by Travolution last month. The awards are coming up, so we’ll keep you posted on how we do.
• And we recently received a Gold Award from the W3 International Academy of Visual Arts for best “guides/ratings/reviews” website.

I guess my point is this. While it would have been NICE to score a Webby nomination, we won’t get too depressed about it. And we really do appreciate the awards and notice we’re receiving from other sites. So keep on reading the Viator Blog, and we’ll keep on posting travel tips & suggestions that will motivate all of us to take that next trip.

–Scott McNeely

** Is it really OK? Hmmm. I’m not sure. It’s sort of OK. It could be more OK. But it is not not OK.

A former ski chalet in the Swiss Alps?

Maybe you’ve been reading Viator’s Earth Day page, or our new Go Carbon Neutral page. Maybe you’re feeling inspired to make a difference, to minimize your impact and offset your carbon footprint wherever and however you can.

That’s great and all, but maybe we also hear you asking… “that’s all very worthy, Viator. But what’s in it FOR ME?”

Fair enough. We know it’s hard to be worthy all the time. So we’ve created an extra incentive to whet your earth-loving appetite. We call it a contest. You may win things. And everybody goes home happy, including Planet Earth.

Here’s how it works: You simply write a reply of 50 words or less to the question below. Use our “comments” feature to submit your reply. The deadline is April 30, 2007. We’ll pick 3 winners and post the best replies here on the Viator Blog.

The prizes: There’s some cool stuff, including 100,000 miles worth of carbon credits to help you offset the impact of your travels in 2007. We’re also offering gift certificates on Viator.com, which you can use to book an eco tour or a hike or a bike ride or public transit pass, you get the idea. For complete details see below.

The question: Read the question below. Think about it. Then write no more than 50 words that make us laugh, make us cry, make us understand why Global Warming is, or isn’t, an imminent disaster. The deadline for submissions is April 30, 2007. The Viator Team will pick 3 entries that makes us laugh and/or cry about the issue of global warming. That’s it. So start writing!

Global Warming:

Imminent disaster or “my mountainside property will soon be ocean front… sweet!”?

Tell us what you think about that question and you could win the grand prize: a US$200 Viator gift certificate plus an offset from Viator for 100,000 air miles worth of carbon emissions with CarbonFund.org (just so you won’t feel guilty about your trip). First runner up will receive a US$100 Viator gift certificate. The second runner up gets a US$50 Viator gift certificate.

To submit your entry, leave a reply below to this blog post. The deadline is April 30, 2007. Good luck!

–The Viator Travel Team

Eureka! Offset your emissions.

The other day I received an email from Rod “CEO” Cuthbert about an article he came across in the UK’s Guardian Unlimited. When I went to the website I found that the second article on the page (between Iran’s suspension of a sailor’s release plans and the new MC Rove) was about the UK’s carbon emissions. The article talked about the rise in carbon emissions in the UK and that the 1.25% increase was “worrying and that the figures underlined the importance of efforts to tackle climate change both from government and wider society”.

Rod’s point was simple: Carbon emissions are headline news. This is typical now, it’s a topic that’s rarely off the front pages of the major dailies.

Climate change, or global warming, is the changing of our global climate due to the build up of carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. Is it happening? Yes. For example:

• 2005 was the hottest year on record.
• Greenland’s glaciers are melting 2.5 times faster than a decade ago. If they melt entirely the world’s oceans will rise 20 feet.
• Hurricanes are becoming more severe due to higher water temperatures.
• Concentrations of carbon dioxide are at a 650,000-year high.

Carbon offsets are the process of reducing a ton of carbon dioxide emissions in another location for the emissions caused in the home, office, commute, travel or other activities that use energy and cause emissions. Carbon offsets enable anyone to reduce their climate footprint by supporting projects, typically energy efficiency, renewable energy, sequestration, biomass, etc. that reduce carbon dioxide emissions to offset one’s own climate footprint. Carbon dioxide emissions are caused by the burning of fossil fuels: oil, coal and natural gas. Obviously, your car uses gasoline.

