"The guide showed us a lot of extra. I liked his enthusiasm and deep knowledge about the place. It is clear that he has been doing this for 2 decades. If you want a special trip, I highly recommend this one. My best experience in the USA so far."
Las Vegas · Badwater Basin · Zabriskie Point
Death Valley Tours from Las Vegas
Which one to book? For a first visit, the guided day tour: hotel pickup, the park fee and breakfast included, with the dunes, Furnace Creek and the Rhyolite ghost town. For the night sky as well, take a sunset and stargazing tour.
Top rated
From
$175
per person
Free cancellation
- 4.9 / 5 444+ Reviews
- Full-day Duration
- Badwater Basin −282 ft / −86 m
- Hotel Pickup Las Vegas Strip
- Free Cancellation
The Experience
Why Visit Death Valley on a Guided Tour
The headline desert in North America — extreme, remote, and best seen with a guide who handles the 2-hour-plus drive, the heat, the water, and the timing so you just take it in.
Highlights
- Explore Death Valley located in the Mojave Desert on a guided day tour
- See both the highest and lowest paved viewpoints of Death Valley
- Discover some historic ghost towns of the Wild West era, such as Rhyolite
- See the hottest place on Earth, Furnace Creek, in the heart of the valley
- Trek through the stunning expanses of the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes
What's Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Death Valley entrance fees
- Breakfast buffet
- Bottled water
- Guide
How a Death Valley Day Trip Works
Four steps from the Las Vegas Strip to the floor of Death Valley and back.
Book Online & Get Picked Up
Reserve your tour with free cancellation, then meet your guide at the included Las Vegas hotel or Strip pickup point in the morning — no rental car or navigation needed (checked October 2026).
Drive Into the Desert
Settle in for the roughly 2 to 2.5-hour drive — about 120 miles — as the guide covers the geology and history and the landscape drops below sea level into Death Valley.
See the Headline Stops
Walk out onto the Badwater Basin salt flats, take in Zabriskie Point's golden badlands, the Mesquite Flat dunes and Furnace Creek — with park entrance fees and water included.
Back to Las Vegas
Watch the desert light shift on the return drive — on sunset and stargazing tours, you'll catch golden hour and dark-sky views first — and roll back into Las Vegas in the evening.
Photo Gallery
Death Valley from Las Vegas — Through the Lens
Salt flats, golden badlands, sand dunes, and the dark-sky nights of the lowest point in North America.
Book Your Experience
Check Availability & Prices
Select your preferred date and time. Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
Guided Day Tour vs. Self-Drive vs. Sunset & Stargazing
Three ways to see Death Valley from Las Vegas. Here's how a guided day tour, driving yourself, and an evening sunset-and-stargazing tour compare — so you book the right one.
| Feature | OUR PICK Guided Day Tour from Vegas | Self-Drive Rental Car | Sunset & Stargazing Tour |
|---|---|---|---|
| What It Is | A guide drives a small group round-trip and narrates the geology, history and stops | You rent a car and drive the ~120 miles each way yourself | A day tour that lingers into golden hour and dark-sky stargazing before heading back |
| Getting There | ✓ Hotel or Strip pickup included — no navigation, no parking | You drive ~2–2.5 hours each way and fuel up before entering the park | ✓ Hotel pickup included; returns to Vegas after dark |
| Heat & Water Safety | ✓ Guide carries water and times stops to avoid the worst midday heat | You must carry plenty of water and watch the forecast yourself | ✓ Evening timing sidesteps peak heat; water provided |
| What You See | Badwater Basin, Zabriskie Point, Mesquite dunes, Furnace Creek — the headline stops | Anywhere you choose, at your own pace — but you plan the route | Dante's View, Badwater and Artists Palette, sunset at Zabriskie Point, then stargazing in Amargosa Valley, Nevada |
| Park Entrance Fee | ✓ Included in the tour price | You pay the park entrance fee (per vehicle) | ✓ Included in the tour price |
| Stargazing | Daytime focus — back in Vegas by evening | Possible if you stay after dark and know where to look | ✓ The whole point: guided stargazing in Amargosa Valley, just outside the park |
| Best For | First-timers and visitors without a car who want the classics handled | Independent travelers who want full control and extra time | Travelers who care most about sunset color and the night sky |
| Free Cancellation | ✓ Up to 24 hours before | n/a (depends on car-rental terms) | ✓ Up to 24 hours before |
| Starting Price | From $175/per person | Car rental + fuel + park fee (variable) | From $249 (pickup, park fees, stargazing included; checked October 2026) |
| Check Availability | See the Tour |
Pick Your Tour
Compare Death Valley Tours from Las Vegas
Full-day guided trips, sunset-and-stargazing tours, ghost-town add-ons, and more active treks — all round-trip from Las Vegas, each with free cancellation up to 24 hours or 2 days before, depending on the tour (checked October 2026).
