OT-Must dos in vegas

[pixiewings71]

Go see the volcano, the show at TI (although I wasn't thrilled with it lol), the fountains at the Bellagio, go into the Bellagio and see the glass flower sculptures, go into the Venetian, take a Gondola ride. We saw the Lion King show, it was amazing. Go to Fremont Street at night, that's a must see, find the guy who writes your name on rice, see the guy who makes art with spray paint cans, watch the impersonators and if you can do the zip line. We didn't get to because the wait was 90 minutes and you actually had to wait, if they had let us put our name down and come back we would have done it but no, you had to wait in line. The line itself wasn't crazy long but it takes a while to get all set up I guess. lol
We like to go to Hoover Dam, it's pretty amazing.

 

[kkandaj]

When DH went to Vegas 5 yrs ago, we got a 24 hour bus pass for $2.50 each. You can ride the bus as much as you want for those 24 hours. We took this to Fremont street---and like a pp said--"old vegas" is what I think of when I think of Vegas. The lights, Golden Nugget, etc. That bus pass will also take you to the other end of Vegas where the outlet malls are. There are bus stops all over the strip.

The fountains at the Bellagio are great--and we did the gondola ride in the Venetian which was sweet. Just walking through the hotels was fun--they are all so massive and different.

 

[Bob NC]

We took a helicopter tour.

A stretch limo picked us up at the Venetian. We went to the airport and boarded our copter. We flew out over the Hoover Dam then went to the Grand Canyon. We landed in the canyon and had a picnic lunch that was provided. On our way back we saw a lot more sites then the copter flew in low over the strip.

It was awesome!!!

 

[stacielee]

Was just there, loved Tony & Tina's wedding, there's usually a Groupon for a good price. There are a couple of different hypnotist shows that I've seen, pretty funny, Anthony Cools is better than Marc Savard.

Just depends on what you like to do.

 

[Kae]

You will be staying right across the street from Harrah's. If you plan on playing the slots, I've had quite a bit of luck there

And they have a Nice not too pricey Buffet. I did want to try the Burger Milkshake place there maybe next trip.

Kae

 

[imsayin]

I love the Mojitos at the bar (the one with poker machines) in Treasure Island.

 

[pixiewings71]

We took a helicopter tour.

A stretch limo picked us up at the Venetian. We went to the airport and boarded our copter. We flew out over the Hoover Dam then went to the Grand Canyon. We landed in the canyon and had a picnic lunch that was provided. On our way back we saw a lot more sites then the copter flew in low over the strip.

It was awesome!!!

We did a helicopter tour as well, but we did ours at night, over the strip. It was so amazing! And we got a DVD of it as well.

 

[Thumper_Man]

Everyone mentioned the Fountains at Bellagio, but no one mentioned the garden at Bellagio. If someone did, sorry I guess I missed it. They change the garden with the seasons.

 

[NC State Tigger]

We took a helicopter tour.

A stretch limo picked us up at the Venetian. We went to the airport and boarded our copter. We flew out over the Hoover Dam then went to the Grand Canyon. We landed in the canyon and had a picnic lunch that was provided. On our way back we saw a lot more sites then the copter flew in low over the strip.

It was awesome!!!

Do you remember the name of the company you used for this helicopter tour? Sounds like something I'd love. DH is talking about a trip to Vegas---I've never been, he has. How pricey is a tour like this? How long did it last?

Thanks.

 

[ICF]

We we went 2 years ago and did the following...all of which I would recommend...

Hoover Dam, Red Rock Canyon (about 15 mins from the strip), Freemon Street and the Lion King show.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Vegas is not my idea of a fun vacation spot. However, I agree that a trip to Hoover Dam is a must, especially if you go at a time other than summer, when it is really crowded and hot. There are 2 tours offered; take the more expensive one where you get to go down into the dam and actually look out of an opening in the face of the dam.

 

[Hanover]

We were in Vegas this past summer for a 2.5 days with our boys on our way to CA. We spent the first evening at the hotel pool and walkig the strip to see all of the hotels, fountains, gardens, etc. The next day we explored the area more and saw the Blue Man Group. Our final day we did an all day tour to the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon. We stayed at Mandalay Bay and caught the bus at the Luxor. They had lots of other buses do pick ups and we were taken to a central depot where we checked in, got a danish and a drink and put on larger nicer buses. It took a few hours to get to the Grand Canyon, but it was definitely a highlight of our trip to Vegas/San Francisco/LA. We had about 30 minutes at the Hoover Dam and the tour guide spoke about all of the areas we passed on the way. We added the helicopter/pontoon on the Colorado River addition and the skywalk. It started to lightning in the distance and the skywalk was closed all afternoon. We were refunded that additon later. The helicopter ride was amazing. We were given a voucher for lunch and had sandwiches, chips and a cookie. We were back in time for a late dinner at Margaritaville. I checked out prices for the Grand Canyon trips over a few weeks and narrowed our choices down to Papillon and Viator. We went with Papillon because they did not have a gas surcharge or additional $10 fee that Viator charged.

