to ask you to rave about Las Vegas?

[IanHBuckells]

It's mine and DH's 10th anniversary in November and we're looking at going to Las Vegas for 3/4 days at the end of October. We had the big white church wedding I wanted but DH wants us to renew our vows with Elvis

I'm not a massive gambler but don't might a flutter. I would rather go to Boston but DH thinks I will bore him with history I would

Convince me that LV is great please!?

I love it! I’d go for a little longer though - it’s so far to travel that you’ll be exhausted for the first day. I’m not a gambler but really enjoyed the shows, wandering around the themed hotels, zip line at Fremont Street and a helicopter trip to the Grand Canyon.

I’d combine it with another destination - it’s not too far to drive to Death Valley (we did this as part of a road trip), or even fly to San Francisco for a couple of days.

I love Vegas but given the distance I would go for longer and definitely drive to the GC and or Death Valley whilst there.

Been once about 15 years ago and loved it. Was supposed to be there this time last year for a joint 40th with friends but bloody covid!!!!

It is what it is and as long as you go in with that mindset it’s great.

I don’t gamble but still had a fab time going through all the hotels, going to the theme park bits of some of the hotels, shopping, drinking, went to a couple of concerts

Agree with others though 3/4 nights is perfect for Vegas IF you are already in the US/going on somewhere else. Flying from the UK to spend that amount of time seems a bit too much for me

Oh and I would always recommend driving to the canyon and staying overnight rather than getting the helicopter. But that is only realistic if you are there for a week or more

That drive and then standing on the edge of the canyon is one of my most special travel memories

Bloody love Vegas and not a gambler either. Each hotel has its own “thing” to see - flamingos in the flamingo gardens, aquarium at Mandalay bay, the fountains at Bellagio (and the conservatory and chocolate fountain inside), the high roller at the link (like the London eye).

My best tip (depending on time of year, it works in October when we go) is to go to the stratosphere around 4pm and get the happy hour 2 for 1 cocktails and watch the sun go down over the desert and the lights come on down on the strip.

Ceasers Palace is fun and there are 2 outlet malls if shopping is your thing, just get a taxi to them. Have great fun!

I am the least 'party person' you could meet (don't gamble or drink much) but I loved it!! The shows, the exhibitions, the restaurants and bars are fab. I just loved the atmosphere. I do think it's too far to go for 3-4 days but that's a personal choice.

I love it. It's like living in a cartoon.
I love being able to eat at ultra fancy restaurants without feeling like a tit, like I would at home.

The national parks are amazing, from red rock close by, to Death Valley and my fave Valley of fire, plus Grand Canyon and hoover dam.

There are shows for every taste, from cheesy lounge acts and shoddy magicians to full musicals to major headliners. And the seating is built with Americans in mind so roomy.

I don't know if the buffets will be back by November but some are crazy with the heaps of crab legs, all you can eat caviar along side overdone pizza.

The happy hours can be brilliant, high end restaurants have them in their lounges so you can make a meal out of cheap appetisers for the cost of one dish at full price. But also the cheap places have them too, $5 nachos and margaritas at nacho daddy are one of my fave.

For your history itch you can go to the atomic testing museum, do the full tour at the hoover dam, you can visit a disused gold mine, the neon boneyard and the mob museum and your husband can piss on the Berlin Wall if he goes to the loo at Main Street station.

People watching is fabulous.

There is the marvel exhibit (please don't pay full price), and loads of other touristy things.

The gambling is fun and you can take lessons in the mornings at some hotels to learn craps etc.

If you're in to clubs it has them, with big name DJs.

However no idea what will be open come the autumn. At the moment a lot is closed, entry to places is limited etc.

I love Vegas, went there on our honeymoon! We only gambled on one night, the others we went to shows, for dinners, wandered round the other hotels & the posh shopping centres, watched the fountains - I'm a people watcher found it a great place for that.

I have never gambled. Thought I'd hate Vegas and find it tacky and disgusting. The hotel was amazing compared to 5* prices in Europe (got an Aria Sky Suite). Shopping was fantastic, food and service also great, saw some great shows and went out on a helicopter for amazing scenery. I would go again.

I don’t gamble but we had a great time in LV - spent 4 nights there. Loved atmosphere of Old Las Vegas definitely worth a visit. We just soaked the atmosphere up!

Vegas is....ok. There's fun things to do e.g. tournament of kings/pinball museum/mob museum/fake gondolas/Bellagio fountains etc

The thing is, you just feel like everyone is taking your money as soon as you step out of your hotel room! It's ok for a few days, but that's the limit for me!

I recommend a trip out to the Hoover Dam. In the way out there, there's an ace place called the Coffee Cup. Great food!

It's AMAZING

There really is everything there you can think of - the slots are fun if you're not big on gambling. Everything looks really grand and the restaurants are incredible (try the Greek place on the Cosmopolitan and a Gordon Ramsey while you're there). There's great entertainment - shows, Cirque Du Soliel, the comedy circuit (definitely go see a comedy club performance). I've been a few times and absolutely love it.

I've been about five times. Hated it the first time ( busy noisy and construction everywhere) but then went back a few years later and it had changed so much and I really enjoyed it so after that we always found a way to incorporate a stay there whenever we were in the US.