TOP RATED · 4.9★From Las Vegas: Death Valley Guided Day Tour
A guided small-group day tour into Death Valley from Las Vegas — Badwater Basin, Zabriskie Point, the Mesquite Flat dunes and Furnace Creek — with hotel pickup, park entrance fees and water included.
SUNSET & STARSFrom Las Vegas: Death Valley Sunset and Starry Night Tour
An afternoon-into-night tour timed for golden-hour color over the badlands and dunes, then dark-sky stargazing under one of the country's clearest night skies.
STARGAZING · 5.0★Las Vegas: Death Valley Sunset and Stargazing Day Tour
A day tour that lingers into the evening for sunset over the dunes and badlands, followed by guided stargazing in this Gold-Tier Dark Sky park.
GHOST TOWNFrom Las Vegas: Death Valley & Rhyolite Ghost Town Day Trip
A Death Valley day trip paired with the Rhyolite ghost town and its open-air sculptures near Beatty — desert history plus the park's headline viewpoints, with Las Vegas pickup.
SMALL GROUPDeath Valley NP Full-Day Small Groups Tour from Las Vegas
A small-group full-day tour covering Death Valley's classic stops — Badwater Basin, Zabriskie Point, the sand dunes and Furnace Creek — round-trip from Las Vegas.
ALL FIVE CLASSIC STOPSLas Vegas: Death Valley National Park Small Group Tour
A relaxed small-group run through Death Valley's highlights with a local guide, hotel pickup and park entry handled — a good fit for a first visit from Las Vegas.
ACTIVE TREKFrom Las Vegas: Death Valley Trekker Tour
A more active Death Valley tour for travelers who want extra hiking and backcountry stops beyond the roadside viewpoints, departing from Las Vegas.
CLASSIC DAY TOURDeath Valley Day-Tour from Las Vegas
A straightforward Death Valley day tour from Las Vegas hitting the must-see viewpoints, with a guide who handles the driving, logistics and heat-safe timing.
The Honest Guide
Death Valley from Las Vegas — What to Know Before You Book
The lowest, hottest, driest national park in North America sits a couple of hours from the Strip. Here's which tour to pick, what you'll see, when to go, and why most visitors do it as a guided day trip.
Death Valley is the kind of place that sounds like exaggeration until you stand in it. It is the lowest, hottest, and driest national park in North America: more than 3.4 million acres of salt flats, eroded badlands, sand dunes and snow-dusted peaks, about two hours from the neon of the Las Vegas Strip. Most people see it as a guided day trip from Las Vegas, and for good reason: the distances are big, the heat is real, and a guide who knows the park turns a long desert drive into an easy, well-paced day.
Which Death Valley Tour Should You Book?
For a first visit, book the From Las Vegas: Death Valley Guided Day Tour by Mojave Wave LLC. It covers the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, Artist’s Palette, the Furnace Creek Visitor Center and the Rhyolite ghost town, with hotel pickup, the entrance fee, a breakfast buffet and water included. It is from $175 a person (checked October 2026) and rated 4.9 from 444 reviews.
