Las Vegas day trips
 

I have one whole day for a day trip out of LV on Dec.23. Suggestions on what to see would be appreciated. Would be willing to visit more than one place if it can be worked ou in a 9 t0 5 day.

Why?

xxx ([email protected] obviously has nothing better to do. Don't waste our time with nonsense replies. To answer the question Hoover DAM is easily done in one day. Worth a visit if tours are offered. If the weather is good a day trip to Zion could be done. It would be a long day.

I was serious and not being snotty. There are so many different things to do in Las Vegas, why would you want to go elsewhere?

I don't gamble and I am not interested in checking out Theme hotels. I would appreciate it if you make specific suggestions as to what can be seen in LV. To anticipate someone asking why go to LV - the anwser is that I am attending a family event

I am going next week and/ among other things, we plan to go to death valley, which is a couple hours drive to the east..

There are several nice things near Las Vegas that are definitely doable in one day. My favorite is a trip to Red Rock Canyon - and you can always go to Hoover Dam. There are also some other canyons nearby (I've seen them mentioned on this forum) - but I'm not familiar with them.

Toldham, for your own benefit, I hope you get a map out between now and next week. Otherwise your two-hour drive east of Vegas won't be taking you anywhere near Death Valley.

You can barely get to Death Valley and back in an entire DAY, let alone a few hours.<BR><BR>It is not a daytrip unless you plan to drive the total of 8 hours, spend 1 hour in DV and have virtually no time left to do anything else that day.

How feasible is a day trip to Zion?

10 years ago I was in Vegas and my boyfriend drove us to a forest/park about an hour of out Vegas. It was a nice drive. Drove to top of a large mountain, it was July and I remember the temperature dropped about 50F degrees. Sorry I can't remember which direction or where we went. Too many brain cells ago......

Red Rock Canyon, half and hour drive from the Strip but feels like you are on the moon! Good drive, if the weather is good you can get out and hike. Very easy to get to.<BR>Hoover Dam is farther but I enjoyed the drive out and stopping at Lake Mead. <BR>Mt Charleston is about an hour from the Strip and although I haven't been there yet, it gets good reviews as a day trip.<BR>Whenever we go to Vegas, which is usually once a year, we always take one day out to get out of the hotel/casino atmosphere and explore. Have fun!

Check out Adventurer Tours, they have wonderful one day trips to the Valley of Fire, Joshua Tree Forrest, Hoover Dam, Red Rock Canyon and even the west rim of the Grand Canyon. They pick-up at your hotel in a SUV, lunch and snacks are included.

Death Valley is an easy day trip from LV.The route is direct and fast.Going in Dec. would be ideal because very few tourist would be there.Take the unpaved road that goes down the middle of the valley.<BR> Get a guide book to the natural hot springs in the LV area.Do not leave out ground zero.It is a blast.

Dr. Bitterpants’ Thirty ‘Thangs to Do in Las Vegas - Part I<BR><BR>1) Shake hands and introduce yourself to each and every person who is handing out flyers for certain adult-only shows. You may wish to divulge your hotel room number ONLY to these people. <BR><BR>2) If a person on the sidewalk asks you where you are from, tell 'em, &quot;Why, I'm from Smallville, Kansas! My name is Kent, Clark Kent!&quot; <BR><BR>3) If a person asks if you are interested in a timeshare, hug 'em and say &quot;Bless you, guv'nor! A roof o'er my head is what this lass needs!&quot; <BR><BR>4) Walk through the casinos yelling &quot;Mom? MO-OO-OM!?! The rent is due TODAY, Mom!&quot; <BR><BR>5) Tip anybody you make eye contact with. <BR><BR>6) Walk through Caesers' Palace and point to the faux marble. Is it better quality than your formica countertop? <BR><BR>7) View the volcano at Mirage and proclaim in a loud voice &quot;Now I don't need to see that overrated Hawaii!&quot; <BR><BR>8) Ask where you can get tickets -- better yet -- ask who you can pay to see the Pirate Battle. I'm sure you'll find someone willing to sell you a ticket. <BR><BR>9) See how &quot;sneeze proof&quot; those sneeze guards really are at the buffets. <BR><BR>10) Go see Sigfried and Roy and after each illusion yell: <BR>-- &quot;Hey, how did they DO that!&quot; or <BR>-- &quot;What did I miss?&quot; or <BR>-- &quot;Fake! Fake!!&quot; or <BR>-- &quot;They really ARE the spawns of Satan!&quot; <BR>

