Las Vegas Tours and Sightseeing. Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon

Chapter 5: Attractions & sightseeing

5.1: Things to do on the Strip
5.2: Promotions and coupon books
5.3: Downtown Las Vegas
5.4: Other attractions nearby
5.5: Sightseeing tours
5.6: Side trip to Laughlin

Grand Canyon Helicopter Tours

5.5 Sightseeing tours

Various tour operators offer visitors a wide selection of sightseeing and activity options. The two tours most people want to see is Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon. But there are many others. We are listing the major ones.

Hoover Dam

During the depression, more than 20 thousand of men and their families came to Black Canyon to tame the Colorado River ...about half were from California and Nevada. Black Canyon is about 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Boulder Dam was renamed Hoover Dam

The Union Pacific built a standard gauge railroad line between the dam site and Las Vegas which went through Boulder City where most of the workers lived. Needless to say, the influx of these pioneers in 1931 – the year gambling was legalized in Nevada – had a huge impact on the future of Las Vegas.

Actually, the growth of the entire Southwest can be tied directly to the electricity that comes from the dam.

The lowest wage paid dam workers was 50 cents an hour, and the highest was $1.25.

The average for all of the workers at the dam was about 62.5 cents an hour or $1,825 a year. Actually, this compares very favorably to what other people were making at that time.

Hoover Dam is named after Herbert Hoover, the U.S. President when construction began on September 30, 1930. It was finished in 1935, two years ahead of schedule and under budget. In 1933, Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt came into office and the name of the dam was switched from Hoover to Boulder Dam. It was switched back in 1947.

To this day – some 70 years later, it still is the biggest and produces more hydroelectric power than any other dam in the United States. It contains enough concrete to pave a strip 16 feet wide and 8 inches thick from San Francisco to New York City. At its base, Hoover Dam is as thick (660 feet) as two footballs fields measured end to end. It generates more than four billion kilowatt-hours a year -- that's enough to serve 1.3 million people!

It took less than five years, in a harsh and barren land, to build the Hoover Dam. Now, decades later, Hoover Dam still stands as a world-renowned structure. It is a National Historic Landmark, one that you definitely should see on your trip to Las Vegas.

Hoover Dam impounds the waters of Lake Mead, one of the world's largest artificial lakes. It has more shoreline than the state of California and took 6½ years to fill!

Due to the Sept., 11th terrorist attacks, bags, purses, cases, backpacks or fanny packs are not allowed inside the Visitor's Center and the tours are now more restricted. Check out this government website for more Hoover Dam information.

Today, close to 1 million visitors a year take the Hoover Dam tour and millions more drive across it from Arizona to Nevada. But large trucks and vehicles pulling trailers are still prohibited and many others are subject to inspection.

Here are some of the better priced Hoover Dam tours operating from Las Vegas. (There are others, but they are more expensive.) TO GET THESE PRICES, YOU MUST EITHER BOOK ONLINE, OR CALL THE TOUR OPERATOR AND MAKE A RESERVATION. Due to sales commissins, these prices are not available at your hotel or through a ticket agency. (If you call, be sure to ask for the special Internet pricing listed below.)

Tour operators generally offer two Hoover Dam tours. A 4 to 5 hour “Mini” bus tour costs $25 to $30 and the 8 to 9 hour full bus tour (about $35.) Price includes free pickup and return to your hotel. Be sure to bring your camera.

Be aware that (unless stated otherwise) the National Park Service’s new Discovery Tour costs an extra $10. (Seniors 62+: $8, Children 7-16: $4, under 6 Free.) This allows entrance into the internal Visitor's Center, indoor/outdoor observation decks, exhibits, a 25-minute film about the dam's construction and lectured presentations by professional guides who are located at various points of interest. It's worth seeing.

Look Tours, Phone: (702) 233-1627 - Toll Free: (800) 566 5868 – 4½ Hour Mini Tour. (10:30 a.m. departure with 2 hours at the Dam & Lake Mead) - Regular price: $36.00 – Special $10.00 off Internet rate ($25.99.) <HTTP:>The 8 hour deluxe tour is $34.99. (With $10.00 off here.) <HTTP:>

Best Las Vegas Tours – Toll-free Tel.: (866) 688-2378 – Hoover Dam Deluxe Bus Tour <HTTP:>- 7½ hours - includes lunch and visit to the Ethel M. Chocolate Factory. Regular price: $58.99 – Special price: $34.99. Leaves approximately 8:30 a.m.

Gray Line Las Vegas Sightseeing Tours - Tel: (702) 384-1234 -(800) 634-6579 - Mini Hoover Dam Tour <HTTP:>- Approx. 4½ hours – 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. or 12:30 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. & 5:00 p.m. – Regular price: $34.99 – Internet Special: $29.99. – 7½ Hour full tour costs $44.95 and Gray Line pays the $10 Discovery Tour fee when you book online. Includes lunch and Ethel M’s Chocolate Factory Tour.

Las Vegas Tourist Bureau – Tel. (800) 777-VEGAS – Hoover Dam Mini Tour <HTTP:>– Departs 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. – Approx. 5 hrs hotel to hotel – $24.99 (Regular price: $31.99.) -- 9-Hour Deluxe tour is $28.99 (Regular price: $41.99) and includes lunch and Ethel M Chocolate Factory tour.

Hoover Dam Tour Co. – Tel. Toll Free: (888) 512-0075 or (702) 655-6060 – 4½ Hour Mini Tour <HTTP:>– Departs 7:30 or 11:00 a.m. –Reg. $31.99, Special Price: $25.99. – 7½ Hour Full Tour – Reg. $41.99, Special Price: $35.99.