The others suit a narrower wish:
- The night sky as well: the Death Valley Sunset and Starry Night Tour by Mytourstory LLC adds Dante’s View and Badwater, watches the sunset from Zabriskie Point and stargazes about an hour and a half after sunset. The Death Valley Sunset and Stargazing Day Tour by EMOTION TRIP stargazes in Amargosa Valley, just over the Nevada line.
- A guide in another language: the Death Valley & Rhyolite Ghost Town Day Trip by Skyline Expeditions lists English, Chinese, Japanese and Spanish, and stops at Zabriskie Point and Harmony Borax Works.
- Lunch included and a 14-seat bus: the Death Valley NP Full-Day Small Groups Tour by Bindlestiff Tours includes a sandwich lunch and a commentary app in seven languages.
- Off the paved road: the Death Valley Trekker Tour by Pink Jeep Tours - Las Vegas goes off road at 20 Mule Team Canyon, with lunch included.
Death Valley, by the Numbers
The headline fact is the low point. Badwater Basin sits at 282 feet (86 m) below sea level, the lowest point in North America, a glaring white sheet of salt flats 17 miles (about 30 minutes) south of Furnace Creek. From there the land rises fast: Telescope Peak, the park’s high point, tops out at 11,049 feet (3,368 m), so on a clear winter day you can stand on the salt and look up at snow.
It is also the hottest place on record. Furnace Creek holds the world air-temperature record of 134°F (57°C), set on July 10, 1913, and summer temperatures often top 120°F in the shade. Rainfall averages under two inches a year. These aren’t trivia; they shape every decision about when to visit and how to do it safely.
What You’ll Actually See
A good day tour threads together the park’s signature stops. Zabriskie Point looks out over a maze of golden, wind-carved badlands that glow at sunrise and sunset. The Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes near Stovepipe Wells are the easiest dunes to walk out into. Badwater Basin lets you step onto the salt flats themselves. Many itineraries add the mineral-streaked hills of Artists Palette and the panoramic overlook at Dante’s View. Which tour names which of these stops is set out side by side in what to see in Death Valley.
Most tours also stop at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, the park’s main building. It is open daily, 8 am to 5 pm (the park service notes hours may vary). Inside are a 20-minute park film, museum displays, a ranger desk where you can buy park passes, and a bookstore that sells snacks, sandwiches and water; outside is a bottle-filling station and the famous thermometer. Both the Mojave Wave LLC day tour and the Mytourstory LLC sunset tour list a stop there.
Some tours pair the park with the Rhyolite ghost town just over the Nevada line near Beatty, a gold-rush boomtown that swelled and emptied in barely a decade in the early 1900s. Rhyolite sits on the longer road in, by way of Beatty, about 160 to 170 miles from Las Vegas against about 120 on the usual road through Pahrump and Death Valley Junction. Exact stops vary by operator and by the day’s conditions: in October 2026 the park service lists Scotty’s Castle and Titus Canyon Road as closed, the road expected to reopen around May 2027.
Why Most People Go Guided
You can rent a car and drive yourself: the park service puts Furnace Creek about 120 miles and 2 hours from Las Vegas. A guided trip removes the parts that trip visitors up. There’s no navigation, no parking, and no rental car, because pickup at your Las Vegas hotel is included. The guide carries water and times the stops around the worst midday heat, the park entrance fee ($30 per car if you drive yourself) is in the ticket, and the drive fills with the geology and history that make the landscape legible rather than just empty and hot.
These tours are run by independent local operators, not the National Park Service; we help you compare them and you book through GetYourGuide. Most listings let you cancel free up to 24 hours before; the Bindlestiff Tours and Adventure Photo Tours days ask for 2 days (checked October 2026). The trust signals to look for are verified reviews, small group sizes, and clearly listed inclusions, not any “official” label.
When to Go — and the Sunset & Stargazing Option
Spring is the park’s busiest season; average highs drop from 93°F in October to 77°F in November. Average highs at Furnace Creek are 77°F in November, 65°F in December and 67°F in January; July averages 116°F. Summer afternoons are genuinely dangerous, so warm-season tours lean on early starts or evening departures.
