NYC or Las Vegas (or somewhere else)

[AstorianPlease]

My 30th birthday is coming up at the end of the year and I'd like to go away for 5 days as MIL has very kindly offered childcare so it'll be adults only but I'm wondering where to go.

I have £4k for the whole holiday so for flights, hotel and spending money.

I've seen Las Vegas for £2291 (even less if I want a stop over but it's £200 more for direct so I'd rather go direct haha) for a hotel we've stayed in before and enjoyed but we only went for one night about 6 years ago.

Never been to NYC so opinions very welcome.

Or maybe there's somewhere I'm not thinking of?

It'll probably be in the October half term, thinking 13th-18th October possibly.

(Also I know some people might think it's tight im going without the kids but they are going to Disneyworld for two weeks in November so definitely not missing out).

They’re very different holidays, depends what you fancy really. I was in Las Vegas that week this year and it was ridiculously hot! It didn’t get below 30. So there was quite a bit of sunbathing by the pool and it was pretty chill by day, whereas NYC will be more on the go, all the time.

I adore both, been to both NYC and Vegas 3 times each. I haven't been to Vegas since 2019 and went to NYC in 2022 after a 10 year gap.

Both amazing places...Vegas has the edge for me though ☺️ can I come?! 😁

I think vegas has the edge for me too, I like the idea of being a bit on the go but also being able to relax if I want to haha but NYC interests me as I've never been before but then again I didn't see much of Las Vegas in one day so hmm haha

Thank you for your replies, might flip a coin

October is a great time to visit NYC as it's neither too hot nor too cold, the sky tends to be blue and it's not too busy, because all the US schools are in session. It's our preferred time of year to visit. But it will be autumnal, like the UK. The temps there in Oct are very similar to temps in London.

So what kind of holiday do you want for your 30th?

NYC is lots of walking, shopping, sightseeing, museums, theatres, boat trips, restaurants, iconic sights and views.

Vegas will be sunbathing/swimming, shopping, shows, restaurants, nightlife and neon razzmatazz. If you rent a car you can get out and do some hiking in Red Rock Canyon or Valley of Fire - really stunning.

They are very different destinations.

I've got more to add....

October - Vegas will be warmer. NYC might be chilly.

If you've never been to NYC then I'd be inclined to go there to tick it off the bucket list. But if you've only spent 1 night in Vegas then you definitely need to see more - what did you manage to do when there?

What sort of things do you want out of your trip?

Vegas - drinking, partying, gambling, pool days/sunbathing, shopping at the outlets, lots of shows and entertainment if there's any you have your eye on and would love to see. Grand Canyon? It's amazing.

NYC - sightseeing (empire state, Statue of Liberty, boat cruise, the usual), shopping (particularly high end), again shows if there are any you have your eye on, bus tour and lots of walking. Generally seeing the place where a lot of movies/tv shows are set. Might bump into a celeb 😅

Food wise both are great. Lots of choices and both places are equally very expensive. Ahhhh I can't decide 😂

Just visit the New York New York hotel in Vegas and that’s both boxes ticked no?! 🤣
Don’t forget the rollercoaster the goes out the roof - terrifying!!

You should consider Chicago as well. Beautiful city, much cleaner and calmer than NYC with lots to do including beaches close to the city downtown. Beautiful lakefront with bike lanes if you enjoy cycling.

Nice river and lake tours covering a lot of the buildings and history if you like architecture. Lots of water activities for a busy city. Awesome museums.

Good bus and train system so you don’t need to hire a car.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=w2RHPBWj9K0

And Chicago has got an awesome food scene.
https://www.reddit.com/r/chicagofood/

Haha that made laugh so much lol

NYC is brilliant. Like if they made London 25% nicer in every way.

But Montreal is also really nice. All the pluses of Canada over the USA, and all the pluses of a bilingual city. Look up Air Transat for amazingly cheap fares (tip: book their Club class, it's still cheaper than everyone else's economy).

I spent 3 years living in Chicago so this definitely gets my vote but only for June-August so you get beautiful and can hit all the beaches. My god is it a miserable city in Winter! October I wouldn’t bother, every single fucking year we had snow at Halloween.

