Walking Along the Strip – Measuring Distances

Distances along the Strip are not short. It’s sometimes difficult to reach anywhere. The Strip has a 7.2 km length; most southern point is the Mandalay Bay Hotel. I was in Las Vegas several times, also in several seasons and heat periods. Once even on New Years. In winter you can easily walk along the Strip. 7 km is doable, the weather is convenient.

In summer, in Las Vegas summer means most time of the year, this is no longer the case. It is extremely hot, dry and the sun is strong. It becomes very clear that the city is in the desert. In August, I was exhausted only walking from the Flamingo Hotel to Caesar’s Palace (both hotels are located opposite of each other on the Strip). In August, you basically rescue yourself by finding shelter in an AC hotel. There is almost no pedestrian traffic on the Strip, everyone just stays inside.

In summer, never underestimate how far it is from one place to another. You look from the Flamingo Hotel to Bellagio and think it’s not a problem to walk there. But the heat makes it a problem, definitely. For any hotels at the beginning or end of the Strip, it’s better to take a cab or the bus.

Outside it is extremely hot; inside in all the hotels it is almost cold, due to the AC. That makes quite a difference in temperature. It was cold in the hotels most of the time. Better take a thin jacket or pullover with you for that.

In winter, the Strip was crowded. From the list of the 25 biggest hotels in the world, 14 are in Las Vegas on the Strip. All these people need to be somewhere. In winter, they walk along the Strip.

Las Vegas has many bridges for pedestrians. These bridges connect several hotels and help to cross the main street. Finding them is easy, just follow the crowd. Many people with different messages are on the bridges. Some ask for money, others are musicians who want to sell their music. Soliciting is common on the bridges. We ran into several demonstrations by Christian fundamentalist. They protest against the lifestyle of Las Vegas in general (gambling, gluttony) and prostitution in particular. Only a few steps away, promoters deliver flyers for prostitutes. Men always get little sheets with naked women on it and a telephone number to call and order a girl. An ad for prostitution (“Girls4less”) is on a car and drives up and down the Strip all day long.

The pedestrian bridges usually end in hotels. You need to walk through a hotel and casino most of the time to keep moving. Because of this, you cover quite some distances while walking along the Strip. Anyways, all other options aren’t any better.

Driving along the Strip in your own car is quite stressful. We happened to arrive in Las Vegas on a Saturday. The roads were very busy, full of pedestrians, many of them drunk and tottering. You need to be very careful to not crash into someone. On a weekday it’s better. Anyways, the main road on the Strip is always busy; you get stuck in traffic several times.

All hotels offer valet parking. Sometime, the valet has a long waiting line. Up to 30 minutes is normal. After shows and in the morning at check-out, waiting time can be much longer. To me, this is always a bit of dead time, time that was wasted just sitting at the valet and waiting for my car. You are not allowed to go and get your car yourself. While arriving, valet is very convenient of course; you can just leave the car in front of the hotel. Sometimes there are self-parking areas. But they are usually full and far away from the hotel, you need to walk quite a bit to reach the hotel from there.

Another option is to take a cab. In Las Vegas, cabs don’t stop at the street. There is no need to wave at them. In the hotels, there is a cab stand usually right next to the Valet. Either cabs are already waiting there or a hotel employee blows a whistle and thus signals them to come. It is possible that you are the only one at the taxi stand, and get a cab right away. But it is also possible that you need to wait in a line.

The last option to move along the Strip is to take the bus. There are many bus stands, but you always need to walk a bit the reach the next one. Schedules can be found at the bus stand, but there are also guides who give you information about the bus system. The bus system is called RTC busses.

In general, the Strip is always busy. No matter if you take a cab, the bus or your car you will definitely move slowly. Always plan enough time to reach; it’s never fast even though the distances seem short.

When Is the Best Time to Visit Las Vegas?

Las Vegas is usually combined with a tour in California. That is why many people come to Las Vegas in summer. From June till September it is extremely hot. In July, Las Vegas has an average temperature of more than 40 degrees. You should definitely consider that. In the dry heat of the desert, walking is challenging.

I liked October in Las Vegas a lot. It was warm but not too hot. It would recommend going to Las Vegas in these between-times. That means October, April, May. It don’t recommend the summer months.

I also enjoyed winter in Las Vegas, once in November, once in December. It’s warmer than Germany but still a little cool. In the mornings and evenings, you need a jacket. A pullover is not enough. Most people can hardly imagine that because they come to Las Vegas in summer. Las Vegas had snow in December several times. If you decide to go in winter, be prepared for some cooler weather.

