🇺🇸 Editor’s Picks · Tours & Activities by State
Best Tours & Activities in All 50 States
America is the most toured country on earth — and for good reason. From the glaciers of Alaska to the coral reefs of Hawaii, from the jazz clubs of New Orleans to the living history of Colonial Williamsburg, every state has a tour that makes it come alive in a way independent travel simply can’t match. This guide covers a stand-out guided tour or activity in all 50 states, plus the most popular tours nationwide and where to book them.
Affiliate Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you book through these links, at no additional cost to you. All tours are independently selected based on ratings, traveler reviews, and editorial judgment — never commission rates. See our full methodology.
Grand Canyon Helicopter Tour
Good to Know: The South Rim from above — 4,000 feet of vertical drop visible in a single glance. The most spectacular 30 minutes in American tourism.
Heads Up: Book 3-4 weeks ahead in peak season — high demand year-round.
Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Tour
Good to Know: America’s most powerful immigration story, told on the ground where 13 million people first set foot in the New World.
Heads Up: Security-style screening required — arrive early with photo ID.
Las Vegas Strip Helicopter Tour
Good to Know: The Strip from above at night — one of the most-booked helicopter experiences in the world. Consistently the #1 Las Vegas tour on Viator by booking volume.
Heads Up: Weight and weather restrictions apply — check before booking.
Alcatraz Island Tour
Good to Know: The most in-demand ticket in San Francisco — the award-winning audio tour of America’s most famous federal penitentiary. Sells out weeks in advance.
Heads Up: Advance reservations required — daily capacity is limited.
New Orleans French Quarter Food Tour
Good to Know: Beignets, gumbo, po’boys — America’s greatest food city explored on foot. One of the most-reviewed food tours on Viator in the entire country.
Heads Up: Small-group tours sell out fastest — book ahead for weekends.
Chicago Architecture River Cruise
Good to Know: 40+ iconic buildings explained by expert guides from the water. The highest-reviewed tour in Chicago — and one of the most-booked city tours in the U.S.
Heads Up: Weather-dependent — outdoor deck seating fills up first.
Road to Hana Tour
Good to Know: The most scenic drive in the Pacific — 64 miles of waterfalls, rainforest, and black sand beaches on Maui. Consistently the #1 Hawaii tour by bookings.
Heads Up: Winding road with many stops — full day commitment.
Hoover Dam Tour from Las Vegas
Good to Know: One of the most-booked day trips in America — the engineering marvel that tamed the Colorado River, just 30 miles from the Strip. Half-day and full-day options.
Heads Up: Extremely hot in summer — morning tours recommended.
Everglades Airboat Tour
Good to Know: Skim across the River of Grass spotting alligators, roseate spoonbills, and the extraordinary ecosystem that makes the Everglades unlike anywhere on earth.
Heads Up: Airboats are loud — hearing protection provided.
Antelope Canyon Guided Tour
Good to Know: The most photographed slot canyon on earth — shafts of light illuminate flowing sandstone walls. Sells out weeks in advance. Must book ahead.
Heads Up: Permit-limited access — book well in advance for peak season.
Alabama
Mobile’s antebellum architecture and Civil War history come alive on this guided walking tour through one of America’s most historically rich port cities.
Alaska
Witness calving glaciers and abundant wildlife — orcas, humpback whales, sea otters, and puffins — on this iconic boat tour through Kenai Fjords National Park.
Arizona
Antelope Canyon is the most photographed slot canyon in the American Southwest. Shafts of sunlight illuminate flowing sandstone walls in breathtaking waves of orange and red.
Arkansas
Paddle through the first national river in America — crystal-clear waters, towering limestone bluffs, and Ozark wilderness that feels entirely untouched.
California
Half Dome, El Capitan, Yosemite Falls — this guided day tour hits every iconic landmark in one of America’s most visited and beloved national parks.
Colorado
Guided tours through 415 square miles of alpine terrain — elk meadows, tundra wildflowers, and 14,000-foot peaks that stop you in your tracks.
Connecticut
New England’s maritime history is on full display in Mystic — tall ships, a recreated 19th-century village, and guides who bring the seafaring era to life.
Delaware
One of America’s oldest and best-preserved colonial towns, New Castle offers cobblestone streets, Dutch and English architecture, and stories that go back to William Penn.
Florida
Skim across the River of Grass at speed, spotting alligators, roseate spoonbills, and the extraordinary ecosystem that makes the Everglades unlike anywhere on earth.
Georgia
Savannah is consistently ranked America’s most haunted city — this evening walking tour through its gaslit squares and antebellum mansions makes it easy to believe.
Hawaii
The most scenic drive in the Pacific — 64 miles of hairpin turns, waterfall stops, black sand beaches, and rainforest so dense it feels like another world.
