There's no longer a waterpark near CC, it closed in 2004. There are no waterparks in Vegas, but almost all the hotels have a decent pool area.

luci

Hi caron c

I would defenatley recomend The Freemont Street Experience downtown. We went there last year we got a taxi I think it was only around $18 - $20 from the MGM. We had a bite to eat at Vic and Anthony's in the Golden Nugget. The lazer light show starts on the hour every hour and it is worth the trip to see it. They also have an outside stage where bands do concerts etc on the street. We had a fab night downtown and were defenatley going to do it again next year when we go in August.
Hope this helps.

Don't miss the Bellagio fountains, both during the day and at night.

I would suggest opening a Word document or similar, going through the topics on here and copying and pasting any information.

luci

You will get tons of info on here. There's lots of bargain info, and also trip reports which will give you some good ideas!

Circus Circus is north strip, and you will be closest to Riviera, Sahara, etc. Slots a Fun next door has cheap cheap drinks! Heinekens I think for $1, and also they do funbooks, as do Circus Circus. Fremont will be quite reasonable for you in a taxi, as will the Premium Outlets near downtown.

Weather will be very pleasant for sunbathing. We're going 6-19th September and this is our usual time of year and it is always hot. Only seen rain about 4 times.

Tell us what sort of info you are looking for, and we will be glad to help out! We all love to chat about Vegas!!! Another forumite TeeCee will be in Vegas around the same time.

will also be at circus circus 16th-20th sept........recommend the view from the effiel tower at paris,espically at night to watch the bellagio fountains......also why dont you book up a show we saw the rat pack last time we was there was a very good show for reasonable prices....have a great trip....

yup, I'm in Vegas from 15th-29th Sept.

As others have said - definitely do:
Freemont Street
Bellagio Fountains
Helicopter ride to Canyon
Shop!
Enjoy the sun
If you want another trip out, hire a car before you go (it's cheap) http://www.airline-network.co.uk/carhire/
Take a drive to Red Rock Canyon/Valley of Fire, maybe Lake Mead. The car would also be handy for shopping at the two outlets in Vegas.
Try to catch a show or two, maybe a Cirque du Soleil show and a music based show of some sort. (We're going to Mamma Mia whilst we're out there)

Don't Do's -
Errrrrr.....not much really!
Some areas of Downtown are a bit seedy, also around the Stratosphere - use common sense if you're there at night
If you want to try some buffets, have a quick search on here and see which ones are best. There are some very good ones and some pretty poor ones, best not to waste your money!
If you gamble at all, and you're worried about odds, avoid the Wheel of Fortune (not the slot machine, the actual wheel) as it has the worst odds of any casino game - ie: the house is a VERY hot favourite. Blackjack has the best odds.
If you do want to hire a car for a couple of days, book it before you go, it will be at least half the price than if you book it out there I reckon.

Cheers,

TC

Yes, there's the Eiffel Tower, but there's also the Stratosphere tower which I think is bigger, and also nice to go up. It also have thrill rides on the top if you're into that

And there's gondolas at the Venetian which I found quite nice. Didn't go in one in the 'real' Venice right enough!

I agree about hiring a car, although we didn't do it till our 6th trip I think it was. We now stay offstrip for a few days, hire a car and do some sightseeing and shopping. This year we're also doing a day trip to San Francisco for £70 each.

2 weeks 2 days. OMG it's getting closer! We're going away this weekend and have a wedding next weekend and then the Vegus trip will be the following weekend. ooohhhh! Won't be long, will it!

Thanks for all the replies, you're all getting me so excited about this trip.

We'll definitely do Freemont St, Bellagio fountains and the Grand Canyon tour. Don't know if I'm being a bit too simplistic here, but I was thinking of chilling in the sun most days and doing our sight seeing at night as this is obviously when everything comes to life. I intend to try to get to see most of the big hotels down the strip.
My husband can't wait for the gambling but we'll be limiting ourselves, I'm not a gambler but by the sound of it you must try the slots, even if its only to get the free drinks, talking of that, s really OK to only tip $1 (I know you tip each time they bring you a drink but if we both get a drink should it be $1 each drink?)

Thanks for the tip about opening a word document and copying stuff into it, it's a really good idea, although I'll probablyneed an A4 ringbinder by the time I've finished. From what everyone says, it probably won't be my one and only visit to Vegas, but I want to cram as much in as possible.

I'd like to go to the top of the Stratosphere, but I don't know if I'm brave enough, I certainly won't be going on thrill rides, I've seen a video of them, and talk about scary

I do want to do at least one show and I'm sure I read somewhere about getting cheap tickets from "the kiosk" can anyone tell me where this is?