Las Vegas is highly visited on the weekends. Many US-Americans go there to gamble. Hotel prices rise on the weekend and fall on weekdays.

When you prefer hustle and bustle, go there on the weekend. But most offers are also available on weekdays, shows are running, restaurants are open. Almost anything you get on the weekend is also there on a weekday. Only exceptions are certain shows, sports and unique events.

Is Las Vegas worth a trip? How much time do I need there?

Yes, Las Vegas is one of the cities you should have seen. It is an entirely artificial city in the desert. Because of all the visitors, the city has grown a lot over the years. Words like sea of lights, crowds of people but also light pollution get an entirely new meaning here. Lights are everywhere, everything is colorful and someone always plays music. Something is always going on, lots of actions; it’s always loud (except in your hotel room). Some people in my travel group found it too artificial, too restless, too wired and too loud. I cannot disagree. That is how Las Vegas is. A restless gambling city in the desert. But that is exactly why you should have seen it at least once in a lifetime.

Reaching Las Vegas is very simple. There are many flights from Europe, some of them even non-stop (e.g. from London). The flights are mostly cheap. Coming here might be a cheap option to travel to West of the US. The airport is not far from the Strip. There is no need to plan a lot of time for that drive, maybe 20 minutes.

Las Vegas is a good starting point for the West of the US. You can either head east to Arizona and Utah (Grand Canyon, Zion Nationalpark, Bryce Canyon, Monument Valley, Arches Nationalpark, Capitol Reef Nationalpark). There are many options, almost an endless number of combinations. Instead of going east, you can also head west to California in particular to Los Angeles.

I would stay in Las Vegas for 3 to 5 days. You have never seen everything; you can always go see another hotel. About four nights would be enough for me (assuming you arrive in the evening). I would not do much less, cause in that case you would practically see nothing. You need some time here at last. Depending on how much risk you are willing to take and how much you tend to gamble, don’t stay too long.

This is the end of the Las Vegas Article. Part 1 can be found here, Part 2 here.

Information about the Flamingo Hotel can be found here.
Information About Outlet Shopping can be found here.

Der Beitrag Las Vegas Part 3: General Advice on How to Survive the City and When to Come erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

Hotels in Las Vegas

Besides gambling, hotels are the main attraction in Las Vegas. I want to describe some of them here.

Stratosphere Tower

In fact, Stratosphere Tower already belongs to Downtown Las Vegas. To me, it’s always the end of the Strip. It has several rides, some of them on crazy heights. Starting point for this is the observation tower. When we were there, all the ride were closed because of strong winds. Stratosphere Tower offers a great view of the Strip and its many lights. There is a restaurant and a bar. We only had a drink and enjoyed the view.

Stratosphere Tower is a bit difficult to reach because it’s located off the main Strip hotels. When it’s hot in Las Vegas, I’d rather go here by cab or bus, walking is too far.

The Venetian

The name already tells it: this hotel is an artificial version of Venice. You can find the famous Rialto Bridge and its waterstreet here. You can take a gondola ride through the channels under and artificial sky. Colours, clouds and state of that artificial sky changes every now and then.

Shops, restaurants and casinos are everywhere. There is also a famous show: Rock of Ages. We did that show and were totally thrilled.

The Mirage/Treasure Island

The Mirage had the Siegfried and Roy show for many years. Their white tigers can still be seen there. Treasure Island also belongs to the Mirage complex. Its theme is pirates. Between these two hotels, there is an artificial volcano that explodes regularly. Right next to it is a pirate ship with the Treasure Island pirate show. Both is for free and can be seen from the street.

Paris

This hotel has rebuilt Paris. Its theme is France and you can go up the Eiffel Tower. From the top it you have a great view of the Bellagio fountains. I’d definitely recommend doing that.

Bellagio

Definitely the most well-known hotel in Las Vegas, very fancy and high-class. It has the water fountains in front of it. The show is every 15 minutes. The fountains dance to light and music. Its music changes regularly, even within a day. You get to see different performances. The hotel is also known for its art exhibits. It was featured prominently in Ocean’s Eleven with George Clooney and Brad Pitt.

New York, New York

New York New York has another big ride. It’s aesthetics are quite nice, all the New York rebuilds looks quite casual. Las Vegas tends to be a big cheesy in general. But the atmosphere in this hotel is more laid-back.

