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Not a TR, rather itinerary for my upcoming trip, submitted for your review

Discussion in 'Misc. Vegas Chat' started by jthornton623, Sep 25, 2015.

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  1. jthornton623

    jthornton623 Tourist

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    Hey all, everyone on this board has been a wealth of information for a planner like myself. You have been patient and helpful answering my random questions. I thought it would be a worth while endeavor to post my rough plans for my upcoming Vegas trip with my fiancé. I figure you guys and gals could look it over and show me any errors of my plan, as this is my first trip I am a total Vegas novice. I like to over-plan and my fiancé likes to wing it, so over the past decade of our relationship this is kind of our compromise. Here it goes, and keep in mind this is a rough idea, more like a thumbnail sketch than a technical blueprint.



    Arriving at McCarran at around noon on Friday (10/02/15) from a Jetblue flight out of Boston. Renting a car for the first weekend, with the car we are staying off strip (LaQuinta by the Airport). Friday, just cruise around Vegas, take in the sights and be awestruck. Saturday, whole day at Death Valley, first time in my life West of New York state, figure we might as well go all the way to Cali. Sunday more scenic driving, Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire, probably not enough time or stamina to try to squeeze Hoover dam to the trip. Sunday, evening, check out of LQ and into Luxor, our strip base for the next five nights. I know Luxor is south strip and a little tarnished, but we are not particularly fancy people and as long as it is clean and comfortable it is fine with us. Also, regarding location I have factored about $40 per day for taxi money to get us wherever we want to go. May use the Deuce or Monorail, not sure. Sunday through Thursday, basically jump all around the strip, no set plans. We have tickets to 2 shows (Zarkana and Zumanity, thanks to MyVegas), also BOGO dinner buffets and Bellagio, Aria, and MGM Grand (again thanks to MyVegas). We are planning on seeing Bodies, Titanic, Shark Reef, and S&R Dolphin thing. We are planning to do the three attractions for $57 for some combo of those. Plans also include the following: Bellagio Fountain and Conservatory, Grand Canal at Venetian, Linq Auto collection (?), Mirage volcano, plus just popping into each of the casinos up and down the strip. We are thinking about some high altitude viewing, not sure what you folks recommend, Strat, Eiffel Tower or High Roller. Friday night we are downtown for a night at the Downtown Grand, and leave late Saturday night. Downtown plans include Fremont St, Mob Museum, maybe Neon Museum, Main Street Station (I am a history junkie).



    I know this is long, and in all likelihood far too boring for most of you to read, but for those of you that powered through, thanks. I appreciate any feedback you all have, and again thanks for all the help you have provided for the last six months of planning.
     
  2. Richard Alpert

    Richard Alpert LOST

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    Hi, there! It looks like you have a good plan. Like your fiancé, I'm in the "wing it" camp. My bride is the "planner." I don't think you can really go wrong on a first Vegas trip. You will be in awe of the sights and will likely be "hooked" on Vegas for life.

    One tip for you would be sure to bring a reliable camera or phone to snap a few pics along the way. I wish I'd had my camera for our first trip. Rookie mistake on my part!

    The night downtown is a nice move, too. It's quite a vibe there.

    Have a rockin' trip and hopefully you'll be able to share your experiences via a TR upon your return.
    -Richard
     
  3. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    That's a lot to do. But you're there for a while. A couple thoughts:

    For viewing, I would vote for The STRAT . Its simply the best view of the places you mentioned.

    Death Valley is awesome. I wrote about it and posted pics in my August TR. I might suggest, though, that you try and include Red Rock on the same day you visit DV. You drive right through the south part of the Red Rock Canyon area on the drive to DV. Depending on how early a start you get and how much time you want to spend at DV, you can easily squeeze Red Rock into the same day. And Red Rock really is not near Valley of Fire. You can do Red Rock and VOF on the same day, but it seems to make more sense to do it on the same day as DV since they are both west of Vegas (and VOF is northeast)

    Have fun
     
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  4. Aces and Eights

    Aces and Eights VIP Whale

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    It looks good, but put in order the things you must do, then the things you want to do but don't mind skipping due to time. When you go to places like Venetian or Bellagio, take into account that you might just want to sit, have a drink, and people watch.

