After several weeks of being fed up with winter, I decided to call a halt to the ice and snow and hopped on a plane to Las Vegas, Nev. in late January.
It was my second trip to Las Vegas in the past year, and the place has not let me down yet. I once again enjoyed three nights and four days of warm temperatures and sunny skies, along with an amusing variety of activities to do and sights to see.
Before taking my winter getaway, I was one unhappy camper. I was fed up with bone-chilling temperatures, lousy road conditions and all the other aspects that make up winter in Saskatchewan.
A few days of sunshine changed my mood for the better. Now I'm back, I feel rested and rejuvenated and motivated to get back to work.
Now, I am going to relay a few words of wisdom for those thinking of travelling to Las Vegas as a winter getaway. This is based not only on my impressions from my recent trip but also from the trip I took in December 2009.
First of all, it is important to be flexible in picking travel dates, particularly if you are on a budget. You want to be looking around for the best deals. For both adventures, I booked with WestJet Vacations, and both times I had to keep my plans flexible. In 2009, I moved up my vacation to December from January, because the rates were better for December. For this latest vacation, I planned to go in December, but got a better deal for late January.
I paid around $600, which included the plane, the hotel stay, the shuttle to and from the airport, taxes, additional resort fees and travel insurance. Flight insurance is essential. You don't want to be caught in a situation where circumstances prevent you from taking your trip as planned and having the swallow the cost of a vacation you never experienced.
WestJet offers direct flights to Las Vegas from Saskatoon on Wednesdays and Saturdays. They have vacation packages that cover three- or four-night stays depending on when you go. Direct flights tend to be good deals and save a lot of time and hassle. I know others take connecting flights from hubs in the United States, so take a look and see what deals work for you. And have a passport. They won't let you on the plane to the United States without one.
Some may be concerned about the stepped-up security situation in the United States. I have personally never had a problem with long lineups there and haven't gone through those notorious "pat-downs" talked about in the media. Still, expect lots of security and don't be surprised if your luggage is searched.
What should you expect when you get to Las Vegas? For starters, you really do not need to rent a car. You can get by with public transit and the Monorail if you are on the Las Vegas strip. The monorail runs from the MGM Grand in the south, all the way to the Sahara in the north. A three-day pass is $28, but I was able to save money on transportation expenses by taking a day pass for $12. The rest of the time I took the bus or walked.
In winter you can expect fairly warm conditions during the day and cooler conditions at night. It is winter, after all. The weather in December and January feels like September on the prairies, with temperatures approaching high teens during the day while cooling off at night. There are the odd times when it can get down to near zero at night, so it helps to bring a sweater.
The weather will improve in the springtime, offering what we would consider summer conditions. But summer weather can get unbearable, from what I hear. August is supposed to be terrible, with absolutely scorching-hot conditions.
What is there to do?
It really depends on who you are and what stage of life you are at. If you are taking a family and kids, you'll probably want to stay at one of the more family-friendly hotels like the Mirage, Excalibur or Circus Circus. If you want to party like it's 1999, you might want to go to a place like Luxor or Planet Hollywood.
If you are a hard-core sports fan, you'll want to go to a place that has a huge sports book. If you're a senior citizen, who doesn't want too much of a hassle getting around, you'll want to stay in the south-central part of the strip, because that's where the action is and it'll be easier getting from place to place.
If there are specific shows you want to see, you will definitely want to find out which hotels they are playing at so you can choose a hotel close by.
A Trip Down Las Vegas Boulevard
Our walk begins at the famous Las Vegas sign at the sound end, where you are likely to have your first "Elvis" sighting of the trip.
Mandalay Bay is the first hotel you see on the south end of the Strip when your plane lands at the airport across the street. It's swanky and well known for hosting fights. Animal lovers will like this place as it has a public aquarium called Shark Reef and hosts the Lion King show.
Luxor is an Egyptian-themed hotel that's built to look like a pyramid. There's a good Titanic exhibit. Magician Criss Angel performs there, and the comedian is Carrot Top. Excalibur has a "Knights in Shining Armor" theme. It's not a terribly swanky hotel but a good place to go if you're on a budget, because it's near all the action.
The Tropicana is directly across the street. Wayne Newton performed there last year.
North of Excalibur is New York New York, which lives up to it's name. It has a huge rollercoaster and some good restaurants.
Across from New York New York is MGM Grand. My colleague Trent Cey has stayed there and describes the place as "big." That about sums it up. Magic fans will want to know that David Copperfield has dates booked here throughout 2011. Those of you who like girls can see the sexy Crazy Horse Paris show there (adults only). Also, MGM hosts Cirque du Soleil, as well as CSI: The Experience. You can check out the MGM lions in their habitat.
North of MGM Grand, check out the cool items at the Showcase Mall, which includes the M&Ms gift shop and the big Coca-Cola shop with the Coke bottle out front. There are several fast food joints there. You'll find one of several Tix4Tonight places across the Strip where you can buy tickets for Las Vegas shows at half price. It is definitely worth it if you aren't picky about seats. They also offer discounts on the multitude of restaurants and buffets found all along the strip. Also expect to see folks dressed up in goofy costumes in this area. This should likely provide your second "Elvis" sighting.
Up the street on the west side is the Monte Carlo, and then the new City Center development, which includes the Aria casino as well as swanky shops aimed at the rich and beautiful. Nearby is the Continental of Las Vegas, which just opened and promises to be the last major Las Vegas casino development for a while.
