Las Vegas 2007 bargain hunt + tips

ferf1223

doodle_bug - welcome back! Glad it was a good trip overall but sorry for the bad bits...glad you had a good time - anything you did that you would particularly recommend?

gt568 wrote: »

You must have been very unlucky then, on the whole I found the taxi drivers very helpfull and reasonably priced.

most probably are, but we once got taken to Excalibur via the tunnel...I honestly think that in a lot of cases they hear a foreign accent and do whatever they please as they assume the passenger won't know better.

iltisman

I gave up with the Las Vegas taxis years ago and I often walk to the Trop/Luxor etc it only takes 35 mins and is no problem as long as you have not brought the kitchen sink.

allday247

Think i'm going to book via the Viator site as the package is similar, especially with the embedded video being the exact same one used on the HeliUSA site, with it even showing the HeliUSA helicopters . Just waiting on an email from them to confirm who the operator is.

Anyway for those interested in booking a similar deal with this site i've just found a 5% discount code. not much but better than nothing
type VR1D5 in the promotion box to have the discount applied.

doodle_bug

ferf1223 wrote: »

doodle_bug - welcome back! Glad it was a good trip overall but sorry for the bad bits...glad you had a good time - anything you did that you would particularly recommend?

Nearly got ripped off going back to the airport, he never asked which terminal we wanted until he was going through T1( I didn't know). he switched off the meter so it was only $15. I've heard so many stories about Vegas taxis that I'm convinced they are systematically bent although the white American drivers have never been a problem and are very helpful but few and far between. Where I live here when needing a taxi I ask how much it will be before using them and sometimes by doing that some firms will drop the price, in future when I arrive in Vegas I'm going to ask how much the fare is before putting my cases in the boot, I got over charged £3-4 which is nothing but I just hate being ripped off, I would probably have given him $20 so he ripped himself off.

Went to see the film The Brave One (Jodie Foster). It is death wish re-visited and title of the film is way off, should be something like Retribution or Vengeance not a bad film though.

We used the buses a lot $2.50 for 24 pass went everywhere in Vegas on them, got our bums in training for the hardboard seats on the My Travel A330. the newer buses are quite comfortable though. The Premium outlet centre near the downtown bus terminus is quite good, got my daughter a nice Guess watch for $30 it was $65 in Macy's and other bargains. My wife loves the cosmetic counters in Macy's and gets some great bargains( lots of free gifts) especially at the Meadows Mall store.

The whole 10 days we were there cost us about $200 because of our wins from gambling, I now expect to win when I go to Vegas(that may change obviously). I even got a 50-1 exacta box on their horse racing, I'm on a good run picking horses here and it continued in Vegas. First bet I placed was on a 9-1 shot and I even said to my wife that I can't see it not winning and that if it lost then I won't bet anymore because I've lost my touch, it won easily. Got 6 winners out of seven bets and got shut out of another winning bet by rounders betters. Didn't realise that you should tip the tillers from winning bets and a girl who had been very helpful to me at the tills(I didn't know what an exacta box was) must have thought me tight not tipping her but when I found out I placed another winner and gave her the winning ticket.

On this trip we rarely ventured onto the strip and we are begining to get a feel for the real Vegas, being on those buses is like being in a living soap opera, the Americans on them have no sense of privacy and they lay their lives open to all. I should put some of my vids on youtube, felt quite awkward even having a camera on the buses like I was a tourist out of place so couldn't record some of the best scenarios, everyday we went on the buses we wondered what might happen, a bunch of hells grannies even offered help to a driver to throw a poor young lad off the bus for standing in the doorway, the Americans seem to have an over developed sense of right and wrong and stick their noses in where we would probably keep out of it, you could get political here but we did notice that a lot. On a rare occasion we used the deuce the bus driver didn't open the front door but told us through an intercom to get in the back door, we got on the bus and straight away we were set upon that we shouldn't get on through the back door, how else am I going to get a free bus ride I said. oops... they have no sense of Irony... the driver told me to get in the back door.... the bus is chocka and we couldn't get in the front door. It did save me the 50c each as I only had a normal bus pass.

trets77

i get what your saying , but pretty much everyone riding that bus is a tourist i bet .