Circus Circus

This is the place to be for kids. If you visit with your family, go here. Circus Circus has a fair and a circus.

Caesar’s Palace

The forum shops in Las Vegas are the main attraction. Its theme “Caesar” can be found anywhere. Everything is in gold, many dressed actors walk around and there is also a Caesar and Cleopatra performance.

All the Las Vegas hotels are a never ending source of entertainment. They can easily keep you busy all day long.

Eating at Buffets in Las Vegas

Visiting Las Vegas is incomplete without going to one of the big buffets. A very popular one is in Caesar’s palace. It’s expensive, though (50 dollar) but the buffet itself is pure luxury. Downtown has some cheaper offers. The Flamingo Hotel has a very good breakfast buffet with windows to the Flamingo Garden.

These are just a few examples. One thing you can definitely always do in Las Vegas is eat! Check the hotels website or ads in town to see who offers good buffets.

Sometimes these buffets can be very crowded. At the main times, you might need to wait in a line to get a table. Best option is to eat early (5 – 7 pm), not much later than that. Our German dinner time counts as early to most Americans. 6 pm is a good choice to beat the crowds. 8 pm is too late; the buffets are usually busy at that time. We only ate twice a day, breakfast and an early buffet dinner. Like this, we were hungry enough to enjoy these buffets.

This article continues in Part 3:

Las Vegas Part 3: General Advice How to Survive the City

Der Beitrag Las Vegas Part 2: Hotels and Buffets in Las Vegas erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

Gambling – At Las Vegas Strip or Las Vegas Downtown?

Gambling at the tables or machines is the main thing to do in Las Vegas. Some gambling machines are small, others are huge; some have a 25 cents or even 5 cents minimum other are more expensive and have a minimum amount of 1 or 5 dollars. All machines have one thing in common: they are colorful and designed quite nicely. Some of them show pics of movies and tv shows (Hangover, Sex and the City) other use regular card symbols or pics of fruits. Anything is possible and can be found in the casinos. These machines are designed to be fun and entertaining. For beginners, all these machines with little amounts of money are the starting point. Anyways, don’t expect to win a lot. To win, high amounts of money need to be bet, a certain risk is necessary. All the small bets are cheap but you will most likely not win a lot (only at very rare occasions, this is different). One example: I did win at one of this one-armed bandits, I used 1 dollar and got 5 out. That’s really good, five times the amount I used. Anyways, that only pays off when I would have bet more (for 50 Dollar I would have gotten 250 already, 100 would have been 500). The gambling tables offer all kinds of games. Most common is Black Jack, Roulette and this Dice game that American love so much. I know that dice game only from movies; the dice tables are always super busy. I have never really understood the rules.

I tried to watch several times but was always pushed so far to the back that I could see anything. What usually happens is: “Are you playing?” – “no” – “Please go to the back.”. Poker tables can be found a bit away from the main routes, you cannot just go there, ways and views are blocked. Makes sense, indeed.

All Casinos at the Strip have a minimum amount for the bets. If you are lucky, it’s only 5 dollars but sometimes it’s much more (15 dollars plus). If you feel like playing high, there is usually a maximum amount as well. On the strip, you will always find tables with lower bets and higher bets. Anyways, lower bets can also mean at least a two numbered amount.
In the older casinos in downtown, bets are usually lower and the minimum amount is lower than on the strip. If you like gambling at the tables, consider going downtown to do that. The casinos are exactly the same but you might lose less money in one evening.
All casinos are located very prominently at the entrance of each hotel. No matter where you want to go, you need to cross the casino (only exception is the lobby of the hotel). Everything else, restaurants, buffets, shows and attractions can only be reached through the casino. Sometimes that can be quite a walk. All casinos have very colorful carpets with many patterns on it. I always tend to walk the wrong direction in casinos. I think that is partly because of the carpet and because all the slot machines and tables look the same. That doesn’t mean that I get lost eintirely of that I’m unable to find the exit, it just means that I sometimes walk in circles and do not use the direct way out. Anyways, signs are everywhere and lead the way. But I really need these signs.

All casinos are rather dark, little light and no daylight at all. Smoking is permitted (nowhere in the US but in the casinos). Drinks are served, also at the cheap slot machines. These drinks are for free. I had a Rumcoke with very little rum. Anyways, I didn’t care. It was basically for free (only cost the amount of the 2 dollars a played at the slot machine).