 

[daughtersrus]

No one said Gold and Silver Paw from Pawn Stars

 

[Bob NC]

Do you remember the name of the company you used for this helicopter tour? Sounds like something I'd love. DH is talking about a trip to Vegas---I've never been, he has. How pricey is a tour like this? How long did it last?

Thanks.

We used Papillon Helicopter Tours.

I think it was about $400 each and it was prob 4 or 5 hours.

 

[Pakey]

Do you remember the name of the company you used for this helicopter tour? Sounds like something I'd love. DH is talking about a trip to Vegas---I've never been, he has. How pricey is a tour like this? How long did it last?

Thanks.

We did the same type of tour: hotel pickup from Venetian, lunch on the lip of the Grand Canyon, etc. We used Maverick Tours which is the one recommended by the Venetian concierge. I think it is $500 per person. It's a 4 hour tour and includes an unimpressive box lunch.

Keep in mind that these helicopters are not air conditioned. There is a fan but that's not the same. The day we went it was 112. I'm used to this weather but some of those people in the helicopter were suffering!!!!!

 

[yoopermom]

We are weirdos, and always try to do the unusual

We rented a car and put on hundreds of miles because DH insisted he wanted to see the Extraterrestrial Highway near Area 51. It's miles of nothing, and then you come up on one little restaurant with a bunch of trailer homes nestled around it, looking like something right out of the 1950s. We actually stayed a few hours talking to the locals and having a sandwich. If you're a people watcher, lover of the unusual, this is the motherlode.

Then I got my revenge and made him drive hours in the other direction just so I could see the free roaming donkeys (burros?) in Oatman, AZ. It's all junk shops and more trailer homes, but the donkeys more than make up for it (if you're a donkey lover ...). We took Route 66 and that was lots of fun, too.

Las Vegas itself was fun, but getting "out of town" (which really doesn't take long, it isn't as big as what you think) makes for memorable experiences as well.

Terri

 

[pixiewings71]

Everyone mentioned the Fountains at Bellagio, but no one mentioned the garden at Bellagio. If someone did, sorry I guess I missed it. They change the garden with the seasons.

You're right, I mentioned the glass but not the garden, it was pretty amazing and different both times we went.

No one said Gold and Silver Paw from Pawn Stars

It wasn't anything spectacular. We did go in, we saw Rocco (I talk about this in the DL section of the boards), we looked around, we didn't see anything we wanted so we left. lol We drove by in the morning and the line was around the corner, we went back that night and there was no line, we walked right in.
If/when we go back we plan to go to Rick's Restoration, ATM and Count's Kustoms (because I LOVE old cars).

We did the same type of tour: hotel pickup from Venetian, lunch on the lip of the Grand Canyon, etc. We used Maverick Tours which is the one recommended by the Venetian concierge. I think it is $500 per person. It's a 4 hour tour and includes an unimpressive box lunch.

Keep in mind that these helicopters are not air conditioned. There is a fan but that's not the same. The day we went it was 112. I'm used to this weather but some of those people in the helicopter were suffering!!!!!

You're right, no a/c, that's part of why we chose to go at night. I can't remember the name of the company we used, it was at the end of the strip, we just drove up and we were on a chopper in about half an hour.

OP someone else mentioned Red Rock Canyon, do that!! OMG it's gorgeous! We drove ourselves so we used our car to get around, the Red Rocks are beautiful and totally worth the self drive tour.

 

[lkantwait]

We went to Vegas in October and booked the red rock tour through world class driving. Check it out on Trip Advisor (it's listed as the #2 attraction for Vegas)
My husband drove and I was just a passenger and it was a blast! I really wasn't excited about it beforehand but it was so much fun driving through the canyon in a ferrari and lamborghini! Sign up on groupon and add las vegas to your cities. We got a deal that way.

Also in old Vegas, we had the best breakfast at Du-par's on Freemont street! It was worth the bus ride over. You can walk to the Pawn Stars shop and take the bus to the outlets after.

 

[Mary*Poppins]

My DH and I went a few years ago, we loved it! We loved Jersey Boys, Beatles Love(liked jersey boys better, but both great shows) we went to the top of the small Eiffel Tower, the view was beautiful, esp. of the Bellagio Fountains. Obviously see the fountains from ground level too! We also did the gondola ride at the Venetian but I probably wouldn't do that again if I went back. We also did the zip-line over Fremont Street, that was so much fun. Just hanging out near the pool with drinks was fun too!
We also went to a bar all made of ice, Minus5 in the Monte Carlo, I think it was expensive but a lot of fun! We rented a car for one day and went to the Hoover Dam which was amazing and Red Rock Canyon, where we did a little hike and saw a beautiful view of the strip from. Then we went to where the famous "welcome to las vegas sign" was and got pictures.
We ate a mon ami gabi which was very good, emerils (in mgm) which we didn't really care for, and the sugar factory which was good (get the blow pop martini,yum!)
Hopefully some of this helps you, we had a blast there!

 

[arwood82]

Thanks guys!! I am loving all of these responses. We can't wait for our little mini getaway.