"Must Do" in Las Vegas.

Hey guys, I'm heading out to Vegas in a week, and will be there for a week and not sure what to expect. I know many of you all have been there and I was just wondering what all is a "must do" and what all is just a waste of time. So far I have reservations for Skyjump, and tickets for Cirque Du Soleil, and I really don't know what else to do... Any advice you guys may have is greatly appreciated. As always, expect lots of pictures when I return! Thanks in advance.

~Matthew

Drink.

Eat.

Ha.

I should have known better than asking.

Some hookers are on the "must do" list

--James

I was there in 2006 when I was 16, so I can't tell you which casinos/shows are must do, and ones to avoid, but I can tell you some things, amusement park-related. I'd say try and hit up all the major rides in and around Vegas also. Ride the 3 other rides at the Stratosphere also. Some coasters include Speed at the Sahara (probably the best one in Vegas), Canyon Blaster at the Adventuredome in Circus Circus, Manhattan Express at New York (don't go way out of your way for this one, though), and if you have time to travel a bit to Primm, you can try out Desperado at Buffalo Bill's (a somewhat rough coaster, but still bearable...it's pretty fast and crazy).

Seriously:

FOOD:

If you want a good buffet, The Carnival World Buffet at Rio and Cravings at Mirage are good. If you want a good CHEAP buffet, try Stratosphere for lunch (champaigne on Sunday). Bellagio wasnt worth the price tag (in my opinion). Paris has a good buffet if you really like seafood (such as clams and mussels) but isnt very big. Treasure Island buffet sucked.

We had a nice romantic sit down at Aereole in Mandalay Bay. Also, stuffed ourselves silly with the Churascaria at Rum Jungle in Mandalay Bay. Don't bother with the Eiffel Tower restaurant at Paris.

Go DOWNTOWN to the Brooklyn Bridge (what an armpit of a casino!!!) and get the best and biggest Shrimp Cocktail in Vegas (seriously). DONT get Shrimp Cocktail elsewhere.

SHOWS:

Cirque show of choice: Mystere (Can't beat the Original Vegas Cirque show.Incredible). Cirque show to avoid: Criss Angel Believe (I havent seen Viva Elvis yet). Ka is also pretty cool. It's technically insane, but not as well rounded of a show as Mystere.

Most every topless review we've seen has been awefully cheesy and lame. I wouldnt bother. But Cirque's Zumanity is fun AND you get to see boobies!!!

Amazing Johnathan is fun and Carrot Top was actually very fun too, though I wouldnt pay the full price for either of them.

RIDES:

The NYNY Rollercoaster sucks, but grab it if you want the credit. Speed and Canyon Blaster are alright. Desperado at Buffalo Bills (30min south of the strip) is a kidney crushing Arrow (once the tallest fastest in the world) that you should get the credit for if you're gonna be that close. I think there is a free shuttle to Primm from one of the Strip Hotels (MGM or something).

I've only ridden Big Shot (and the now defunct High Roller) at Stratosphere, but I'd recommend getting all the rides if you're gonna pay to get to the top anyway.

GAMING:

If you're into poker, Mandalay Bay and Luxor have some cheap buy-in tournaments that I've enjoyed.

SPA:

For a nice massage on the cheap (for Vegas), try The Orleans. A+.

FREE THINGS:

Fountains at Bellagio (as seen in Oceans 11).

Fountains inside the Caesar's Palace Forum Shops. The statues come to life.

MGM Grand Lion Habitat. Smack dab in the middle of the casino. Stop by and look at some Lions.

Mirage Volcano. Outside of the Mirage on the Strip. Erupts hourly after dark.

Rio Carnival in the Sky. Cool Float Parade that plays every few hours from the ceiling of the Rio Casino, complete with people throwing beads.

Aquarium at the Silverton. With a mermaid show.

Sirens of TI show at Treasure Island. Outside of TI on the Strip. Sadly, I've never seen the show. It gets really busy and crowded there.

Freemont Street Experience. The LED rooftop above Freemont Street Downtown comes to life with a show every hour or so after dark. If you're in the area check it out, but dont make it a destination by itself. I WOULD recommend you go downtown sometime during your week just to check out the seedier side of Vegas.

OTHER ACTIVITIES:

Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. Decent if you can get a discount.

Dolphin Habitat at Mirage. You might spend an hour or so there.

Gondola ride INSIDE the Venetian. There is an outdoor one too, but go with the inside ride.

Maddam Tussaud's Wax Museum at Venetian. Had a BLAST here TWICE! The key to having fun at MT... You ARE ALLOWED to touch the wax figures, so take advantage of that and get some outrageous photos (see attached photo).

HOTEL ROOMS:

Cheap and Spacious and practically on the strip: Tuscany Suites ($40nt).

Fabulously Luxurious but still affordable: Any standard room at Venetian (~$140nt) or THEhotel at Mandalay Bay (~$120nt).

MASSIVE SUITES on the cheap: Ziggurat Suite at NYNY = 11sq ft, 2bath ($220nt on off-nights). Mirage Tower Suite 1500sq ft ($220nt on off-nights). Outdated, but still impressive. The Platinum is a Non-Gaming hotel just off the strip with a very nice 950sq ft 1 bed suite with Full Kitchen for about $120nt.

One of the things that we have done in the past is to check out Expedia for the whole week and find the ONE day during the week that a room is REALLY cheap. We change rooms every day (which is tiring), but get to check out all kinds of hotels and rooms for decent prices. For instance: Harrahs: $130 on Sunday, $52 on Monday, $113 on Tuesday. We'd book a room at Harrash for Monday. Caesar's Palace: $113 on Sunday, $319 on Monday, $559 on Tuesday. We'd book Caesar's for Sunday. THEhotel: $400 on Sunday, $120 on Tuesday. We'd Book THEhotel for Tuesday. etc etc etc.

