Nevada Holidays

The state that built casino city Las Vegas in the middle of a desert and made it the entertainment capital of the world. Nevada is big skies, bigger hotels, and day trips to the Grand Canyon.

Highlights of your Holidays to Nevada

• Las Vegas - The reason most people come to Nevada. The Strip, the casinos, the shows, the pool parties, the wedding chapels, and hotels so vast they have their own postcodes. The full Las Vegas experience is covered on our Las Vegas holidays page.

• The Grand Canyon (day trip) - The South Rim is about 4.5 hours from Las Vegas by road, or you can fly there by helicopter in about 45 minutes. One of those bucket-list day trips that actually lives up to the hype.

• Hoover Dam and Lake Mead - About 45 minutes from the Las Vegas Strip. The dam is a genuine engineering marvel and the lake behind it is the largest reservoir in the United States. Tours run daily from Las Vegas.

• The Mojave Desert - Nevada sits in the Mojave and Great Basin deserts, and once you leave Las Vegas the landscape opens up into something vast and empty and genuinely beautiful. Red Rock Canyon is 30 minutes from the Strip and feels like a different planet.

• Death Valley (day trip) - About two hours from Las Vegas, and the hottest place on Earth. A surreal landscape of salt flats, sand dunes, and canyon walls. Go in the cooler months unless you enjoy 50-degree heat.

Good to Know - Nevada Holidays

• 💷 Money - The US Dollar. Las Vegas can be as cheap or expensive as you make it. A food-court meal on the Strip costs around £5 / €6, a sit-down dinner at a mid-range restaurant is closer to £25 / €30, and a beer at a casino bar runs about £6 / €7. Budget around £15 / €18 per day for tips (tipping is expected everywhere in the US).

• ✈️ Getting there - Direct flights from London Heathrow to Las Vegas (Harry Reid International Airport) take about 10-11 hours. From regional UK & Ireland airports you'll connect via a US or European hub. The airport is just 5km from the southern end of the Strip, so you're at your hotel within 20 minutes of landing.

• 🌡️ Climate - Desert. Summers are scorching (regularly above 40°C in July and August), winters are mild and dry (15-18°C), and spring and autumn are the comfortable middle ground (23-30°C). Air conditioning is everywhere indoors, so pack a light layer for the temperature shock between the street and the casino floor.

• 🛂 Visa - UK & Ireland citizens need an ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) before travelling, not a full visa. Apply online at least 72 hours before departure. Valid for two years and covers multiple trips of up to 90 days each. Passport must be valid for the duration of your stay.

Nevada is perfect for you if...

• You'd rather have a mega-hotel with five pools and a casino floor than a quiet villa with a sea view

• You want to see the Grand Canyon without building an entire Arizona road trip around it

• You like your evenings big, whether that's a Cirque du Soleil show, a rooftop cocktail bar, or losing track of time at a blackjack table

🏨 Hotels

Las Vegas's hotels are unlike anywhere else on Earth. The big Strip properties are part-hotel, part-theme-park, part-shopping-centre, with casinos, pool complexes, shows, and dozens of restaurants under one roof.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 What are the best family hotels in Nevada?

• Mandalay Bay has an 11-acre tropical beach with a wave pool, the Shark Reef Aquarium for the kids, and poolside cabanas for the parents. One of the few Strip hotels that genuinely works as a family resort rather than a casino with a kids' pool bolted on.

• Excalibur is medieval-themed, budget-friendly, and right on the Strip with four outdoor pools, a 24-hour food court, and an on-site spa. The castle exterior and knight-themed rooms go down well with younger children.

• Luxor is the giant pyramid on the Strip with four pools, family-friendly shows, and PLAY Bar with velcro walls, obstacle courses, and bouncy mazes. The rooms inside the pyramid itself are angled, which kids find exciting and adults find slightly odd.

💑 What are the best hotels in Nevada for couples?

• Bellagio is the iconic one. Dancing fountains out front, a world-class casino, multiple nightclubs and restaurants, and rooms with Strip views that make every evening feel like an event. This is the hotel most people picture when they think of Las Vegas.

