Tours Travel

Visit Las Vegas and the Picturesque Southwest on a Budget

Vegas on a budget, that’s what this article should have been called! This is how I like to travel. I want to be comfortable, have a great adventure, for a reasonable amount of money.

For our budget, our trip to the Las Vegas airport starts from Sunday to Wednesday. The focus and goal of our trip is to get into the great outdoors. But we like to stay the first couple of nights in Vegas and then the last couple of nights too, with half the trip going to amazing places in the great Mohave desert.

As soon as you step off the plane, you know you’re in Las Vegas and you’re bombarded with visual entertainment. Everything is bright and flickering, it seems that it is daytime even at night. Huge screens preview the shows and entertainment available in the city. As you exit the airport, you will find all forms of transportation available along the street, including taxis, limousines, and shuttle buses.

There are plenty of hotels to choose from. I have stayed on the Tropicana Ave strip many times. Getting back to the airport car rental lot is just minutes from this part of the strip. There are many hotel options. There are thousands of hotel rooms and more are being built every day. There are hotels on Las Vegas Blvd, closer to the Strip and some just a few blocks from the Strip in downtown Las Vegas. Fremont Street has been covered in tens of thousands of lights. The hotels/casinos in this area have almost a neighborhood feel. At night, The Fremont Street Experience comes alive with lights and music. It almost feels like a block party.

Will you need a rental car? Often times, your best deal on a rental will be a weekly rental. Even if you rent for only 4 days, weekly rental is usually a better deal. Normally car rentals work on a 24 hour period. For example, if you pick it up at 6:00 pm, your return must be before 6:00 pm on the day you are supposed to return the car. I often fly into Las Vegas and take one of the cheap buses to my hotel door. Then, on the day I want to start my weekly rental, I take a taxi to the rental location to pick up my car, being careful to pick it up at the same time of day that I will return it on the day of my departure. You may also consider renting your car at one of the downtown rental locations outside the airport. This can save you airport tax surcharges added to your rental at airport locations. When choosing your car rental, they may have a location right at the hotel you choose to stay at.

Las Vegas has plenty of entertainment to enjoy, with shows changing from month to month. There are plenty of free things to do too. The water show at the Beligio is cool and interesting if you look at it at night from the Eiffel Tower. Everyone loves the free volcano at the Mirage, the lion habitat at the MGM, the show in front of IT, the Mardi Gras-style show on the River and so on. This article is about getting outdoors, so I’ll leave the pursuit of entertainment to you. There is always so much to see and do.

To your adventure tour! Now, let’s look for adventures!

the valley of fire

Zion National Park

Bryce Canyon National Park

Grand Canyon

lake powell

antelope canyon

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

One of the first things I do when I leave town is find a great grocery store or the local mall. I buy a cooler and load it with water, fruit, soda, chips, snacks, napkins, plates, forks, and deli items. Many times we will have an inexpensive breakfast or lunch on the way. We will have a big dinner in a restaurant.

That’s where the Mojave, Sonoran, and Chihuahua deserts are within easy reach of your entry point to Las Vegas. Some of these areas can be very hot in the summer, but if you plan well and get to the higher elevations, it can be very comfortable. Remember that this part of the world can be wild and dangerous. Take all necessary precautions. This is the Mohave desert, you will need water. You don’t want to get stuck in the sand or have your car break down in a remote area. There are places where your cell phone will not work. If you’re hiking in remote areas, find out about them first and get the necessary permits. There are many slot canyons that are very beautiful. A slot is a narrow passage through cliff-lined canyons. This was carved out of the sandstone by water. Beware! If it’s raining 100 miles from you, you may not know it and the slot you might be in is where the water will run. I have heard several stories of people who have gotten carried away and drunk due to lack of planning. When you’re in a narrow canyon, there’s nowhere to run. Be smart and be careful. Take a lot of pictures.

To the north is another great little casino town right on the Nevada border called Mesquite, NV. I have found hotel room rates to be quite cheap. Mesquite has everything I need as a base of operations. The rooms are acceptable, the Casinos are modern and fun with swimming pools and even game rooms, bowling alleys and movie theaters, without much traffic. The town has many buffets, gas stations, golf, etc. If you’re planning a visit to Zion, staying here is an easy round trip for a couple of day trips to the region. Many times I have gone with a group and we have to reserve quite a few rooms.

