Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2012

elantan

hi all,

it's getting close to the time we go now and were starting to pack bags and check all electrical things are working etc ... we were planning on using my husbands ipod touch as a sat nav .. we bought a tom tom thing that connects onto it and give your sat connection, however it doesnt seem to be working as well as it should i we dont want to take the risk of getting lost as were doing a fair bit of driving

just wondering would i be better to buy a satnav here with u.s.a maps or wait till i go to the u.s.a? also can anyone recommend a good map book so that i can double check everything ( sat navs dont always get you right where you should be)

other quick q's i have

we are flying from gatwick so are planning in taking part in their bag drop service the day before we fly ... do i need to check in online and print off my tickets or can i do that at the bag drop?

also does anyone know roughly how much for a taxi from mc carran to the platinum? ( i tried the link on page one but it didnt seem to work for me .. just froze)

i'm thinking mon gabi (?) for a decent meal one night can anywhere recommend anywhere else? thinking maybe indian or mexican ?

i think thats me for now lol ...

were just getting so excited now ... hubby has got us hiring a speed boat on lake mead now that he knows we can rofl

ferf1223

VALUE FOR MONEY

elantan wrote: »

we are flying from gatwick so are planning in taking part in their bag drop service the day before we fly ... do i need to check in online and print off my tickets or can i do that at the bag drop?

you can, but we always check in online as soon as it opens anyway...that way we know that's done, our seats are as locked in as they can be (barring something dramatic happening)...if you are able to check in online it doesn't hurt so you may as well..it may make no difference at all, but a little bit of peace of mind never hurts.

On the taxi question http://vegas.taxiwiz.com/?lang=en says
Estimated cost:That cab ride would cost about $16.50. That is roughly $19 with a 15% tip. It is about 3.7 miles. There is a $1.80 surcharge for trips from McCarran Airport.

elantan

Thanks ferf ... Any advice on the satnav situation ?

pebblesmax

VALUE FOR MONEY

stoneman wrote: »

The problem with that is that they would probable make you purchase the fuel on a take full/return empty, even for one days rental. So they would charge you for a full tank of fuel ($55) and you might only use $10 of it. It would cost you more for the fuel than the rental of the car. I hate that setup but it seems as though all of the companies we have rented from in Vegas and elsewhere are rolling it out now.

One way to minimise the fuel problem is to book the smallest car grade that you can and when getting the car from a strip location, ask for one with a less than full tank of fuel. Not everyone returns them full, and you can take a half full car if there is one available.

Example.
We booked a 24 hour rental with Dollar from TI. We chose the cheapest option, a very small car. When I got there, my first question was do you have any nearly empty cars? Not everyone returns full. We got a half full Kia SUV and only had to pay a pittance in fuel charges. The upgrade alone beat the hell out of having to pay for the fuel. It's a huge gamble though, but worth bearing in mind if yu only want a 24 hour rental. Be flexible, it usually works in your favour.

Froggitt

Also, booking the smallest possible car grade, as well as being cheaper you will generally end up with an upgrade, as they dont seem to have any small cars available.
eg booked this

got this

glenbois

elantan wrote: »

Thanks ferf ... Any advice on the satnav situation ?

In a similar situation, I have an old garmin sat nav with no updates and was looking for back up ideas.

CoPilot GPS is now free as an app, so I have downloaded this, seems to be getting rave reviews and doesn't require internet connection whilst on the move.

My other back up is getting a prepaid T-Mobile sim card with a $2 a day or $3 dollar a day tariff and pop it into my unlocked android phone and use that. http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/pay-by-the-day-cell-phone-plans. The $3 plan gives you 200mb per day, I dont use my phone much but I do use it for sat nav purposes and my last bill showed that I used 40mb in the whole month (just to give you an idea).

technolight

VALUE FOR MONEY

scottishnellie wrote: »

oooh - Just found out Rod Stewart is on at the Caesars when we are there in Sep :j

Given the days he is playing and the days we are there, we could only go on the Sat / Sun and on ticketmaster the tickets are $250 each plus charges.

Should I wait til we are there and see if we can get them cheaper? Or is that likely to be sold out if I don't buy before we go as they are weekend nights?

Whats the advice from you experts?

Got my tickets for $ 169.85 for 2 inc taxes and fees from ticketmaster for central balcony seats , best view in da house , he is good but not worth $250 + for a ticket.

Also there are no bad seats in the Colosseum as it is designed that no seat is more than 120 feet from the stage .

kroberts

WEATHER

elantan wrote: »

hi all,

just wondering would i be better to buy a satnav here with u.s.a maps or wait till i go to the u.s.a?
l

We downloaded a good usa satnav app on the phone. It was free and goes by gps which is good as you can turn off all your roaming and use this without being charged. We didnt have any problems as long as you put in the final road destination

elantan

It's a blackberry torch i have so dont think i would be able to sit it in a cradle thing if i needed to

The ipod touch wouldve been ideal but the gps cradle isnt picking up the signal

Really looking for a satnav or map idea as i dont think the phone is a viable option anymore ( unless i go and buy an iphone which i aint willing to do )

photome

VALUE FOR MONEY

elantan wrote: »

also does anyone know roughly how much for a taxi from mc carran to the platinum? ( i tried the link on page one but it didnt seem to work for me .. just froze)

Just checked the link on page 1 , it doesnt work for me either. I have replaced it with Ferfs link and checked that it works.

thanks