We booked a day tour from Vegas to Zion. Other than some photo ops quickly noted b the driver during transit, this is primarily a self-guided tour, so if you're seeking a fully guided tour, this is something to keep in mind. The cost includes transfer from and to your hotel, a bagged lunch, and entrance into the park. The park itself offers free ranger-guided tours at specific times, which is definitely an option with advance planning and independent travel. Once we arrived at Zion, we were dropped off with a map and our lunch and the driver returned several hours later to pick us up.
The rating is based not just on our disappointment in finding that the trip was almost entirely self-guided, but also (and primarily) on being at the mercy of a careless and reckless driver/tour "guide." He was distracted, digging into various bags in the passenger seat (over 30 times on the ride there alone) and he took calls and scrolled through his phone for the duration of the return trip (often not looking up from his phone for almost a minute at a time), swerving and veering on the road. At the start of the trip, we immediately felt comforted by a dash cam that appeared to be recording and aimed at the driver; after the fact, we wondered if it was just for looks, because it certainly didn't encourage our driver to be safe.
We have ridden in many a city taxi, taken city buses, and had bad drivers before, but never have we worried about our safety in a vehicle as much as we did on this tour. It was a bad enough experience that we attempted to call someone, but there was no cell service for much of the ride and none at all within the park (something to keep in mind), not to mention the complication of being hours away from our hotel.
As a result, the day was stressful and the experience ruined what should have been a wonderful memory.
We returned in the evening and I promptly wrote an email to the company. The Tour Operation Manager replied with a vague offer to "extend a very special rate on a future tour." He knew we lived thousands of miles away and I'd discussed with staff upon booking that we were departing the next day, so the offer came across as a minimal and disingenuous way of the company being able to say that they made at least some effort to pacify our complaint. Having owned businesses ourselves, there is NO WAY we would send an email and not pick up the phone to personally reach out to a customer expressing a bad experience and disturbing claims about one of our employees. Disappointing, and it really drove home that the company's lack of care and concern for customers may be the very reason the driver felt so comfortable in being reckless with our safety.
Zion itself is absolutely breathtaking. Rent a car, wear comfortable shoes that can get wet, bring a hiking stick if you have one (they also sell them in the park), pack your lunch or dine at the lodge, and bring your camera. Totally worth a visit.