    Get a map of the casino/hotel locations along with monorail station locations so you can plan out your excursions in a logical order.

    Although many don't sleep very much there, if you want to have a good time and feel good during your casino crawl, get enough sleep while you're there. Make sure you drink plenty of water wherever you travel, and pace yourself with the alcohol intake. Dehydration is your worst enemy.

    Have fun, and don't feel rushed!
     
  5. BayouBengal

    BayouBengal VIP Whale

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    Don't overdo it. Make a loose itinerary and roll with it. If you see something more interesting, go do that thing. Land don't sweat the small stuff.
     
  6. tringlomane

    tringlomane STP Addicted Beer Snob

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  7. Camp Rusty

    Camp Rusty VIP Whale

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    Looks great..............

    My only suggestion is avoid the freeways in the morning and the evening, Vegas rush hours can be pretty sticky. I usually google map the Vegas valley before I go to sort of refresh my memory on my way around, main roads, attractions, and I bring my Garmin.

    Have fun and good luck.
     
  8. BarelyHangingOn

    BarelyHangingOn VIP Whale

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    Last year was my first visit and I had plans for the monorail because of My Vegas but it is a bit of a bust. It sits way behind everything and on the wrong side of the road for a few of the places you mentioned on going.

    You are staying at the Luxor so you have a free train car that will take you down to Mandalay Bay and as far up as the Bellagio. There's a break at NY NY and the Excalibur where you have to walk a little bit. We made good use of it last year. It's a good way to get to the Shark Reek, the show at the Aria and get you close to the Mirage for the Dolphins. All for free.

    We also bought bus passes and just used that to get up to Fremont St. We bought a three day pass but didn't really need it once we found out about the trams. This time around we will just buy a day pass to go to Fremont St and the Stratosphere .

    Here is a link with the map of the free tram.

    http://legitmtg.com/culture/gp-vegas-an-angels-guide-to-sin-city/
     
  9. nostresshere

    nostresshere Mr. Anti Debit Card

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    You can also just walk that entire route. We do that for a few reasons. First off, we need to walk since we eat and drink way too much. Next is that we like to see the sights along the way. We also HATE waiting for the tram (especially MB-Luxor- route). Next is we like to stop and get drinks while walking.

    Just a thought.

    One other thought... check out other hotel options. Sometimes the strip/near strip have great prices. Parking is free.

    Also, on the car rental - sometimes the weekly rate is not much more than the 3 day.

    And, if you complete everything on your list, I owe you a round of drinks.
     
  10. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    I'm sure its not intentional, but this statement is a bit misleading. There is no tram from MB to Bellagio. There is a tram from MB to Excalibur (with the Luxor stop in between). But from Excalibur, you get off the tram, walk the skybridge across to NYNY, walk through the entire NYNY casino, walk in front of the restaurants outside NYNY, cross the street, walk all the way through Monte Carlo, and then walk up to a platform behind Monte Carlo and Aria to catch a different tram to Bellagio. I would estimate that the walk from the Excalibur tram stop to the Aria tram platform is a longer walk than Excalibur to MB.
     
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  11. nostresshere

    nostresshere Mr. Anti Debit Card

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    I often see people talk about the tram on that side of the strip like it is some long tram. Heck,there is even one from Treasure Island over to Mirage that some people "link" together.

    Three different trams that are "sometimes" handy.
     
