Grand Canyon

It’s not exactly close to Las Vegas, but the Grand Canyon is the nearest must-see-during-your-life tourist attraction to the city, so it’s actually quite a popular place to combine with a Las Vegas trip of 3 days or more.

The closest edge of the Grand Canyon is less than 100 miles from Las Vegas, but unfortunately the only roads that connect Sin City with the main tourist center on the South Rim of the Canyon aren’t very direct. The drive is about 275 miles, but it can be done in around 4 hours if you don’t dawdle. You can expect some slow traffic on the way out of Las Vegas and also just as you approach the South Rim itself, but the long stretch in the middle is almost always wide open so averaging 70+ miles per hour is easy.

Getting there

Las Vegas car rentals tend to be quite cheap compared to many other large cities, so a 2-day rental won’t take a big bite out of your budget. And more good news is that on the way to the Grand Canyon you (have no choice but to) cross right over the Hoover Dam, which is also a worthwhile site, and quite easy to do in just half a day. It’s simple to get to Hoover Dam, and after you cross over it you’ll continue on highway 93 for about 60 miles to Kingman, Arizona. There you will meet up with the I-40 freeway and you’ll follow the signs toward Flagstaff, Arizona, but there will be plenty of signs that point you straight to the Grand Canyon so it’s hard to screw up.

Early every morning there are ambitious Las Vegas visitors who set out for the Grand Canyon, who return late that same evening. Whether you might try this depends on your tolerance for spending an entire day in your car, but it definitely can be done. You can leave at 8 in the morning and be gazing out over one of the awesome viewing areas at the Grand Canyon by around 12:30 p.m. If you have lunch and look around for, say, three hours, you can be back in Vegas by around 8 p.m., although most drivers and even passengers will be completely exhausted at that point.

Staying overnight

Though this trip can be done in a day, a more-sane approach is to go one morning and return the following afternoon. There are plenty of hotels in and around the Grand Canyon Village, which is the main tourist center on the South Rim. The hotels inside the National Park are quite expensive, and are very crowded between late May and early September, but there are plenty of cheaper places just before you get to the Grand Canyon National Park. You should definitely make a hotel reservation before you set out, since it can get booked up and expensive, and getting shut out can be a huge disappointment. There are plenty of cheaper hotels in Flagstaff and many people do stay overnight there because it’s close enough to drive back and forth to the canyon a couple of times.

Flights to the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas

If you are in a hurry and you’ve got a bit of money to spend, several companies offer scenic flights on small planes and helicopters leaving from Las Vegas airport that fly over and through the canyon and then return directly to Las Vegas. The shortest and cheapest ones can be done in 4 hours total, including transportation from and back to your hotel. These start at around $140 for adults and about $120 for children. There are plenty of other options available that can extend your trip and add to the cost, but this basic short flight is spectacular and worthwhile.

Helicopters are quite a bit more expensive, but they can offer more interesting views and the novelty value is much stronger as well. Papillion offers plane and helicopter tours in addition to various ground tours and loads of other related things.

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