Vegas for one night - help appreciated!

Hi

I%26#39;m travelling to Laguna Beach, California from the United Kingdom with three friends from April 1st to 15th. We%26#39;re all in our mid-20s.

We%26#39;re hiring a car, and we plan to drive to Las Vegas one day and spend the afternoon/evening in casinos, bars and clubs. However, I really don%26#39;t know where to start - Vegas is so huge. Any suggestions?

We plan to stay the night in Vegas. Do you recommend booking a hotel room in advance? Is there a central Vegas hotel near the casinos that you can recommend, costing perhaps $200 for the night (to sleep four adults)?

Also, I%26#39;ve heard that it%26#39;s possible to get picked up from some hotels, taken to the airport, where they can take you on a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon. Has anyone done this? How much does it cost? How long does it take? Etc.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Vegas for one night - help appreciated!

Book the hotel in advance. That%26#39;s a pretty cheap time of the year to go but if you just walk in you might get the rack rate. As long as you go during the week, you can stay pretty much anywhere on the strip for under $200 - excepting the Wynn and Bellagio. Most hotels charge $30 for every adult over two but a lot of people tell them there are only two adults at check-in. I%26#39;ve never heard of anyone getting caught - the hotels are gigantic.

I think the MGM Grand is a good place for a first time visitor.

Other people on this forum have taken the helicopter tour. I%26#39;m sure they%26#39;ll have input. If not, you can trying using the cruddy search function.

Vegas for one night - help appreciated!

Thanks for your help, TheBig__aaAAaa.

I%26#39;ve been reading this forum for the past hour but not found out too much about the helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon.

I%26#39;m glad to hear that we can easily find a hotel for under $200 for the night. Having read this message board, it seems that Flamingo has a good pool, which is quite appealing, and apparently it%26#39;s very cheap. I%26#39;ll check out the place that you recommended though.

And we%26#39;ll be sure to book in advance.

Do these hotels all have ample parking?

Did the helicopter tour of Grand Canyon with Papillon and I would recommend it to anyone...

http://www.papillon.com

We did the Grand Celebration tour...cost a little bit more but it is worth it

Awesome, thanks meesterbond. That website looks much better than the other ones that I found on Google. $369 per person for the Grand Celebration Tour doesn%26#39;t sound TOO expensive. We were expecting to pay about 拢150 ($300) each, so I%26#39;ll see what other deals they have.

Actually, having looked at it in more detail, it%26#39;s about $250 per person for the tour you suggested. It lasts about 4 hours. Meanwhile, the cheaper options ($80-100) only last 40 minutes!

Yeah, it was $250 each when we went in Dec 06

Included was a pick-up and drop-off to our hotel (Mirage) and there was a very nice little Picnic when we landed in the Grand Canyon(Champagne/Soft Drinks/water, Turkey Roll, Crisps, Cookie).

The weather is vastly different in the Grand Canyon then on the Vegas strip so make sure when you confirm your flight that you ask about weather...sunglasses is a must!

This was my 2nd trip to GC and the Helicopter made it a more memorable and I would give Papillon 10/10 for their service

The other tour operators I found when researching was...

Heli-USA

Sundance

Will23C1982 -

You%26#39;re welcome. All the hotels have plenty of parking, excepting the Monte Carlo.

your youth will come in handy,

drive to lv, aft./eve. in casinos, bars and clubs, pool, and a trip to the Grand Canyon and only one night in Vegas.

If you could extend your trip by a day or two, you would enjoy Vegas much more. MGM, I think is a great suggestion. If not there, try to stay somewhere mid-strip. You will be able to see more with in less time and less walking. You can check orbitz, travelaxe or one of many web site to get an idea on price. You asked about parking? All of the major hotels have valet parking. It is free and convenient, I generally tip a dollar or two when I get my car back. Do not drink and drive, Vegas is known to set up check points. You can use valet parking at any of the casino%26#39;s the same way as where you are staying. Cab stands are all over the place and the four of you can ride for the cost of one.

Hey bud,

Sounds like you wont have alot of time - fitting in a trip to GC when only in Vegas for a day is going to be tough work.

Maybe the trip I went on would be good as its quick and cheap :) Papillon do a tour for $99 (50 quid) and it includes hotel pick ups - its on a plane though...........1 hr 15 min in the air over Hoover Damn, Lake Mead, GC, etc..............forget the name but its on Papilon%26#39;s webpage.

Also - if you are only there one night then you wont be doing all the strip, just part of it - otherwise you will be spending all your limited time walking up and down the strip without drinking, gambling and meeting people, etc........I agree with other poster who recommended MGM Grand - I loved it and its a great first time hotel as its got that %26#39;wow%26#39; factor.

Here you go - found link for you, Explorer Air Tour - $99 and the quickest of the tours AND they were awesome and very nice:-

www.papillon.com/popris/show_package.aspx鈥?/a>