Dr. Bitterpants’ Thirty ‘Thangs to Do in Las Vegas - Part II<BR><BR>11) Ask each casino manager, pit boss, and cocktail waitress &quot;Pardon me, I forgot, but which mob owns this casino again?&quot; <BR><BR>12) Go to Sigfried and Roy's Magic Garden. When the crowd around the white lions is large enough, walk towards the workers entrance with cans of white paint, act like you forgot your keys, and walk away. <BR><BR>13) Go to New York, New York casino and act like a rude and obnoxious New Yorker. People will think you are an act and part of the &quot;experience.&quot; <BR><BR>14) At the Hilton's Star Trek Experience, tell fellow people standing in line that &quot;Yeah, I'm still living in my parents basement, too.&quot; Point out a tribble in the museum and say &quot;Look, William Shatner's toupee!&quot; Finally, go up to the actor dressed as a Klingon and ask him if his phaser is set on &quot;Stud.&quot; <BR><BR>15) At the Bellagio, pretend to pick up your RV at valet parking. Offer them an Eggo waffle in lieu of a tip. <BR><BR>16) Go to M&amp;M World to match colors to the next wave of IMacs. <BR><BR>17) At the Liberace Museum, fake ignorance that the man wasn't straight. <BR><BR>18) Walk down the Strip shouting &quot;But it's a DRY heat!&quot; <BR><BR>19) Ask a showgirl if she gets too close to the stagelights, does she need reconstructive surgery? (Or insert your own plastic implant joke here)<BR><BR>20) Pretend to count the lightbulbs at the Stardust Casino at night. When management asks what you're doing, exclaim &quot;Dammit! Now I have to start over!&quot;

Dr. Bitterpants’ Thirty ‘Thangs to Do in Las Vegas - Part III<BR><BR>21) Ask Master Magician Lance Burton if he can pull a rabbit out of his pants. <BR><BR>22) Ask Wayne Newton if he recalls Central Park in fall, and give him the receipt for hemming your skirt. Also, to autograph your basketball, so you can Dunk'a Shey, Darlin'. <BR><BR>23) Take a fishing pole and start trolling in those wonderful fountains at Bellegio or Caeser's. Legend has it that Ol' Muddy the catfish is still around. <BR><BR>24) Tell people that the movie &quot;Showgirls&quot; was your inspiration to vacation here. That Naomi was quite a roll model. <BR><BR>25) Take a helicopter tour of the deserts. Bring along a shovel and ask the pilot to point out where all the cool mob informants are buried. <BR><BR>26) Walk up to every stranger on the street and ask &quot;How in god's name did Sharon Stone EVER get nominated for an Academy Award?&quot; (tip: Scorsese's &quot;Casino&quot;) <BR><BR>27) Pretend to read the hieroglyphics anywhere in and around the Luxor. Appear offended and claim they are using profanity and racial slurs. <BR><BR>28) At any hotel you check into, ask for a smokey-smelling room with stained carpet, broken beds, clogged bathtub and view of construction sight or garbage area. Chances are, they'll mess up your request and you'll be disappointed with your jacuzzi suite and comped room service. <BR><BR>29) Walk through the Fremont Street experience and just look at the ground. Make people think there missing the really cool part of the shows. <BR><BR>30) Point out to everybody that the Elvis impersonators are really imposters. No, really... I mean it.

