2 weeks in USA Las Vegas but where else?

bibbly · 04-01-2009 11:15PM #1

Hi there,

I am planning a trip to the US in the summer, hopefully for just over 2 weeks 15 or 16 days. Planning on going to Las Vegas for a while and then maybe drive to LA or San Diago? Or should i just fly down?
How long should i plan to stay in Las Vegas? is there anything else to do apart from casinos and live shows?

datk · 05-01-2009 01:12AM

bibbly wrote: »

Hi there,

I am planning a trip to the US in the summer, hopefully for just over 2 weeks 15 or 16 days. Planning on going to Las Vegas for a while and then maybe drive to LA or San Diago? Or should i just fly down?
How long should i plan to stay in Las Vegas? is there anything else to do apart from casinos and live shows?

If you have time go to the Grand Canyon and stay over, day trips don't do it justice.

Las Vegas has plenty to offer - if you are willing to stalk the hotel on the internet you can get really good deals on hotels, you can do the whole casino, show and attraction side of things but you can also lay by a pool and chill out. It does get VERY hot so keep that in mind.

Some people say 3 days is about all you should do in Vegas - the gambling part does nothing for me, I was there for 7 nights and still didn't fit everything in.

rossie1977 · 07-01-2009 12:08PM

bibbly wrote: »

Hi there,

I am planning a trip to the US in the summer, hopefully for just over 2 weeks 15 or 16 days. Planning on going to Las Vegas for a while and then maybe drive to LA or San Diago? Or should i just fly down?
How long should i plan to stay in Las Vegas? is there anything else to do apart from casinos and live shows?

things to do in vegas apart from casinos and live shows, don't know if the gun store or gun firing range is listed there, drinking is legal 24hr a day in vegas, vegas also has some of the best shopping in the world in one area http://www.vegas.com/attractions/ http://www.thegunstorelasvegas.com/ http://www.vegas.com/shopping/

the pools in vegas hotels such as mirage, mgm grand and especially mandalay bay are attractions unto themselves, mandalay bay pool is crazy http://www.mandalaybay.com/thingstodo/Beach.aspx

plan to spend 4-5 days in vegas, i would recommend checking out the amazing scenery of nothern arizona/southern utah for the rest of the trip, lake mead, grand canyon, monument valley, bryce, canyonlands, arches, zion etc are only a few hours drive. you could even drive a few hours further west to the colorado and experience the snow in the rocky mountains

Adrock-aka · 07-01-2009 12:38PM

Hi OP,

My friends went to Vegas last summer, stayed 3 nights and then drove to San Diego to meet up with us and other friends. The driving was part of the experience for them and they loved it. Flights are quick but can be expensive and you may miss out on the experience a little. I'd book return flights from Ireland to Las Vegas and then drive around the surrounding state theres plenty to see and do.

Me and the lil lady are going to go in April this year and some of the hotel deals in the Hard Rock look amazing! The VIP rooms are HUGE and are from $149. They come with amazing gifts (drink/dinner/night club/gambling/spa vouchers) so we might treat ourselves to a couple of nights for the craic. Compare that to 3 star mucky hotels around dublin and the country where you pay EUR 140+ for the complete basics.

Anyone been there have any tips about what to do on the strip or near by? will only be there 5 nights so probably gonna keep it in Vegas. (not hijacking OP by the way!)

rossie1977 · 07-01-2009 12:52PM

Adrock-aka wrote: »

Me and the lil lady are going to go in April this year and some of the hotel deals in the Hard Rock look amazing! The VIP rooms are HUGE and are from $149. They come with amazing gifts (drink/dinner/night club/gambling/spa vouchers) so we might treat ourselves to a couple of nights for the craic. Compare that to 3 star mucky hotels around dublin and the country where you pay EUR 140+ for the complete basics.

