Our itinerary for a month-long vacation in the United States was quite a busy one. I don't know if it's enthusiasm or if we simply think we're robots, but every time we put down on paper the places we want to visit, we found ourselves with huge lists that, if only we could, would never have been achievable under any circumstances.
For the month spent in the USA, we thought and rethought the itinerary dozens of times. We had to take into account the weather, the fact that we would definitely catch a cold that would keep us in the hotel room for a few days, but also our bucket list.
Thus, we divided the entire trip into 4 stages: New York, Florida, California and Las Vegas and gave ourselves days to rest, do nothing, shop and visit. In Vegas, the city we're talking about today, we stayed for 8 days. And in Vegas we rented a car because we didn't want to spend the whole week in the casinos on The Strip, but rather take the opportunity to see two of the most spectacular natural parks in the USA.
We walked a lot, visited a former mining village, slept in motels on Route 66 and were left speechless in amazement in front of the imposing canyon that I thought I would only see in magazines. In this article I present to you my idea of an itinerary for a week in Las Vegas, from The Strip to the Grand Canyon (1930 km).
Itinerary for a week in Las Vegas (from The Strip to the Grand Canyon)
If in the movies "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas", here we will tell you everything. As I wrote in the article about our itinerary through the USA, when we chose the destinations from our huge bucket list, we started with the idea of setting our base in a big city, and from there to visit what there is to visit.
To visit the Grand Canyon, as well as Death Valley, we set our base in Las Vegas. The city of all possibilities when it comes to entertainment was on our list anyway, but the fact that it is only a few hours from the two locations made us allocate a week of our schedule just for this region.
We stayed in Las Vegas quite a bit, enough to get to know another side of America and not enough to lose more than 20 dollars on the machines at Bellagio. Two of the 7 days were spent on the Death Valley trip, and two on the Grand Canyon trip, via Sedona.
In total, we drove almost 2000 km in 7 days, in a Nissan Sentra that we rented from Sixt. It was, just like the previous week in Florida, another week where we can't wait to wake up and get going, to hit the desert roads of Nevada.
Logistical aspects – how to get to Vegas, transportation, Nevada tolls and accommodation
Choosing destinations that are located in different parts of the continent, we chose the fast option to travel from one side to another, namely: the plane. If we were not pressed for time, I would have liked to have the option of driving from Miami to Los Angeles and making many stops along the route. But this option is much more complicated to plan and, certainly, much more expensive.
For domestic flights, we always chose the cheapest plane ticket, taking into account the departure time of course. When you have a car waiting for you at your destination, the departure/arrival time does not really matter, but we did not want to waste an entire day and so we opted for morning or late evening flights (aka the cheapest flights of the day).
To get from Orlando, right in the heart of the Nevada desert, we flew with the low-cost company Spirit Airlines. I call them the Ryanair of Europe because they have really low prices, but no extra services included. However, we flew 5 hours from Florida to Las Vegas, and the flight cost us 120 euros/person, without checked baggage.
The airport in Las Vegas is quite important, so you will find very good connections from every major city. Other companies to consider: Southwest and Frontier.
Car rental
If you arrive in Las Vegas by air, you must rent a car. I usually avoid saying “must” or “must”, but in this case I have to emphasize how essential a car is. With few exceptions, in the USA a car is the fastest and cheapest way to travel from point A to point B.
If we leave aside New York and San Francisco, where public transportation is very well developed, in the other cities that are probably on your list you will undoubtedly need a car. And in Las Vegas even more so!
Knowing that we want to go to the Grand Canyon, we opted to rent a small car – to the extent that this is possible, that does not consume much and that can take us wherever we needed, including from the airport to the hotel.
Thus, we rented a Nissan Sentra from the company SIXT, for which we paid 300 euros/8 days.
One thing we really love about US car rental companies is the lack of hassle with the warranty. Their notion of warranty is either 0 USD or at most 250 USD, for small cars. Thus, all we needed was a credit/debit card, driver's license and a lot of driving enthusiasm.
In general, the car pick-up/drop-off procedure goes very smoothly, without hassle, without unnecessary discussions about everything that can go wrong, without negotiations for full-casco.
Nevada Tolls + Gas Costs
When it comes to tolls, Nevada, Arizona, and California are a paradise. There are no tolls or the concept of a vignette. As for fuel costs, they were a bit higher than in Florida. If in Florida, we paid $3.19/gallon (January 2022), this time we paid between $4.52 and $5.60/gallon.
In Death Valley, right next to the Visitor Center, there was a small gas station – the only one for hundreds of miles – where a gallon of gas costs $6.49, but of course we didn't stop there.
