We are expert trip planners for the Western United States, providing travelers with customized itineraries and private vacation packages in Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah and Washington. Active road trips through spectacular nature are our specialty, and we are your best resource for putting together an unforgettable National Parks adventure in the American West. Let us organize your amazing western vacation now!
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ADVENTURES AWAIT
Some of our favorite places
O U R S E R V I C E S
Creating your perfect vacation out West
Itineraries
We’ll give you a custom trip plan with detailed trip instructions that include a packing guide, attraction recommendations and driving instructions so you can do an independent, self-driven private tour.
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Tours and Activities
We have insider knowledge on the best things to do out West! We’ll arrange your guided tours with the best tour operators and can give you instructions for doing self-guided hikes and independent sightseeing.
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Accommodations
We can book your stay at any level: from rustic lodges and quaint bed and breakfasts to traveler inns and luxury resorts. Our preferred rates with partner hotels let you get the best value for your money.
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Car Rentals
We know what vehicle you’ll need for your specific National Parks driving tour and we can book it for you.
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Flights
Let us find and book the best flight plan for you so you can focus on buying hiking gear instead of booking flights.
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OUR COMPANYHow we work
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Meet your American West adventure planners
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Leo CuestaLeo started the Uncharted adventure travel group in 2011 and has been designing unforgettable trips for over a decade. He got his MBA in the Boston area so New England was actually his first home in the US. Although he loved his time in the Northeast, when he moved to Las Vegas he knew that he had found his forever home in the West. Leo, who has lived in three countries and has traveled all over the world, considers the Western United States the most amazing place he has been to. He is an avid hiker, climber, skier and mountain biker and knows the best trails and routes in his extensive backyard.
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Cami SarmientoCami may look like a teenager but she has seen a lot of the world. She has lived in four countries and worked in five industries. She got her MBA in the Boston area and after graduating spent two years working in business development, human resources and marketing. Cami's passion for traveling and experiencing new things, however, made her realize that a corporate job was not for her. In 2013 she joined Uncharted and has been arranging adventures for people ever since. A Las Vegas local, Cami loves backpacking and photography and has an impressive photo collection of the West’s most stunning landscapes.
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TRAVEL PLANNING TIPS
The best way to visit the West
The Western United States is grand, diverse, and evokes many different things in people. Many picture National Parks like Yosemite, Arches and the Grand Canyon. Others think about iconic cities like Las Vegas and San Francisco. Quite a number of people envision cowboys riding through the desert into the sunset. The American West has all these and much more. The West has so many amazing things that it can be daunting for a traveler to decide where to go and what to do. Here are some tips on how to get started planning your Western vacation.
First, determine how much time you have for your vacation and that will determine how far you can travel from the city that you fly into. You can see and do plenty in a few days, but only if you focus on a relatively small area. Paradoxically, if you try to see too many things in a short amount of time, you won’t see much at all because you’ll end up spending most of your time on the road. Everything in the West --- states, parks and cities --- is huge and sprawling. Western landscapes are beautiful and make driving tours a pleasure, but no one wants to spend most of their vacation in a car.
Here’s a good rule of thumb: if you have 3 days or less (not including flight days), stay within 2 hours of the city that you fly into. Many cities are surrounded by spectacular attractions. Las Vegas, for example, has Red Rock Canyon, the Colorado River, Lake Mead, Hoover Dam and Valley of Fire all within an hour’s drive, and Death Valley is within 2 hours.
If you have 4 to 7 days (not including flight days), stay within 5 hours of your arrival city. That opens up many multiday road trip options for you, and each destination would only be a couple of hours or so from the next. You could visit Sequoia, Kings Canyon and Yosemite from Los Angeles or Olympic National Park, the San Juan Islands and the Cascades from Seattle.