I always just enjoy wandering around the different resorts/casinos and all the attractions they have. We are not gamblers but would spend maybe an hour with an agreed small budget for gambling and leave as soon as that money had gone or we had won enough to pay for dinner. You get free drinks while at the tables too.

We always book a few shows , have a pre show dinner and then find a nice quiet lounge bar for cocktails afterwards.

We have done the flight to the Grand Canyon and a drive to The Hoover Dam when we've been there long enough to fit that in.

It's a fun place to go and jet lag doesn't really matter as much as it's a 24 hour place.

Haven't been for 15 years now because of having kids so I imagine it's changed even more now. Fully intend to go again as we've promised the kids a Californian road trip once they a bit older and will do the drive from LA so that they can see Vegas.

There’s always something to do and see
The flight over the Grand Canyon was amazing
Free drinks when sitting at slots and all you can eat buffets so it’s relatively cheap

It’s long way to go for 3 days though.

Boston is a million times better

Love Vegas! I've travelled all over the world and it still holds a special place in my heart.

It's just massive everything and 3 days is not enough!

Go see Big Elvis, go to a piano bar, wander through the huge hotels, the conservatory at the bellagio, Fremont street, limo/helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon, see a show, drink for free when you gamble

Awesome. Fuck Boston....Vegas Baby

I would prefer Boston personally, but wouldn't it be getting a bit cold in November? There are some bits to Vegas I liked - we saw a Cirque du Soleil which was amazing.

If you can afford it, we stayed in the Four Seasons which is incredible - I think when we went it was the only 5 star not attached to a casino, which was really nice, and made it a bit of an escape from the madness.

I could rave about vegas all day! We go twice a year and have done since our first trip there in 2016.

The shows, the restaurants, the atmosphere, it's the best place on earth. I would recommend staying on the strip though, rather than one of the downtown hotels. Downtown (Fremont) is worth a visit during your trip but I wouldn't like to stay down there.

3/4 nights won't be long enough though, there's so much to see and do!

We've had 3 trips cancelled because of COVID, and hoping our November trip goes ahead.

I'm afraid I'm with the 'it's shit' brigade. Very soulless, and over priced. We're not gamblers though.

Grand Canyon was nice but meh. It's like that movie with Seth Rogen and Barbara Streisand. You arrive and look into it and wonder how long you're supposed to look at it before you can go.

If you love gambling, drinking and tacky American shite then you'll have a ball!

We tagged three days onto a Californian holiday a few years ago. Had zero interest in Vegas, had been quite sneery about friends going to "glorified Blackpool" in the past but we really wanted to see the Grand Canyon and it seemed like the obvious way to do it, considering we'd be in that area of the world anyway. We planned to centre the Canyon visit, see Penn and Teller, eat some nice food and otherwise laze by the pool and ignore everything else around us.

It turned out that we absolutely loved it and would definitely go back. We drove to the Grand Canyon (as a PP has said, it takes a lot of time but the drive is spectacular and the Canyon itself was breathtaking) so that took pretty much an entire day and we just could fit everything else into the remaining time we had. Yes, there's tack and sleaze - the in your face men offering girls to your room along the strip is a definite low point and there's just no getting around that. On the plus side, I had some of the best food of my life, stayed in a gorgeous hotel room (MGM) and really enjoyed some of the exhibitions in the hotels (the Monet exhibition at the Bellagio was great) as well as other attractions (Mandalay Bay aquarium, gondola ride in the Venetian, an amazing massage and lots of relaxing by the pool. DH also rode some rollercoasters while I went to the spa). We're not gamblers but tried our hand at slots and actually had lots of fun - turned a dollar into 50 dollars within 10 minutes and then promptly lost the lot on a roulette wheel. The trick is to go in with a set spending limit and walk away at the right time. We did end up with a very modest profit which we put towards a really nice meal. The people watching is fun and we spoke to some really interesting folk from all over the USA and beyond.

Vegas is about stepping out of real life for a few days and living in an alternate reality. I was amazed at how quickly I fell into step and embraced the crazy madness of the place.

OP, comparing Boston with Vegas is like comparing somewhere like Bath with Blackpool. They're two totally different places.

I enjoyed Vegas. We went in the end of October. It was still warm, but by the end of the holiday it wasn't hot enough to be out sunbathing by the pool. I'd recommend going for longer than 3/4 days, particularly if you wanted to do things like see the Grand Canyon or Hoover Dam. We had a nice boat trip on the lake by the Dam one afternoon as well. There was a lot on for Halloween when we were there too.

Oh I forgot to say - we really liked flying into Vegas! If you go in the day you can see the grand canyon, and if you go in the night it's all black in the desert then you can see the strip - amazing!

Have you read read Umberto Eco's take on it in "Travels in hyperreality", OP? That made me think it would be a great place to visit. I also saw a documentary years ago about the local Mormons being the accountants for the mafia when Las Vegas started to become a gambling hub. It was enjoyably bizarre. If you're into history, you might get a lot out of a visit to Las Vegas, as long as you've read enough about it beforehand.

Bloody love Vegas, been several times (sales conventions)

It's not for everyone of course but I love a few days there.

Dreadful place. If you like Blackpool you'll love it.