Neon nights, canyon days.
Grand Canyon flyovers, Hoover Dam runs, Cirque seats and kayak mornings on the Colorado. Which ones justify the drive, the seat price, and a fast way to grab one.
Seven tours that make the trip.
The ones a Vegas week is built around: the canyon flyover everyone talks about after, a night under the Cirque tent, the dam tour that goes down inside the wall.
Half-Day Mojave Desert ATV Tour from Las Vegas
Half-day guided ATV ride from the Las Vegas Strip into the Mojave Desert near Lake Mead, with transfers, gear, and photo stops.
From $100 per person
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★ 4.0Safe betGrand Canyon West Bus Tour with Hoover Dam and Optional SkywalkFrom $857,224 reviews
★ 5.0Sells out fastUltimate VIP Hoover Dam Tour from Las Vegas with LunchFrom $596,782 reviews
★ 5.0Crowd favouriteLower Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend Day Tour with LunchFrom $1606,764 reviews
★ 4.6Worth the driveGrand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Lunch/Skywalk Options, WiFiFrom $905,521 reviews
★ 5.0Easy winGrand Canyon + Hoover Dam View + WiFi (Skywalk/lunch options)From $1195,222 reviews
★ 5.0Big day outAward Winning 3-Hour Hoover Dam Small Group Mini Tour from VegasFrom $684,964 reviews
Two hours out, a mile straight down.
Leave the Strip after breakfast, stand on the Skywalk over the West Rim by late morning, then a Hoover Dam stop on the way back and neon again by dinner. This is the day trip people fly in for.
Which Grand Canyon day is yours?
Everyone wants the canyon; which rim depends on your day and how far you will drive. Three ways to stand on the edge, each already priced and reviewed. Pick the one that fits your trip.
Closest to Vegas
The West Rim
11 to 12 hours (approx.) · from $109 · 19,535 reviews
Two hours from the Strip on Hualapai land, the West Rim is the fast one: the glass Skywalk out over the drop, Eagle Point, and enough time to add a Hoover Dam stop on the way home. The rim you can do and still catch a show that night.
See the West Rim trips →
The postcard view
The South Rim
15 to 16 hours (approx.) · from $71 · 3,071 reviews
The deep, mile-down view from the postcards, inside the national park. It is a longer day (four hours plus each way) so most trips fly one leg or run small-group, but no other rim looks like this. For the canyon done properly.
See the South Rim trips →
Straight over the edge
By helicopter
1 to 2 hours (approx.) · from $89 · 5,693 reviews
Skip the drive entirely. Lift off from Vegas, cross Lake Mead and the dam, then drop below the rim to land on the canyon floor for a champagne toast by the Colorado. The shortest way from a hotel lobby to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
See the flights →
The Strip only starts at night.
Cirque acrobats over the Bellagio water, a magician making a motorcycle vanish, the whole neon canyon seen from an open-top deck. The city you flew in for really clocks on after sundown, and every seat is easier to book ahead than on the door.
The desert hides a river.
Half an hour below Hoover Dam the Colorado turns emerald and calm. Paddle into the slot at Emerald Cave, drift the Black Canyon past hot springs, and be back on the Strip by lunch. No experience needed, just a booking.
Sand, dust and a throttle.
The Mojave starts where the suburbs stop. Rip a dune buggy across Nellis Dunes, run an ATV through Hidden Valley, or take an RZR out to the old mining trails. They kit you out, brief you, and let you loose.
Red rock, right on the doorstep.
Twenty minutes past the last casino the neon stops and the sandstone starts. Scenic-loop drives, sunset horseback rides, e-bike runs through the conservation area and the burning cliffs of Valley of Fire an hour on. The desert that was here first.
Every day points somewhere different.
The Strip is base camp, not the trip. Grand Canyon for the day you will remember, Hoover Dam on the way, Red Rock when you want the neon to stop, Fremont Street when it should not.
Got a type in mind?
Twelve kinds of day out of Vegas, canyon to kayak. Whichever you open, the options are ready.
Gone by sunrise, back by dark.
The best of the Southwest is a morning’s drive from the Strip. Slot canyons, national parks, a ghost town or the Pacific at Santa Monica, all doable between breakfast and the evening show.
First trip? Three days, sorted.
You can’t do the whole Southwest in one visit; you can do three days properly. This is the order we’d hand a friend landing at Harry Reid tomorrow.
Day 1
Land on the Strip
Check in, ride the High Roller at dusk, then a Cirque or magic show your first night while the jet lag still thinks it is early. Easy pace, maximum neon.
Plan day one →
Day 2
The canyon day
Early pickup, the West Rim and the Skywalk by late morning, a Hoover Dam stop on the way home. The day you flew in for, done while you are still fresh.
Plan day two →
Day 3
The desert up close
Something slower and closer: a Red Rock scenic loop, an Emerald Cave paddle, or the sandstone at Valley of Fire. Back in time for one last show.
Plan day three →
Fresh off the Strip.
★ 4.5California Desert, Seven Magic Mountains and Las Vegas SignFrom $49130 reviews
★ 3.0Las Vegas Explorer Pass: Top Things To Do including Hoover DamFrom $69130 reviews
★ 4.5California Desert, Red Rock Views and Seven Magic MountainsFrom $99131 reviews
★ 5.03-Day Antelope, Monument Valley & Horseshoe Tour from Las VegasFrom $620131 reviews
★ 3.5The STRAT Tower Unlimited Ride Pass TicketFrom $133131 reviews
★ 5.0Hoover Dam Kayak Tour with Shuttle – Hot Springs & Emerald CaveFrom $199131 reviews
★ 4.5Nighttime Helicopter Flight over the StripFrom $109133 reviews
★ 4.5Hoover Dam Bridge Walk + Red Rock Canyon Combo TourFrom $60134 reviews