Miami to Vegas in 7 days

Hello Everyone

First of all what a wonderful, wonderful site this is, it has everything that you could possible need and more!!

Ok so there is going to be 5 of us travelling in a Dodge Caravan and we are ranged from 26-33 both guys and gals....

We have 7 days to get from Miami and end up in Vegas. We haven't planned a route yet as we don't know whether to head south, north or across the centre! We are open to any suggestions that anybody has and would appreciate any feedback.

The only place that is a definite stopping point like most is New Orleans! We just want to see as much as we possibly can in such a short amount of time.

Thanks

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

It may not seem like it at first blush, but you have just about enough time to make this trip comfortably and enjoyably. Assuming that you want to spend a day or so in New Orleans, and want to make a few other stops of a couple of hours each, then - with the five days you'll have to devote to the driving - your seven days are all spoken for.

If you stop to visit Gulf Islands National Seashore, or some other venue on the way, then you should arrive in New Orleans on the evening of your second day on the road. That would let you enjoy the a couple of evenings of the night life without having to worry about driving impaired. Hitting the road again on the morning of the fourth day you'd head up through Shreveport to I-20 and Dallas, and then take US-287 up to I-40 near Amarillo. A couple of stops worth considering would be the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas and Cadillac Ranch outside Amarillo. Then I-40 across New Mexico and Arizona would bring you within visiting distance of Petroglyph National Monument, Petrified Forest National park, and of course the Grand Canyon. So you can see that your one 'spare' day will quickly disappear. Finally, you'd leave I-40 at Kingman AZ and take US-93 up past Hoover Dam to Las Vegas.

AZBuck

Thanks so much for all your advice AZBuck!!

We are going to start researching the route you have suggested and see what this is to do and see along the way!

Once we have set a route in place I will let you know what we have come up with in case you have any other suggestions to add to it:)

Rather than just flying up I-95, etc. consider leaving Miami and take US-41, wonderful Everglades scenery; or I-75, Alligator Alley. There are a couple of viewpoint stops on the Alley. Each time I have been there, there have been young alligators playing around in the water. Take I-75 to Lake City and I-10 to Tallahassee. This is only a little longer than I-95 and I-10, but I think so worthwhile.

You could stop over in Lake City, to break the trip into two even days, or in Tallahassee if you want to get to NOLA a little earlier. Remember also, that you will gain an hour in the time change, just west of Tallahassee.

Definitely consider the Grand Canyon even if you can only drive through. You would enter from US-89 near Cameron, and take 64 (Desert View Drive) into the Canyon. This is a lovely way to enter the Grand Canyon, the same direction as the Colorado. There are many view points and overlooks along Desert View Drive to satisfy the photographers in the group. Make a brief stop at the visitor centre and then exit the Canyon to the south and head to Williams, Kingman and Hoover Dam. Be sure you allow enough time, it is not a speedy drive.

Couple of other things I'll throw in here, which I have found useful. Bring a small flag to put in the back window of the mini van. Also bring along your NRMA membership card. It will give you access to free maps and tourist information from the AAA. You can pick up maps in Miami to cover the complete route you plan to take.

Have a great trip.

Lifey

Thanks Lifey

That sounds like a great idea going up through Everglades scenery or Alligator Alley, we will have to do some researching and see what appeals most to us.

As we are staying in Vegas for a couple of days we were thinking of doing a day trip tour out to the Grand Canyon. Or do you think that it would be much of a muchness if we checked it out on our way through and spent the time in Vegas doing something else?

Also we have thought about maybe sticking South once we leave New Orleans.

This is an idea of which way we could go;

Houston
San Antonio
Austin
Dallas
Oklahoma City
Tucumcari
Roswell
Albuquerque
Phoenix
Grand Canyon (South Rim) or spend the extra time in Williams/Hoover Dam????
Williams
Hoover Dam
Vegas

Do you have any suggestions to add to this route or maybe leave out?

Thanks for the tip about the flag and NRMA membership card!!

Ozzy Tripper

The Grand Canyon is too far away from Las Vegas to do it as a daytrip, and it would be kind of silly since you'd be driving past it, and then doubling back 5 hours each way to see it.

If you have enough time in Las Vegas to think about doing a daytrip, perhaps you could take more time for your roadtrip and spend a little less time in Vegas?

