Please Help us plan a trip to Vegas

Hello fellow travellers,

My wife and I are planning to spend our first year marriage anniversary anniversary in Vegas. This is the first trip to Vegas for both of us. We plan to enjoy Vegas as well as goto Grand Canyon and other placed close to Vegas ( Hoover Dam etc. )

Details: We are planning to be there on the night of 19th Feb and leave on 26th evening. So we have almost 6 and a half days.

We want to stay almost 4 days on the strip and the rest 3 nights we will probably stay in a smaller motel ( for cost reasons ) as well as because we will be traveling to nearby places outside Vegas.

My questions are:

1. How do you think we should divide our trip ?

I am thinking we will stay on the strip fom 19th night to 22nd night on the strip and then from 23rd we start traveling to other places. However we will miss the weekend which I guess is not a good idea.

How do you suggest we adjust our schedules

2. Will one day be enough for the trip to Grand Canyon considering we rent a car, start early in the morning and stay in a motel close the canyon.

3. Will a day be enough for going to Hoover Dam and other closeby places?

I will be updating this posting with what else we plan to do and if you guys can throw in your inputs and help us manage the trip, it will be really helpful.

Thanks in Advance.

Please Help us plan a trip to Vegas

my advice would be to stay on the strip during the week because the hotel will be much less expensive weekdays v. on the weekend.

For anything off the strip, I have no idea, but if this is your first trip and you don%26#39;t want to break the bank (plus you probably want something a little less crazy if you are planning a bit of romance), check out Monte Carlo. Bally%26#39;s also has good rates I think

Please Help us plan a trip to Vegas

Las Vegas hotel rates are much different than they are in other places! Rates are much less expensive Sun-Thurs night than they are on Fri-Sat nights. Rates on those nights can double or triple from the weeknight rates.

You say affordable, but that means different things depending on what type of budget you have. How much are you thinking of spending per night while staying on the strip?

I don%26#39;t think it%26#39;s as big of a deal if you miss a weekend stay in Vegas. During the week is cheaper and just a tad bit less crowded.

Unless, you want to go to a club or a lounge and want lots of people around you then during the week is great.

Yes, avoid the strip rates on the weekend if you can.

Consider the Paris hotel, since you are celebrating your anniversary. Looking over at the Bellagio fountains is always romantic , it%26#39;s not overly expensive and it%26#39;s a good location for exploring the strip.

One day may be enough for a trip to the Grand Canyon if you just want to look over the rim. Time your viewing for sunrise or sunset for the best colors.

You can get to Hoover Dam from the strip in an hour or two, depending on the traffic. You don%26#39;t need to plan on staying overnight to see it. Traffic really backs up over the dam, particularly on weekends, as there is a security checkpoint before you get to it.

You could combine Hoover Dam with your trip to the Grand Canyon and just keep driving to Arizona - maybe spend the night in Williams before spending the day at the Canyon.

here are some nice hotels with a great location that don%26#39;t cost very much: harrah%26#39;s, bill%26#39;s gambling hall (used to be called barbary coast), bally%26#39;s, flamingo. make sure you see the bellagio fountains at night. they have a free show like every 15 minutes at night, until midnight. it%26#39;s awesome, especially since you%26#39;ve never seen it. try to go to the Luxor (pyramid shaped hotel) and walk around inside. it%26#39;s very cool.

some other casino/hotels that are fun to check out: venetian, caesar%26#39;s palace, new york/new york, Wynn. go downtown (at night) to fremont street and hang out for a couple of hours. there%26#39;s a canopy over the street that%26#39;s 4 blocks long that has a light and sound show every hour on the hour from about 6pm until midnight. since you%26#39;ve never seen it, you will most likely be really impressed. it%26#39;s amazing. if you go to the grand canyon, stay the night out there somewhere. some people think they can go there and come back in the same day. it%26#39;s too far away to do that. if you want a good hamburger, go to In N Out. there%26#39;s one a couple blocks west of the strip. they have great fast food. if someone walks up to you and asks if you want free show tickets or a free dinner, or asks how long you%26#39;re in town, tell them ';we are flying home tonight.'; those are people that want to sell you a time-share. don%26#39;t waste your time with them.

Thanks everyone for your inputs. We are compiling everything and making a plan. More inputs are welcome. I will update the post with the plans we make with all these inputs. Thanks for the replies.

Harrah%26#39;s has several properties in Las Vegas that are reasonable, go to www.harrahs.com and click on reservation, put your dates in and put all Las Vegas Casino and all of their properties will come up with prices. You can see what each has to offer and the rate for the different kind of room. Flamingo, Bally%26#39;s, Harrah%26#39;s are usually pretty reasonable and they are center of the strip, so you will be in the center and easy to get to the different casinos. It is better during the weekdays than the weekends, unless you like large crowds. A lot of people from nearby drives in for the weekend and it can be a mad-house, if you know what I mean.

Going to Grand Canyon, you might want to spend a night, if you want to walk around and explore it well. Hoover Dam is a half day at the most. You might want to go to Laughlin which is and 1 1/2 hour drive from LV. It is on the Colorado River which is very nice, not to far from Hoover Dam.

One real good afternoon show is The Mac King Comedy Magician show which is fantastic and you can get free tickets from outside of Harrah%26#39;s if not it is very reasonable. something like $24.95

When you book check back on rates, if they go down, they will match the price if you call and tell them you saw it lower.

Hi, looks like you have been given a lot of options about where to stay. I was last there in May 2007, and stayed at the Orleans and Golden Nugget.

The Orleans is about 2 miles from the strip and offers free shuttle service to the Strip (at Bill%26#39;s) and Gold Coast casinos. The Orleans is a beautiful hotel with much more reasonable prices than those found on the Strip. We stayed there for 3 nights, then headed downtown.

To really see Vegas, you need to spend some time on Fremont Street. The Golden Nugget is THE place to stay. They have just renovated their pool and the shark tank is definitely a must-see! Every hour at night, the Fremont Street Experience lights up the night. Awesome.

We have also found that the slots downtown are a little looser.

Enjoy Vegas! Plenty to see and do, even if you aren%26#39;t gambling. I%26#39;m headed back this weekend : ) !

First of all, congratulations. You will both have a blast in Vegas. It is fun sharing it together when both are first timers.

I%26#39;m duplicating some of the previous info but here%26#39;s what I would do:

1. Stay on strip during the week when rates are cheaper. For the other nights, stay downtown Las Vegas, perhaps Four Queens.

2. Grand Canyon answer depends upon your tastes. Do you just want to gaze at the beauty of it or are you wanting to take the tour buses to the various stops? Maybe you like to hike. If you are just a gazer, overnight is fine. Anything more than that and I would recommend two nights.

3 Half day is plenty for Hoover Dam. Can%26#39;t speak to the other places as that dang Las Vegas FORCE FIELD usually prevents me from leaving the city!!!

LL

Depending on the weather, I would recommend trips to:

Red Rock

Valley of Fire SP

Lake Mead

Mt. Charleston

These side trips really give you a great sense of the diversity of landscape and climate within half an hour of Vegas (and give you a break from spending money in the casinos!)