Fly to Vegas visit National Parks
 

Looking for ideas to fly to Vegas and visit some of the national parks. Suggestions welcomed for lodging, dining, car rental & sites NOT to miss. Children ages 13 & 16. Enjoy cabins, photography and a pool is a must. Last week of June to first week of July possibly. Look forward to your ideas.

I took a tour like that a couple of years ago with Brendan Tours. It was in June. We started and ended in Las Vegas and visited five national parks. It was great.

<BR>We recently flew to Vegas and went to Zion & Bryce Canyon. Would highly recommend both parks. You can also get to Hoover Dam and Death Valley without much trouble. I would rent a car and just go. There is plenty to see in Southern Utah. I would not want to be locked into a packaged tour. That way you can hike where and when you want to, etc. <BR> <BR>The scenery is amazing. Enjoy!

Hi Sue - Great idea you have. We've visited (on different trips) Zion and Death Valley - and both are completely opposite in scenery and natural beauty. <BR>DV will be quite HOT in late June/early July-but there will be a couple of places open that time of year within the park. Also interesting to visit is the ghost town of Rhyolite NV-which borders DVNP. There are lots of hiking trails within both parks, and endless opportunities for those Kodak moments. <BR> <BR>You'll be able to rent a car at the Vegas airport and just head out from there. With some careful planning, you'll be able to visit two or three parks on your trip. Zion and Bryce aren't too far from one another, and as a previous poster mentioned, Southern Utah has some spectacular scenery. If vastness (and maybe more diversified terrain) is what you're aiming for, then go to DV-there you'll find everything from the lowest point below sea level in the western hemisphere to sand dunes to mountain ranges. <BR> <BR>Enjoy your trip - and please post a report when you return. <BR> <BR>Happy New Year !!

Depending upon the length of your vacation will depend upon how many NP you can go to. Don't cut your time sight seeing too short. Remember, it takes time to drive to the parks, eat, and sight see. Are you flying in and out of Vegas, or flying into Vegas and leaving from another point? We have done it both ways. <BR> If flying in and out of Vegas, most of the rental cars are reasonable. If you get your car from the airport, you pay an extra 10% tax. There are car rental places on the strip. You choose which is more convinient to you. You can check the different prices on the internet to get the best deal for cars. The time of the year is going to be very hot around Vegas. We did go to Death Valley (about 3-4 hrs away) at the beginning of July....it was 117 degrees in the shade at 5 PM!!! It was very beautiful, but hot. If you make a loop around the Grand Canyon, the Southern end looks totally different from the Northern end. It takes about 5 hours to get to the southern end of the Grand Canyon. You need about 2 days at the southern end and plenty of water and snacks. You take a bus (tram) through the park. You get on and off at the sites you want to see and take as long as you want. There are NO places to eat, drink, or facilities except at the beginning and the end of the southern end of the Grand Canyon loop. We then drove around to the east of the Grand Canyon and went through painted desert and the Vermillion Cliffs. <BR> The Northern end is a lot cooler and you have to travel by car to get to the different sights. It is a long drive into the park. I would reccommend staying in the park. <BR> The East entrance to Zion is more spectacular than the west entrance. I would suggest about 2 days at Zion. (It was my favorite.) Bryce Canyon is less than 3 hours away. It is totally different from anything you have ever seen,but found one day was sufficient. <BR> In Vegas there is Red Rock Canyon and the Hoover Dam. We stayed at the Excalibur one time and Circus Circus the next year. Both are very much kid oriented. There are a lot of children running around and they do get noisy. Next time, I do not intend to stay at a "kid" motel-casino. <BR> Hope you have a great vacation ... book early so you can stay in the parks. Most run about $90 - 100 a night except in Vegas. There you can get a lot cheaper rate. You can find a lot of information about the parks and reservations on the internet and then call the 800 number.