As you head north on I 15, you’ll see the Las Vegas Speedway, home to NASCAR racing, as well as Nellis Air Force Base. You will likely see or hear air force planes flying or landing as you pass the base. Thunderbirds have a presence here, as well as some funky-looking stealth planes and remote-controlled drones. Maybe this is where all the Area 51 UFO stuff comes from. If you’re interested in learning more about the mysterious lights in the sky, look up Groom Lake or Area 51.

Valley of Fire State Park is up this way and located just six miles from Lake Mead, it is 55 miles northeast of Las Vegas on Interstate 15 and at Exit 75. Valley of Fire is the oldest state park and largest in Nevada, opened in 1935. The valley derives its name from the red sandstone formations and beauty of the Mojave desert. There are some truly amazing campsites nestled within the red rock cliffs. This is a great place to stretch your legs and do some rock scrambling. It’s about a 30 minute drive from the highway exit. The Moapa Indian Reservation has a store just off this exit. They sell fireworks, have a small casino, duty free cigarettes and liquor in their little convenience store.

If you continue north into Utah on Highway I 15 from Las Vegas, you can go to Zion National Park. It’s only a few hours north of Las Vegas and can be a great day trip. From April to October, the ecological bus offers transportation in the park. Cars from other months are allowed to enter. There is a highway Rt 9 that runs through the park’s park and is open to traffic year-round. If you might be planning a hike to the Virgin River and upstream, talk to the rangers first. On our last trip the water levels were too high and unsafe. After touring Zion, be sure to take RT. 9 through the tunnels, and the landscape totally changes after the tunnel. It’s like a different planet. The second day we visited Zion Plateau where we found a resort and paid for the all day pass to ride their ATVs, use their pool, play paintball, climb walls, etc.

From here, you now need to plan your trip based on how long you’ll be traveling. You can head to Bryce Canyon National Park or Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Lake Powell, even the Grand Canyon. I usually take Highway 89 from Utah if I’m going to Lake Powell and on my way back, just to see even more scenery, I return to Las Vegas using Highway 89 from Arizona ALT.

If you’re heading south on Utah Highway 89 from Zion or Bryce, you’ll see a turnoff for Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. Here, pink sand worn from sandstone cliffs was deposited by winds creating 3,000 acres of sand dunes. Continuing on Highway 89 is the city of Kanab, Utah. A popular visit in the area is the Paria and Johnson Canyon Movie Set, where more than 300 movies and TV shows were filmed.

This area is called the Arizona Strip. We visited the Glen Canyon Dam which created Lake Powell. Lake Powell has 2000 miles of shoreline and canyons etc. We rented a speedboat for the day at the Marina. As you search for boat rentals, you need to decide if you want to rent at the marina where the boat is in the water or another rental where you may need to tow or arrange to have the boat launched. You can choose not to have a hotel/condo and stay on a houseboat. The sun is strong and a lot of sunscreen and sunblock should be used. Many people visit Rainbow Bridge and it is the largest natural bridge in the world.

Antelope Canyon is an opportunity for photographers in Page, Arizona. This is the most spectacular slot canyon I have ever been to. You will find that all tours require a Navajo guide and there is an upper and lower canyon. The tours are separate. You can join a tour in Page, AZ or drive the few miles to the Navajo Nation. There is a cost for parking at the Navajo tour site, as well as for the tour itself. Our tour was in an open safari type vehicle for a few miles into the desert. When you get there, you only see a dark crack in a huge cliff. It is an incredible slot canyon carved out by water and wind over millions of years. The colors of the sandstone are amazing and many people are moved by this natural cathedral that the Navajo have treasured for years. When the sun is directly overhead, rays of light can shine into the canyon.

I like to go back to Vegas using AZ alt 89 from Page, AZ. Be sure to turn onto alt 89 or you will continue south to Flagstaff, AZ. If you take this route, you will pass through Vermilion Cliffs. As you continue on alt 89 freeway you will come to Jacobs lake, this is the detour if you are interested in visiting the north rim of the Grand Canyon. I scheduled my last trip so we could spend the night at the Lodge. We arrived in the late afternoon, watched the sun go down, stayed in a cabin near the rim. We ate in the dining room with a stunning view. You’ll need reservations or you’re out of luck.

From here you would simply get back on the 15 freeway and your drive back to Las Vegas.

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