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YES, It's a supply and demand thing and NO, it's not always one year or more in advance. The fact is, the sooner you begin searching, the more options you will have, but there is hope for last minute travelers looking to raft the mighty Colorado river.
This goes without saying but the larger the group, the more lead time needed to ensure space on a raft trip. Commercial Non-motor trips usually have between 18-24 passengers per launch, which consists of between 4 and 6 passengers per raft, depending on the type: Oar, Paddle, Hybrid or Dory.
Motor trips are usually 2 raft launches and somewhere between 12-14 passengers per raft for a total of 28 passengers maximum per trip. Occasionally, a launch may consist of only 1 motor raft, in which case some motor raft types can accommodate up to 18 passengers. There are 3 motor rig models voyaging the Colorado river in Grand Canyon: S-Rig (most popular offered by more outfitters), J-Rig and C-Rig. There can be different variations of each, depending on the outfitter.
Generally, the smaller the group size, the less lead time is needed.
There are hundreds of commercial launches annually. These trips are made up of a specific raft type covering a certain part of the canyon, over a pre-determined number of days, or trip duration. How soon you have to book your trip greatly depends on how frequently that specific trip launches. For example: the most popular trip chosen by more people annually is a 6-9 day full canyon motor raft trip (click here to learn why). This particular trip is offered by more outfitters (12 of 16) then any other raft trip which means that technically, one does not have to book this trip as far in advance compared to a less common option such as a 5-day upper canyon paddle trip which is only offered by a couple of outfitters and launches just a few times per year.
Overall, less supply of a particular trip type usually means more lead time needed.
To increase your odds at booking your ideal raft trip, do not make the common mistake of booking airfare for your family vacation before securing a Grand Canyon raft trip. Why? The long answer is that the National Park provides a certain number of user days to each of the 15 commercial outfitters, which ultimately regulates how many passengers can take part in a Grand Canyon raft trip annually. The launch and end dates are pre-determined and set in stone. Fixed trip dates means it is only a matter of time before outfitters reach their capacity each season. By limiting your travel window to a short and specific time period, you are significantly decreasing your chances of finding your ideal trip. For example, if you are looking for a 7-day motor raft trip and your window is from June 15 - 22, you are basically hoping to win the lottery of finding an exact match where the trip begins on the 16th in order for it to end on the 22nd.
It is recommended to find your ideal raft trip first, secure your spaces and then book airfare. Alternatively, have a healthy 2-4 week window available in hopes of securing a raft adventure.
How far in advance one has to book a Grand Canyong raft trip depends on many factors. Does it have to be one year or more in advance? The answer is no. For all you planners, it is a fact that the further out you begin searching, the more options will be available to you. If you're more of a last-minute type of traveler, don't stress as there is still hope. Here's why: To book a trip, a deposit of $300-$500 is needed to secure a reservation and a final payment is generally somewhere between 2 to 4 months prior to launch. This means that those "planners" who decide to cancel their reservation will do so at this time, forfeiting only their deposit rather then the whole trip fare which in turn creates room on trips just 2-4 months prior to a launch. For the last minute traveler, don't throw in the towel just yet! Spaces can become available with just weeks to spare due to last minute cancellations. We've had lots of luck booking smaller parties of 1 or 2 passengers just weeks prior to launch given that there are no dietary restrictions or food allergies as outfitters need more time to accommodate these special needs.
Reach out to us with your travel window, number of people in your group and number of days you'd like to be on the river, and well be happy to assist you in booking your ideal Grand Canyon raft adventure!
