Las Vegas , Sightseeing Tours, Travel Guide

Las Vegas is not a city that lends itself to organized sightseeing tours . On foot, you'd have to walk too far; on a bus, you couldn't visit the Strip casinos that are the main focus of interest. What bus tours there are head out from the city instead, mainly to the destinations in the vicinity - Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, Red Rock Canyon, and so on. Several companies also offer free trips to the state-line casinos at Primm and Laughlin, of appeal to die-hard gamblers only. Most of the operators listed below also run flights or tours from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon.

Gray Line tel 384-1234, . "Las Vegas City and Shopping," including Liberace Museum and the Forum ($39); Red Rock Canyon and Mount Charleston ($39); Hoover Dam ($39); Death Valley ($139); Bryce Canyon ($139).

Maverick Helicopter Tours tel 261-0007 or 1-888/261-4414, . Las Vegas by night ($69).

The Missing Link Tours tel 1-800/209-8586, . Bus tours to Bryce and Zion national parks (two days/one night: $159) as well as the Grand Canyon, and shuttle services to LA.

Scenic Airlines tel 638-3200, . Fixed-wing air tours throughout the Southwest, including Zion, Bryce, and Monument Valley as well as the Grand Canyon.

Teddy Bear Express tel 737-6062. Laughlin (free); Primm (free).