17 GC trips
I've been down the river, through the Grand Canyon, seventeen times. Once as a passenger on a commercial trip in 1979, once in my kayak with commercial support, and fifteen times in my own raft on those private permit trips in the 1980s and 1990s.
All of the river guides are very good, but Arizona Raft Adventures (AZRA) based in Flagstaff Az often hired the best guides for their oar boats in the 1990s. Some were renowned cooks, some had geology degrees, etc. Last time I looked, they were also offering motor trips.
Go on the one week motor boat trip, but if it feels like it ended too soon, come back for a longer, oar powered trip. It is all good, on The River, in The Canyon.
For just a taste of it, you can take a commercial day trip on a motor raft from below the dam in Page AZ for a dozen miles on the river to Lee's Ferry. Also, the Hualapi tribe runs day trips on the Colorado River below Diamond Creek, probably originating in Peach Springs Az.