Anyone been there have any tips about what to do on the strip or near by? will only be there 5 nights so probably gonna keep it in Vegas. (not hijacking OP by the way!)

hard rock is good mile and a half off strip though and i wouldn't recommend staying there if a first timer to town, its also alot smaller than the monsters on the strip such as mgm grand, bellagio, venetian or mandalay bay, compared to those it is tiny. for first timers a mid strip hotel is best

most of the strip hotels are offering special deals because the recession has hit the town hard and tourist numbers are down over 10% since 2007. encore opened only a few weeks ago and there are great deals to be had there, next door palazzo opened this time last year, standard rooms in those two hotels are 800ft square suites and can be got for less than $150 some nights with all the extras

see my previous post for things to do, you can always PM me if you need more info

Adrock-aka · 07-01-2009 01:15PM

Thanks a mil for that Rossie, wouldnt want to make a schoolboy error first on the first trip! I hadnt a clue it was a good mile and a half away from the strip. Mid strip hotel sounds the best then. Im gonna look into those two new hotels you suggested theres definately a deal to be had there.

You sound like you've been there a few times do you have a personal favourite hotel to stay at or favourite activities? Would you advise renting a car for the week to get around the town or is it mostly walkable? Always wanted to go to Colorado too so we may think about extending the stay to drive out that way it sounds impressive.

Cheers for the info

rossie1977 · 07-01-2009 01:37PM

Adrock-aka wrote: »

Thanks a mil for that Rossie, wouldnt want to make a schoolboy error first on the first trip! I hadnt a clue it was a good mile and a half away from the strip. Mid strip hotel sounds the best then. Im gonna look into those two new hotels you suggested theres definately a deal to be had there.

You sound like you've been there a few times do you have a personal favourite hotel to stay at or favourite activities? Would you advise renting a car for the week to get around the town or is it mostly walkable? Always wanted to go to Colorado too so we may think about extending the stay to drive out that way it sounds impressive.

Cheers for the info

been 5-6 times since 1997, i keep up to date with everything going on with online newspapers, tv stations and and i write for las vegas architecture forums so i know more about vegas than my own hometown :P

would definetly recommend a car, the strip from mandalay bay hotel in the south to stratosphere hotel in the north is 4.5 miles long, not nice when the weather is 45 degrees celcius and the buses on the strip are packed, distances between hotels are huge despite being side by side, caesars palace hotel sits on 120 acres, mgm grand is half a mile from the front door to the end of the hotel. having said that though its easy to walk from bellagio to caesars to venetian, distances seem much closer mid strip and everything is there within reach

there are so many attractions within easy driving distance of las vegas strip (less than 45 minutes driving) eg. hoover dam and lake mead, mount charleston, valley of fire, red rock canyon and the old nevada nuclear testing site in the north

favourite hotel probably mirage because the new vegas started there in 1989, its still a great hotel despite being 20 years old this year, great buffet, amazing pool, good nightclubs and i love the volcano that goes off every hour (a must see attraction), but you can't go wrong with either wynn/encore, venetian/palazzo, paris, caesars, planet hollywood, mgm grand, bellagio or mandalay bay (all easily 5 star by irish standards), Monte carlo, flamingo, treasure island, new york, new york, luxor would all be 4 star+ by irish standards though monte carlo has a ton of construction going on next door so probably stay away from there until 2010.

macking in harrahs hotel mid strip is a must see (he is a comedian/magician) and for about $20 for two you get 75 minutes of great entertainment for all the family. bellagio fountains are amazing and go off every 30 minutes after 3pm, catch them at night for the best view, a visit to the top of the stratosphere tower at 1149ft is a must do, if you can do the rides on top, they are not for the faint of heart though

for bars try voodoo lounge on the roof of the rio hotel (its about half a mile off strip, there is a free bus from caesars palace) and the view is great.

Robbie23 · 07-01-2009 01:46PM

I wouldn't hang around Vegas too long to be honest. I'd say 3days is more than adequte. Southwest airlines do dirt cheap flights from LA-Vegas-San Diego etc... as long as you book ahead.

LA is ok, but you HAVE to have a car. I ignored this-despite being warned-because I just thought the people who told me this were either lazy or exaggerating but at times you'd struggle to even see a footpath.

San Diego was my personal favourite-great city, lots of nightlife, & if you grab a trolley you're only 45mins away from Mexico, which is deffo worth a day trip. A Corona out there'll set u back as little as 25 cent.

