Nevada Fly Drive Destination
Las Vegas

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Viva Las Vegas !

Viva Las Vegas. This is a city that has to be experienced to be believed. We've been 4 times over the last 10 years and the pace of change is so rapid that just to see the new hotels took us 2-3 days of our stay each time we went (hotels, I'll come back to that - hotel is the wrong word). Even the hotels that were there on previous visits had changed as they are in a state of constant re-build and update activity as well. Click image to see full size photo (courtesy A.Tonkin 2001)

The place is dripping money which shows in the quality of the rooms and buildings. You will not see a worn out carpet here. Whilst obviously primarily a gambling centre, for the none gambler there is still a lot to see and do and you can benefit from the attractions, cheap rooms and excellent value food which each of the casinos use to vie for the custom of those with a bankroll to lose.

I said I'd come back to the word hotel. The hotels in Las Vegas call themselves resort hotels which gives you more of an idea of what they are if you take the 'resort' part seriously. Each of these establishments (which are in the main along the strip) have shops (in some cases whole shopping malls), attractions (in many cases what amounts to a small theme park) restaurants, bars, extensive pools, shows, as well as the ever present casinos. I dont remember the exact statistic, but I read somewhere that around 10 out of the biggest 12 hotels IN THE WORLD are within a couple of miles of each other along the strip in Las Vegas.

Site visitor post 12.12.01
Tip – take care when booking into Vegas as some hotels will not take Saturday night arrivals. Also they tend to be busiest at weekends so don’t expect to turn up and get the hotel you want if it is a weekend day on which you arrive.
Tip -Take great care when doing any hiking in Red Rock Canyon. Be well prepared (water, boots etc). Don’t attempt anything unless you are confident that all members of your party can achieve. Ask the rangers in the visitors centre to recommend a walk for your own limits.
Tip – Flying to Grand Canyon from Vegas. If you definitely want to see the Grand Canyon – don’t leave it to the last day as the weather (even in summer) is unpredictable. Our flight was cancelled and we were left with no scope to change it (However we got lucky and local condition improved and the flight was put back on).
Tip – we were told that the air turbulence, due to rising air pockets, could make you air sick. Therefore it is best to book an early morning flight when turbulence is less. As it turned out our midday flight was quite calm and we remained in contact with our dinners.

Site visitor post 07.06.02
Be warned that Vegas is very hot in the summer months. Imagine opening an oven door and being blown back by the heat. Even though the hotels are a short distance apart, in most cases, suncream is a must if you have light skin like myself.
The strip at night has to be seen to be believed as a large number of the casinos have outside shows that have to be seen to be believed, water fountains to music, battle ships battling and sinking, volcanic eruptions...
A fantastic place to see

Site visitor post 06.07.03
Having just had a trip of a lifetime to Arizona & Vegas which was wholly self planned, I would recommend anyone visiting Vegas to not pre book accommodation if you want really good hotel deals. We stopped at the MGM Grand for less than half the cost of booking over the internet. At the very least just book 1 night then shop around.
Janet White


All I've tried to do here is give you a sense of the place. I have loads more information, just ask if you have a specific question