Albuquerque, NM – Two New Mexico outdoor adventure companies have teamed up to offer combination tours highlighting the most remote and scenic aspects of the Albuquerque area. Quiet Waters Paddling Adventures (QWPA) and New Mexico Jeep Tours (NMJT), which were featured in the May 2011 issue of Sunset Magazine, announce a new combination tour called “The Best of Sunset.” The tour combines QWPA's guided canoe and kayak explorations along the historic and scenic Rio Grande Valley and bosque, with NMJT's jeep expeditions featuring ancient pueblo ruins, petroglyphs, ghost towns, and spectacular mesa views.
Quiet Waters Paddling Adventures, which is based in Bernalillo, New Mexico, offers guided canoe and kayak tours of the middle Rio Grande. The tours start to the north of the city in the small town of Algodones and take out on the northern edge of Albuquerque.
“After arriving in the Albuquerque area in 2007, I began paddling the Rio Grande regularly. I was astonished that such a remote and scenic experience was available so close to a major metro area. With so much of the river passing by or through protected bosque or pueblo lands, there's virtually no development along the riverfront, which creates a feeling of a genuine wilderness experience. The views and variety of wildlife are remarkable,” said Hayes.
New Mexico Jeep Tours, currently rated as a top outdoor attraction in Albuquerque on TripAdvisor.com, customizes jeep tours of several remote areas surrounding Albuquerque. Their most popular excursion explores a 20,000 acre private ranch, teeming with ancient pueblo ruins, petroglyphs and ghost towns. Bands of wild horses populate the area and are often encountered. Tours can incorporate side hikes if desired.
“We're not about wild four-wheeling through canyons,” says Hart, “We're actually very environmentally sensitive. The jeeps are just great tools to access areas that are otherwise difficult to reach.”
The “Best of Sunset” combination tour involves spending three to four hours with each company in a single day. Customers embark on one adventure in the morning, followed with the other in the afternoon. With three jeeps in their fleet, New Mexico Jeep Tours can accommodate as many as 11 people on a single tour, so the two companies combined can work with groups of up to 22 on a single day, with half exploring the river in the morning while the other half head out in the jeeps. The afternoon groups are then reversed.
Round trip transportation from hotels within a 25-mile radius of Bernalillo is provided for groups of four or more. By choosing the combination tour, customers save 10% on the package. Tours range from $140-$180 per person. Child discounts are also available. Details are available at www.nmjeeptours.com/tours or www.quietwaterspaddling.com.