Where are you coming from? I'm from south Texas and have driven from here through New Mexico to Las Vegas so if you need tips along that way I can help there too.
Las Vegas---the first time we went we spent an entire 5 days IN Vegas. We saw all of the casinos in "old Vegas" downtown and pretty much walked the entire strip and saw all those casinos. We like to gamble but only if we are winning some. We play slots and now prefer to go to Louisiana or Mississippi if we want to gamble. Now,if we go to,Vegas it's just,to,sight see and eat/drink.
The second time we went we booked another 5 days and found we were bored after 3. Now we only stay IN Vegas for 3 days at s time.
Our must dos:
----Gambler's special and mr. Lucky's Mary at Mr Lucky's 24/7 at the hard rock casino (not Hard Rock Cafe)
----hidden/secret pizza 3rd floor of Cosmopolitan (look for record covered hallway)
----Le Buffet at Paris casino
Touristy stuff to do if it's your first time:
See welcome to Vegas sign
See mirage volcano
See bellagio fountains
See Fremont street experience
See conservatory at bellagio and Chihuly ceiling
Go up the Eiffel Tower (get coupons in back of free coupon books)
If you're going to she a show and don't want front row, I recommend buying from one of the tix4tonite places. I bought tickets there for Phantom, the titanic exhibit, and Madame Tussaud's wax museum. All,were good discounts. We have only stayed at the Golden Nugget but found last trip their customer service and quality wasn't great. We actually looked at going back during Christmas an found good deals at Paris.
Grand Canyon
We don't hike, so I can't speak to that, but when you get there and park they have constant shuttle buses to take you to various observation points.
In my opinion, a full day is perfect.
Feel free to ask if you have more questions.
We're in Tennessee, so probably won't try to drive, as much as I'd love that! My husband only gets 10 days of vacation per year
so we try to fly whenever we can, to maximize time. Haha! Thanks so much for all the recommendations. Sounds like 2 or 3 days might be perfect for actually being IN Vegas. Where do you guys like to stay? There's so many hotels that it's borderline overwhelming, lol.
The typical visit is two days. I would suggest three/four for your first time. Perhaps you could
decide based on the shows you want to see. If you want to see three shows; then three
nights.
Spectacular! Even the drive from Vegas to Zion is terrific.
I'd say one full day is enough. You can do a couple of the short hikes and see the "classics"
in that time. If you plan to stay through sunset (which I recommend) you might what to
spend the night close by rather than drive back to Las Vegas. I don't think there are any
"cons" to driving or a helicopter tour. The obvious "pro" to the helicopter tour is perspective
- see what you can't see on land.
I prefer the North Rim - less crowded. That's a couple of days.
Yay, so glad to hear good things about Zion! The photos and reviews looked amazing, so we will definitely add that to our list as a must do. Short hikes at the Canyon sounds perfect for us. I looked at some of the cabins/hotels at the canyon (that I think are run by the national parks), and yowza, they're a bit pricey
Maybe we could find a cheap hotel in Flagstaff, should we decide to stay the night before returning to Vegas.
Thoughts....
- Google Maps is great when calculating/planning distance and drive times.
- With Grand Canyon.... which Rims? West or South. West Rim is easier, South Rim can be a very long drive.... especially for a one day round trip.
- What do you plan to do at the Canyon? Are you happy with just a land experience. What about a helicopter and boat ride?
- What month do you plan to be at the Canyon? I like going when it's cooler. Summers can be super hot. Winter can be OK... but some winters can have snow.
- do you like bussing? I tour bussed to the canyon for economics. I also Bolt bussed to Los Angeles for $30. Bolt bus prices changes depending on demand.
I honestly have no idea about which rims! I've read that the South Rim is the most popular/what you'd expect from photos; I hear many people speaking of the North Rim and how wonderful it is, but I've also read that it is a bit harder to get to, and more "wild" (?). Know absolutely nothing about the West Rim (I didn't even know about it, lol).
We are open to any rim as long as it is somewhat easy to get to and shows us the beauty of the canyon! We'd like to hike a bit, as well, but we aren't mountaineers, so that's another thing to consider
We will probably be going in the fall of next year - late September or early October. That's what we had planned, anyway!
We've never done bussing at all, but that's an idea! I should probably look into that, for sure. Especially if that gets us to California, because we are interested in San Diego/Los Angeles.
what is your main interest? I personally hate Vegas except as a place to got off an airplane,rent a car,and drive away.... it's only about 3-4 hours Vegas-Zion,right? We drove it last year.... I LOVELOVELOVE Zion,wish we had spent more than 2 nights there! It's gorgeous! Quickest Grand Canyon route from Zion- is the North Rim. But FYI that side doesn't get as much attention for the bigger views,and has less 'built up' around it. I've seen both rims, and I like them both, with the North a little more, since I liked staying in a rimside cabin,and the pine trees,etc of that side. If you drive around to the south rim(just pick only one) then you could drive west to LA area to sightsee- one trip, we flew into PHX, drove up to GC south rim then headed west ,stopping in Death Valley as a stopover on the way,stayed in Furnace creek resort and loved it for the night.
For Vegas/Zion/GC? I'd fly into Vegas, (leave immediately but that my opinion only) and drive to ZIon, stay a couple of night(one full day to sightsee) drive down to south rim,stay a night or two(one full day to sightsee) and then head to LA area if that's what you want to see next. (Actually we headed west to DL when we did this drive) map out your drive times, it's pretty simple. The GC and ZION are amazing places.
Trip advisor forums are invaluable for detailed info
Haha, I've heard that most people either hate or love Vegas, so we'll see which party we fall into!!
This is SUPER helpful, thank you so much! We'll probably check out Vegas for a day or two, if only for the food and drinks, lol - then head on to Zion and the GC! I had definitely thought about doing DL while we're over there, if I can convince my loving husband