Las Vegas to GCNP
 

Please help. We are in Vegas for a few days and want to see the GCNP and parts of route 66. What is the best way to go? Drive, Helicopter tour? We would prefer not to do an all day tour either, and something that wont cost a lot.

If we drive how long will it take to get to GCNP (keeping in mind it will be the first week of July)

any suggestions would help..

I would avoiding the Grand Canyon over the whole 4th of July Weekend! If you can be there after the 5th, then it will be busy but not the madhouse of a holiday weekend!

That said, I have no idea how much it cost to fly, but you won't really be able to see much of Old Route 66 from the air.

It's about 275 miles (approx 4 1/2 hours) from Las Vegas to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon taking Hwy 93 to Kingman, AZ then Interstate 40 to Williams, AZ and north on Hwy 64 to the Grand Canyon. It would take all day to drive to and back from the Grand Canyon and you wouldn't have much time to spend there, so I'd recommend spending at least one night there or nearby.

Between Kingman is a great city to find the Old Route 66. There is a nice museum here. You can pick up part of the Old Route 66 and drive it to Seligman. If you decide to take I-40 instead, then get off the interstate and visit Seligman and watch for Elvis in his pink Cadillac!

Utahtea

Forgot to add that many of the bus tours only go to the West Rim which is on Indian Reservation. If you do a bus tour, make sure it goes to the South Rim.

Utahtea

I would drive and there and spend the night. You will probably have a tough time getting reservations for that period, but you should try. I would do the helicopter from the south rim. You could stop at Hoover Dam as well.

To get a true feeling of the place consider walking down into the canyon a short distance. I wouldn't suggest going far in July though as it would be very hot. Do this early in the morning as it will be cooler.

Just east of Kingman get off I-40 and take the old 66 east through Peach Springs to Grand Canyon Caverns (about 50 miles). http://www.gccaverns.com/tours-a-activities/caverns
They do have lodging there if you can't find any closer to the South Rim. A cavern is a great place to cool off for awhile.