Across the street is the casino now known as Planet Hollywood (formerly the Aladdin), known for its Miracle Mile shops and for the dancing girls who dress up in lingerie and gyrate in front of the blackjack players in the Pleasure Pit. Fans of reality TV star Holly Madison will know Planet Hollywood is the place to see her production, Peep Show.
Next is Paris Las Vegas, which even has its own Eiffel Tower. North of there is Bally's, the hotel and casino that went by "MGM Grand" before moving to their new location. The Price is Right live show plays at this casino, so you could "come on down!" and win something.
Right across the street from Paris Las Vegas is the Bellagio, which I think is mainly famous for attracting "whales" and high rollers to their casino. The Bellagio was depicted in the movie Ocean's Eleven.
To the north and across the street is Caesar's Palace. You've probably heard of it - it's hosted many famous fights. It has a huge mall of "Forum Shops," an enormous poker room and regularly hosts big-name headliners like Cher, Celine Dion, Jerry Seinfeld, and Elton John.
At this point you have an intersection with Flamingo Road that takes you down to other casinos located off the Strip to the west: the Palms, the Gold Coast and the Rio. Take note: if you are staying at these resorts, you are definitely a distance away from the Strip and will need to rely on shuttle buses to go back and forth to that area. The Rio is one of the more interesting casinos in the city, famous for being home of the World Series of Poker every summer. As well, Penn and Teller's magic show plays here. Ladies will particularly like the Rio because it hosts the Chippendales show.
Guys will like the Palms because the Playboy Club is there, with the famous Bunnies dealing cards.
Also, the slot machines in the main Palms casino are purportedly the "loosest on the Strip" and pay out lots of money. I tried their famous "loose slot machines" there during my recent trip. After an hour and a half attempting to get rich, I decided I wasted enough money at the Palms and moved on.
All I remember of the Gold Coast is that it has a TGI Friday's in it. (As an aside, Starbucks is everywhere in Las Vegas, but you won't find a Tim Hortons.)
Back on the strip - north of Caesar's Palace is the Mirage, a swanky hotel and casino opened in the late 1980s that is noteworthy for being the prototype of the new Las Vegas. Since it opened, every casino on the Strip has been trying to out-do the other and a lot of famous hotels from the "old Las Vegas" were dynamited to make room for the new ones. The front attraction at the Mirage is a volcano that erupts at night. The Beatles tribute show LOVE by Cirque du Soleil plays here.
The Flamingo is across the street from Caesar's Palace. Donny and Marie's show plays here, and so does comedian George Wallace.
Tucked away is Harrah's, which is probably good if you can't afford any of the other hotels at this part of the Strip. It has a shuttle bus here that takes you to the Rio.
To the north is the Imperial Palace, which is usually described as "reasonably priced." It leads the listsfor "Las Vegas hotel most likely to be dynamited."
There's a whack of hotels north of there that I can't really comment on because I haven't set foot in them, yet - Treasure Island, the Venetian, the Palazzo, Encore, Wynn. They all look impressive, though.
We now get into the north end of the Strip, which definitely has an older feel to it. By this point we are getting into the rougher area of town. In general, the farther north you go, the worse it gets.
There you will find the Riviera, one of the oldest hotels still in operation on the Strip. Back of it is the Hilton, which has a huge sports book and is good for being close to the convention center.
Circus Circus across the street is circus-themed and is known for being family friendly, but it's far away from the action these days.
The Sahara across to the north is one of the oldest and most storied hotels on the Las Vegas Strip. It's even farther from the action, though, and has seen better days. It's still better than what you'll find in the downtown area up north. When I took a look, the clientele seemed particularly rowdy and a bit drunk. One guy got into an argument with one of the dealers, while another guy was bragging loudly to his friends about looking for "whores and hookers." You get the idea.
Also, the Sahara has the NASCAR Café, which auto racing fans will really like. (Las Vegas is a regular stop on the NASCAR circuit and holds a Sprint Cup race very early in the season, usually in February or March.) Plus, there are a few good arcade games there.
The Stratosphere is at the very north end of the strip. When you watch the TV show CSI, you see this hotel a lot. This is where that huge tower is located that overlooks Las Vegas, so people who like heights can go up it and see the city.
That about does it for the famous Las Vegas Strip, as this is the last major casino until you hit downtown. On the road to downtown you'll find a long lineup of wedding chapels. Also, you'll feel at home because of the increasing number of pawn shops you'll see on the way.
Finally, we get to downtown. Fremont Street is where most of the oldest casinos in Las Vegas are still located. There are plenty of good gift shops, and there is a huge canopy covering the entire street which is lit up at night.
The best hotel downtown is definitely the Golden Nugget, which hosts many of the poker shows you see on TV. Across the street is the famed Binion's casino that hosted the World Series of Poker back when it was the Horseshoe. In general, downtown feels rough around the edges and the hotels are definitely not swanky compared to the Strip. If you like to wear boots and cowboy hats and like Las Vegas history, this place is for you.
There's much more I could say than I can cram in here. There are also opportunities to go see Hoover Dam or the Grand Canyon for those of you who aren't into gambling.
Hopefully I've given you a good idea about what to expect. If you want to hit the pools this spring, there is still time to book that Vegas vacation, but I cannot stress enough: winter is the time to go. Why brave the ice and cold when there's sunshine and warm temperatures awaiting you in Las Vegas?