Also check for 3rd night free or similar promos.

Al Roker gropes Lady Bebe at Maddam Tussaud's.

You should see what Dale Earnhardt did!!!!!

In my opinion, buffets are the work of the devil, and should be avoided at all costs.

I prefer a nice sit-down place, and Vegas is PACKED with amazing restaurants. Some cheaper than others, of course. But it's pretty hard to get a bad meal in Vegas, unless you're at some really sketchy place. Or at a buffet.

Anyway, here are some of the places that I've eaten at recently:

Mesa Grill - Been here three times, the menu was different every time, and every time the meal was amazing. Highly recommended. Not cheap.

Pink Taco - Larry recommended this to me, and I checked it out last year, and it was indeed awesome. If you like Mexican food, certainly worth a visit. it's way off the strip at the Hard Rock, so you'll have to take a cab

Diablo's Cantina - This place was attached to the hotel we all stayed at during the TPR Vegas Trip last year. I had zero expectations, but it turned out to be really good. Amazing shrimp tacos, and really good margaritas.

Delmonico Grill - Been here twice, both times had some of the best steak ever. Not cheap.

Bouchon - BEST BREAKFAST EVER. Seriously. Godly waffles. I have no idea what the dinner fare is like, but the breakfast rules.

Nobu - Went there last summer. One of the ten best meals I've had in my life. Absolutely amazing. Someone told me the one in LA is even better, so now I have to try that one. Again, at the Hard Rock, so cab required. Not cheap, though it certainly wasn't as expensive as I was led to believe (me and the person I was with split four different plates, and alcohol, and the bill was slightly over $100 before the tip. Worth every penny).

I know there have been many more, but these are the ones I remembered from last year. Every restaurant has a website and/or is listed on the site of the resort where they are, so you can easily look at menus and prices before leaving. I always do this to plan out my food journey. I don't gamble, and hate most shows, so I mainly go to Vegas to eat. And I've never left disappointed.

Have fun!

dt

And if you hit up Desperado beware of the Air Gates of Death!!!

LOL!

Visit the Mandalay Bay's website. Sign up for the email list and get 30% off your visit. We used it to get the 1500x3 Media suite for two nights UNDER $1000!

If you are going to do one Buffet (I pretty much agree with Dave on this one) then the RIO one is pretty good IMO.

The one at the Luxor isn't too bad either. Avoid the off-the-strip buffet's unless you want one out of Vegas Vacation.

A week in Vegas ... can't really imagine. After 2 days I'm pretty much ready to go home but I guess if you've never been???

As for what to do ... can't really say more than what's already been said. I'm sure taking a drive out to Hoover Dam is probably a good thing. And if you get REALLY bored, getting out to ZION Naional Park in Utah isn't really too far either. It's definitely worth the drive for a day.

Coming from someone who used to live and work there, I can agree with The Bebes on every point.

If you are looking for Credits, also check out Adventuredome at Circus Circus (last I was there you could get ride tickets if all you want is the coaster) and Sahara for Speed (you get two shots at it) For thrills, Stratosphere, ride the S&S (launch is kinda soft) or hang off the edge on one of their three other rides, including jumping off the top of the building for a c-note.

The Rio does have the best buffet around, Planet Hollywood is also a good bet. You didn't mention which Cirque show you had tickets to, but "O", KA, Mystere, and Love are good shows. I have yet to see the Elvis production, and again I agree, stay away from Cris Angel and Zumanity.

There are lots of good Italian restuarants at the Venetian/Palazzo including Mario Batalli and Wolfgang Puck, also check out Craft Steak at MGM and Emeril's. Spago (Wolfgang) at Ceaser's Palace's Mall is always a good bet.

Don't fogert that Hoover Dam is not far away and they offer two different tours. Take the "VIP" tour, it's not much more than the regular tour and you can get down on the floor where the generators are.

If you are looking for speed, checkout LVMS.com, they have where you can ride in/drive an indy car a few times of year, and Richard Petty's Experience is there too, also if you are into cars Carrol Shelby offers a tour of the factory, call ahead for reservations, the tour only happens once a day.

The excalibur, hooters, imperial palace, tropicana, and sahara are dumps. Unless you plan on taking lots of gambling money and plan on losing it (hey I programmed slots in a former life, I know how they work) you may find when you get there you really don't know what you are going to do. The advice I give to everyone going to Vegas for that length of time is to pre-plan and allow for so much money each day, if you don't, by day 4 your will either be bored, wore out, or broke. If you do find wanting something different to do, check out Mt. Charelston, it's not too far away and a nice peaceful area.

Another note, there are multiple half price ticket locations where you can get really cheap tickets for same day shows. Tix4tonite is the place to go. One is at the coca cola store, hawaian market place to name a few. Carrot Top is worth the half price ticket and they sometimes have ticket to the NYNY coaster for half price, tho I haven't seen it recently. Also you can get Hoover Dam tickets (sometimes), but don't expect someone like Elton John or "O" to be half price, Jersey Boys is a good production and you can sometimes get those for 25% off. Blue man group is ok, but not worth full price. Another funny character is George Wallce at the Flamingo.

Like I said, plan it out a little but not to the minute, and you will have fun.

You said that you were going to a Cirque show. Which one?

Viva Elvis is.....OK. Not great, but it's not as bad as Criss Angel beLIEve.

Also, Bootleg Canyon has some zip lines. Haven't done them, but they look fun.

http://www.bcflightlines.com/

-=BP

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