From las vegas...south or west rim?

we are going to be in las vegas for 5 days..and thought of renting a car going to the grand canyon.....thought about the west rim....cause of distance...but some people say the south is so much better...would we be able to see the south rim in a days time....even if we did the tours flying...or the west rim is good enough...never been ther before.....asking for advice.?

I have been to both and the South Rim is definitely much better than the West Rim. Also, because of the rough and narrow roads (part of which is gravel) the West Rim is not that much quicker to drive to, even though it is geographically closer to Las Vegas.

The West Rim is a marketing name for Grand Canyon West, which is a money-making venture created by some Las Vegas promoters on the Hualapai Indian Reservation just upstream from Lake Mead. The canyon here is less deep, less wide and has fewer formations and layers than in the Grand Canyon National Park to the east. Also, unlike the National Park, Grand Canyon West has no hiking trails and you can not wander around freely - you must sign up for a package tour (the standard one runs about $80 per person). The West Rim is most famous for the new glass SkyWalk, which I found to be over-rated. While some people enjoy the West Rim experience, if you go to traveler review sites, you will see that many consider it a tourist trap. If you are looking for the famous lodges, trails, views and formations that you have seen on TV and in the postcards than you will want to visit the South Rim of the National Park.

It is about a 5 hour drive from Vegas to the South Rim of the National Park. If you get up early and don't mind getting back late, you could definitely do it in a day, although it would probably be better and easier to spend a night at the canyon or in nearby Flagstaff or Williams. If you do decide to go there and back in a day, I would recommend that you use the time there to take the free shuttle that runs from the lodges along the rim out to Hermits Rest back (you can get on and off at various overlooks along the way). That would take about 2-3 hours and then spend another hour or so in the area around the lodges, checking out the interesting historic buildings on the rim like El Tovar lodge, Hopi House, Kolb photo studio and Lookout studio.

As a poster above mentions, there are a number of tour companies that offer one day tours from Vegas to the South Rim and back by bus. This is a bit more expensive and gives you less freedom about when and where you go, but has the advantage of allowing you to sit back and relax. Scenic Airlines also offers daily flights from Vegas to the little Grand Canyon airport - this would give you more time at the canyon for a one day trip, but also be a lot more expensive.

Have fun!

This is a great site for information about Las Vegas.

The big joe's site seems very poor for any specific information on Vegas.

The South rim is suppose to be the best. I know people who have done both. I'd advise taking a bus tour (usually around 14 hours round trip) or if you can afford it, do one of the plane or helicopter tours.

It is still winter so access to the UT side of the Grand Canyon is limited, however, that on the AZ side is open all year round. Both give you a fantastic view.