Grand Canyon

More than 4.5 million people visit the Grand Canyon National Park annually. The park is huge ...some 1.2 million acres. The Grand Canyon is located solely in Arizona approximately 80 miles northwest of Flagstaff at about 7,000 feet above sea level.

Visitors can enjoy this greatest of national parks in a variety of ways. Most tours from Las Vegas are by bus. But helicopter and airplane tours are available at a much higher cost (...from $200 to $400 from Las Vegas. See below.)

Most visitors from Las Vegas take the bus tour to the South Rim which is open every day year round. Be prepared for a long bus trip. (It is 278 miles from Las Vegas to the South Rim.)

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

There are many overlooks that offer spectacular views of the canyon. The Colorado River flows along the bottom of the canyon, 5000 feet below the rim. Trivia: Except for a Navajo indian reservation, Arizona is on Mountain Standard Time year-round. Check out this U.S. Government website on the Grand Canyon. And the Grand Canyon Chamber of Commerce also has an interesting website here.

TO GET THESE PRICES,
You must either book online or call the tour operator and make a reservation.

Due to sales commissions, these prices are not available at your hotel or through a ticket agency.

Look Tours, Phone: (702) 233-1627 - Toll Free: (800) 566 5868 – offers a combination Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon bus tour which includes a buffet lunch. Regular: $180, but now 2-for-1 Special in effect. Special price: $89.99 each. Approximately 14 hours long. Free hotel pickup and return.

Best Las Vegas Tours – Toll-free Tel.: (866) 688-2378 – Grand Canyon Luxury Bus Tour – 13 hours long (Departs 7:30 a.m., Returns 8:30 p.m.) – Special price: 2 For $209.97 (Regular price: $159.99 each) – Free snacks, beverages, movies and bathrooms on Coach. Stops at all three major lookout spots. Highly rated tour. Park entrance fees included. Free hotel pickup and return.

Gray Line Las Vegas Sightseeing Tours - Tel: (702) 384-1234 (800) 634-6579 – Grand Canyon Deluxe South Rim Bus Tour with brief Hoover Dam Photo Stop – (Regular price: $149 each) Internet special: 2 for $199.99 (or $99.99 for one person)– Leaves your hotel at 7:30 a.m., returns abut 8:30 p.m. Includes lunch.

Grand Canyon Tour Company - Tel: (800) 2-CANYON (800-222-6966) or 702-655-6060 – South Rim Grand Canyon Bus Tour with Hoover Dam Photo Stop – 2 for $189.99 (Reg. Price: $159.99 each.) Includes lunch at Grand Canyon Railway and five different Canyon stops. Hotel pickup at: 6:30 a.m. with return about 8:45 p.m.

Las Vegas Tourist Bureau – Tel. (800) 777-VEGAS – Deluxe Grand Canyon South Rim Tour by motorcoach. – Includes lunch. Makes three stops at the South Rim. – Approx 15 hrs hotel to hotel – Departs 7:15 a.m. daily – Regular price: $149.99 – Special price: $85.00 per person.

Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters offers one of the better tours of the Grand Canyon. Tour costs are in the $200-$300 range per person, but you can save $50 to $70 by booking the flight yourself rather than by going through one of their commission dealers. Telephone (toll free) 888-635-7272 or (local) 702-736-7243 for the best rate. Tours depart morning, noon and afternoon from the McCarran Executive Terminal. The tours are approximately 2.5 to 3.5 hours long, hotel-to-hotel. The flights are approximately 1.5 hours long with a short landing on the Canyon Floor.

DRIVE YOURSELF DAY TOURS FROM LAS VEGAS

Death Valley National Park	Red Rock Canyon
Grand Canyon	Valley of Fire State Park
Hoover Dam	Lake Mead Recreation Area

Las Vegas Daytime & Nighttime Guided Bus Tours

Las Vegas city tours by bus

Want to save a lot of walking? Take a narrated tour in an air conditioned motor coach of Las Vegas during the day ...or see the glitter of the city at night.

Here are some of the better tours. Includes hotel pickup and drop-off. Tours the Las Vegas strip, downtown, wedding chapel row ...and much more.

Tours are approximately 4 to 6 hours long.

TO GET THESE PRICES, YOU MUST EITHER BOOK ONLINE, OR CALL THE TOUR OPERATOR AND MAKE A RESERVATION. Due to sales commissions, these prices are not available at your hotel or through a ticket agency.

Las Vegas City Bus Tour – (Look Tours) – Special Internet price: $29.99 each – Sun-Fri – Tel. (702) 233-1627 or Toll Free: (800) 566 5868 – 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Las Vegas Neon Night on the Town Bus Tour – (Look Tours) – Special Internet price: $39.99 each – Sun-Fri – Tel. (702) 233-1627 or Toll Free: (800) 566 5868 – 5:30 to 11 p.m.

Las Vegas City Tour - (Grayline) – Special price: $24.99 - (Reg. Price: $29.99) – Mon-Fri – 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Las Vegas Neon & Lights Tour – (Grayline) – Special price: $34.99 - (Reg. Price: $39.99) - Mon-Fri – 6:30 to 11:30 p.m.

Las Vegas City Lights Bus Tour - (Anywhere Tours) - Special price: $39.99 - (Reg. Price: $49.99) - Mon-Thur - 5 to 11 p.m.