National Finals Rodeo - Vegas 2018- tips and advice welcome

Cant help with the rodeo part of your post but would say to go to the grand canyon and the hoover dam.

Never been to Vegas for the NFR, but I have been to Cheyenne for Frontierdays. I know Cheyenne can seat a lot more people in the arena than Vegas can, but for that I just went to their website and ordered tickets. Ended up getting right behind the bucking chutes both days (went early in the week).

How many days will you be out there, and have you been to Vegas before?

The NFR is a week long event, correct? If your schedule allows, I would try to go earlier in the competition - you will still see the same competitors, but tickets may be easier to come by.

Have you ever been to a rodeo before? That would be the indicator of how many days you want to go see the competition. If you really like it, then yes, but if you've only watched it on tv, then you may want to rethink going to each one - there is some downtime between events and it can get a little monotonous.

Weather can be cold in Vegas in early December, especially at night, so pack accordingly.

I think the side trip to Grand Canyon would certainly be worth it. It is an amazing site. That time of year though the weather may make a trip a little more difficult. I know the north rim gets a good bit of snow. Not sure how much winter weather the south rim gets or how much it impacts access around the park.

The GC trip is pretty much a full day trip from Vegas I would assume, so depending on if you want to spend time in Vegas hitting casinos or maybe a show, and how many days of the NFR you go to, along with the number of days for the trip, will heavily impact the choice of the GC trip.