If you have more than a week then you can go on an extensive driving vacation and flying into one city and out of another is a good option. A one way road trip lets you travel farther and see more places. Car rental companies will charge more for dropping off a vehicle in a different city but you save on gas versus driving back so it might be worth it. A one way drive only makes sense if you have more than a week considering the distance between major cities in the West and the attractions along the way.
Next, decide when you want to do your trip and that helps determine the best places to visit. Many destinations in the West can be visited all year round but some are closed or unbearable in certain months (e.g. Death Valley in the summer). Another thing to consider is that many places are extremely busy during their peak season and that may not be the optimal season for you. Depending on how much solitude you are looking for and the things you want to see and do, you may want to travel during the off season. Summer is peak season for most destinations in the Western United States except places in the deserts of California and Nevada like Joshua Tree National Park, Death Valley and the Las Vegas area. Even places that are quite hot in summer like Yosemite Valley and Zion are jam-packed with visitors. Winter is off season everywhere except for ski towns and casino towns, and even those are not too busy. Snow makes many landscapes extra beautiful and winter is a great time to visit many National Parks. Spring and Fall are when you can visit essentially every place in the West.
Finally, think about what you want to see and do on your trip. It may seem counterintuitive to think about sights and activities last, but most people don’t have the luxury of total freedom in determining their vacation days so it makes sense to start planning based on the time that is available to you. After you’ve determined the duration and season of your trip, then you can think about the stunning landscapes and epic adventures to match. Utah’s Mighty 5 National Parks have weird and wonderful sandstone formations and are great places for hiking and photography. Arizona’s Wupatki National Monument, Walnut Canyon and Montezuma Castle have ancient ruins of ancestral Puebloan villages that are some of the most amazing archeological sites in the country. Washington’s San Juan Islands are a fantastic area for kayaking, fishing and seeing orcas. The key is to be open to the various magnificent places and experiences that the West has to offer.
The Western United States is the proverbial candy store for a traveler. We’re here to help you pick the best treats for yourself given your tastes, available time and budget. Contact us now and let’s start planning your unforgettable vacation in your Uncharted West.
*Moving out West permanently? A roadtrip is a great way to scope out your new home area!
First, determine how much time you have for your vacation and that will determine how far you can travel from the city that you fly into. You can see and do plenty in a few days, but only if you focus on a relatively small area. Paradoxically, if you try to see too many things in a short amount of time, you won’t see much at all because you’ll end up spending most of your time on the road. Everything in the West --- states, parks and cities --- is huge and sprawling. Western landscapes are beautiful and make driving tours a pleasure, but no one wants to spend most of their vacation in a car.
Here’s a good rule of thumb: if you have 3 days or less (not including flight days), stay within 2 hours of the city that you fly into. Many cities are surrounded by spectacular attractions. Las Vegas, for example, has Red Rock Canyon, the Colorado River, Lake Mead, Hoover Dam and Valley of Fire all within an hour’s drive, and Death Valley is within 2 hours.
If you have 4 to 7 days (not including flight days), stay within 5 hours of your arrival city. That opens up many multiday road trip options for you, and each destination would only be a couple of hours or so from the next. You could visit Sequoia, Kings Canyon and Yosemite from Los Angeles or Olympic National Park, the San Juan Islands and the Cascades from Seattle.
If you have more than a week then you can go on an extensive driving vacation and flying into one city and out of another is a good option. A one way road trip lets you travel farther and see more places. Car rental companies will charge more for dropping off a vehicle in a different city but you save on gas versus driving back so it might be worth it. A one way drive only makes sense if you have more than a week considering the distance between major cities in the West and the attractions along the way.
Next, decide when you want to do your trip and that helps determine the best places to visit. Many destinations in the West can be visited all year round but some are closed or unbearable in certain months (e.g. Death Valley in the summer). Another thing to consider is that many places are extremely busy during their peak season and that may not be the optimal season for you. Depending on how much solitude you are looking for and the things you want to see and do, you may want to travel during the off season. Summer is peak season for most destinations in the Western United States except places in the deserts of California and Nevada like Joshua Tree National Park, Death Valley and the Las Vegas area. Even places that are quite hot in summer like Yosemite Valley and Zion are jam-packed with visitors. Winter is off season everywhere except for ski towns and casino towns, and even those are not too busy. Snow makes many landscapes extra beautiful and winter is a great time to visit many National Parks. Spring and Fall are when you can visit essentially every place in the West.
