Las Vegas

Introduction

Las Vegas

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Las Vegas, Nevada, was a simple quiet town until the mob decided to turn it into a gambling mecca. Established in 1905, it became a city in 1911 and from then onwards grew rapidly. Today some of the world's most famous casinos are here and wild nights can be experienced here. The city's tolerance for various forms of adult entertainment earned it the title of Sin City. If you want to hit up the big casinos on the strip or some of the smaller ones in downtown there is a casino for everyone. If you don't want to gamble, there are plenty of musicians, dance clubs, magic acts and even some outdoor activities around to entertain you. Remember: what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas and VIVA LAS VEGAS!

Sights and Activities

Las Vegas Strip

Las Vegas

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The Las Vegas Strip is where all the action takes place in Sin City. It's a 7-kilometre stretch of the Las Vegas Boulevard where all the hotels and casinos are located and where almost all of the gambling and other activities in the city can be found. Although historically, Downtown Las Vegas had all the gambling going on, the casinos that were not in here along Fremont Street were restricted to outside of the city limits on Las Vegas Boulevard. Quickly, this part, the Strip, grew rapidly and now is the centerpiece with all the famous hotels, shows and casinos.

• The Hoover Dam is one of the most famous dams in a North America and is just south of Las Vegas.
• Lake Mead is the reservoir behind Hoover Dam and makes it an excellent place to spend a day on the beach or in a house boat.
• The Grand Canyon is a United States National Park and is one of the most spectacular examples of erosion in the world. For more information visit the Grand Canyon article.

Weather

Las Vegas has an arid climate with low precipitation year round, just over 100 mm annually. From June to September, average daytime temperatures are between 35 °C and 40 °C, sometimes hitting 45 °C. Nights are pleasantly warm during this time. Winter days are between 15 °C and 20 °C, with nights around zero. Occasionally, snow is possible during this time. March to May and October and November are pleasant months for a visit.

Getting There

By Plane

McCarran International Airport (LAS) is the main gateway to Las Vegas and Southwest Airlines offers most flights to/from here. Destinations include Albuquerque, Baltimore, Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Los Angeles, Houston, Oakland, New Orleans, Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa, Salt Lake City, Washington, D.C. and San Diego, among many more.
US Airways offers a lot of flights as well, including most of the above places and Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Toronto and Vancouver. Westjet has flights to quite a few Canadian cities as well.
New York is served by Continental and Delta and international connections include Mexico City, Frankfurt, Guadalajara, London, Manila, Belfast, Glasgow, Manchester and Monterrey.

The airport is located about 5 miles (8 kilometres) from the business district of Las Vegas, and just a mile or so from the Strip.

To/from the airport

• Car: Access to McCarran Airport is from Tropicana Avenue (State Route 593) to the north or the Las Vegas Beltway (Interstate 215) to the south. Vehicles enter the airport via the McCarran Airport Connector, which includes Paradise Road/Swenson Street and the airport tunnel. Rental cars are available at the airport, with companies like Hertz, Avis, Budget, Thrifty, Enterprise and Alamo/National.
• Numerous taxis are generally waiting to take you there or get you from the airport to your hotel/casino.
• RTC Transit has buses: Route #108 provides service to Downtown Las Vegas, Route #109 services the South Strip Transfer Terminal, the consolidated rental car facility and Maryland Parkway and the "ACE Gold Line" bus service along the Las Vegas Strip connects with Route 109 (south) at the South Strip Transfer Terminal. There is no direct bus service from the airport to The Strip. Both Route #109 and "ACE Gold Line" operates 24 hours a day.

By Car

Las Vegas can be approaced from all directions. The main Interstate 15 (I-15) runs from northeast (Utah) through southern Nevada and Las Vegas, towards the southwest crossing into Caliornia at the Mojave Desert and continuing towards LA. Route 93 runs from Kingman, Arizona, into Nevada passing Las Vegas and continuing north. Route 95 from southern California runs to Las Vegas and onwards in northwestern direction parallel at the California-Nevada border.

By Bus

Megabus offers three daily connections to Los Angeles. They take around 4 to 4.5 hours. It works as a lowcostairline, that is if you book well in advance you can get seats for as little as one dollar! Greyhound has buses to San Diego, LA and San Francisco, among other places. There are even buses run by Amtrak (train company) from LA as well.

Welcome in Las Vegas

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Getting Around

By Car

Many international rental companies have a wide selection of rental cars and these include Hertz, Avis, Dollar, Thrifty, Enterprise, Budget and Alamo/National. Most companies will require you are at least 25 years of age, although younger people might be able to rent cars at slightly higher rates and with some insurance differences as well. A national driver's license is usually enough, but an additional international one is recommended. Also note that it usually costs more to include lots of other extra things. For example extra drivers, GPS, the first full tank, SLI (Supplemental Liability Insurance), PAI (Personal Accident Insurance, usually covered already at home), road assistance/service plan, and drop-off costs for one-way rentals.
If you want to book a car, it is recommended that you book your car before arriving in the USA. This is almost always (much) cheaper compared to just showing up. Also, try and book with a so-called 'broker', which usually works together with a few or many car rental companies and can offer the best deal. Some examples include Holidayautos, Holidaycars and Sunny Cars. Some of the cheapest deals to book from Europe, includes Drive-USA, which also has a German version.

For more information and tips about renting cars and campers, additional costs, insurance, traffic rules, scenic routes and getting maps and fuel it is advised to check the USA Getting Around section.

By Public Transport

Citizens Area Transit offers city and suburban bus routes usually from 5am to 2am daily, with the double-decker Deuce buses running 24/7 along the Strip and to downtown. The regular fare is $1.25 per ride, except on Deuce buses ($2). Exact change is required!
The Las Vegas Monorail travel up and down the main part of The Strip between the Sahara hotel and the MGM hotel.

Sleep

Budget

Casinos and Hotels

• The Bellagio is class and style.
• Caesars Palace - This is the place to stay if you want to live like an emperor.
• Circus Circus is one of the old original classics still on the strip.
• Excalibur- If medieval knights and princesses is your idea of fun here is your casino
• The Flamingo is the original casino opened by the mob.
• Harrahs
• Las Vegas Hilton
• Luxor - here you will find the Egyptian themed sphinx and pyramids. The pyramid is the 4th largest in the world!
• Mandalay Bay is one of the hottest casinos.
• MGM Grand
• The Mirage is famous for its siberian tigers.
• Monte Carlo
• New York New York Don't have enough time for New York try out this small version of Manhattan.
• Paris Las Vegas Hotel is about halfway The Strip, with a replica (half-size) of the Eiffel Tower.
• Sahara - This is just like a sultans palace.
• The Treasure Island casino lives up to its pirate name by having live action pirate fights every night.
• The Venetian is now the world's largest 5 star diamond resort.

Learn

• University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Keep Connected

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post

The US Postal Service is very good and well priced mail system. There are hundreds of big and small post offices in Las Vegas. If wanting to send a letter or postcard it is best just to leave it in a blue mail box with the proper postage. There are also private postal services like FedEx, UPS and DHL.

External Links

• Official Governmantal Website of Las Vegas