What a First Time Visitor Needs to Know to Have a Great Trip to Las Vegas

Las Vegas is a world class destination and a city geared toward fun. With abundant choices in entertainment, lodging, dining, shows and points of interest in the surrounding area, first time visitors can become overwhelmed, spend too much money and get overtired. Planning your Las Vegas itinerary before you leave home can help alleviate your stress and allow you to have the relaxing and fun vacation you deserve.

I recently took my first trip to Las Vegas and learned quite a bit about how to make my vacation better. I hope these tips will help you plan your Las Vegas vacation and have a wonderful time.

Make a Budget - knowing what you have to spend will allow you to make decisions on your activities and avoid those nasty credit card bills when you get home. Make sure you include lodging, food and dining, local transportation, entertainment, tips, phone calls and ,of course, gambling, if that's what you came for.

What Activities Do You want to Do - do you want to sit at the tables all day, lay by the hotel pool, see a world class show or two, eat at a famous chef's restaurant, dance the night away at a trendy night club, take a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon or a dinner cruise on Lake Mead? You can do it all in Las Vegas. What's On magazine lets its readers know all that's going on in Las Vegas each week. Visit their website at www.whats-on.com.

What Time of Year Will You Travel - Las Vegas is in the middle of the desert and it can get brutally hot in the Summer when temperatures range from a low of 75 to a high of 105 degrees. Winter temps range from 36 to 63 degrees. For moderate temps, pick March and April and don't worry about rain, the average rainfall is only 4 inches per year.

If you are flying into Las Vegas also be aware of when the big conventions are in town as this can mean higher prices and a shortage of airline seats. Early March, mid-April and mid-November are prime times. Check with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor's Bureau.

Be Careful of the Desert Climate - Las Vegas is DRY! Unless you com from a desert climate, you won't realize how quickly you can get dehydrated even in the shade. Drink plenty of water. I regularly drink a half gallon of water per day so I thought I'd be fine. I learned the hard way when I suddenly collapsed on a bench. Oddly enough, few of the hotels have water fountains in them and the bottled water is expensive so carry a water bottle with you and fill it up in the restroom. Make sure you put on sun screen and wear a hat and sunglasses to protect yourself from the intense sun.

What Do I Pack - for the most part, Las Vegas is a casual city and people will wear shorts and sport shirts at restaurants and the casinos during the day. Bring loose fitting cotton clothes and you'll want sneakers or comfortable walking shoes. Even if you stay on the Strip, you will do a lot of walking as the hotels are enormous and just going from one to another just next door could be half a mile. For evening, light sport jackets for gentlemen and a dress or nice pantsuit for the ladies is expected in fine dining restaurants. If you're going to a hot nightclub, they all have dress codes so leave the sneakers at home and prepare to look stunning. During the winter months, you'll want a jacket or sweater for evening because it can get down into the 30's.

Transportation Around Town - Las Vegas streets are laid out in a grid pattern so it is very easy to get around if you are driving. Rush hour is around 3 p.m. as that is when the casino staff changes shift. Avoid Interstate 15 at that time. If you are staying in a Strip hotel and confining your activities to that area, there is no reason to bother with a rental car. The public buses are great and there is a special double decker bus called the "Deuce" which travels up and down Las Vegas Blvd. (the Strip) 24 hours a day. The fare is $2 one way but you can get a $5 ticket that is good for a 24 hour period for unlimited travel.

On the east side of the Strip, starting behind the MGM Grand and running to the Sahara is a monorail which stops at the big hotels and the convention center. You can get an all day pass for $9. There are two other trams on the west side of the Strip. One runs between Treasure Island and the Mirage and the other runs between Mandalay Bay, Luxor and Excaliber. They are both free.

There are many taxi companies in Las Vegas but you must call a cab as taxis are not allowed to pick up passengers off the street. Just go to any big hotel as they all have taxi stands. The basic fare is $3.20 plus $2 per mile.

Where Do I Eat - there are so many places to eat in Las Vegas you could eat each meal somewhere new and not repeat yourself for years. Every hotel has at least one restaurant and the big hotels can have several. The best value for your money is at the buffets. They are everywhere and dinner buffets can range from the $10.99 prime rib buffet at Fitzgerald's to the $35.95 gourmet buffet at the Bellagio. I enjoyed the buffet at the Orleans on Tropicana Ave. With my coupon it cost $5.95 and I had shrimp, short ribs, delicious side dishes and fantastic chocolate cake. If you belong to Player's Club at the casino, you often get a big discount at that hotel's buffet. What's On magazine always has coupons.

For a special treat, try one of the restaurants run by a famous chef. Emerill LaGasse, Bobby Flay and Wolfgang Puck all have restaurants in Las Vegas. I was fortunate to eat lunch at Emerill's New Orleans Fish House and had the most delicious seafood gumbo and fantastic banana cream pie I've ever had. My waiter, Robert Faughn and his crew, treated me like royalty. Since these are pricy places, have lunch instead of dinner to get the great food with a lower price tag.

Entertainment - big, lavish production shows are what Las Vegas is known for. Cirque du Soleil has four different productions: O, Mystere, Zumanity and Ka. No trip to Vegas is complete without seeing one of them. I liked the show at the Miracle Mile shops called "The Ultimate Variety Show." It had the world's fastest juggler, 2 funny comics, an arial act, 2 Russian acrobats who did impossible tricks and a magician who turned flowers into beautiful birds.

For the budget conscience there are four locations where you can get half price show tickets on the day of the show. Tix4Tonight booths are at: Fashion Show Mall, Hawaiian Marketplace, North Strip just south of the Riviera Hotel and downtown at the 4 Queens Hotel.

What Else is There To Do - for thrills and chills try the Adventuredome Theme Park at 2880 Las Vegas Blvd. Over 25 rides and games will keep the kids busy for hours. There are several museums in Las Vegas. I loved the Auto Collection at the Imperial Palace. It's the largest classic car collection and changes frequently as the cars are for sale. I've never seen so many beautiful Rolls Royces.

If you want to get out of Las Vegas, you can take a tour to the Grand Canyon or Lake Mead. Red Rock Canyon is just a short 17 mile drive from the Strip out Route 159 and only costs $5 per carload. You can take the scenic drive, hike the canyons and see interesting exhibits at the Visitors Center. I thought this was a highlight of my trip. There is a desert tortoise who lives behind the Visitors Center and it was fun to watch him in his habitat.

As you can see there is more than enough to see and do in Las Vegas no matter what your tastes. Giving careful thought to your budget, entertainment and activity likes, bringing the proper clothes and timing your trip will help you plan an itinerary that will make your Las Vegas vacation a happy and memorable one.