Did you find cheap tickets to Las Vegas but don’t actually want to spend a lot of time in Las Vegas? Las Vegas is an amazing destination for several iconic southwest road trips. The inexpensive flights to this desolate landscape makes this area easily accessible to travelers. Keep reading for three different options for southwest road trips that all start and end in Las Vegas.
Southwest Road Trips
These southwest road trips all have sample itineraries ranging from 5-9 days. All of them take you to at least one amazing National Park. Additionally, all of these road trips start and end in Las Vegas meaning you can snag a discount roundtrip flight through Las Vegas. Set an alert for these flights as they go on sale frequently. Lastly, all of these southwest road trips will need a rental car. You can rent at the airport, or at cheaper rental car vendors outside of the airport.
All of these road trips are self-guided tours. However, if you have less time or just want someone else to drive you about, consider one of these tours starting in Las Vegas.
Death Valley Road Trip
This is the shortest of the southwest road trips that we’ve taken and is great for people short on time and people who don’t want to do much hiking. The main stars of this road trip are Death Valley National Park and Red Rocks State Park.
Total Drive Time: 5 hours
Total Distance: 275 miles
- Day 1: Arrive in Las Vegas
- Day 2: Red Rocks
- Day 3: Death Valley
- Day 4: Death Valley
- Day 5: Return to Las Vegas
Day 1: Arrive In Las Vegas
Try to get an early morning flight to Las Vegas so you have a full afternoon to explore the strip. People watch as you walk up and down the strip. Stop in to casinos to try your hand at roulette or sip on frozen cocktails on the street. Lastly see a show tonight as the shows are our favorite part of Vegas.
Stay overnight in Las Vegas. You can choose to stay on the strip to be close to the action or stay outside of the strip to save some money. We’d recommend finding a good deal on a hotel on the strip, or possibly a block or two off it.
Day 2: Red Rocks
First, wake up early and head to Red Rocks Canyon. This amazing day trip is just a short drive from Las Vegas. Spend the day exploring the park on the one-way drive through the park.
Stay overnight again in Las Vegas. Possibly catch a second show or spend some more time exploring Las Vegas as a full day in Red Rocks should only take 4-6 hours.
Day 3 & 4: Death Valley
With two days in Death Valley National Park, you’ll be able to see everything the park has to offer for people without 4WD vehicles. This includes mountain views, salt flats, canyons and more.
Stay overnight in Death Valley National Park. We stayed at The Ranch and it was the perfect central location.
Day 5: Return to Las Vegas
Spend your final day returning to Las Vegas to catch your flight. If you have extra time consider spending some more time in Las Vegas, maybe on Freemont Street.
Grand Canyon Loop
This is one of the most popular Southwest road trips in the United States. And the main show stopper is the Grand Canyon, which this road trip lets you see from multiple angles. This road trip also visits the popular Antelope Canyon for a quick photo opportunity and a visit to the beautiful Valley of Fire for the absolutely iconic views of towering red rocks.
Total Drive Time: 15 hours
Total Distance: 850 miles
- Day 1: Arrive in Las Vegas & Hoover Dam
- Day 2: Grand Canyon South
- Day 3: Grand Canyon South
- Day 4: Antelope Canyon
- Day 5: Grand Canyon North
- Day 6: Valley Of Fire State Park
- Day 7: Las Vegas
Day 1: Hoover Dam
Catch an early flight into Las Vegas, get your rental car and head straight for the Hoover Dam. Next, take the Dam tour, get the dam souvenirs and take a dam photo. And then continue to tell this joke for the next 20 years. These tours are sold onsite and sometimes book up. Make sure you are here by at least 3 PM if you plan on taking the full tour.
Stay overnight in Boulder City or continue on to the Grand Canyon if you have time.
Day 2 & 3: Grand Canyon South
Spend two days exploring the city that is Grand Canyon South. There are so many amazing viewpoints and short hikes along the south rim for you to explore. We’ve put together a full itinerary with all the details on this page.
Day 4: Antelope Canyon
Start your morning by 8 AM and head to Antelope Canyon. This will get you there early enough to visit both upper and lower Antelope Canyon. If your sleep is more precious to you than the amazing sights, you’ll need to pick either upper or lower Antelope Canyon as you won’t have time to visit both.
You must visit Antelope Canyon with a tour guide, you are not allowed to visit on your own. Make sure to book your tour ahead of time as they often sell out.