Finally, think about what you want to see and do on your trip. It may seem counterintuitive to think about sights and activities last, but most people don’t have the luxury of total freedom in determining their vacation days so it makes sense to start planning based on the time that is available to you. After you’ve determined the duration and season of your trip, then you can think about the stunning landscapes and epic adventures to match. Utah’s Mighty 5 National Parks have weird and wonderful sandstone formations and are great places for hiking and photography. Arizona’s Wupatki National Monument, Walnut Canyon and Montezuma Castle have ancient ruins of ancestral Puebloan villages that are some of the most amazing archeological sites in the country. Washington’s San Juan Islands are a fantastic area for kayaking, fishing and seeing orcas. The key is to be open to the various magnificent places and experiences that the West has to offer.
The Western United States is the proverbial candy store for a traveler. We’re here to help you pick the best treats for yourself given your tastes, available time and budget. Contact us now and let’s start planning your unforgettable vacation in your Uncharted West.
*Moving out West permanently? A roadtrip is a great way to scope out your new home area!
TESTIMONIALS
Happy Customers
Amy Weisberger, Michigan
Best 10 day California family road trip! I can’t thank Leo enough. We had the best family vacation yet to Northern California and the coast. He took so much time get all the details, where to eat with fabulous restaurant picks, order of how to see the National Parks. (Sequoia and Yosemite) Fabulous reservations. Everything went seamless. I don’t think I will travel without an agent.
Nik Korgaonkar, Maryland
Cami put together a great vacation for us to the Grand Canyon and Sedona. She hit all the highlights at both sites, including some fun side excursions. The night sky tour at Lowell Observatory was a highlight! I also appreciated that she followed up with us even after the itinerary was built, to let us know about new tour and activity openings as Arizona opened up from the pandemic. Thanks Cami for putting together a great itinerary and helping us plan a family vacation that we all loved!
Carolynn Oleksyn, British Columbia
Leo gave us an excellent itinerary for our California road trip. The hotel choices were always in a convenient location and the details in the hiking trails was appreciated. Links to google maps were provided. We spent time in Joshua Tree, Death Valley, Sequoia, Monterey & Carmel.
My Chau Tran, Virginia
We had a wonderful trip to Zion, Bryce and the Grand Canyon national parks, and to the Antelope Canyons. The self-guided guide prepared by Cami was very useful in pointing us to places to stay and dine, and popular areas to visit/see based on our schedule. We just followed the guide and had the best time! Thank you Cami!
Laura Ceron Melo, New York
Cami & Leo designed the best roadtrip of my life! They took into consideration all variables —time, budget, special needs, etc. and traced the path for us to follow. All their recommendations, from the parks to visit, to the hikes to do and what to wear for them, to the towns to stay at, to the places to eat were spot on! I had the best time exploring the west (NV, UT, CO, AZ) thanks to their guidance and care.
Joan Karlin, California
Hi Leo,
We had a great Las Vegas/ Utah trip—thank you for all of the arrangements! Thank you again for making this a smooth and enjoyable trip for all of us!
Lynn Xi, New York
Leo arranged one of my best vacation weeks. Not only he is knowledgeable about local hidden trails but also all other adventure activities.
I highly recommend Leo for west coast destinations.
I highly recommend Leo for west coast destinations.
Catalina Correa Salazar, Colombia
Cami and Leo put together one of the greatest trips ever across the West. It hit all major points for us including length of hikes, special interests and hidden places worth seeing. We had the best time ever with their flawless plan! Highly recommend their guidance in tailoring the trip to you, your group and your needs!