I almost choked! That was funny!

mr bitterpants,<BR><BR>The sad thing is, I actually heard someone say the following:<BR><BR>1. &quot;Now I don't need to see Europe&quot; (in the mall at the Venetian)<BR><BR>2. &quot;Why would I go to Europe when I can see the Eiffel Tower and gamble in LV and they have those Italian (pronounced- Eye---Talian) boat ride thingies over at the Venetian&quot; (different person than #1)<BR><BR>3. &quot;Wow, I thought the empire state building was much taller than that&quot; (at NY NY casino)<BR><BR>4. &quot;I thought the pyramids were an off-white color, not shiny black one-way glass, the technology available to the egyptians amazes me, come to think of it, I thought egypt was out there by Europe, not in Nevada&quot;<BR><BR>5. &quot;Caesar was a real estate genius, how could he possibly have known to build his palace (3000 years ago) in what would eventually become the center of the LV strip?&quot;<BR><BR>6. &quot;The lake at the Bellagio is actually not a lake, in 1972 Elvis tripped over a burrito and fell down, creating a massive crater, which was wired with fancy lighting and water cannons and eventually the heavy LV rain season filled in the crater, creating one of the most beautiful and natural historical landmarks on planet earth&quot;

Unless you do some hiking Red Rock Canyon will only take up about 2 hours. Less than an hour north of Vegas off of I15 is Valley of the Fire state park. I'd highly recommend there. On the way back instead of taking I15 you can come back along Lake Mead.

my spouse and I went there in 1998. <BR><BR>We are not gamblers. We had to get away from light and noise after 2 days solid. Hoover damb was a great escape. It is about 45 minutes drive. If they still give the hard hat tour, take it. They may not due to security. <BR><BR>We did see an awsome George Carlin show while there.

go to valley of fire, red rock canyon, mt. charleston (30 mi. out of vegas),hoover damn, california (only 3 hrs away)...

We saw George Carlin also, at Bally's. It was very funny!

Rent a car and head to Zion National Park - Not only will you see one of our natural wonders of the world, but on the way, you'll experience an incredible drive through the mountains of Northwest Arizona.<BR><BR>The trip is about 3-1/2 hours each way. You can have lunch right outside the park - just stay away from the Bramble Bush Cafe.<BR><BR>An even better suggestion - After touring Zion, proceed on to Bryce and stay over night at Rosie's - a great motel with pretty good dinner and breakfast offerings. <BR><BR>Bryce and Zion are completely different and yet both incredibly beautiful. You need to check the park hours and if the roads are open in the winter - this may not be the right time to visit.

I second the Valley of Fire. It's incredible!! I also second another poster's comment about taking a guided tour by Adventure Tours. Their Grand Canyon West tour is fascinating (you visit the top of the canyon then drive down the only road in the canyon down to the river). It's a long day but well worth it. Their tour to Valley of Fire takes you off roading through some very wild desert that you won't see from your own car. Have fun no matter what you decide!

I just want to thank Mr. Bitterpants for an amusing way to waste time while I'm stuck here at work. I think the next time we hit Vegas, I'll try some of those suggestions out!

Dear S.<BR>Seriously this is the order I would try you decide which one based on your likes:<BR>1. Hoover Dam- if you're into engineering.<BR>2. Valley of Fire- if you're into weird rocks with carvings on them.<BR>3. Red Rock Canyon- if you're into red rocks and wild donkeys.<BR>These are all easy day trips. My favorite was Valley of Fire, but others might find it boring. Everything is relative.

Death Valley was a favorite for us. An easy, but full daytrip. Fascinating for those intrigued by the desert. Love Vegas, but you appreciate it more with a getaway break or two.

<BR>If you want to leave town, the tour of Lake Mead and Hoover Dam is easy to do and interesting. I've also done Grand Canyon in a day but it is a HAUL.<BR><BR>I think you should stay in Las Vegas. The Venetian has a museum, MGM you can test audience an upcoming pilot or future television show, the Bellagio has an incredible spa, go to a show (&quot;O&quot; - the water version of Cirque de Soleil at the Bellagio is SPECTACULAR), while you may hate Theme hotels, it is an interesting walk down the strip .. such as seeing the commemorative display that firemen and policemen have left in memory of the 9-11 heroes outside the NY NY hotel.

to the top ONLY FOR Dr. Bitterpants' best of Vegas 30 things...

30 things are too funny!<BR><BR>to... the... top!