Idaho
Class III and IV rapids through the deepest river gorge in North America. Hell’s Canyon drops deeper than the Grand Canyon — Idaho’s best-kept outdoor secret.
Illinois
The greatest concentration of architectural masterpieces in the world, explained by expert guides from the water. 40+ buildings, 100 years of American design.
Indiana
A guided cycling tour connecting Indianapolis’s neighborhoods, murals, and cultural districts — the best way to understand this city’s remarkable transformation.
Iowa
Iowa’s capital has quietly developed one of the Midwest’s best food scenes. This walking tour covers local restaurants, farmers market gems, and Iowa’s culinary identity.
Kansas
Wichita’s historic Old Town district is home to craft breweries, barbecue joints, and local restaurants that tell the story of Kansas cooking — guided and delicious.
Kentucky
The Bourbon Trail is one of America’s great food-and-drink pilgrimages. Guided tours through landmark distilleries with tastings at every stop along the way.
Louisiana
Beignets, po’boys, gumbo, and cold brew coffee — New Orleans is America’s greatest food city, and this walking tour through the French Quarter proves it in three hours.
Maine
The only national park in New England — rocky coastline, carriage roads, and the summit of Cadillac Mountain, where you catch the first sunrise in the continental U.S.
Maryland
Baltimore’s Inner Harbor from the water — the National Aquarium, historic ships, Fort McHenry, and the skyline that inspired the Star-Spangled Banner.
Massachusetts
America’s most important history walk — 2.5 miles, 16 historic sites, and 250 years of revolution and independence told by guides who make every site live.
Michigan
No cars allowed on Mackinac Island — just horse-drawn carriages, Victorian architecture, and fudge shops on the most charming island in the Great Lakes.
Minnesota
The Twin Cities have more breweries per capita than almost anywhere in America. This guided tour hits the best of the local craft scene with tastings and insider access.
Mississippi
Natchez has more antebellum homes than any other city in America — guided tours through plantation houses that are simultaneously beautiful and historically complex.
Missouri
Dinner on Table Rock Lake with live entertainment — the Ozarks at their most festive, with gorgeous lake views and a full evening of Missouri hospitality.
Montana
Guided wildlife tours into Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley — the Serengeti of North America, where bison herds, wolf packs, grizzly bears, and elk share the same open valley.
Nebraska
Omaha’s Victorian-era Old Market district is full of cobblestone streets, independent restaurants, and galleries — one of the Missouri River’s great trading cities.
Nevada
The Strip from above at night is one of the most spectacular man-made spectacles on earth. Helicopter tours at sunset are the Las Vegas experience that lives up to the hype.
New Hampshire
Covered bridges, fall foliage, and the summit of Mount Washington — the highest peak in the Northeast — on a guided tour through extraordinary mountain country.
New Jersey
The original American boardwalk, with salt water taffy, Italian hot dogs, and the kind of seaside food culture that dates back to the 1870s — guided and delicious.
New Mexico
Santa Fe is America’s oldest state capital — 7,000 feet and 400 years of history, adobe architecture, world-class galleries, and green chile on everything.
New York
Thirteen million immigrants entered America through Ellis Island. The guided tour of Lady Liberty and the immigration museum is New York’s most powerful history experience.
North Carolina
The most visited road in the National Park System — 469 miles of Appalachian mountain scenery, wildflower meadows, and views that stretch across multiple states.
North Dakota
Roosevelt called North Dakota the place that made him. Badlands, bison, prairie dog towns, and the wild beauty that shaped America’s greatest conservation president.
Ohio
Cleveland is home to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and a music history from Alan Freed to the Isley Brothers. This guided tour makes the city’s musical legacy tangible.
Oklahoma
Electric boat tours through Bricktown Canal — Oklahoma City’s revitalized entertainment district that turned an industrial waterway into one of the South’s best urban destinations.
Oregon
Multnomah Falls, Crown Point, Vista House — the Columbia River Gorge is one of the most scenic drives in America, with guided tours revealing waterfalls around every bend.
Pennsylvania
The decisive battle of the Civil War, explained on the ground where it was fought. Licensed battlefield guides make three days of July 1863 feel present and real.
Rhode Island
The Gilded Age summer cottages of the Vanderbilts and Astors — The Breakers, Marble House, Rosecliff — the most extravagant private homes ever built in America.
South Carolina
Cobblestone streets, antebellum architecture, and harbor views from a horse-drawn carriage. Charleston is America’s most beautiful city, and this is its best tour.
South Dakota
Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer State Park, and the Badlands — guided tours through the Black Hills pack more American history per mile than almost anywhere.
Tennessee
The Ryman Auditorium, Honky Tonk Row, and the studios where country music was born — Nashville’s musical geography told by guides who love every note of it.