Las Vegas and its surroundings (road distances)
Las Vegas is the ideal place to base yourself if you want to visit some of the most beautiful and spectacular national parks in the United States. As I already said, Vegas is easy to get to, and if you search in advance, you will find rental cars at acceptable rates.
Further, from Las Vegas, there is the option to drive to Los Angeles, Phoenix or even Salt Lake City, if time allows you to enjoy the stops you can make on the way. But to give you an idea of how well positioned Las Vegas is, here is a list of all the places you can visit starting from Las Vegas:
- Grand Canyon – 290 miles/4h30 (South Rim); 264 miles/4h30 (North Rim)
- Hoover Dam – 37 miles/38 minutes
- Death Valley – 131 miles/2h20
- Monument Valley (Navajo) – 426 miles/6h35
- Mojave National Park – 142 miles/3h
- Red Rock Canyon – 17miles/17minutes
- Pheonix – 302 miles/4h40
- Los Angeles – 270 miles/4h
- Sedona – 279 miles/4h30
- Zyon National Park – 160 miles/2h40 (not recommended for visiting during the winter months
Accommodation – Our recommendations
If we normally book our accommodation in advance, for this week we did not have a well-defined plan. We did not know exactly which days we would travel to the Grand Canyon or Death Valley, so we booked our accommodation at most one day in advance.
The first two nights we slept at the Mardi Gras Hotel in Las Vegas, and for the third night we opted for a motel on route 66, in Williams, 70 km from the entrance to the Grand Canyon. We returned for two more nights in Las Vegas, and on the way back from Death Valley we stayed at a casino hotel and Pahrup.
Normally in Europe we avoid motels, but motels in America are in most cases comparable to 3-star hotels on our old continent. We used to joke that we've stayed in 4-star hotels that were uglier than the motels on Route 66. So, if you're in the area, I recommend you also consider the motels in the TravelLodge family.
Accommodation in Las Vegas
- Mardi Gras hOTEL AND CASINO – 50 euros/night/double room + parking space
- Ellis Island Hotel Casino – 55 euros/night/double room + parking space
Accommodation at the Grand Canyon
- Travel Lodge by Wundham Williams Grand Canyon = 35 euros/night/double room + parking space
In total, the budget for 7 nights of accommodation in Las Vegas and the surrounding area was 350 euros/two people (25 euros/person/day). Pretty cool, right?
Days 1 and 2 – Welcome to Las Vegas!
After a 5-hour flight that was preceded by a crazy day at the amusement parks at Disneyland Orlando, we arrived in Las Vegas so tired that “the chicken is sleepy” turned into a healthy 12-hour sleep. But we woke up at the same time as the city because Las Vegas also sleeps late at night.
We took our hotel close to The Strip, so we could get there quickly by car – we didn’t dare walk – and on the first evening, dizzy with sleep, we walked along The Strip, from Caesar Palace to Bellagio, and back. As dizzy as we were, we let ourselves be conquered by the lights.!
At first impression, Las Vegas terrified me. I can't say that it disappointed me because it was exactly what we expected: a shiny city built in the middle of the desert, full of street people, scantily clad girls and casinos.
At the same time, it seemed to me that Las Vegas was a dirty and maybe even dangerous city, the danger being the euphoria in which people live there. After all, you don't come to Vegas for museums or art, right?
But, the next morning, after a big and good breakfast at Dennis, but also after a shopping trip to Las Vegas Premium Outlets, it seemed like we started to see the city with different eyes.
We took another trip to The Strip and came to the conclusion that as chaotic and dirty and full of "relaxed" people as it is – Las Vegas is a city of nightlife, without a doubt.
Oh, and I almost forgot! The first place I checked was the Las Vegas sign.
Days 3 and 4 – Road Trip to the Grand Canyon
Day number three had an uneventful start. Our plan to leave at 5 am for the Grand Canyon was interrupted by a bit of laziness and an event that we will definitely tell our grandchildren about.
I don’t want to recount that event here, maybe I will on another occasion, but it was something that shocked us. Anyway, our plan was delayed by three hours, but here we are on our way to the Grand Canyon.
The trip to the Grand Canyon took a whole day because we took advantage of the fact that we were on Route 66 and made a few stops. We passed through Kingman and made a small detour to the ghost town of Chloride. Chloride was a small town founded in 1826 with the discovery of silver reserves in its surroundings.
In its heyday, there were more than 75 mines in operation, and the population reached 2,000 in 1920. Chloride not only boasts the title of the oldest mining town in Arizona, but also the Post Office, which has been in continuous operation since 1893, making it one of the oldest post offices in the state of Arizona.
Today, the once prosperous town is a ghost town, inhabited by about 100 people, most of whom are retirees.
