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| *Travel Tips>>>Las Vegas Travel Tips |
Need info on Vegas for my upcoming trip? |
Travel Info My grandma and I, and two of my aunts, are going to Vegas over Labor Day weekend. I am looking for the best, cheapest airline (direct flight if possible but I think most have one stop) to get there. Any ideas? Also I need ideas for a good hotel to stay at that is under $100 a night. I'd prefer to only have one room for us 4, just 2 beds or something. I'd like it close to the strip as well, as we are seeing Celine's show there and my grandma can't walk very far. Also how should we get around while we're there, are their taxis or something, or will we have to rent a car? Thanks for your ideas/info! Travel Tips Sandy鈥檚 Vegas Guide Things to remember: 1.Drinks are free when you鈥檙e gambling. Sitting at a bar and playing a few dollars in a poker machine will get you a free drink. Sitting at a machine in the casino will get you the same. Tipping the waitress or bartender a dollar or two will keep her coming back. If you walk up to the bar and order drinks, you鈥檙e going to pay lots more, even for soda or bottled water. 2.Player鈥檚 Cards: Before you begin gambling, get a player鈥檚 card. Most places offer sign up deals (a coffee cup, a free meal, assorted coupons). If you get a card where you鈥檙e staying and you use it while you鈥檙e gambling, you can 鈥渟ave鈥?the points and use then toward your room when you check out. Some casinos will combine accounts for married couples, some don鈥檛. I always get a card in my name and ask for a second card. I play with one and my husband plays with the other. That way all the points are going to one card, and accumulate faster. Plus 鈥?you鈥檒l get offers in the mail for your next trip! 3.Beware of time-share people! As you walk through the hotels and along the strip, you鈥檒l be approached by people who want to give you free show tickets, free tours, free meals, etc. These are time-share sales people. They promise freebies in exchange for an hour of your time. I warn everyone about this but some people just don鈥檛 listen. A friend of mine decided an hour of her time was worth giving up in exchange for a show. So her and her husband accepted, were put on a bus and taken to a 鈥減resentation鈥?and weren鈥檛 bought back for SIX hours. Their only escape would have been to take a cab back to the strip but that would have been expensive and they wouldn鈥檛 have gotten their 鈥渇ree鈥?show tickets. The best way to get these people to lose interest in you and move on to the next person is to say, 鈥淭hanks, but we鈥檙e leaving tonight.鈥? 4.Free Pulls: Some of the casinos offer 鈥渇ree pulls鈥?on a special slot machine as you walk in the door. There are usually no strings attached, you pull the lever and win something. Usually it鈥檚 a key ring or a hat; sometimes it鈥檚 a free buffet. Sometimes it鈥檚 a coupon for a 鈥渇un book鈥?(a book of coupons for that casino). To get the fun book, you can be sure you鈥檙e going to have to walk to a far, far corner in the casino. They want to get you WAY inside. 5.$40 for $20: Some casinos offer $40 in slot play for $20. What they don鈥檛 tell you is that it鈥檚 on a bank of 鈥渟pecial鈥?machines, and you can鈥檛 cash out for cash. Instead, you play the $40 and then choose a prize based on the credits. So before you hand over your $20, take a look at the prizes being offered. If there鈥檚 something in there that鈥檚 worth paying $20 for 鈥?have fun. If not, keep walking. 6.Valet: If you鈥檙e going to be renting a car while you鈥檙e there, valet parking is the way to go. For a $2 tip, you can park at a hotel or casino and visit the nearby hotels and casinos. 7.Bus: If you use the busses that run up and down the strip, put your wallet in your front pocket. Vegas is the favorite vacation spot for pick-pocketers, too. 8.Cabs: Cabs are more expensive than a bus, but faster and less waiting. Almost all hotels have a cab line outside one of their doors, a line of cabs waiting for the next fare. A hotel employee will whistle for the next cab in line when you ask for a cab. Things to see (and most are FREE!): 1.The Freemont Street Experience: Every night there is a light and music show that stretches for blocks. It鈥檚 an amazing thing to see 鈥?and it鈥檚 FREE. Freemont Street is in downtown Vegas, you鈥檒l need to take a cab if you don鈥檛 have a car. The street is blocked off from traffic and you can stand in the street and look up and watch the show. (Another place to keep a close check on your wallet.) There鈥檚 a different show every 30 minutes, beginning at 8:00 or 8:30 PM. Show times and pictures can be seen at: http://www.vegasexperience.com/...... Be sure to check out the video! Freemont Street also has performers and kiosks all along it. Lots to see and worth a trip. Downtown used to be nasty and scary, but they鈥檝e cleaned it up and it鈥檚 clean and safe now. Just don鈥檛 wander too far off Freemont on any of the side streets. You probably wouldn鈥檛 want to anyway, most of the action is right on Freemont. 2.The Fountains at Bellagio: Don鈥檛 miss this! It鈥檚 a 900-foot long row of fountains that 鈥渄ance鈥?to music. The songs change, and it鈥檚 awesome to see. More info at: http://www.vegas.com/attractions/on_the_... While you鈥檙e there, go inside and check out the conservatory. Very impressive! 