• The Venetian is Italian-themed luxury with gondola rides along indoor canals, a massive shopping centre, and suites that are among the biggest standard rooms on the Strip. Feels more like a romantic city break than a casino hotel.

• Virgin Hotels Las Vegas is off-Strip but only an eight-minute taxi ride away. Two pools including an adults-only deck, a casino in the lobby, restaurants everywhere, and rooms that are properly swanky for the price.

🎉 What are the best hotels in Nevada for groups?

• Caesars Palace has seventeen restaurants, seven pools, a 4,300-seat arena, and one of the most famous casinos on the planet. Big enough that your group can split up during the day and still bump into each other at the pool bar.

• Flamingo Las Vegas is a classic Strip hotel at a fraction of the price of its neighbours. Burlesque shows, magic acts, a wildlife habitat with actual flamingos, and a great pool scene. The low room rate means more budget for everything else.

• Excalibur works for groups on a budget too. Four pools, a 24-hour food court, central Strip location, and room rates that leave plenty in the kitty for shows and tables.

👉 All Nevada hotels

Nevada Holidays 2026/2027 - Travel Guide

💑 What are the best things to do for couples on a Nevada holiday?

• The Strip after dark is the obvious starting point. Catch a Cirque du Soleil show, have dinner at one of the celebrity-chef restaurants inside Caesars Palace or the Bellagio, then work your way through the rooftop bars with views over the neon. The fountains at the Bellagio run every 15 minutes in the evening and cost nothing to watch.

• Away from the Strip, take a helicopter tour to the Grand Canyon at sunset. It is the single most memorable experience most couples come back talking about. Red Rock Canyon is 30 minutes from the Strip and perfect for a morning hike before the heat builds, and the Hoover Dam is worth half a day for the engineering alone.

• For something quieter, the spa scene on the Strip is world-class. Most of the big hotels have full-service spas with couples' treatments, and booking a cabana at one of the adults-only pool decks is a full day sorted.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 What are the best things to do on a Nevada family holiday?

• Mandalay Bay's wave pool and beach complex is a full day out without leaving the hotel. The Shark Reef Aquarium is in the same building. Circus Circus has an indoor theme park called the Adventuredome with rollercoasters and bumper cars, and the Discovery Children's Museum downtown is excellent for younger kids.

• Day trips are where Nevada opens up for families. The Grand Canyon South Rim is about 4.5 hours by road, or 45 minutes by helicopter. Hoover Dam is 45 minutes from the Strip, and the guided tours inside the dam are properly fascinating for older children. Red Rock Canyon has easy trails with big scenery.

• The Strip itself is safe to walk with children during the day. The themed hotels (Excalibur's castle, Luxor's pyramid, the Venetian's canals) are attractions in their own right, and the free shows (Bellagio fountains, Mirage volcano, the Fall of Atlantis at Caesars) keep kids entertained between pools.

🎉 What are the top things to do for groups on a Nevada holiday?

• Pool parties are the daytime anchor for most groups. The bigger hotels run DJ-led pool parties from spring through autumn, with day beds, bottle service, and a crowd that is there to have a good time. Encore Beach Club and Wet Republic are the headline names.

• Evenings start with a show. Cirque du Soleil has multiple residencies across the Strip, and there are magic shows, comedy shows, and concert residencies at almost every major hotel. Book early for weekend shows. After that, the casinos and nightclubs take over. The clubs on the Strip attract international DJs and stay open until the early hours.

• For something different, book a group excursion to the desert. ATV tours through the Mojave, a shooting range experience, or a day trip to Death Valley are all popular with groups who want a story beyond the casino floor.

More Destinations

Las Vegas - The main event. Casinos, shows, pool parties, the Strip, and hotels big enough to get lost in. Start here if you haven't already.

Florida - Theme parks in Orlando, beaches in Miami, and year-round sunshine from the Keys to the Gulf Coast.

New York - Broadway, Central Park, world-class museums, and that skyline. A completely different America from Nevada.

California - Los Angeles, San Francisco, the Pacific Coast Highway, and San Diego. Nevada's neighbour and an easy add-on if you're already flying to Las Vegas.

Arizona - The Grand Canyon state. If the helicopter day trip from Las Vegas left you wanting more, Arizona is where you go deeper.