Living in Phoenix is perfect for easy access to other fun-filled cities. You don’t have to travel far to get to Texas, California, New Mexico or Nevada. We offer several helpful resources for traveling to amazing new places that are within a day’s trip.
If you have your heart set on visiting Las Vegas, we want to make sure you know the best way to get there.
How far is Phoenix from Las Vegas?
If you are driving nonstop, Las Vegas is about 290 miles from Phoenix, making it about a four-and-half-hour drive. Make sure you stay aware of your gas gauge because there are not many gas stations in some stretches along the way.
What are the best routes to take?
Reaching Las Vegas from Phoenix is pretty simple. Once you get on U.S. Route 93, it is a straight shot from Wickenburg to Vegas. There are two recommended routes you can take:
Route 1 – Heading north out of Phoenix on I-17, exit west on the Loop 303. Traveling southwest, you’ll come to U.S. 60. (From south Phoenix or the East Valley, take I-10 west out of Phoenix to the 303 and turn north until you reach U.S. 60.) Take U.S. 60 northwest to Wickenburg, where you turn north onto U.S. 93. Eventually you will cross over the Hoover Dam into Nevada. When you get to Vegas, take exit 75 for Las Vegas Boulevard.
Route 2 – Once you reach Kingman in northwest Arizona, turn west on U.S. 68/163. After passing Bullhead City and Laughlin, go north of U.S. 95, which eventually meets U.S. 93 outside Vegas and Henderson. Although this route is 20-plus miles longer, it avoids traffic congestion at Hoover Dam and often is faster.
Preparing for Your Trip from Phoenix to Vegas
If you’re in a big hurry to get to Vegas, it might be possible to complete the drive without stopping. If that’s your goal, consider all of the following:
Your car will need to have a maximum range of over 300 miles – You will need to fill it up with gas before leaving Phoenix. Please don’t try to cut it too close. It’s never fun to run out of fuel, and the desert is an especially suboptimal place to get stranded.
Bring something to eat and drink. The drive is long enough that you’re likely to get hungry and thirsty, so keep some easy-to-consume snacks upfront with you unless you want to stop. It might be a good idea to bring a little bit extra, just in case car trouble or traffic leaves you in a bind. Some stretches of this drive are pretty desolate, and desert temperatures get well over 100°F.
Take breaks along the way – Decide if you just want a quick pit stop at a gas station near the highway, or if it’s worth taking the time to stop and see an attraction, feel free to stop. If you feel compelled to stop at any of the places below, make sure you’re taking the appropriate route to get yourself close. If you can’t decide between the two routes, you could always take one on the way there and the other on the way back.
What are some cool sites to see along the way
- Vegas is a fast-paced city, so some people enjoy the opportunity to take things slower on the way there and back. Once people leave their Phoenix apartments for the City of Lights, there are a few things to look for when you want to stop and smell the roses, figuratively speaking.
Hoover Dam – Consider taking a tour of the 1,244-foot-long dam, which attracts more than a million visitors annually.
Lake Mead National Recreation Area – Formed by Hoover Dam, Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the U.S. and offers visitors a variety of activities, including boating, fishing and sunbathing.
Hualapai Mountain County Park – Ten miles of high-country hiking trails of various difficulty are located southeast of Kingman.
Road to Nothing – This isn’t a great place to stop, but if you appreciate oddities, it’s worth noticing when you drive by. About two hours from Phoenix on U.S. 93, you might notice a small abandoned settlement called Nothing, AZ, which once had a thriving population of four people.
Various Small Towns – If you believe that anything is better than Nothing, quaint small towns like Wikieup, Chloride, and Kingman offer some natural beauty and authentic relics from their days as mining towns.
Once you get to Vegas, there will be plenty more to see and do. It is “The Entertainment Capital of the World,” after all. If you’re into sports, you can check out the Las Vegas Aces WNBA team, the recently-established Las Vegas Golden Knights, plus a handful of minor league, amateur, or college teams.
In 2020, the city will also be joining the NFL when the Raiders relocate from Oakland. If that’s still not enough, you can fully immerse yourself in a mixture of sports and Vegas culture by visiting some of the world’s largest sports betting hotspots.
That leads us to the thing Vegas is most famous for: gambling and partying. casinos, clubs, and world-class restaurants offer endless opportunities for indulgent fun. You can try indoor skydiving and catch a popular musical act in the same day. Just don’t forget to get some sleep before you drive back to Phoenix.
Phoenix Apartments with Good Highway
At Heers Management, we are dedicated to providing the best tips for living a comfortable, fun-filled life in Arizona. Feel free to contact us with questions you have about your apartment, things to do and nearby destinations.