3.Caesars Forum Shops: If you feel like strolling through Rome, check out the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace. This is also where the talking statues live. More info on the shops and a link to info on the talking statues at: http://www.vegas.com/shopping/forumshops... 4.The Canal at the Venetian: This is pretty amazing and a MUST see. You feel like you鈥檙e in Italy as you stroll along the canal and visit the shops. You can even take a gondola ride. Check out the Canal Shoppes at: http://www.venetian.com/shoppe/index.cfm... and get information on the gondolas at: http://www.vegas.com/attractions/on_the_... 5.The Volcano, The Tigers and The Aquarium at The Mirage: If you go up the moving walkway and through the front door at the Mirage, you鈥檒l see the white tiger. Pretty cool to see. Head through the foliage to the front lobby and check out the wall behind the check-in desk. It鈥檚 a HUGE salt-water aquarium. In front of the hotel there is a huge waterfall that turns into an erupting volcano (loud, bright, and hot!) at night. A trip to Vegas without seeing the volcano erupt just wouldn鈥檛 be a trip to Vegas. http://www.themirage.com/ 6.The Wildlife Habitat at The Flamingo: An outdoor habitat located within the Flamingo. You can see the live flamingos (still haven鈥檛 figured out how to kidnap one) plus lots of other birds, fish, and turtles. http://www.vegas.com/attractions/on_the_... 7.Masquerade Village at The Rio: Masquerade Village is inside the casino at the Mirage. There is a parade in the sky with music and dancing and lights that鈥檚 pretty cool to see. This is located off the strip, too far to walk, but there is a free shuttle that goes from Harrah鈥檚 to Rio and back. More info and a video at: http://www.harrahs.com/our_casinos/rlv/e... 8.The Eiffel Tower at Paris: You can take a trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower. http://www.vegas.com/attractions/on_the_... Other Info: You can find a map of the strip and downtown Las Vegas here: http://www.vegas.com/map.html You can find a show guide here: http://www.vegas.com/shows/index1.html?k... This site has a search engine that allows you to enter the dates you鈥檒l be in town. More GOOD Las Vegas info: http://www.visitlasvegas.com Others Not sure where you are coming from, but i just booked tickets to Vegas coming from Jacksonville, FL for about $160 round trip (aug 9-13) through Southwest airlines. I've been checking tickets for a while and have used these websites: www.kayak.com www.farecast.com www.farecompare.com Southwest airlines doesn't show up on any of those so you have to look at their main website. Better prices come with the weird flight times, but that may not be suitable for your grandma. They're also better if you are a bit flexible with the dates. Sorry i can' thelp with the other stuff, other people are planning that in my group. Been checking flight prices daily for over a month There are taxis, deuce buses, tram, and car/moped rentals to get around. As for a hotel for around 100bucks especially during a 3 day weekend, may be hard to find. Best website to check may be: http://travelocity.com/ If you want to be near the celine dionne show, you can try Bally's (across the street) or Harrah's (also Across the street) http://www.harrahs.com/casinos/ballys-la... Try slightly off stirp hotels like the RIO all suites or maybe the Orleans. They all have cabs waiting to take you anywhere you want and everything is so close it doesn't cost much. They also have a shuttle from the RIO to Bally's. YOu will love this visit. Book your flights now on line to get the best price. Labor Day weekend is attractive here and the prices will spike. Take a look at Station Casinos on the web and also use this one www.vegas.com for reasonable raes. Your show also check vegas.com and see what you can do This town has lots of the scooters for the elderly. So check you hotel to ensure they have this. YOu will be happy Vegas Baby! First off, don't even attempt to stay at the Rio on a weekend unless you want to spend +300 per night. It's a great hotel (niiiiiiiice rooms) but incredibly expensive. Baileys is probably your best bet on the strip as far as inexpensive rooms. There used to be Boardwalk but I beleive they tore it down a year or so ago. We stay at MGM for free when we want to stay on the strip. If you have American Express points you should check out their travel sites. If you hate traffic don't rent a car. There are city buses, taxis etc. They also have a metro link Monorail system that goes to several of the bigger hotels on the strip. Just be sure when you get in a taxi that you tell them you have $5 etc and where you want to go. We spent $6 to get to one place from our hotel and on the way home somehow it cost $10 and thats because we had the gal stop a block before she got to our hotel because she was going on every side street and detour she could find. The first guy got a $4 tip (we gave him a $10 and told him to keep the change as he was really nice). We gave the gal a $10 which left her a .02 cent tip. When she told us it was customary to tip we reminded her that it is customary to go the most direct route if you want a tip. She was not happy! lol Have a great time, I heard it was an awesome show! |
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