I have flown many times to Vegas but I think it would be fun to drive out there at least once.

It looks like you can take I40 straight west to Kingman AZ and then hook up US 93 to Boulder City, NV.. and onto Vegas from there.

The websites that give driving estimates says 16 hours.. can it be done in a straight shot or does it make sense to stop in Albuquerque for a night?

Shoot, we stopped in ABQ AND Flagstaff. The fatigue from such desert scenery is real, not to mention the heat as we drove in the summer.

I'd say at least one stop, unless you're a stud.

I've done it and it's brutal. Seems like it would be fun driving out West but it is seemingly non-stop and honestly not that pretty.

I've ridden from Durant to LA (came through OKC) and thought it was very pretty. We stopped once for the night in Gallup, NM on the way there, and again in Gallup on the way back.

I made that very drive with my son in the summer of 2015. We drove straight through and got there about midnight. It was kind of a spur of the moment decision as we were on our way to Redding California to visit my dad and he was in his young 20's and had never been to Vegas. Sounded fun at the time and there is nothing quite like the lights of the Strip popping out from nowhere in the middle of the night. It probably would have been ok if we didn't have another full day of traveling the next day. If you really want a boring drive try Vegas to Reno on 2 hours of sleep.

A couple years ago, a coworker and I did a job up in Truckee, California by lake Tahoe, and we drove back stopping only for pit stops. Over to Reno, then down to Las Vegas, to I-40, then east. We left Truckee at 8:00 pm their time, and rolled through OKC and dropped him off in Midwest City around 1:00 am . So about 15hrs with the time change.

A few weeks ago, we had a convention in Las Vegas. Two of my coworkers drove a 1 ton pickup towing a 26 foot tri-axle trailer, laying over only once in Kingman on the way there, but on the return trip just one of the guys drove the rig straight though from Vegas to here.

I made that drive a few years ago and when I saw the airport was on the strip I was pissed. It's nice if you plan on going to the grand canyon also, but other than that (which is a detour) the drive is horrible. Its just a bunch of empty and ugly desert, not even good desert. You'll pass like 5 cool rock formations and be driven mad by everything else. A stop in Albuquerque is strongly recommended. Also dealing with a car in Vegas kind of sucks. I'd say just fly and enjoy the extra time you get. plus with the price of a flight vs the costs of gas and Albuquerque hotel its makes more sense to fly.

If you can make it to Gallup for the pitstop, you can take a little extra time the second day and make a detour through the Petrified Forest or Sedona while still comfortably making it to Las Vegas the second day. I recommend both. I agree with many of the comments here that the drive isn't as scenic as one would think. There are some pretty stretches leading up to Albuquerque, around Gallup, and around Flagstaff, but beyond that, I-40 is pretty dull.

I did it last April and enjoyed every second of it but we didn't stay on I-40 the whole way. I enjoy driving and seeing places I have never seen before so we took a lot of side roads.

We left OKC in the evening so spent the first night in Amarillo and the second in Flagstaff, and I highly recommend Flagstaff as it's a very neat and scenic town, then went to the Grand Canyon. On trip back we stayed in Albuquerque.

If you like driving and enjoy panoramic views it's a trip worth making.... If it's just a desert to cross to you... Fly.

Glad to see a few folks share the same mindset as me. I made the drive from Tulsa to Vegas, stopping very briefly in ABQ and Flagstaff with a detour to the Grand Canyon (you must go there if you've never been. It's one of natures most awesome things).

The drive was brutal. The desert is pretty up to a point and became rather boring. Pretty and different, but closer to Vegas I was over it. It was in the Summer as well so it began to wear on me. I think it was a 16-18 hour drive but felt much longer.

I have plans to fly to Vegas next time I go. I think Tulsa has direct flights now.

I have driven a handful of times to Vegas and I have a different take than some of the previous posters. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I for one always enjoy the scenery. You'll go from rolling plains to high plains, up on the plateau, through the desert, a mountainous high altitude forest at Flagstaff, and then finally down through the Mojave. Is it a long drive? Yes. But if you stay overnight at either Albuquerque, Grants, or Gallup, it's not all that bad actually. If you plan on staying in Flagstaff, make your reservation well in advance as most of the hotels there are usually booked solid after sundown.

You'll see awesome rock formations, beautiful mountain ranges, buttes, mesas, and more. I-40 in Arizona passes near the Meteor Crater, the Petrified Forest, and the Grand Canyon. US 93 takes you near the Hoover Dam. But there will also be long stretches of not much to see other than billboards promoting shops and stores ahead that sell Indian Jewelry, Route 66 memorabilia, and other souvenirs.

If you are on limited time schedule, I suggest flying. If not, you may actually enjoy the drive. One last thing if you decide to drive to Vegas. You must check the forecast in Flagstaff before driving because the weather and road conditions there can be dramatically different than the rest of the trip due to its high altitude.

I did it once.. that was enough.. not that pretty of a drive. but I am always down for a roadtrip somewhere ONCE.. lol

One last thing if you decide to drive to Vegas. You must check the forecast in Flagstaff before driving because the weather and road conditions there can be dramatically different than the rest of the trip due to its high altitude.

I second this recommendation. My grandparents live about an hour south of Flagstaff. Flagstaff's over 7,000 feet in elevation, and I've been there as late as mid-late April when parts of I-40 and I-17 have been shut down due to snow/ice.

^^^ Good point on checking the weather at Flagstaff. It's not uncommon for I-40 to be shut down there. Pretty much happens annually.

I've done PHX to OKC once, which is pretty much the same route. I love long road trips. One of the things you can do if you have the time is take some of the I-40 Business roads which in some areas are the original Route 66. It's cool to see the old hotels still standing along those roads, almost like a time machine. Not many towns still like that though, I think Tucumcari might be one of the last.

As far as time, I've done Houston to Phoenix in one day before...that was freaking brutal.

Glad to see a few folks share the same mindset as me. I made the drive from Tulsa to Vegas, stopping very briefly in ABQ and Flagstaff with a detour to the Grand Canyon (you must go there if you've never been. It's one of natures most awesome things).

The drive was brutal. The desert is pretty up to a point and became rather boring. Pretty and different, but closer to Vegas I was over it. It was in the Summer as well so it began to wear on me. I think it was a 16-18 hour drive but felt much longer.


This is basically what we did. Stayed the night in ABQ, stopped in Flagstaff, up to GC, then on to Vegas. I would not recommend. Drove home July 4th, when Durant made his decision, the entire way. I absolutely would not suggest making the 16 hour drive in one sitting while thinking about the decision.

I've done PHX to OKC once, which is pretty much the same route. I love long road trips. One of the things you can do if you have the time is take some of the I-40 Business roads which in some areas are the original Route 66. It's cool to see the old hotels still standing along those roads, almost like a time machine. Not many towns still like that though, I think Tucumcari might be one of the last.

Yeah, that's what we did on our trip last April..... On the way back we cut off I-40 at Albuquerque and went through the mountains and then came out at Santa Rosa.... Well actually missed a turn and dang near ended up in Roswell.... When we got to the cattle ranches we had the opportunity to pull off the highway and photograph a couple of antelope grazing along a fence line.

I recommend stopping in Flagstaff, getting up early, doing the detour up to the grand canyon, then head to Vegas