After dark, Death Valley becomes something else entirely. It’s certified as a Gold Tier International Dark Sky Park, the highest rating, since 2013. Sunset and stargazing tours are built around that: you watch golden hour over the badlands, then view stars, planets and the Milky Way far from any city glow. A bright moon can wash that out, so the new-moon dates for the coming season, with every month’s average temperatures, are in the best time to visit Death Valley.
Closer to the Strip, Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is 17 miles west, but it is not a night-sky outing in the same way. Its Scenic Drive closes at 5 pm from November to February (7 pm in March and October, 8 pm from April to September), and from October 1 to May 31 a timed-entry reservation is needed to enter between 8 am and 5 pm. For stars, the Bureau of Land Management points instead to the Late Night Trailhead on State Route 160, the same highway the Death Valley tours take toward Pahrump. We found no tour on GetYourGuide that stargazes at Red Rock; the guided night-sky trips from Las Vegas go to Death Valley.
Joshua Tree or Death Valley?
If you are weighing the two desert parks, the drive settles it from Las Vegas: Joshua Tree is around 180 to 195 miles by road, against about 120 to Furnace Creek, and no round-trip Joshua Tree day tour leaves Las Vegas on GetYourGuide. The full comparison, with best months and dark-sky ratings for both, is in Joshua Tree vs Death Valley.
Whether you want the classic full-day loop, a sunset run under the stars, or a more active trek into the backcountry, the driving, the timing, and the park fees are sorted for you.
Guest Reviews
What Travelers Say
4.9/5
from 444 verified travelers
"Brian was an excellent guide that went above and beyond the expectations that I had for the tour. I knew I was going to enjoy it, but he made the tour an unforgettable experience. I have been on a lot of tours and you don't get guides like Brian anywhere else - you can tell that he loves what he is doing and wants to share that with other people. The breakfast buffet was also really unexpectedly delicious!! All around it was an incredibly awesome experience!!!"
"Our tour guide was Brian and he was fantastic. Full of knowledge regarding the trip, but also engaged in conversations with group. Nothing was too much if asked. Collected on time and dropped offs were also. He even went the extra mile to drop one of our group straight to the airport on our return from the day trip which I thought was a lovely gesture. On the trip itself he also showed us several extra sights which wasn’t included in the itinerary which we were grateful for. Great day out, great guide and the breakfast which was included in the price was really tasty too. Fully recommend. 5 stars without a shadow of doubt."
"It was amazing!!! The tour guide is responsible and kind, his explaintion was awesome!!! Thank you"
"An early start but so worth it. Brian made the day all about the guests and for us to see as much as possible in the time available. His knowledge of Death Valley was incredible including the plants, geology and hidden gems. Truly a magical and most enjoyable day out."
Read all 444 verified reviews
See All ReviewsSee Death Valley from Las Vegas — Book Your Day Trip
From a classic full-day tour to a sunset-and-stargazing run, hotel pickup, park entrance fees, water and a guide who knows the heat are all included, and the featured day tour cancels free up to 24 hours before (checked October 2026). Starting from $175 per person.
Check Availability & BookCan't Make These Dates?
Browse More Available Options
Find a tour that fits your schedule. Dates and cancellation terms are on each listing.
Death Valley Tours from Las Vegas — Frequently Asked Questions
How far it is, how long the day runs, what's included, the best time of year, and what to expect on a guided Death Valley day trip.
Death Valley National Park is roughly 120 miles (about 193 km) from Las Vegas, and the drive to the Furnace Creek area in the heart of the park takes about 2 to 2.5 hours each way. On a guided tour you're picked up at your hotel or a Strip meeting point, so there's no rental car, navigation, or parking to worry about — the guide handles the driving while you take in the desert.