Adrock-aka · 07-01-2009 02:16PM

rossie1977 wrote: »

been 5-6 times since 1997, i keep up to date with everything going on with online newspapers, tv stations and and i write for las vegas architecture forums so i know more about vegas than my own hometown :P

would definetly recommend a car, the strip from mandalay bay hotel in the south to stratosphere hotel in the north is 4.5 miles long, not nice when the weather is 45 degrees celcius and the buses on the strip are packed, distances between hotels are huge despite being side by side, caesars palace hotel sits on 120 acres, mgm grand is half a mile from the front door to the end of the hotel. having said that though its easy to walk from bellagio to caesars to venetian, distances seem much closer mid strip and everything is there within reach

there are so many attractions within easy driving distance of las vegas strip (less than 45 minutes driving) eg. hoover dam and lake mead, mount charleston, valley of fire, red rock canyon and the old nevada nuclear testing site in the north

favourite hotel probably mirage because the new vegas started there in 1989, its still a great hotel despite being 20 years old this year, great buffet, amazing pool, good nightclubs and i love the volcano that goes off every hour (a must see attraction), but you can't go wrong with either wynn/encore, venetian/palazzo, paris, caesars, planet hollywood, mgm grand, bellagio or mandalay bay (all easily 5 star by irish standards), Monte carlo, flamingo, treasure island, new york, new york, luxor would all be 4 star+ by irish standards though monte carlo has a ton of construction going on next door so probably stay away from there until 2010.

macking in harrahs hotel mid strip is a must see (he is a comedian/magician) and for about $20 for two you get 75 minutes of great entertainment for all the family. bellagio fountains are amazing and go off every 30 minutes after 3pm, catch them at night for the best view, a visit to the top of the stratosphere tower at 1149ft is a must do, if you can do the rides on top, they are not for the faint of heart though

for bars try voodoo lounge on the roof of the rio hotel (its about half a mile off strip, there is a free bus from caesars palace) and the view is great.

Thats brilliant information Rossie (Im sure it helps OP a lot too). Thanks for detailing all of that it will be very helpful when we're planning the trip. My GF is American so we can get a car easy enough for the few days so we can see the surrounding sights. Gonna see macking definately and probably stay at the mirage. It sounds like its going to be hard fitting everything in during the 5 days!

I cant wait to get over there now!

rossie1977 · 07-01-2009 02:52PM

i never understand the people that say 2-3 days is more than enough for vegas because it certainly isn't imo, horses for courses and all of that but you need a full day just to navigate around your hotel. you could spend a full day at the hoover dam or on a ferry on lake mead, you can get a helicopter to grand canyon and then a short ride over the strip which will take 5-6 hours, day trip to death valley, day trip to laughlin on the colorado river, there are tonnes of things to do

the great thing about vegas over the last 20 years was that every time you went back 1 or 2 new hotels were opened on the strip, of course that won't be the case anymore (at least not for 5-10 years anyway) with the credit crunch but if you are travelling to the city in 2009 you cannot but be in awe of the worlds largest private sourced project looming over mid strip called city center, that won't open until december of 2009 (its making the 6000 room mgm grand across the road look like a cowshed by comparison) and fontainebleau the tallest hotel in town dominating the north strip will open about the same time (something to go back to in the future)

Adrock-aka · 07-01-2009 03:46PM

Yeh i'd agree, I prefer to get to know a place in my own time and really experience everything it has to offer. I hate time constraints that stress me out. It sounds like i'll need a couple of trips just to see all the hotels that are there now!

chenguin · 07-01-2009 08:25PM

I would recommend stopping off in San Francisco for a few days. I was there in October aswell as Las Vegas. The flight in between was about 90mins and was cheap enough. San Fancisco is a lovely city and of course it has alcatraz which is really cool.