But your house and office as well as the factory that produces your clothes or restaurants, movie theaters and other places we use every day use electricity and energy that generally comes from power plants that use fossil fuels. More than 50% of America’s electricity is derived from coal and virtually all our transportation needs are fueled by oil. The typical American is responsible for 10 tons of CO2 emissions annually through their direct energy use of home, cars and air travel, and about 23 tons of CO2 including their purchases, activities and the other services we all share throughout the economy.

I love to travel and I hope you love to travel. BUT traveling by plane, helicopter, bus, car, van, tuk tuk, motorbike, truck, scooter, boat, barge, ferry, ship, atv, dune buggy, and so on and so forth obviously emits carbon dioxide into the air. Viator offers tours and activities in over 450 destination worldwide. While not all our activities require a motorized vehicle we are, along with our suppliers, contributing our fair share of CO2 into the atmosphere.

This is why Viator has decided to partner with Carbonfund.org. Carbonfund.org is a nonprofit organization that educates the public about the dangers of climate change and makes it easy and affordable for individuals, businesses and organizations to reduce their climate impact. They are reducing the threat of climate change by promoting low-cost carbon reductions and supporting renewable energy, energy efficiency and reforestation projects that reduce and offset carbon dioxide emissions.

Working with Carbonfund.org, Viator has developed a roadmap to offset its company carbon emissions. We aim to become carbon neutral by working to offset all corporate travel, office energy usage and shipping costs. We encourage our entire staff to offset their personal energy usage by reducing and offsetting. We also want to encourage fellow travelers to offset their carbon footprint in 2007. Whether you want to focus on business or personal travel or other energy usage contributions made through this partnership will support Carbonfund.org’s combination of renewable energy, reforestation, and energy efficiency projects.

Interested in calculating the emissions your next trip will generate? Visit Carbonfund today to calculate and have the opportunity to contribute to do your part for the earth.

–Liz P

Learn more about Earth Day, and read our other blog posts about sustainable living and ‘going green‘. You can enter the Viator Earth Day Contest for a chance to win 100,000 miles of carbon offsets.

Grand Canyon Skywalk

The Grand Canyon Skywalk opened last month — if you missed the worldwide media frenzy you must be living under a rock or in a hole.

The BBC, CNN, the New York Times, LA Times, Las Vegas Review-Journal — all the major media covered the opening ceremonies. And there were VIPs and travel industry types aplenty, from astronaut Buzz Aldrin to Viator’s very own Rod Cuthbert (read Rod’s blog post about the Skywalk opening ceremonies).

Rod had a great time at the event, and he remains an enthusiastic supporter of the Skywalk and its caretakers, the Hualapai tribe. Rod did have some concerns about the inevitable crowds the Skywalk would draw, and the ability of the organizers to cope with the rush of visitors.

Based on feedback we’ve received here at Viator, Rod’s concerns seem justified. Bigger than expected crowds are making their way to the Grand Canyon’s West Rim each day, and they’re finding they need to be well prepared in order to enjoy this amazing new attraction. In that spirit, here are Viator’s suggestions on what to take along to make your Skywalk experience truly memorable:

• A little patience! And maybe your iPod… waits in line of over an hour are common.
• Bottled water. You can’t buy it on site yet, and you will get thirsty.
• Sunscreen and a hat. There’s very little shade in the desert, and the sun can really burn out here.
• Comfortable shoes and light clothing. Spring and summer are hot in the desert. How hot? HOT!

Skywalk is a unique and wonderful attraction, but to make sure you remember it for all the right reasons, be sure to follow our advice.

–The Viator Travel Team

You can view more of Rod’s photos of the Grand Canyon Skywalk on the Viator Flickr page. The Grand Canyon is a 30-minute helicopter ride or a 2 1/2-hour drive from Las Vegas. Browse Viator’s complete list of Grand Canyon tours.