people sometimes try hard to "fit in" in Vegas when you should really not give it too much thought cause thats what a lot of other people ( the vast majority of whom are also vistors ) are trying to do. bus fare home and clothes below the waist are really the bare minimum requirements.

as for the american general public "stepping in" in situations , i admire this . we moan a lot in this country about anti social behavior ect , yet people rarely tackle it when they see it. we just tend to keep quite and bite our lips , only to moan about it after the event. same goes for customer service as well.

anyway thanks for the MY Travel flight report , i guess it all comes down to money , and what you are willing to pay/ save for the better airlines . but i agree 15kg allowance is crazy!!! i will be sure to let know people know to factor this in, in future posts. when you consider that we will be gettings 32kg x 2 !!!! per person !!! when we fly home with United , you can see where the cheap fares come from. it also very unforntnate that "chavvy lobster brigade :eek: " as i believe wydw called them are now starting to find there way over there. whats wrong with Benidorm and Butlins these days :rotfl: :rotfl: !!!! . well i suppose the Trashy Castle and Circus Circus are best avoided if you prefer a better class of countryman in the room next door . :beer:

Hannah2

Hi all

Well, I am now in San Francisco having arrived last night with BMI via Chicago. Due to fly to Las Vegas on Thursday so really really looking forward to that. Thought I would let you know how I got on with BMI, is it Trets that is going with them in Dec?

Anyway, I thought they were great, flight from MAN was basically full in Economy with only a few people in premium economy, not suprised as the seats are exactly the same as economy.

I found that there seemed to be a lot more space than with Virgin, my memory of the Virgin flights was that of being very cramped and almost clostrauphobic (sp?) when the person in front put their seat back. The guy in front of me put his seat back yesterday and it didnt bother me in the slightest. There are maybe less frills than Virgin, no amenity pack and the food, whilst good was not as good as the virgin flights i have been on. They didnt come round that often with drinks but did give out a bottle of water each which was appreciated. The entertainment system was good, small screens in front of you and gameboy games to play, only difference being that the films start at set times not on demand.

For those worried about transfer at Chicago, it was not a problem, I had a 90 minute transfer window and made it in 60 minutes, they were very organised and even though i had to collect my boarding pass at the transfer desk it was not a problem.

Only complaint would be the United Airlines flight onto SFO which was a clapped out 777 which was rather rickety and quite dirty inside. Was glad to land safely.

Will let you know how I get on in Vegas next week :j

PS. I agree that not having to worry about luggage weight is worth it, the 2x32 kg limit is much appreciated with BMI

trets77

thanks for the update hannah , hope you have a great time in Vegas , as well as the rest of your holiday .

yep i am flying BMI in December , and hope they are better comfort wise than Virgin. personally i would rather have a better seat than all the good films and frills that Virgin chuck in, to take your mind off the sardine can like seats. we have our own entertainment anyway ( MP3 and a DS each) .

Signature @ MGM Grand from $159
from fatwallet. expires Oct 9th . stays upto end of Nov

https://reservations.mgmmirage.com/bookingengine.aspx?host=promo&pid=005&code=FAL001&kbid=27920

Golden Nugget from $69
from fatwallet .stays until 31st Oct. code = OWINTR

http://www.goldennugget.com/home/special_promotions/

maemaesmummy

Just to say we have the UA frequent flyer card and the BMI and on the last 5 flights we have been upgraded to premium economy on 4 occasions FOC and given passes into the lounge at check in on 3 occasions.

We have also flown My Travel and am lucky that a family member who lives in LV used to work on ground for airtours in LV and always gets us our excess baggage waivered...:j :j but much prefer BMI/UA flights.

We have had some nightmare connections from LV into Chicago but always nov/dec time when the snows kick in..

dwjohnno81

when is the cheapest time of the year to go las vegas?

and has anyone been alone? how did you find it going alone?

thanks

gt568

dwjohnno81 wrote: »

when is the cheapest time of the year to go las vegas?

and has anyone been alone? how did you find it going alone?

thanks

Can't answer your first question unfortunately, I've only been once, and that was with my wife.

However I Vegas one be one of the places that I would actually consider going by myself. There is so much to do, regardless of your interests, and I doubt that anyone would bat an eyelid at someone travelling alone.