Best to hang out at Horseshoe Meadows rather than the portal! Higher sleeping altitude (by 2000')! Some great hikes up there, too. Just hang a left off the Portal Road a few miles from town, and keep driving up! Developed campsites, bear boxes, pit toilets, picnic tables, and you can drive to town in half an hour if you want a nice sit down dinner....
You can probably get a direct flight to Vegas. Overall, door to door, probably save you time. And the drive through Death Valley is hella awesome. (Did I just say " hella awesome"? Don't recognize myself anymore.)