Downtown Las Vegas

Downtown is the old city center of Las Vegas. This is where the first hotels and casinos were, even before the Strip. Fremont Street, a shopping street, is the center of it. All 10 downtown hotels are located at this street. Fremont Street has a lightshow experience as soon as it is dark. A curved roof over the street with thousand of lights has a light show. Several different shows rotate. Every hour on the hour, all hotels and casinos switch off their lights and the show starts (including lights and music). The show is quite nice, it’s free and quite entertaining. If you are in downtown anyways, you can do it. But it’s not a big must-see.

Where you are in the street to see the show is not important. You only need to look up/front up. Looking a bit back, you will see that the same images are shown. I read in a travel book that pickpocketers are very active as soon as the lights go out because everyone just looks up. Anyways, be sure to watch your bags and keep your valuables closely during the lightshow.

Fremont Street also has a ZIP Line and three stages with free live music. Also the mall neonopolis is there.

To me, a reason to go to Fremont Street is to see the old casinos and hotels. They have a very different atmosphere than everything on the Strip. It’s less fancy and less rich, old Las Vegas still seems to exist a bit. Very remarkable are the cheap buffets in all the hotels. We went to Main Street Station. They had a huge buffet with anything you want for 10 dollars. My favorite hotels in Downtown are Main Street Station and Golden Nugget.
All hotels in Downtown have their own shows. If you are interested in something in particular, you have a reason to come here. Also gambling is way cheaper than on the Strip (minimum amount!).

I did some reading and somewhere it said that 80 % of all Las Vegas visitors don’t even leave the Strip. I would recommend a trip to Downtown to everyone. It’s not far from the Strip, you can take the bus (same bus as the Outlet Premium Shopping Bus), a cab or drive there yourself.

Shows in Las Vegas

Las Vegas is very well-known for its shows. All shows are on a very high level, singers are dancers are the best. I have seen many shows over the years. Many years back even Siegfried and Roy, the Cirque du Soleil a couple of times and musicals and shows with famous singer impersonations. Not a single one of the shows was bad. I usually buy cheap seats, somewhere in the back and at the side. In Germany, these cheap seats usually offer a bad view, in Las Vegas they never did. I could always see very well. I visited some of the shows only because they were cheap or because tickets were available. I was never disappointed, all the shows were great.

I need to mention the Cirque du Soleil shows in particular. The biggest one is the O show in Bellagio. But there are many more shows in different hotels. At the strip, there are several small booths called “Tix4less”. You can buy tickets here for all shows that are not sold out. Tickets for the same evening are discounted. We all liked this option. The ticket booths open in the morning (I think at around 10). They have screens with lists of their offers. We could see a musical for only 40 dollars. Even David Copperfield tickets were discounted. If you are not focused on one exact show, you will most likely be able to find something here.

Discounts are also available for many other things. We found a coupon for the big breakfast buffet in the Flamingo Hotel (see Flamingo Hotel). The regular rate was 20 dollars, we paid 16. Just go to the ticket booth and see what’s on their list.

You can buy tickets for all the shows in advance online or in the hotels. In the Flamingo Hotel, they sold tickets for all the shows, not only the Flamingo’s show. You can also ask for advice here. I wanted to see the O show in Bellagio but it was too expensive for me. The lady recommended a different Cirque du Soleil show, also with water tanks but much cheaper.

Some shows are a huge hit and always sell out. To see one of these shows, you need to buy tickets in advance. Again, Bellagio’s O is an example. This show never has discounts or special offers. Some shows don’t run every day, for example Britney Spears and Céline Dion. For these, try to get information and bookings in advance. For everything else, that’s not necessary. In Las Vegas you usually get tickets and even discounts.

Discounts and Coupons

As described above, Las Vegas always offers discounts. We went toe the fake Eiffel Tower in Paris hotel. You can take the elevator up and enjoy the view of the Strip. I found a free magazine somewhere in the hotel with a coupon in it. This coupon offered an elevator ride for two for the price of one. It worked; we were four and saved half the price.
In fact, the need the paper voucher, that means they physically need the voucher. We did the same thing at the Stratosphere Tower and only had to pay half the price. Just keep your eyes open, whenever you see a magazine and coupon take it with you. You can save quite some money like this.

This article continues in part 2: Hotels in Las Vegas

Der Beitrag Gambling or not? Doing Las Vegas without gambling? Part 1: Gambling at The Strip and in Downtown, Las Vegas Downtown and the Shows erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.