But Montreal is also really nice. All the pluses of Canada over the USA, and all the pluses of a bilingual city. Look up Air Transat for amazingly cheap fares (tip: book their Club class, it's still cheaper than everyone else's economy).

Don't go to Canada - it's so dull compared to the US! And Montreal, which nice and with some decent museums, isn't comparable with either NYC or Las Vegas.

Done both multiple times. I think for a celebration holiday that is adults only you can't beat Vegas, the mix of pools, bars, casino hopping (to take it all in, you don't have to gamble) plus there's so much to do in the area for site seeing if you want a break from the strip.

I love NYC but tbh you can do that with kids easy enough, whereas Vegas is much more of an adults holiday. I know people take kids, but I think they're nuts.

Vegas isn't for everyone, but it sounds like it's on your list, in which case, it's probably your bag, so it sounds like the perfect opportunity to tick it off your list.

I’ve been to both and I’d go back to NYC any day.

I found 5 days in Vegas too long, it was fun but all quite similar after a while, I felt like once I’d seen one casino I’d seen them all! Kinda soulless, preferred the old town part to the strip.

So I’d vote NYC, spent a week there and barely scratched the surface of what I wanted to see/do, had such a great atmosphere.

@Changingplace recommend hiring a car and going out to places like Valley of Fire, Red Rock Canyon, even Grand Canyon (south rim), Hoover dam. Really breaks up the strip and they are sites you just don't experience anywhere else, whereas NYC, as much as I enjoy it, doesn't feel all that dissimilar from other city breaks.

I think as well it depends if you're looking for a relaxing or busy break, having the rare opportunity to be kid free means you can be very indulgent in Vegas vs NYC which requires quite a lot of walking.

Go to NYC if you w already done Vegas. Went a few years ago to vegas and couldn't stand all the smell of weed everywhere. Have been to NYC 3 times now and I love it.

@xyz111 NYC smells exactly the same now unfortunately :(

Agree about NYC stinking of weed. Went in Summer 2022 and hadn't realised it was legalised. Although most big cities in US will smell of it.

What did throw me off about my latest NYC trip was the sheer number of homeless/mentally ill people on the streets. It was sad to see however it's still a great city.

If we’re talking stinky smoke Vegas is far worse than NYC since smoking indoors on the casino floors is still legal. Apparently that’s supposed to be tobacco only but in reality I don’t think they do much checking since you get whiffs of weed also. But honestly I’d say London smells worse, I don’t think people can get quality product here as easily so they’re forced to smoke the super stinky stuff! Such is life these days…

Vegas for adults only, NYC is cool with kids.

I've been to Vegas soooo many times for work conferences.

Here's my advice, don't stay at the NYNY hotel you might end up with the roller coaster outside your window.

Cosmopolitan is my favourite hotel. My first choice.
MGM park is an ok mid range place and it's non smoking.
MGM grand is not on my top list either but it's a very busy fun vibe and has a huge pool.
Mandalay Bay has a beach. Kind of cool but a bit out the way.

@AstorianPlease You are taking the dc out of school for Disney I assume. Your half term date is very early. Ours is 28 Oct to 1 Nov for 2024. So you are going twice in quick succession.

I don’t like LV. Grubby and tacky. There are no Michelin starred restaurants in LV so high quality isn’t there. NY on the other hand has loads of top restaurants. Depends if you like world class museums and iconic sights or casinos and LV glitz. NY won’t be that warm in October.

There is lots to see and do in Washington or what about somewhere beautiful in Morocco? It should be warm there.

I can't bear LV, but love NY so that would get my vote every time. NY is a shorter flight as well if you are going for a short time, I would think.

Totally fair enough if Vegas isn’t for you but let’s be accurate on the Michelin restaurants- they just haven’t done the guide is the 00s because no one bought it so they figured not worth publishing it. Joel Rebuchon for example got 3 stars last time it was published and it’s still open, and still excellent. Really inaccurate to imply the quality isn’t there because there are some excellent fine dining restaurants, it’s just a technicality really that means no starred restaurants.

I love both but Vegas has my heart!!

Thank you everyone!

I'll research the alternative options given and have a nosy and see what DH thinks.

A restaurant has to keep its stars! You can lose them. The guide is on line so everyone can use it. Generally it’s a good yardstick to judge restaurants and it lifts quality elsewhere. LV really isn’t a top destination for food.