Traveling from New Zealand...

[Matt_NZ]

<p>I plan on coming over from NZ to join in on Fan Faire this year but have a few questions <img src="/station/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" />  I'm going to be going to NYC first (been there a few times before) but this will be my first time to Las Vegas - anything notably different from NJ/NYC to Vegas?  How much of my holiday budget should I be expecting to need in Vegas?</p>

[Muon-Go]

<p>$12-$15 Taxi from airport to Balley's.  Taxi drivers can easily get that to $35 if they run you "the back way"</p><p>$8 shuttles are available too.</p>

[Matt_NZ]

<p><cite>Muon-Gold wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>$12-$15 Taxi from airport to Balley's.  Taxi drivers can easily get that to $35 if they run you "the back way"</p><p>$8 shuttles are available too.</p></blockquote><p>You should come pick me up from the airport <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>

[Sandain666]

<p>Probably the biggest and most notable differences between the two cities is the gambling. If you are a gambler ( or become one while in Vegas) plan to put aside some money for gambling. No one can really tell you how much to put away because no one knows how much you might like to gamble.</p><p>If you are traveling alone the cheapest way to get to your hotel, besides having someone pick you up, is the 8 dollar shuttles. The negative about the shuttles is that it takes awhile to get to your hotel if you are one of the last stops but if you are not in a rush to get to your hotel the ride can be nice.</p><p>Food choices in Vegas are pretty comparable to NY. You can eat cheap or expensively depending on how you feel. Vegas is noted for its huge variety of buffets. They range from yucky to outstanding.</p><p>For short trips avoid taking cabs. The heavy traffic on the strip often means you can walk to your destination before a cab can get there.</p><p>Most hotel chains have suttle buses that travel to and  from thier various properties. You can save some money on cab rides by finding out where these are. For example if you are staying at Bally's and want to head to The Rio to check out a show you can take the shuttle back and forth and save yourself cab money. Of course the shuttles don't run 24/7 so plan accordingly.</p><p>Althought both cities tend to be hot in June a notable difference will be the humidity. The humidity in NY makes hot days stifling. Vegas is pretty dry so even though it is hot humidity is not a problem.</p>

[FanFaireJen]

<p>Also, please remember that Bally's is located on the monorail stop!  Can be useful, depending on where you are going.  <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p><a href="http://www.ballyslasvegas.com/casinos/ballys-las-vegas/casino-misc/las-vegas-monorail-detail.html">http://www.ballyslasvegas.com/casin...ail-detail.html</a></p><p>See you there!</p>

[Matt_NZ]

<p><cite>Sandain666 wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Probably the biggest and most notable differences between the two cities is the gambling. If you are a gambler ( or become one while in Vegas) plan to put aside some money for gambling. No one can really tell you how much to put away because no one knows how much you might like to gamble.</p><p>If you are traveling alone the cheapest way to get to your hotel, besides having someone pick you up, is the 8 dollar shuttles. The negative about the shuttles is that it takes awhile to get to your hotel if you are one of the last stops but if you are not in a rush to get to your hotel the ride can be nice.</p><p>Food choices in Vegas are pretty comparable to NY. You can eat cheap or expensively depending on how you feel. Vegas is noted for its huge variety of buffets. They range from yucky to outstanding.</p><p>For short trips avoid taking cabs. The heavy traffic on the strip often means you can walk to your destination before a cab can get there.</p><p>Most hotel chains have suttle buses that travel to and  from thier various properties. You can save some money on cab rides by finding out where these are. For example if you are staying at Bally's and want to head to The Rio to check out a show you can take the shuttle back and forth and save yourself cab money. Of course the shuttles don't run 24/7 so plan accordingly.</p><p>Althought both cities tend to be hot in June a notable difference will be the humidity. The humidity in NY makes hot days stifling. Vegas is pretty dry so even though it is hot humidity is not a problem.</p></blockquote><p>Thanks for the advise!  The cab thing is pretty much like NYC and after some of the cabs I've taken in NYC, I sometimes have a little bit of a butterfly feeling in my gut when I step in as I prepare for a potential rollercoaster equivilent ride <img src="/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p>Christchurch is also a "dry heat city" so I'm kinda used to the dry heat.  We do get days/weeks where the temp can be close to 40c which seems to be simillar to the temps Vegas has.  The humid heat in NYC/NJ is the type of heat I really don't like - and it's alot worse when you walk past an overflowing rubbish bin lol.</p>

[Kela]

<p><cite>Muon-Gold wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>$12-$15 Taxi from airport to Balley's.  Taxi drivers can easily get that to $35 if they run you "the back way"</p><p>$8 shuttles are available too.</p></blockquote><p>The Vegas.com site has the Shuttles costing $12 roundtrip, and you get a vouter for that... orbits prices it at $14.</p>

[Kela]