After hiking into a canyon or two, visit Horseshoe Bend for sunset to take in the view and snap a quick photo.
Day 5: Grand Canyon North
Start early once again to get to Grand Canyon North by mid-day. With a half day, you should have time to visit Bright Angel Point, Point Imperial, Roosevelt Point and Cape Royal.
If you’re camping, stay overnight at the North Rim. If you’re staying in hotels, like we were, leave the park and stay in the nearby town of Jacob Lake.
Day 6: Valley Of Fire State Park
Start the morning with the long drive from Grand Canyon North to the Valley of Fire State Park. Next, spend the afternoon taking in the sweeping red rock views.
Return to Las Vegas to stay overnight. Consider taking in an evening show on this night as they are our favorite part of Vegas.
Day 7: Las Vegas
Spend the morning exploring Las Vegas before catching an afternoon flight home.
Utah’s Mighty Five
This is the most popular of these southwest road trips for people who love National Parks. And that is because this southwest road trip visits 5 National Parks and a state park for good measure.
This is also a great road trip for people who love to camp. We are going to recommend staying in a park each night and camping. We’ll also give a nearby city for hotel options. Lastly, you could stay in lodges in the park but those tend to be very pricy. Therefore, that option would likely be the most expensive option.
Total Drive Time: 25 hours
Total Distance: 1,200 miles
- Day 1: Zion
- Day 2: Zion
- Day 3: Bryce
- Day 4: Capitol Reef
- Day 5: Arches & Goblin Valley
- Day 6: Arches
- Day 7: Canyonlands
- Day 8: Return to Las Vegas
- Day 9 : Las Vegas
Day 1 & 2: Zion
Head straight from the airport to Zion National Park. Spend the first day driving to the nearby viewpoints and the second day doing some serious hiking. Zion National Park is one of the best places in the country to do hiking, like hiking the Narrows, Angel’s Landing or Observation Point.
Stay overnight in the park for two nights. If you would prefer to stay in a hotel, look near Springdale.
Day 3: Bryce Canyon
Start early in the morning and drive to Bryce Canyon. After arriving at the Visitor’s Center, hike to the nearby Sunrise Point and walk the Queen’s Garden and Navajo Loop trails. Then drive to the other viewpoints: Bryce Point, Inspiration Point, and Fairyland Point.
Stay overnight in the park. If you’re looking for a hotel, look in Bryce Canyon City, just outside of the park.
Day 4: Capitol Reef
Wake up early again to drive to Capitol Reef National Park. You should get here around lunch time. Drive the Scenic Drive through the park and visit all the viewpoints.
Stay overnight in a park campground or in the nearby town of Torrey.
Day 5 & 6: Arches
Start your day with a quick visit to Goblin Valley State Park. Take a quick look at the viewpoints before spending som time in the Goblin Valley exploring the hoodoos.
Next, drive to Arches National Park. Do a late afternoon hike through the Devils Garden.
On the following day, hike to Delicate Arch early in the morning and then do the scenic drive throughout the day with a visit to the Windows area in the late afternoon.
Stay overnight in the park or in the nearby town of Moab. We camped in Moab when we were here so we were in a central location for visiting Arches and Canyonlands and didn’t have to pack up camp for day 7.
Day 7: Canyonlands
See your final National Park: Canyonlands. First, take a quick trip to the Needles section to do a quick drive along the scenic road. Next, visit the Island in the Sky area to take the scenic drive and visit several overlooks.
Stay overnight in the park or in the nearby town of Moab.
Day 8: Return to Las Vegas
This is a huge day of driving. It is an 8 hour drive back to Las Vegas. You could avoid this by flying directly out of the small airport in Moab, thought you’ll likely be connecting through Las Vegas. It’s worth taking a look at but we really don’t mind a long drive and we like the ease of a loop road trip.
Stay overnight in a Las Vegas hotel or home rental. If you want to continue camping, stay at Valley of Fire State Park, just outside of Las Vegas.
Day 9 : Las Vegas
Spend your final morning visiting the Las Vegas strip and enjoying the hustle and bustle of the city again. Catch a flight home and finally rest 😉
We hope these three southwest road trips have given you a great way to explore the region from the connivence of Las Vegas. We love the American southwest and it is one of the most unique places in the world. Additionally, we think the southwest is the best place for foreign and national visitors alike and we hope you’ll love it.
If you have any questions or comments about these southwest road trips, please leave them in the comments section below. Or check out these related posts for more details.