Most guided trips are full-day tours running roughly 9 to 11 hours door to door, including the drive each way and several stops inside the park. Sunset and stargazing tours run later into the evening so you catch golden hour over the badlands and dark-sky viewing before the drive back, returning to Las Vegas after dark.
The headline stops are Badwater Basin — the salt flats that sit 282 feet (86 m) below sea level, the lowest point in North America — Zabriskie Point's golden eroded badlands, the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, and the Furnace Creek area near the valley floor. Many tours also take in viewpoints like Dante's View or the mineral-streaked hills of Artists Palette, and some pair the park with the nearby Rhyolite ghost town. Exact stops vary by operator and the day's conditions.
October through April is the comfortable window. Death Valley is the hottest, driest, and lowest national park in North America — it officially holds the world air-temperature record of 134°F (56.7°C), set at Furnace Creek in 1913, and summer afternoons from June through September are genuinely dangerous. Tours run year-round, but in the warm months guides lean on early starts and evening departures. Spring and late fall give the mildest air and the best light.
Yes. Death Valley has been a Gold Tier International Dark Sky Park, the highest rating, since 2013. Sunset-and-stargazing tours time the day so you watch the sun drop over the badlands, then look at the stars far from city light. Red Rock Canyon, 17 miles west of the Strip, is closer, but its Scenic Drive closes at 5 pm from November to February; the Bureau of Land Management points night-sky watchers to the Late Night Trailhead on State Route 160 instead (checked October 2026).
It varies by operator, but a typical guided day tour includes round-trip hotel or Strip pickup, Death Valley park entrance fees, bottled water, and a knowledgeable guide; many also include breakfast or snacks. Check each listing for exact inclusions. Booking through this site is through GetYourGuide; dates and cancellation terms are on each listing.
The guided day trips start at $165 per person for the Rhyolite ghost town day trip and $175 for the Mojave Wave guided day tour. The other small-group full days run $200 to $299, the two sunset-and-stargazing tours are $249, and the off-road Trekker tour is $304 (GetYourGuide prices, checked October 2026). Each tour on this page shows its current price, rating, and review count so you can compare before you book.
No — they're run by independent third-party tour operators, not the National Park Service. We're an affiliate that helps you compare and book through GetYourGuide; the tours themselves are operated by established local companies. Trust comes from verified traveler reviews, included park fees and water, small-group sizes and free cancellation (24 hours before on most listings, 2 days on two of them), rather than any 'official' status (checked October 2026).
Yes. Guided day tours are designed around visitors who don't know the park — the guide handles the long drive, the heat-safe timing, and the must-see stops, with most walking kept short and optional. If you want more activity, a trekker-style tour adds hiking; if you want an easier pace, a standard small-group day tour or sunset tour is a comfortable introduction. Check each tour's minimum age and walking level before booking.
Yes: the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, open daily, 8 am to 5 pm (the park service notes hours may vary; National Park Service, October 2026). It has a 20-minute park film, museum displays, a ranger desk that sells park passes, a bookstore with snacks, sandwiches and water, and a bottle-filling station. Badwater Basin is 17 miles (about 30 minutes) south of Furnace Creek. Several day tours from Las Vegas stop there, among them the Mojave Wave LLC guided day tour and the Mytourstory LLC sunset tour.
Yes, even in one day. For a visit of one to three hours the park service names Badwater Basin, Artists Drive and Devils Golf Course; with half a day it adds Dante's View and the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. In October 2026 Scotty's Castle and Titus Canyon Road are closed, the road until about May 2027. From Las Vegas it is about 120 miles and 2 hours to Furnace Creek each way; the entrance fee is $30 per car for 7 days, and it is included on the guided tours.
From Las Vegas, Death Valley: Furnace Creek is about 120 miles away, Joshua Tree around 180 to 195 miles by road, and only Death Valley has round-trip day tours from the Strip on GetYourGuide. Joshua Tree suits a trip that continues to Los Angeles or Palm Springs, or a night near the park. See Joshua Tree vs Death Valley for the full comparison.
Still have questions? Email us at info@deathvalleyfromlasvegas.com