Las Vegas may be best known as an adult paradise, with enough gambling, shopping, dining and entertainment to keep you on the Strip (or downtown) for the entire length of your stay. But there are so many other incredible sights within a day of Vegas, that you’d really be selling yourself short if you stayed in your hotel for your entire visit without taking one of the many available Las Vegas day trips.

Taking a day trip from Las Vegas is easy; there are packages to fit every budget and agenda, and you can book them all at your hotel’s concierge desk, or at any one of the many activities desks you’ll see all over the Strip. Be sure to compare prices, because there are many attractive sightseeing deals available from package tour providers. You can even score deeply discounted or free Las Vegas day trips, if you have the time and patience to take a free tour of Las Vegas condo properties; just walk around the Strip for a little while, and you’ll be approached with more offers than you can imagine.

Some of the best day trips you can take from Las Vegas:

The Grand Canyon

One of the most popular Las Vegas day trips is a visit to nature’s miracle and one of the seven wonders of the world, the Grand Canyon. The following are some of the things you need to know about this breathtaking spot:

• The distance between Vegas and the Canyon may only be 180 miles by air, but it’s 280 miles if you’re planning on driving yourself, so it will take you around six hours each way to the North Rim – meaning that an overnight visit will be a more enjoyable visit. If you’re really planning on making it a day trip, air is the way to go unless you’ll be satisfied with spending just a few hours at the Canyon.
• Bus tours are available, of course, but they last around 14 or 15 hours, with nearly 12 of those hours spent ON the bus. There are also train and boat tours (with some ground transportation included); those can be quite enjoyable, but again, you won’t be spending a ton of time on the actual Canyon tour itself.
• Helicopter or airplane tours are the most satisfying way to get to and from the Canyon for a day trip; as you’d expect, though, they’re also the most expensive. The airplane tours usually just fly you over the Canyon; the copters, howver, often offer a landing right at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. By the way, the helicopters take you to the west rim, rather than the “more popular” south rim that you may have visited on your own in the past. The benefit is that the Grand Canyon Skywalk is located at the west rim; you stroll on a glass floor built 70 feet over the rim, 4,000 feet above the floor – and look through the floor straight down into the Canyon. It’s a breathtaking sight.
• Costs can run from $150 to $200 for bus or car trips, to $500 or more for Las Vegas day trips to the Grand Canyon by air from Las Vegas. But how can you even place a value on seeing one of the natural wonders of the world?

The Hoover Dam

One of the much easier Las Vegas day trips you can take is a visit to the “Government Power Project,” better known as the Hoover Dam, on the Colorado River between Nevada and Arizona (with the man-made Lake Mead on its northern side). It’s only about 35 miles away from Vegas, and the drive takes less than an hour. It’s not “exciting” in the way that Vegas sights are exciting, but it’s one of the most amazing construction projects ever completed. Even if you’re not interested in the comprehensive and educational tours that are available, you’ll still be impressed with a brief day trip from Vegas to see this marvel.

• Walking back and forth across the dam and the bridge is free, and you’ll get to appreciate the scope and breadth of this wondrous project. However, you’ll have to pay to park, and have to pay to enter the Visitor’s Center where you can learn all about the Dam and its history. Each of those fees is less than ten bucks.

• There are several great tours available; the powerplant tour includes presentations at the Visitor’s Center, and then a trip into the Dam itself where you get to see how this marvel of engineering actually works. You can book this tour in advance and it’s about 10 bucks as well. The Hoover Dam tour is longer (you walk for almost a mile) and more comprehensive, allowing you to visit the inner reaches of the Dam; this tour is first-come, first-serve and costs three times as much, but it’s incredibly interesting.
• There are literally dozens of tour packages available for you to visit the Hoover Dam on a day trip from Las Vegas – no worries about transportation or directions. Just check with your hotel’s concierge or activities desk.
  

Skydiving in Las Vegas

It’s not one of the conventional sort of the Las Vegas day trips we’ve been discussing. But it’s well worth considering: a skydiving outing just outside of Vegas. The views of the desert and the Strip are so different, and so beautiful, that you’ll be grateful you were open-minded enough to give this once-in-a-lifetime experience a try.

• There are a number of companies providing Las Vegas skydiving outings, so the specifics of your day trip may differ somewhat, but these are general examples of what you can expect from a Las Vegas sky diving outing.
• You can book at any of the activities desks around Vegas, either at your hotel or along the Strip. On the day of your dive, you’ll be picked up from the Strip, either from your hotel, or a nearby rendezvous point. You’ll be returned to the same spot. Figure on being gone anywhere from 2 ½-5 hours. (Of course, you can also drive yourself.)
• After arriving at the airport, you’ll meet your instructor, who will fully brief you on what to expect and what to do during your jump; you’ll get to practice jumping with your equipment before even seeing your plane.
• The jump itself will be a “tandem” jump, with your instructor tethered to you and making sure that you’re safe; he or she is the one who will pull the rip cord to release your parachute, after a period of freefall.
• As you slowly descend you’ll be able to see the entire city of Las Vegas including the Strip, the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, the Colorado River, Red Rock Canyon, and three surrounding states. The landing will be soft, softer than jumping from a chair.
• You only need to be in decent shape and over 18 in order to jump.

It may not be for everyone – but while you may eventually forget seeing a show or a concert, you’ll never forget your Vegas skydive experience.

A Joyride in the Desert

Another type of the Las Vegas day trips most people would probably not associate with Vegas – is exploring the areas around the city in an all-terrain vehicle. A number of companies have built entire ATV day trips to various spots in the Vegas area. The most popular:

• Eldorado Canyon, home to abandoned, hidden gold mines; you can explore the mountain trails, the natural springs and more, as you speed across the landscape in your dune buggy or ATV.
• Valley of Fire State Park, with stunning views of the southwestern desert.
• Other trips available include an ATV ride all the way to the California state line, and extreme ATV adventures for the experienced off-roader.
• All trips can be booked from your hotel’s activities desk; round-trip transfer is included for all trips, and prices usually run between $150 and $300 per person.

Death Valley

Another of the exciting day trips you can take is a visit to Death Valley, located close to the city. This full-day tour through the Mojave Desert lets you experience some of the starkest yet most beautiful scenery in the Western United States. Among the spots you visit are Ubehebe Crater, site of a volcanic eruption that was so violent, it destroyed the volcano; Badwater, the lowest spot in the entire Western Hemisphere, at 282 feel below sea level; and the Rhyolite Ghost Town. You’ll feel like you’re a million miles away from the lights of Las Vegas – and you’ll never forget the strangely beautiful desert sights. It’s just one more of our exceptional Las Vegas day trips.