Chloride is perfect for a short walk. There is a tourist center/mini market/post office where you can buy water, fridge magnets and even ask for information about the little ghost town. There is also a small open-air museum that takes you back to Western movies, the kind of place you don't see just anywhere.
From Chloride we continued on to Williams. Seeing some signs to Sedona, we thought we would take a detour of a few hundred kilometers, to visit another place on our list: Sedona National Park.
We really enjoyed the drive to Sedona, and since we happened to arrive there right at sunset, the red rocks for which Sedona is famous seemed even more spectacular, more imposing…more from another planet.
What you need to know if you want to visit Sedona?
- The distance between Las Vegas and Sedona is about 4 hours – 280 miles (450 km).
- If you plan to hike, you will need a Red Rock Pass. The Red Rock Pass is not an entrance fee to Sedona, but a parking fee. The price for one day is 5USD.
- If you just want to stop for pictures, 15 minutes of parking is free.
- Places to add to your list: Cathedral Rock, Chapel of the Holy Cross, Uptown Sedona, Bell Rock
Route 66
Driving Route 66 was the kind of activity that was on our bucket list. If time had allowed, it would have been an interesting trip to do the entire route, from Chicago to Santa Monica, with all the stops along the way, but since time is not on our side, we were glad that we had the opportunity to do a small part of the route, from Kingman to Williams.
We were so happy when we found this motel, located right on Route 66, and also a nice diner, the kind of restaurant that we only saw in the movies.
If you are doing this road trip, from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon, Williams is the best place to stay overnight. There are a lot of motels at pretty good prices, a few restaurants – Goldies Route 66 Diner is my recommendation, and the distance between Williams and the Grand Canyon (South Rim) is less than an hour.
A Day at the Grand Canyon (South Rim)
Early in the morning we got in the car and set off for the Grand Canyon, with hurried steps to make a dream a reality. But I have to tell you that we caught a very cold January morning, which made us take out our thickest clothes from our luggage.
To warm our souls and while we waited for the car windshield to thaw (it was -7 degrees Celsius outside), we ran to the diner across the street to get some hot chocolate. I almost didn't want to leave the warm restaurant full of cheerful and chatty people. I had the impression that the whole Williams met at the diner to have breakfast and drink filter coffee.
Although I would like to tell you what I felt when we stopped for the first time in front of the expanse that bears the name of The Grand Canyon, it is extremely difficult for me to find the right words.
The feelings I had at that moment, but also the beauty of the Grand Canyon cannot be described in words, or as I said then, those words were not invented to describe what is there. That is why, I said then, and I say it now, the Grand Canyon is the place that every person must see once in their life.
To be in front of a place that you cannot see with your eyes and which is the result of mother nature, is a truly unique feeling. The Grand Canyon is a place that leaves you speechless!
I will not tell you its history now, nor will I load this section with data that I take from Wikipedia, but I will briefly present you with some essential things that you need to know if you are going to visit the south part of the Grand Canyon (The South Rim).
How do you organize your trip to the Grand Canyon (South Rim)?
- The Grand Canyon is 446km long and only 29km wide. Tourists have access through four different points – through the West (Grand Canyon West); South Rim – the one we visited); Grand Canyon East; the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
- The South Rim is believed to be the most spectacular part of the Grand Canyon, and if you only have two days at your disposal, it would be best to choose this part.
- Entrance to the Grand Canyon costs 30USD/car/7 days. At the entrance you will receive maps and brochures that will help you orient yourself better.
- Parking (at least at the South Rim) is free.
- In the winter months, due to snow, the North Rim is closed.
- Also, in the winter months, you have access to the South Rim by car.
In other words, you will be able to stop at every observation point on the rim and you will be able to spend as much time as you want. While in the summer, access by personal car is prohibited. Thus, tourists can take the bus that stops at each panoramic point. Personally, from this point of view alone, I think it is better to visit The South Rim in winter. In addition, in January the place was not as crowded as we expected.
Hoover Dam
Our trip to the Grand Canyon took a whole day because we didn't want to hike or visit the West Rim of the Canyon (The North Rim was closed in January). So, after a million stops on the rim of the canyon, at absolutely every lookout point, we headed to Las Vegas. Before returning to the city of all sins, we made a stop at the Hoover Dam, to admire the largest man-made dam in the world.
Being an area of such great importance, the Hoover Dam is protected by the military, and at the entrance we went through a security check (checked the bottom of the car – to make sure there were no bombs, checked the trunk, checked passports).
As usual, the Americans quickly carried out this check, asked us why we were there, and after checking the car they let us go on. We drove a bit through the area and stopped at an observation point where you can see the majesty of the Hoover Dam.
