Yellowstone & The Tetons: American Safari September 2023
Before we went on our trip to "Yellowstone and the Tetons: American Safari" in September, 2023, the only discussions on the forum that I found were from around 2017, so I thought I would update that information with our experiences which turned out to be quite similar to those that have been previously posted. Tauck does a great job with their communication before and during the tours, and with the organization during the tour which is partly why we chose to tour with them again.
We started the tour with one day ahead in Jackson at the Wort Hotel and we found our own restaurants for dinner both that pre-tour night and night 2 of the tour. We liked "Local" and "Blue Lion" for those dinners and there are many choices available in Jackson which was very crowded, even though September used to be a quieter month. Reservations were necessary ahead of time. During our extra day ahead, we took the local shuttle out to Teton Village on our own and loved going to the top of the mountain on the tram where we ate the famous waffles which was a fun experience, and we got to see both the village and the surrounding areas on our shuttle trip to and from the village. There is a also a lot of shopping in Jackson with many types of stores for clothing, artworks, souvenirs, etc. if you choose to stay there for the day ahead.
As noted by others, the hotels in the park, Mammoth Hot Springs, Old Faithful Snow Lodge, and the Jackson Lake Lodge were "good enough", with the last one having a beautiful lobby area view of the Tetons and an excellent restaurant which had the best food of the three. There are no televisions in the park hotels, but we did not miss them as the scenery and experiences in the park are amazing and we were busy with the tour most of the time. Wifi was generally fine for most uses. In all 4 hotels, we had two queen beds in each room which (apart from The Wort Hotel in Jackson which may have a few king bedrooms) seemed to be the usual experience. It was often quite warm in the rooms (even though it was September) as noted by many of our fellow tour guests.
Clothing throughout the tour is casual with layers for the changes in temperature at that time of the year in Wyoming, and while light hiking shoes would be good, sneakers also work well for most travelers. We found that tour guests wore a variety of dress on the first and last night dinners, probably more casual than on our previous tour of the "Canyonlands" in 2019, which is what we have experienced in many of our travels these days.
We chose this tour over the other "Yellowstone and the Tetons" tour because you stay 2 nights in each of the 4 hotels which gives you a little more breathing room at each location. We felt that the tour itinerary was excellent for seeing everything we wanted to see in this area. It is still quite "full on" and tiring by the end of the trip, and it is all worth it due to being such an amazing and beautiful area in all ways: landscape, animals, scenery, people, etc.
Finally, our tour director, Christie, and driver, Randall, were both outstanding in their abilities to lead our tour with excellent organizational skills, communicating the varied day's activities, keeping us safe, well fed, watered with frequent bathroom stops, educating us with help from outside experts and artists, with humor, kindness and respect for each of us. Be assured that this trip is one that you will be glad you took!
Comments
Thank you, Life Traveler Now!
We are taking this trip in September, 2024 and we found your post really helpful. Thank you.