  12. Cinwhim

    Cinwhim Low-Roller

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    If you are planning on drinking your budget is good for transportation but if you aren't going to be drinking while sight seeing you might consider keeping the car the whole week. You won't pay much more and it could save some time considering the casinos you want to visit. We have even gotten out of the habit of valet parking unless my mother in law is with us. Walking to self park is good for us and waiting on the car can be a pain depending on the time of day and casino.
    I second trying to arrange DV with VoF. You can spend as much or as little time at Red Rock so if you get tired of the crowds it would be a nice little get away. I love Red Rock Casino so we always stop out there too on our way back.
    Lastly, I am a huge planner. I like it almost as much as going but once we get out there be flexible enough to enjoy yourself. Like most of us you will fall in love and go back again and again so will have plenty of chances to see the things you miss.
    Have fun and please let us know how things went!
     
  13. pebbles

    pebbles Micro Roller.

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    I would also add that it's a fair trek from the Bellagio tram stop to Mirage to see the Dolphins and big cats.
     
  14. yooperguy

    yooperguy Low-Roller

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    The bus system is very reasonable in price, the buses are clean and safe, you can get to most places on the strip and downtown, as well as a few off strip properties. Here is the link to the website: www.rtcsnv.com The Deuce bus is available at most strip stops every 15 minutes, Also, Uber as been OK'ed for Las Vegas, but not sure when it starts.
     
  15. jthornton623

    jthornton623 Tourist

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    I knew you folks would bring good criticisms to my plan. We definitely have a "must do", "want to do", and "if we see it, cool" lists. As far as drinking, neither of us are really big drinkers, and we always hydrate, we are planning to go through a lot of water out there. AS for transportation, I thought that taxi and bus, with mild walking, was the way to go. The monorail is kind of an after thought. Also, I do have a note card with the free hotel connecting trams, so they will be used when appropriate.
    UKfanatic - I thought about doing Red Rock and DV in the same trip, however, I really want to make sure we have a full day in DV. Obviously, nothing is set in stone, and we will play it by ear when we are out there.
    Tringlomane - Thanks! I have that link saved from a previous thread, but good looking out.
     
  16. Aces and Eights

    Aces and Eights VIP Whale

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    One more thing about the MB/Luxor/Excalibur tram. There are two parallel trams.
    One is an express that goes between MB and the pedestrian walkway bridges on the corner of Las Vegas Blvd. and Tropicana Ave. There is no stop at Luxor.
    The other is the one that stops at Luxor also. BUT, it does not stop at the corner. It stops at an Excalibur entrance where you have to go through the Excalibur and out to get to the corner (a fairly long walk). At least this was the way it was last year and years before it. I never understood why they had a station on the corner for that tram if it didn't go all the way there. Thinking about it, it's probably just to keep the cable drives in the same location. And it probably stopped where it did to force people to go through the casino.
     
  17. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    Its still like that
     
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  18. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    Both are very cool, for different reasons. And I like both more than Red Rock. If you try VOF and Red Rock in one day, I suggest starting with VOF and then see how much time/energy you have left for the canyon
     
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  19. BarelyHangingOn

    BarelyHangingOn VIP Whale

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    You never mentioned the original Vegas Sign as part of your trip. There is no real easy way to get there. We walked from the back door of the Mandalay Bay down there but it's a good little trek there and back. If you have a car rented it would be an easy stop. There was a girl working there that kept a line formed and then took pictures of us with the sign in the background and we tipped here a few bucks for it. We kind of cherish those photos as part of our trip. She did a good job.

    http://www.vegas.com/attractions/on-the-strip/welcome-las-vegas-sign/
     
  20. bluehonu

    bluehonu Tourist

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    We like to go to Red Rock. We usually break up the casino craziness by going there in the middle of the trip. If u like to climb and explore the rocks, u may b a little sore the next day. Lol
    I have an active job, and still have sore legs after a bit of climbing.
    The drive through VOF will bring u out on the North side of Lake Mead. More opportunity to explore there.
    We prefer to get a car too. We can go where we want when we want. We hate waiting on shuttles. Although some other places we use the local bus.
    Ethel M chocolate is also a nice side trip. They have a cactus garden and a free candy sample
     
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