Extra day in Scottsdale and Las Vegas

Nanaof3

Hi All,

My husband and I are starting the tour on Saturday, October 6,2018. Is anyone else booked for this trip?

We are arriving in Scottsdale (from Baltimore, MD) a day early and renting a car so we can look around a bit. Neither of us has been to the area before.

We are also staying for the extra day in Vegas. In Vegas, we are thinking about trying to get over to the Hoover Dam. It appears that there are a number of one day bus tours to the dam. But it's a bit overwhelming to trying to figure it all out and still not completely break the bank.

Any suggestions for things to do in either city are appreciated.

Thanks so much!

PF606590

From Vegas to the Hoover Dam is a breeze certainly you can drive there yourself. Drive over the dam and go up the hills, a fantastic view.

FxChpl2

If you have the rental car while in Scottsdale, a day trip up to Sedona is easy to do. I'm not a shopper, but I loved (even the husbands enjoyed) browsing around Tlaquaque<---link. The scenery is quite dramatic up there.

BKMD

Another nice thing do to in Vegas is drive/hike through Red Rock Canyon, just west of Summerlin. Very scenic.

Nanaof3

Thank you all for the suggestions!!

In Vegas, we are hoping not to need a rental car. Instead perhaps, just take a day bus trip somewhere memorable... like the Hoover Dam. It seems that there are several different companies that offer such excursions, and we are looking for recommendations from anyone that had done this.

Again, thank you for your help!

BAUM

Hi, we are taking the trip as well Mid Oct. a day earlier and adding 2 days in Vegas.

As for Scottsdale, there have been a few posts here as far as suggestions on what to do. There does not seem to be a lot to see like other cities. Our plan is to do a morning walk/hike of Pinnacle Peak which is adjacent to the hotel. Takes about 2 hrs or so. I understand nice views, not difficult. Don't know if that's something your would be interested in? Would fill up your morning.

As for Vegas, one of the extra days, we too are going to Hoover Dam, half day trip in the am. There are a number of tour companies that do this, price seemed to range from about $60 -100 per per person. I was not sure which Tour company to call, called the Four seasons concierge in Vegas. Very accommodating. Recommended https://www.pinkadventuretours.com/las-vegas-tours/hoover-dam/

The concierge was also going to get back to me on tickets for shows. Again, extremely helpful and accommodating for questions you may have?

The Four seasons booked the Hoover Dam Tour for me, the same price they charge on-line. $99 per person. They might be on the high side, but I rather pay a few dollars more for a better tour with more reliability. They got very good reviews. door to door. i read a review a two about another tour company that was less but does not always show up at the hotel on time.

Whatever you decide, have a very good time as I'm sure you will!

Robert

Ken from Vegas

I would rent a car to go to the dam. It's about a 45 minute drive, mostly freeway (time will vary with traffic). Their are two tours that the BLM offers of the dam. The longer 1 hour dam tour ($30) and the shorter "powerplant tour" (1/2 hour $15). Pink jeeps does the shorter tour. So you can rent a car and go on the longer tour for about the price of one person doing the pink jeep tour (and you don't have to tip the driver). Go early in the day, the long tours are first come, first served (no reservations). They do sell tickets in advance for the short tour (that's why the tour companies do the short tour). Here's the website:

https://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/service/DamTour.html

In addition to Red Rock Canyon, you could visit the Valley of Fire State Park. It has dramatic rock formations and ancient petroglyphs. Also, Mt. Charleston (northwest of town) is a beautiful scenic area with wooded hiking trails, although it will be quite cool in October.

Also, be prepared for lots of dam jokes on the dam tour. Damn!

British

There is definitely a lot to see in Vegas and a lot of it is free. We have been to Red Rock Canyon and the Valley of Fire. We also did a tour of the Hoover dam, alll I remember was it was in pink jeeps with some fun additional off roading and a good tour of the dam which has airport style Security by the way. Many of the hotels have fun things inside to see if you like things like fake volcanoes exploding etc. a gondola ride at the Venetian and the fountains at Bellagio and the beautiful Dale Chiyhuli (sp?)glass ceiling in the hotel foyer there. Check out one of the Cirque de Soliel shows, ‘O’ is the best. If you can’t find tickets on line the concierge can almost always get them for you. And no gambling!

NanaAnn

My husband and I are also doing the Canyons trip that starts on October 6th. We are going out 2 days early (from West Palm Beach, Florida) to do a side trip to the Airplane Boneyards in Tuscon, then driving to Scottsdale on Saturday. In Vegas, we've gotten tickets to a show.