Going all the way over to Austin, and then straight up to Oklahoma City adds more than 300 miles - or a half day on the road, on a trip where you are already a bit pressed for time. It would likely be better to head from New Orleans onto Dallas and then up to Amarillo and west from there.

It's important that you understand the difference between visiting Grand Canyon National Park and taking a day trip to the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas. Grand Canyon National Park encompasses the heart of the Canyon and contains all of the magnificent vistas that you are used to seeing in photographs. If you include the South Rim in the RoadTrip portion of your journey, as Lifey suggested, you will have some control over the timing of your visit and can perhaps even see to it that you are standing on the edge of the precipice at sunrise or sunset to get both the true scale of the feature as well as its stunning colors. On the other hand, day trips from Las Vegas entail flights to the West Rim, which is on the Hualapai Indian Reservation. You cannot drive to the main portion of the Canyon and return to Las Vegas in a day. The West Rim is not as deep, wide, or visually stunning as the South Rim. And your time there will necessarily be shorter - most of your flight time will be over Lake Mead and the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument (again, not the same as Grand Canyon National Park), and it will be expensive especially as you will be paying on a per seat basis and there are five of you. At the National Park you pay a flat rate for the entire car. On the up side for the day trip from Las Vegas, you may actually land in the canyon and be able to dip your toes in the Colorado River whereas flights into the canyon in the National Park are now illegal and getting to the river at the bottom requires a hike down and back up - a day or more.

The other major problem with your proposed itinerary is that you would need to spend all seven days that you have available just driving it, with no time for any meaningful stops whatsoever. As I noted in my original response, your time is already stretched thin just making this drive, stopping in New Orleans, and making a few other stops en route. You simply do not have time to go zigzagging north and south on secondary roads to questionable destinations. Roswell is a case in point. It is much too far off your line of march to be included, and besides it would be a long way to go for what is essentially a tourist trap built around some 60 year old manufactured 'news' reports. And while Austin, Dallas, and Oklahoma City are all worthwhile destinations, you simply can't afford that much time spent going north-south on what is a time constricted east-west drive. I think you are grossly over-expecting what you can accomplish in a day of driving, but 550 miles is a fair rule of thumb for what you can do on a steady pace with minimal gas/food/rest breaks. If you want to actually see anything other than through the windshield, you have to allow time for that in your planning.

AZBuck

As mentioned, if you were going to devote one of your days in LV to the GC, then plan to spend it in the Grand Canyon on the way. Staying within the NP is highly recommended, but maybe too late to get reservations. You would need to reserve accommodation near the GC, Tusayan being the closest. (There is also a great IMAX movie of the GC in Tusayan.) If you want to do a flight from LV, by all means. I did, but do it in addition, and not instead of visiting the NP.

If you were to drive from NOLA direct to Dallas, via Houston, on to Amarillo and west to Albuquerque, what in particular would you miss that you (and others) have your heart set on? From Amarillo west I-40 is incredibly scenic. Take whatever opportunity you can to take in the vista and capture it on film. There are other attractions along the way, much closer than the cities you have mentioned. The Santa Fe area would be one. If time permits, you could experience some of the minor roads by taking 104 from Tucumcari to the New Mexico Las Vegas and I-25 into Santa Fe. In Albuquerque there is the Sania Cable Car trip, the oldest church in the old town and lots of history. And of course you could stop in Winslow AZ, and 'stand on the corner'. When you get your maps, you can see the rest for yourself.

As Buck mentioned, if you were to visit all the places mentioned, you would not have the time to spend any time at any of them to sight see. Your time would be spent in the car, virtually the whole way.

Remember you will be driving through country like you have never seen, and will never see at home. Make the most of it.

Lifey

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AZBuck

It's important that you understand the difference between visiting Grand Canyon National Park and taking a day trip to the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas.

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Best description of the differences posted to-date. Excellent.

Thank you everyone for all of your valuable input, it is very much appreciated and we have taken it all into consideration:)

I think we were being way to unrealistic with travelling through the South and zig, zagging all over the place, as we do want to be able to stop at places along the way and if we like the look of something that we see then stop and check it out.

As for the GC, I didn't realise that it was a good 5 hour drive into Vegas (really haven't done any homework yet) so we are going to try and time being there for a morning sunrise and then have the whole morning to check it out and take loads of photos without feeling rushed!

Thanks