Texas
The San Antonio River winds through the heart of the city, lined with restaurants and history. Guided boat tours cover the Alamo and four centuries of Texas story.
Utah
Two of America’s most otherworldly landscapes in one day — Bryce Canyon’s orange hoodoos and Zion’s towering sandstone canyon walls, unlike anything else on the continent.
Vermont
Vermont in October is the peak of American autumn — guided tours through Stowe and the Green Mountains capture maple trees at their most incandescent red and gold.
Virginia
The largest outdoor living history museum in America — costumed interpreters, working colonial trades, and the physical experience of 18th-century Virginia.
Washington
The most glaciated peak in the contiguous United States. Guided tours cover wildflower meadows, glaciers, and sweeping views across the Cascades.
West Virginia
America’s newest national park and some of the best whitewater east of the Rockies. Class IV and V rapids through the deepest canyon in the Appalachians.
Wisconsin
Milwaukee built its identity on beer — Pabst, Schlitz, Miller — and the craft brewery renaissance has reinvented that heritage. Guided tours cover both historic and cutting edge.
Wyoming
The Tetons are America’s most dramatic mountain range — sheer granite walls rising 7,000 feet from the valley floor. Wildlife safaris spot moose, bison, wolves, and bears below.
Grand Canyon, AZ
South Rim Helicopter Tour Grand Canyon White Water Rafting Mule Ride to the Canyon Floor Sunrise Photography TourYellowstone, WY/MT/ID
Lamar Valley Wildlife Safari Old Faithful & Geysers Tour Grand Prismatic Spring Hike Wolf Watching Dawn TourYosemite, CA
Half Dome Guided Hike Valley Floor Sunset Tour Glacier Point Stargazing Yosemite Falls Photography WalkZion National Park, UT
The Narrows Guided Hike Angels Landing Tour Zion Canyon Jeep Tour Slot Canyon Photography TourGlacier National Park, MT
Going-to-the-Sun Road Tour Grinnell Glacier Hike Lake McDonald Boat Tour Wildlife Safari at DawnAcadia National Park, ME
Cadillac Mountain Sunrise Tour Carriage Road Bike Tour Bar Island Sea Kayaking Jordan Pond Nature WalkWashington, D.C.
Monuments & Memorials Night Tour Capitol Hill Walking Tour Smithsonian Museums Guided Tour Segway Tour of the National MallNew York City
Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Central Park Guided Bike Tour Brooklyn Bridge Walking Tour NYC by Night Helicopter TourNew Orleans, LA
French Quarter Food Tour Garden District Walking Tour Cemetery & Ghost Tour Mississippi River Steamboat CruiseChicago, IL
Architecture River Cruise Chicago Food Tour — Deep Dish & More Navy Pier Sunset Cruise Prohibition-Era Crime History TourBoston, MA
Freedom Trail Walking Tour Boston Harbor Whale Watch Salem Witch Trials Day Trip Duck Boat Amphibious TourSan Francisco, CA
Alcatraz Island Audio Tour Golden Gate Bridge Bike Tour Muir Woods & Sausalito Day Trip Chinatown Food Walking TourGlacier & Wilderness
Alaska Kenai Fjords Glacier Cruise Glacier National Park Going-to-the-Sun Mendenhall Glacier Helicopter Tour (AK) Crater Lake Wilderness Hike (OR)River & Water Adventures
Colorado River Grand Canyon Rafting New River Gorge Whitewater (WV) Snake River Hells Canyon Rafting (ID) Everglades Airboat Tour (FL)Wildlife Safaris
Yellowstone Wolf & Bear Safari (WY) Grand Teton Wildlife Tour (WY) Maui Whale Watching (HI) Smoky Mountains Black Bear Tour (TN)Desert & Canyon
Antelope Canyon Guided Tour (AZ) Sedona Jeep Adventure Tour (AZ) Bryce Canyon Hoodoos Hike (UT) Monument Valley Navajo Guided Tour (AZ)Where to Book the Best Tours
Three platforms cover virtually every tour in this guide — here’s which to use and why.
Viator
The world's largest tour booking platform — 300,000+ experiences across all 50 states and 190 countries. Operated by TripAdvisor, with verified reviews from millions of travelers. The first place to check for any tour in this guide.
GetYourGuide
Europe's leading tour platform has built excellent U.S. inventory — particularly strong for city tours, museum tickets, and urban experiences. Free cancellation on most bookings. Strong choice for major metro destinations.
Klook
The fastest-growing global activities platform — particularly strong for attraction tickets, theme parks, and city passes. Mobile-first, instant confirmation, and competitive pricing on major U.S. destinations including Hawaii and California.
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Find Your Next American Adventure
A stand-out tour or activity in every state, bookable right now on Viator — from Alaska’s glaciers to the Florida Everglades and every state in between.
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