Visiting LV 4 nights, what is a good side trip to take? Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon. how long does it take to get to these places. Should we rent a car or take a tour?

if memory serves me, i think the drive to hoover dam is only about 45 minutes. double check but i heard that since sept 11, they weren't doing the tours anymore. not sure. another place that people seem to like is red rock canyon. however, if you are going in the next few months, it will be VERY hot so go EARLY in the morning. you could also drive to lake mead for a few hours. rent a car for one day and explore the area.

Just returned from Vegas Monday and my mom and I did the Hoover Dam tour with Action Tours (4 1/2 hours hotel to hotel) which was very interesting. The tour company picked us up at the hotel at 8 am and returned us there at 12:30. The guide was very knowledgable and the Hoover dam was very interesting, but it did get to about 110 right before we left, so it is best to go in the morning. The tour consisted of going down the elevator and walking through a tunnel where you view the generators and a guide tells you a little history of them and how they work but that is all - it took about 15 minutes. The poster above was correct about the tour changing since Sept. 11. I think that the same company does a Hoover Dam/Grand Canyon tour with lunch taking 8 hours. Have fun!

We did a tour to Red Rock Canyon last time we were there and it was great. In some ways I wish we had rented a car to go so that we could linger at spots we particularly liked, but on the other hand, it was nice to let somebody else do the driving. Depends on what your particular likes and dislikes are. As x said, though, the weather can determine when you want to go. Our tour was about a half day.

I've also heard that Valley of Fire is spectacular. It's farther away and takes more time, but I've heard that the scenery there is better than Red Rock.

I've been to both - Red Rock and Valley of Fire - both bus tours, Valley is much much better, more spectacular, with stops at Lake Mead for lunch (included) and oasis, and I'd prefer to take a bus tour as the guides are knowledgeable and give you lots of interesting info. They pick you up at your hotel and bring you back. No need to make advance reservation - pick up a flier in the hotel's lobby and make your choice.

I'd say rent a car only if you want to save money - the bus tour charge is per person.