Adventure travel can take you a lot of places. And few places in the United States are as exciting as Las Vegas. There’s all the glitz and glamour stuff, of course, but there are plenty of other options that will take you off the beaten path (not to mention show mercy on your savings).
Finding the right Vegas vacation/adventure for you and your special someone can be tricky. It’s a question of striking the right balance between your finances, your comfort level and your other interests. We’ll start off with a few pointers on finding great deals on hotels and food when you want to plan a trip to Vegas for two. After that, we’ll check out some adventure travel options. You’ll see that Sin City offers some exhilarating opportunities outside the casinos!
How to Find All-Inclusive Vegas Vacation Packages (Including Meals)
Just because you and your significant other are into adventure travel doesn’t mean you can’t pamper yourself a little. More often than you’d think, there’ll be some fantastic vacation packages that become available. They cover the flight to and from Las Vegas, your hotel stay, your meals, the whole shebang. Trust us—after you do some of the adventure travel options we’ll discuss later, it’ll feel good to chill in one of the many swanky resorts in Vegas.
How do you find these all-inclusive packages, you ask? The best place to start is Visit Las Vegas. As the official tourism site for the city of lights, it can give you the inside skinny a lot of goings-on around town (it also provides some helpful info on tourist etiquette like how much to tip dealer, concierges, cocktail waitresses, etc.).
Check Visit Las Vegas’ site regularly. They’ll post content periodically about special deals occurring around the city. You’ll find a bunch of tips on the local culture, outdoor adventure opportunities, the hottest clubs and much more. You’ll also find some info geared specifically for people planning a trip to Vegas for two—romantic views, great spots for a little together time, stuff like that.
Another good site to check out is Vegas.com. They have a section on their site dedicated specifically to deals on hotels, airfare and shows. You can find deals on a dozen different resorts or more at a time. Not only that, you can find specials on events ranging from Cirque du Soleil and Blue Man Group to helicopter rides and driving top-performance cars on an actual racetrack (you’ll need to pay for the latter, but the adrenaline rush should make it worthwhile for any adventure travel enthusiasts).
Las Vegas Hotel Deals
But let’s suppose you’ve got the travel arrangements handled. If you and your adventure travel companion are just looking for deals on Las Vegas hotels, Vegas.com is a great resource for that too. And if you’re not too familiar with all the places to stay in Vegas—there really are a lot of them—you can still check Visit Las Vegas too for info on what various hotels offer.
Another smart thing to do is to go to each resorts website and sign up for emails. Lots of times, hotels will send you stuff regarding credits for special events and two-for-one discounts. These can come in handy when you and your loved one are planning your Las Vegas adventure travel experience.
Las Vegas Freebies (Or Close-Enough-to-Freebies)
Now that we’ve got the stuff about hotels, airfare and such out of the way, let’s get to the main course (and we don’t mean food). As we mentioned above, there’s plenty of action to be had away from the poker tables and slot machines. Here are a few thrilling—and cost-effective—adventure travel opportunities for two or more people.
Kayaking on the Colorado River
If you want some water-based adventure travel options, try kayaking on the Colorado River. It’d only take 40 minutes for you to reach the base of the Hoover Dam. Once you arrive and get in the water, you can kayak for miles. Kayaking the Colorado will put you within reach of some good hiking spots too.
The Valley of Fire State Park
There are six national parks and 13 state parks within driving distance of Las Vegas. One of the latter is the Valley of Fire State Park, home of the great rappelling spot Lone Rock. Nevada looks especially beautiful when you’re rappelling down from 150 feet!
Dune Buggy Racing
If you and your adventure travel companion are looking for something grittier than zooming around a racetrack, why not do some dune buggy racing? It takes only 15 minutes to get from the Las Vegas strip to the Nellis Dunes National Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area. You can ride dune buggies and ATVs over 10,000 acres of gorgeous sand dunes and canyon trails. For an extra bit of excitement, you’ll probably see a fighter plane or two from Nellis Air Force Base. How’s that for a Las Vegas freebie?
Skiing and Snowboarding Opportunities
When you think of Vegas, skiing and snowboarding probably aren’t the first things to come to mind. Nonetheless, you’ll actually find some wonderful opportunities to do both in the winter and early spring. The Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort (yes, this is a real place) gets an average annual snowfall of more than 200 inches. With 30 trails and dozens of lift-services areas, you’re sure to find something here to satisfy your adventure travel jones. If you want to get some hiking in too, the resort has an additional 250 skiable acres that are reachable on foot.
Go Hiking and/or Rock Climbing
Nevada has some fantastic hiking and rock climbing opportunities. For instance, there’s the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, which is less than 20 miles away from Las Vegas. With more than 190,000 acres and rock formations standing thousands of feet tall, Red Rock is ideal for outdoor and adventure travel enthusiasts.
Another great place to hike is Mount Charleston. If you’re planning a trip in the summertime, the cool air at the summit will feel especially good (it’s almost 12,000 feet tall). Be sure to bring enough water and sunscreen, though.
Hot Springs
After you’ve been on a good hike, there’s nothing quite like soaking your aching muscles in a hot spring. The area around Las Vegas gives you plenty of opportunities to do just that. Some hot springs not far from Sin City include:
- Hot Creek Springs, which are located on the Kirch Wildlife Management Area (aka Sunnyside) off State Route 318
- Arizona Hot Springs, which are a little over four miles away from the Hoover Dam (you can drive to the springs’ parking lot and hike the 3.25 miles to reach them or just kayak there from the Willow Bay Marina)
- Boy Scout Canyon, which might be particularly attractive to the most dedicated adventure travel fan—to reach the hot spring, you’ll need to climb three quarters of a mile up past slippery rocks and waterfalls
Go Mountain Biking in Cottonwood Valley
Venture just half an hour away from the Strip and you’ll find miles of trails that are just perfect for mountain biking. Cottonwood Valley provides plenty of biking opportunities and breathtaking scenery. There are plenty of trails both for beginners and for intermediate riders.
Las Vegas is known for flash and luxury, but it offers so much more. Check out these adventure travel options and other special deals. You can make a trip to Vegas for two an experience you’ll never forget.
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