I'm going in August w/my daughter for 5 nights. She's 14. No pics, sickos.
We're going to see a couple of Cirque du Soleil shows and a few other shows/experiences, as well as a day trip to the Grand Canyon. We are both super pumped for the trip. I don't gamble so not at all concerned about being there with a kid.
My flights are booked and I think I'm just going to burn Marriott points for my hotel. A couple of questions though:
1. Has anyone ever stayed at the JW Marriott outside of the city? In general, JW's are really nice but I've read mixed reviews about this one and I've never stayed off of the strip before, so I'm a little hesitant. Says its allegedly just a 15 minute ride to the strip though, and it has a complimentary shuttle which could be convenient. I'd love to stay there for free and spend a lot more on shows and experiences instead of dropping $~1,000 on a nice hotel room for 5 nights on the strip (I think).
2. I've seen the Beatles, Love show before and it was awesome. I told her we could do at least 2 Cirque shows. Which ones would you do and which ones would you not do over again?
3. Where is the best place to buy tickets to shows, and how far in advance do you realistically need to buy them?
4. Have any of you seen 'Rock of Ages' at the Venetian? It looks good to me, and I'm considering that for one of our non-Cirque shows. A little pricey but something different and she loves musicals.
5. Sounds a bit cheesy, but have any of you done the CSI Experience? My daughter was super into the show and I'm thinking I might include that on the itinerary for a daytime activity one day.
6. Would you rent a car and drive to the Grand Canyon or would you spend $100/each on a guided coach tour w/4 hours of free time at the West Rim? I'm leaning toward renting a car just so we can have a bit more autonomy, but I'm mildly intrigued by the guided tour via luxury coach too.
Thanks!
1) I would suggest staying either on the strip or in one of the casino resorts near the strip. They are ridiculously cheap with tons of amenities. You can stay at Excalibur which would be a 3-4 star hotel elsewhere in the world for as cheap as $15 during the week. You can stay at Luxor which is definitely at least a 4 star hotel elsewhere in the world for $27 during the week (I even think I have some promo codes I can share for this one I'll have to see if they're coded just for me). Mandalay Bay which is a 5 star resort elsewhere in the world can be nabbed for $60 during the week. Even at the $235 busy weekend rates for Mandalay Bay, it's equivalent to a $400 hotel in Nawhlins or a $600+ hotel in NYC. So it really depends on how much you want to spend. Maybe it's because I'm not looking for hookers and blow and don't look like I'm looking for those items, but I've never really seen anything out and in your face....on the Strip. Billboards for nudie clubs sure, but those are ubiquitous in Sin City there's nowhere to avoid them. But actually solicited actively for drugs and sex? Only over in the seedier downtown areas, the Strip is fine.
If for some reason you're wrongfully hungup from staying on the Strip, my last trip about a month or so ago everything on the Strip was ridiculously overpriced for some large convention and I was "forced" to stay at the Silverton resort off strip. Outside of the casino, that's a really pleasant resort themed to a hunting lodge with a big aquarium (with human mermaids as well at certain times) and the second largest bass pro shop attached to it. It's very reasonably priced and I would definitely stay there again if not on the Strip (oh and I think Circus Circus and Excalibur is specifically targeting the family oriented visitor with rugrats which is why I stay away from those two).
2) My favorite Cirque by far would be Zumanity as it has the same quality acrobatics in a smaller venue where you can see everything up close BUT it's also I believe the only topless Cirque and has risqué humor. So my favorite would be out. I really DISLIKED O, it's always cited as the best but the story is nonsensical French/Canadian pantomime at its worst and the production while HUGE and impressive means you can't really see what's going on and the individual performances are lost. So I'd say either do One and Ka or if you must see the ridiculously over the top O, then pair it with either One or Ka. And really, if you haven't seen Penn and Teller live before, you MUST see them. Not just best magicians in the world but best show in Vegas. They keep it light and funny not "I am an actual Wizard" BS like the typical douchey magaicians.
3. I just google for tickets and see what are the best deals but there are several that sell out.
4. No. Skip it and see Penn and Teller instead. Other cheaper entertainment that's good in Vegas are the Mob Museum (seriously, one of the best "one topic" smaller museums out there and doable in a couple of hours) and the Las Vegas Springs garden.
5. Haven't done it.
6. Get a car. You will need it ESPECIALLY if staying off strip and/or traveling to other side trips. As a semi-frequent traveler and an amateur photobug, the best side trip from Vegas is the Valley of Fire State Park. Don't worry that it's "just a state park", so is Niagara Falls in NY and Goblin Valley and Dead Horse in Utah and Monument Valley is a native reservation park. Valley of Fire (not to be confused with the plural Valley of Fires in New Mexico which is also good but not as amazing as the Nevada one) blows away Red Rocks which is where most Vegas Tourons go and I think is much nicer than the West Rim of the Grand Canyon or Zion National Park. It's got amazing rock formations just google Valley of Fire and "the wave" and beehives and some really amazing petroglyphs (ancient native artwork on cliffs, including "ancient aliens" that will have you convinced UfOS are real).
The West Rim is the worst of the Grand Canyon viewing areas imo. The best is the Desert View (or "East Rim") with the South Rim a close second (both are doable same day along with stopoff viewpoints along the way). Some people argue the North Rim as it's more secluded with less touristy people around you, but then you are LOOKING at all or the tourists across the Canyon and the views aren't as nice. Either way, near the eastern entrance where the painted desert is still seen (and the rock formations vary in color from White to deep red) and the Colorado river is still blue is the best views (aka Desert View and South Rim). By the time the Colorado gets to the West Rim it's brown and the rocks are mostly a boring monotone brown. Only the Eagle something something (I've forgotten the real name) Formation is interesting and the skywalk is the biggest ripoff in history. When you can literally walk to the edge with no fence at Desert View, stepping out on a scuffed up and cloudy foot deep "transparent" walkway a few feet for hundredsof dollars (if there's a bunch of you) AND you can't take your own pics and they want a hundred or more for ONE badly taken pic.....it's a ripoff.
For that reason you want to either avoid the Grand Canyon altogether (and go to valley of Fire instead) or else have a car where you're not trapped there. After an hour there I was "done". I think the West Rim of the GC and Zion NP both get undue praise by tourons who have never made it to the slightly further but infinitely better versions. The eastern side of the GC blows away the West Rim and Bryce Canyon, the Island in the Sky portions of Canyonlands, Arches, Dead Horse, Goblin Valley, the Grand Staircase and even Capitol Reef are miles better than Zion NP.
If it's not too late, I'd suggest spending one night in the Bryce Canyon area as it's about 3.5 hour drive from Vegas and you could hit up Bryce and Goblin Valley in one day. And if you've got 2-2.5 extra then do the Island in the Sky portions of Canyonlands plus a quick hike or two around Arches.
But if you can't leave Vegas as your homesite, at least do Valley of Fire.