The gondolas sound lovely, I'm lucky enough to have a been on the real thing in Venice but that was 30 years ago before I met my husband so it would be a nice romantic thing to do.

Once again thanks for all you're help, I'm going to follow another tip I found on this site and take a small notebook with me and try and keep a diary, which I'll post as a trip report, hope I can keep up the standard of the other reports.


Caron C

Firstly regarding tipping. The rule of thumb says $1 per drink. That should actually be regardless of whether you pay for that drink of if you get it brought to you free. I really feel the cocktail waitresses work harder for that $1, so I am more than happy to give them that. However in bars that charge $8 for a drink, I tend to think that the bar should pay their staff better, as I feel you are already paying enough for your drink and I grudge it a bit. However, you're on holiday and I suppose you just do what the locals would do.

As for sunbathing, we do quite a bit of it too - like to come home with a wee tan before the winter! I find the best time of the day to get a quick blast of sun is just around mid-day. We don't want to waste whole days lying at a pool, so we tend to go to the pool maybe 10-12, and I only wear lowish factor cream compared to what I would need to wear if there all day. I did get a bit caught out last June though when we sat too long (10-30 to 1 I think) and I got my shins burnt! I definitely get more colour about me though in the morning, and it's better than rushing around to get back to catch a couple of hours at the pool.

As for cheap tickets...there's a few places. I think your nearest will be up at the Riviera. http://www.tix4tonight.com/ there is a coupon on their website.

That leads me to another thing. There are little magazines around town with coupons for different things. When you see these magazines, pick them up. Then when you're relaxing have a flight through and cut out all the ones you like the look of (take scissors). You can save some $. I have also posted another post on coupons which might be useful. Lots of people use coupons in Vegas so it's not embarrassing! Also join some slot clubs to get some discounts/freebies. Sahara gives $10 slot play, so do some others downtown, and also Venetian usually (maybe you need coupon). And Wynn give you a spin on a machine or wheel to win a prize (usually $10 slot play). You will still get free drinks when playing this freeplay. Sometimes drink service is better than others. My favourite is strawberry daquiri at Venetian, without cream. mmm.. Casino Royale (between IP and Venetian) also has good drinks service and cheap slots and tables.

I can't really add to what Lesley has said.

Glad you are finding the information on HT useful. If you use the Search facility at the top of the page, put in Vegas and select Topic Titles you will find loads of previous topics.

luci

Oh come on Luci.....I'm sure you'll think of something.....

I've thought of something else. If you think you might shop at Macy's (you could check their website http://www.macys.com if you'd like to browse), go to the gift wrap desk (ie where they will wrap things for you) and show them ID and you can get an 11% discount card for use on most items - except fragrances and cosmetics.

The last twice I've asked for the discount card at Macy's they've just given it to me without any ID.

luci

I have a printed coupon, but I'm not sure I'd need that. They filled my details on a form (clipboard page) on previous visits. Maybe depends if the staff can be bothered to fill it out!

Oh....2 weeks tomorrow I'll be heading there.........can't wait

OMG a Macy's In Vegas i am in heaven I spent all day and night in there in NYC, where is this wonderful shop? In a mall?

There are 2 or 3 different branches of Macy's in the Fashion Show Mall just up from TI and across from Wynn. I think they are different departments such as homeware, etc but we only usually visit one.

luci

I would agree about tix4tonite. Lots of outlets ( one almost opposite CC) another outside the Fashion Show Mall. Go along about 11am, join the queue; while you're queueing you'll have time to read the boards and see what shows are available.

Bear in mind however that what you get from the booth is NOT a ticket; it's a voucher for tickets. You have to present the voucher at the show's box ofice at least an hour before curtain up and exchange it for the actual tickets. I go straight from the booth to the theater and swap at once, it makes th evening more relaxed. If you get the day ticket on the Deuce you can ride to whatever theatre you want and back.

There are 2 Macy's in Fasion show. They are directly opposite each other from memory. One used to be another department store chain that got bought over by Macy's....I can't remember the name. Seems they just decided to keep both of them on in that mall.

There's another in Boulevard Mall, then one in Galleria Mall in Henderson, and one in Meadows Mall. So quite a good choice there!!!

I love to browse their website before I go. Already got my eye on a pair of sandals that I hope are still on offer when I get there!!!

Another good store is Dillard's but the often do the same stuff as Macy's. I really just look through them all, paying particular attention to any sale racks of course!

Thank you for stating where they are, i will have forgotten by next year, but got a book on tips from this site

We spend all day sunbathing! It's a 'beach' holiday during the day for us - except for a couple of days when we do trips. This year we'll be driving to the Valley of Fire, and back to Lake Mead for some more jet-skiing, then a bit of shopping

TC