Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2015

Brats64

Haven't set foot in the riviera for years....never liked it.
I personally will have no problem with it going.They can take Circus Circus next.

John259

cjdavies wrote: »

Planning on the Grand Canyon, but wouldn't rent a car.

Fair enough.

None of the helicopter tours from Las Vegas go to the real Grand Canyon (the national park). Instead, they go to Grand Canyon West (also called the West Rim) which is about 100 miles (160 km) west of the national park as the crow flies and generally regarded as highly inferior.

You can get bus trips from Las Vegas to the national park (south rim). You can also get trips by small fixed wing aircraft which land at Tusayan airstrip just outside the south rim of the national park, then the company provides a short bus trip into the park. Some of these trips offer an optional add-on helicopter trip over the national park but they are not allowed to fly below the rim.

If you do decide to drive, it's about 275 miles (440 km) each way, mostly on freeway/motorway standard roads with very low traffic levels making for easy driving. Map: http://goo.gl/NcE1sE

Because driving from Las Vegas to the south rim and back in one day means a lot of driving and not long in the park, it's better done over two days with an overnight stop in or near the park. Then you'll not only have longer in the park, you'll also have time for the Hoover Dam and driving part of old Route 66.

The Grand Canyon section of the US National Park Service web site has a lot of practical information about the visiting the park: http://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm

Here's a National Park Service video about the free Hermit's Rest shuttle bus service which gets you out of the congested central area to some of the best viewpoints. In winter this service doesn't run but you can drive along the road yourself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCMRKElBkgA

This is a personal video of a trip to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon. You might like to skip to the sections which show the roads between them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UjRDToxqxY

This video is of AZ66, the old Route 66 alternative to I-40 between Kingman and Seligman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVd2iTCkYQw

This is a video which describes some of the options for visiting Grand Canyon National Park (south rim) from Las Vegas. It's a bit out of date (for example, the Hoover Dam by-pass bridge is now completed and open to traffic) and it's a bit commercialised, but it still contains some useful information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0BmR53DZnU

photome

Brats64 wrote: »

Haven't set foot in the riviera for years....never liked it.
I personally will have no problem with it going.They can take Circus Circus next.

I feel differently

CC is the first hotel i stayed in, the rooms are much better than people give them credit for (most havent even stayed in them).

They are also Vegas of old type hotels not like the monstrosity that is city center where the hotels look like high rise office buildings.

For me Vegas is changing for the worse

Seldom_Seen_Kid

Vegasbound wrote: »

Thanks everyone for the good advice. To save all the hassle of walking with luggage to and from the Orleans shuttle, I’ll take a cab. The prices for that weekend were already very high going back to at least December, so I am not sure if the hotels were anticipating the fight Mayweather Pacqiouor or whether its due to Pebbles suggestion Cinco de Mayo.

First weekend in May is normally expensive as there is always a major fight at MGM. My birthday is around then so I have seen high rates for years.

Also a big thank you from me to everyone who answers questions on this thread. I hardly post, but I read daily.

jackr_2

Thanks for the great advice, I really appreciate it. Would there be any chance that I could be covered by travel insurance or a credit card vendor?

pebblesmax

jackr wrote: »

Thanks for the great advice, I really appreciate it. Would there be any chance that I could be covered by travel insurance or a credit card vendor?

Covered for what? The fight being cancelled? I doubt it.

vanilla8

Yes i think you would struggle to get cover for the fight being cancelled.
Perhaps an expert on the insurance forum maybe able to advice, or ring a broker?
I had a google and i notice bupa australia cover cancellation for a sporting event if the sole purpose of the trip was to attend it.

Or be prepared to just take it on the chin and go out there anyway?

Out of interest do you have tickets for the fight already?

secretmachines

It does make me smile when the West Rim is described as inferior or 'not the real thing'.

So technically this might be correct, but for someone going for the first time from the UK, it doesn't make it any less a breathtaking sight. Plus the experience of the helicopter rides, seeing the Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, the desert terrain, flying down into the canyon, the silence, flying back into Vegas at sunset, seeing the Strip lit up...

If you've not been don't let 'not the real thing' put you off in the slightest

ferf1223

secretmachines wrote: »

It does make me smile when the West Rim is described as inferior or 'not the real thing'.

So technically this might be correct, but for someone going for the first time from the UK, it doesn't make it any less a breathtaking sight. Plus the experience of the helicopter rides, seeing the Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, the desert terrain, flying down into the canyon, the silence, flying back into Vegas at sunset, seeing the Strip lit up...

If you've not been don't let 'not the real thing' put you off in the slightest

I haven't been to the West Rim (have been to the south) and I agree with you that if time is limited then the west may be just fine...I think it's good to let people know of the difference though so people can make their choice. I had a similar conversation with a colleague recently - he's going with a group for a stag do, but wanted a few things to do outside of that. In his case, a trip to the South Rim is probably too far, unless he does a small plane trip and I think he wants to do the driving a convertible in the US thing so many are so fond of...so it will probably be West or nothing for him, but he has the info to make the choice, at least.

photome

secretmachines wrote: »

It does make me smile when the West Rim is described as inferior or 'not the real thing'.

So technically this might be correct, but for someone going for the first time from the UK, it doesn't make it any less a breathtaking sight. Plus the experience of the helicopter rides, seeing the Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, the desert terrain, flying down into the canyon, the silence, flying back into Vegas at sunset, seeing the Strip lit up...

If you've not been don't let 'not the real thing' put you off in the slightest

on the flip side if you are in the USA and so close the the Grand Canyon it makes sense to me to make time to see the "real thing"