shamalive · 07-01-2009 08:30PM

rossie1977 wrote: »

been 5-6 times since 1997, i keep up to date with everything going on with online newspapers, tv stations and and i write for las vegas architecture forums so i know more about vegas than my own hometown :P

would definetly recommend a car, the strip from mandalay bay hotel in the south to stratosphere hotel in the north is 4.5 miles long, not nice when the weather is 45 degrees celcius and the buses on the strip are packed, distances between hotels are huge despite being side by side, caesars palace hotel sits on 120 acres, mgm grand is half a mile from the front door to the end of the hotel. having said that though its easy to walk from bellagio to caesars to venetian, distances seem much closer mid strip and everything is there within reach

there are so many attractions within easy driving distance of las vegas strip (less than 45 minutes driving) eg. hoover dam and lake mead, mount charleston, valley of fire, red rock canyon and the old nevada nuclear testing site in the north

favourite hotel probably mirage because the new vegas started there in 1989, its still a great hotel despite being 20 years old this year, great buffet, amazing pool, good nightclubs and i love the volcano that goes off every hour (a must see attraction), but you can't go wrong with either wynn/encore, venetian/palazzo, paris, caesars, planet hollywood, mgm grand, bellagio or mandalay bay (all easily 5 star by irish standards), Monte carlo, flamingo, treasure island, new york, new york, luxor would all be 4 star+ by irish standards though monte carlo has a ton of construction going on next door so probably stay away from there until 2010.

macking in harrahs hotel mid strip is a must see (he is a comedian/magician) and for about $20 for two you get 75 minutes of great entertainment for all the family. bellagio fountains are amazing and go off every 30 minutes after 3pm, catch them at night for the best view, a visit to the top of the stratosphere tower at 1149ft is a must do, if you can do the rides on top, they are not for the faint of heart though

for bars try voodoo lounge on the roof of the rio hotel (its about half a mile off strip, there is a free bus from caesars palace) and the view is great.

Rossie, which of the following three would you recommend?

Stratosphere
New York New York
Paris

Thanks in advance.

rossie1977 · 07-01-2009 09:35PM

shamalive wrote: »

Rossie, which of the following three would you recommend?

Stratosphere
New York New York
Paris

Thanks in advance.

as a first timer don't even think about staying at stratosphere, its at the very north end of the strip half a mile from any other hotel (the closest hotel is sahara, a really old hotel built in the early 1950s that doesn't really offer anything other than gambling and a rollercoaster. visit stratosphere though, the view from the top is unrivalled in vegas and the rides are intense, be careful walking in that area at night, about a quarter mile west of stratosphere is a ghetto and you may run into some junkies/dealers on the main street. its a far cry from the disneyland that is mid-strip; tattoo parlours, strip clubs, hooker motels pepper the area, even at $30-$40 a night its not worth it imo for an introduction to vegas, you will have to get buses or cabs every day to get anywhere

toss up between new york and paris, i liked new york better because it had a better themed casino, owners mgm re-themed the whole casino (baxtards :mad:) in the last year so now it looks like every other casino, paris is in a slight better location mid-strip and a better buffet.

my advice is whichever one of the two you can get cheaper or better deals take that one, you cannot go wrong with either, great choices both of em

shamalive · 07-01-2009 09:53PM

rossie1977 wrote: »

as a first timer don't even think about staying at stratosphere, its at the very north end of the strip half a mile from any other hotel (the closest hotel is sahara, a really old hotel built in the early 1950s that doesn't really offer anything other than gambling and a rollercoaster. visit stratosphere though, the view from the top is unrivalled in vegas and the rides are intense, be careful walking in that area at night, about a quarter mile west of stratosphere is a ghetto and you may run into some junkies/dealers on the main street. its a far cry from the disneyland that is mid-strip; tattoo parlours, strip clubs, hooker motels pepper the area, even at $30-$40 a night its not worth it imo for an introduction to vegas, you will have to get buses or cabs every day to get anywhere

toss up between new york and paris, i liked new york better because it had a better themed casino, owners mgm re-themed the whole casino (baxtards :mad:) in the last year so now it looks like every other casino, paris is in a slight better location mid-strip and a better buffet.

my advice is whichever one of the two you can get cheaper or better deals take that one, you cannot go wrong with either, great choices both of em

Good stuff, thanks for the advice.

Savman · 07-01-2009 10:08PM

Hooters ftw!!

2 weeks in USA Las Vegas but where else?

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