Days 5 and 6 – Two more days in Las Vegas
We returned to Las Vegas where we still had some things to check off. In the first two days we hadn’t managed to do everything on our list – the Strip is bigger than you think, and so we returned to Las Vegas where we chose to stay for two more days.
In addition to the Bellagio Hotel with its water and light shows (the show takes place every night, once an hour), we also discovered Little Venice, where the Madame Tussauds wax museum is located. Further on, just at the other end of The Strip is the Coca Cola store, which was a real attraction for us.
We walked around the store, bought some souvenirs and also had a Coca Cola tasting. For 16 USD we received a tour through the world of Coca Cola and had the opportunity to taste 16 different drinks, from many corners of the world.
Then we went to the M&M's Store and left with a big bag of M&M's in more and more interesting flavors – from black forest cake to coffee and sugar cookies.
On the way to our hotel – Ellis Island Hotel Casino – we stopped for the show at Bellagio and tried our luck once again on the machines in the hotel casino. We didn't have much luck, but we had fun.
If the idea of walking down The Strip over and over again doesn't sound good, then you can take advantage of having a car and visit three spectacular places just a few kilometers from Las Vegas - The Valley of Fire, The Red Canyon and The 7 Magic Mountains. These three places are about a 30-minute drive from Las Vegas, making them excellent ideas for a day trip to Nevada.
Days 7 and 8 – Death Valley – the hottest place in the United States
The famous Death Valley, with its landscapes that seem to be from another planet and that offer you a sea of desert, offered us an experience to remember. We woke up quite early, like every day, and set off for Death Valley, which geographically speaking is no longer in Nevada, but in California.
We drove 130 miles through almost deserted areas until we reached the entrance to Death Valley Park. The road is desolate, as if it prepares you for what you are about to visit in Death Valley, and the only trace of civilization between Las Vegas and Death Valley is the village of Pahrump (This is where we would spend the night).
Unlike the Grand Canyon, where everything is better organized (there is a barrier at the entrance where you pay the entrance fee and where you receive a bunch of useful materials), the entrance to Death Valley is not marked.
We entered, found a stop on the right where we got a map (there is no phone signal in Death Valley) and paid the 30 USD fee at a machine. From there, we were free to explore the driest, lowest and hottest place in the United States.
The roads are very good (there are off-road areas where we did not dare to go), and if you take the map from the stopping points or from the Visitor Center (Furnace Creek), you will be able to easily reach the most beautiful and spectacular places in Death Valley.
What you need to know before visiting Death Valley
- Death Valley is located in California, 300 miles from Los Angeles and 150 miles from Las Vegas.
- Entrance to the park costs 30 USD/car/7 days.
- To reach some locations you need a 4×4. We didn't have one and unfortunately we missed some spectacular places
- It's best to book 2 days (1 night) for this trip. There are some nice accommodations right in the park, and at night you can enjoy the peace and a sky full of stars.
- If you arrive in Death Valley in the summer, don't forget your sunscreen, hat and water (the park is a desert as far as the eye can see, you won't find any shops or places to buy water).
- Try to have a full tank before entering the park because the area around the park is deserted again, and the only gas station in the park has astronomical prices (in January 2022, the price of fuel was 6.49 USD/gallon, compared to 4 dollars in Las Vegas)
Budget for a week in Las Vegas
Here is a summary of the costs I had on this trip:
- flight Miami – Las Vegas = 120 euros/person
- flight Las Vegas – San Francisco = 30 USD/person
- rental car (8 days) = 300 euros
- accommodation in Las Vegas and the surrounding area was 350 euros/two people (25 euros/person/day)
- entrances Death Valley and Grand Canyon = 60 USD
Although Las Vegas is just a place you have to visit and where you don't have to stay for too many days, now I would have chosen to stay at least 4 more days. There are many spectacular national parks, located within a 3-4 hour drive from Las Vegas, which we unfortunately missed (see the list above).
But our biggest desire was to see the Grand Canyon, which we did. The week spent in Las Vegas and the surrounding area came with many hours of driving, thousands of km traveled, evening walks on The Strip and 20 dollars lost on the machines at Bellagio (with the hope of winning the million, of course :D).
Las Vegas for me was not just a city, but "planet Vegas", the place where you see everything. There you see Venice, you see magic shows performed by the most famous magicians, you encounter lights and colors that blind you, many street people, intoxicated by all kinds of substances, misery and opulence, casinos and machines that promise huge winnings.
Planet Vegas is more than what we see in the movies. As for the trips we took, the stops on route 66, the nights spent in motels and the landscapes that left us speechless, we can say that they made our week in Las Vegas special.