American Southwest Family Roadtrip: The Ideal 10-Day Itinerary
Day 1: Las Vegas, NV To Flagstaff, AZ
You can get cheap flights to Las Vegas from almost anywhere in the United States (and probably even internationally). These cheap flights are why we recommend starting and ending your road trip here. We chose to add a day in Las Vegas at the end. If we were to do it again, we would not make that choice. It really just depends on how much you enjoy the Vegas atmosphere.
As long as you land by late morning, you can grab your rental car and head towards Flagstaff. If you can’t get in until later, we would recommend spending one night in Vegas before you start this itinerary.
When you get to the Lake Mead overlook, pull in and take a look. Sadly, this lake is drying up at a fairly alarming rate. You will then want to stop at the Hoover Dam. At minimum, you can get out and walk across the dam and take in just how big it is. The tour that they offer is also really good (costs between $10 and $30 per person depending on which options you choose). If it is a warm, sunny day, expect it to be quite hot and drink lots of water! It’s also fun to toss water off the side of the dam and watch it ‘magically’ float up from the air current produced by the size of the dam!
From Hoover Dam, it is a fairly uneventful drive into Flagstaff (albeit beautiful scenery) that takes just over three hours. Flagstaff is a cool little western town with some fun shops and good restaurants. We enjoyed meals at Fratelli Pizza and the Lumberyard Brewing Company. There is also a wide range of hotels available, but we chose a great Airbnb.
