Las Vegas to Tucson in Early December

[thommo]

Hi everyone,

I am hoping to drive from Las Vegas to Tucson in early December this year. I am from Australia and am planning to travel around the USA for a month. I am hoping to get some local advice for this leg of the journey!

1. Will there be any weather issues along the main route that Google Maps suggests at that time of year? (US-93 S and I-10 E) Or should it be a relatively smooth drive?
2. Is it easy enough to rent a car from Las Vegas to Tucson for international drivers under 25 years of age? If so, around how much should I expect to pay?
3. Would there be any recommendations for any scenic/touristy stops along the way?

I would like to do the trip in a day but would be open to staying somewhere overnight.

Thank you very much in advance!

[glc]

Welcome to RTA!

1. There is always a possibility of bad weather. You really won't know until a lot closer to the time.

2. Assuming you are at least 20, it's probably going to be in the $300+ a day range. A day is a 24 hour period so an overnight stop may be possible in a 1 day rental. You may get your best deal using a consolidator such as rentalcars.com. Note that you would be paying a one-way dropoff fee and an under-25 surcharge.

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

1 - While it's not impossible to see snow (even Vegas sees snow, albeit pretty rarely), the odds of winter weather here would be quite small.

2 - If you're at least 21, you shouldn't have much difficulty finding a company that will rent you a car, although there may be an additional surcharge for being under 25. The cost will vary wildly depending upon demand, how long you need to car, and if you'll be returning it to Vegas or if it will be one way (another charge for that). You can search for car rental costs right here at RTA.

3 - Your route would take you right past the Hoover Dam. The Grand Canyon would be a popular detour, although that would really require a second day. Without knowing your interests and only knowing about 1 day of your month long trip is going to make it difficult to offer much more in the way of other specifics.

[Southwest Dave]

I am hoping to get some local advice for this leg of the journey!

If you are planning to do multiple car rentals for different legs over your month long trip it could turn out to be more expensive than having a car for the whole, especially if you are returning to your start point. You get better rates for longer rentals and you won't have multiple one way drop off fees.

As has been said, the weather is unpredictable and although you have a good chance of not seeing weather disruption it's not impossible. This February all our route options south towards Tucson were closed due to a freak weather system that dumped a load of snow in icey conditions.

[AZBuck]

All of the previous responses are spot on, particularly about the high cost of car rentals if you're under 25 and/or won't be returning it to where you pick it up. I will note just one possible cost-saving measure and that is to reserve your car at an off-airport location. The taxes and fees on such rentals can be substantial, and some rental companies may not even have a franchise at the airport. Look into whether the hotel you're going to be staying at on your arrival has complimentary shuttle service so that you can take your time about picking up the car, maybe even saving a day's rental charge, and then do your research on the car rental itself. If you rent off-airport, make sure that you can get to the rental location from your hotel and whether you can drop the car off at the airport on your return.

Also, it's worth noting that Tucson has a ski area (Mount Lemmon at 9,000 ft./3,000 m) and we do very rarely see snow even down here on the valley floor. I would not worry about driving in snow, however, as any snow you'll see in the desert Southwest will likely be long melted by mid-morning. Beyond that, the only way we can give you advice on what to see and do on your trip is for you to tell us what you're interested in, i.e. why are you coming all this way and what would make such a trip worthwhile to you.

AZBuck

[thommo]

Thank you all! I appreciate the time and thought put into those replies. That all helps with deciding on a few options.