<p>Based on alittle research I did... and I do mean little, it looks like Vegas runs between a Low of 20C and a High of 41C, in the end of June begining of July timeframe on average.</p><p>Also even in NYC I would recomend learning the Subway over Cabs, not only is it Cheaper, and far less scary, it also will get you where your going much faster... why do you think the Natives use it.<img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p>As far as Vegas like others have said it does have a Monorail that gets you around for a fee, and you can walk to most of the Strip hotels, however if you want to get off the strip and vist older vegas or some of the near by sites, like Hoover Dam, you will likly want to rent a car.</p><p>Also the 2 main days of Fan Faire, Friday and Saterday, (Thursday night is only a reception at night, and check in) are VERY packed, so if you intend to fully experace Fan Fair(or as much of it as humanly possable) then don't cout those days as 'available to do things' as there is stuff going on from befor 10am until as late as 1am the next morning, assuming you don't goto any room parties and such. </p><p>As for things to do in Vegas, well the city has its own travel site that has everything there is to do(legally) in vegas, at vegas.com.</p>

[Sandain666]

<p>Renting a car in Vegas is a waste of money. Traffic is a nightmare and parking is a pain. If you want to head to Downtown Las Vegas you are better off taking a cab or taking the bus that runs down the strip. Walking is even possible if you have the stamina for it, I would recommend if you do walk do it during the day,as the song goes "the freaks come out at night". If you are looking to go to the Hoover Dam/Grand Canyon nearly every hotel can make arrangements to have a tour bus pick you up from the hotel lobby or you can make arrangments yourself as there are endless kiosks with tour brochures.</p><p>One tip if you are going to do a Grand Canyon type tour. Ask if the vehicles are air conditioned.</p>

[Kela]

<p><cite>Sandain666 wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Renting a car in Vegas is a waste of money. Traffic is a nightmare and parking is a pain. If you want to head to Downtown Las Vegas you are better off taking a cab or taking the bus that runs down the strip. Walking is even possible if you have the stamina for it, I would recommend if you do walk do it during the day,as the song goes "the freaks come out at night". If you are looking to go to the Hoover Dam/Grand Canyon nearly every hotel can make arrangements to have a tour bus pick you up from the hotel lobby or you can make arrangments yourself as there are endless kiosks with tour brochures.</p><p>One tip if you are going to do a Grand Canyon type tour. Ask if the vehicles are air conditioned.</p></blockquote><p>I don't know I rented a car for both '07s and '08s Fan Faire and really didn't have that much of an issue with Traffic... though it could be a matter of perspective, as it can take me 2hrs to get home if I leave after 3pm on Fridays... Home is about 20-30 mins away without traffic. Didn't have an issue with parking either... though again, might be a perspective thing.</p><p>Both times I rented a car was because I wanted to do things that the hotel did not have a shuttle for, in '07 it was to accually get to the Rio cause I stayed off-site, in a Business type hotel.(dumbest move I ever made in reguards to FF) In '08 it was because I wanted to buy sodas and other refreshments at the store to provide drinks other then water durring the panels because there where really no breaks between panels I wanted to goto, this time I ended up with far more sodas left over, so I am not doing that this year either, I'll just go with the large jug of bottled water... just need to check the empty bottle... then again I wonder if TSA will allow a large EMPTY bottle as a carry-on item.... half to check on that.</p>

[rtp05]

<p>Kia ora Matt</p><p>I have lived in the US for 3 years now, miss Aotearoa so much, but anyway we always go to FF, if you want my email or mobile number I can private them to you.</p><p>Hope to meet you at FF09 <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>

[rtp05]

<p>Just so you know the heat u will get in Vegas is nothing like the heat back in Aotearoa.</p><p>The heat/temp in Vegas in June will be out of this world and unlike anything we get back home <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p>We are staying at the MGM it is one stop on the monorail away from Bally's, I rang Bally's and they said the rooms on offer for FF09 had not been renovated, and if we wanted tp upgrade when we got there it was going to cost x amount, hence we just decided to go somewhere we had stayed before and enjoyed.</p><p>Also as said in a previous post you can catch the shuttle to your hotel, they are cheap and frequent, do not get in a taxi from the Airport <img src="/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p>kia kaha <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>

[Kela]

<p><cite>rtp0506 wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Just so you know the heat u will get in Vegas is nothing like the heat back in Aotearoa.</p><p>The heat/temp in Vegas in June will be out of this world and unlike anything we get back home <img src="/station/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" /></p><p>We are staying at the MGM it is one stop on the monorail away from Bally's, I rang Bally's and they said the rooms on offer for FF09 had not been renovated, and if we wanted tp upgrade when we got there it was going to cost x amount, hence we just decided to go somewhere we had stayed before and enjoyed.</p><p>Also as said in a previous post you can catch the shuttle to your hotel, they are cheap and frequent, do not get in a taxi from the Airport <img src="/station/images/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" /></p><p>kia kaha <img src="/station/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" /></p></blockquote><p>Personally I don't go with the FF room rates, I usually find a better deal going with pakages, either from Vegas.com or other travel sites. And with those you can choose the room type you want... though I stayed with the cheepest.</p>

[Muon-Go]

<p><cite>Matt_NZ wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Muon-Gold wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>$12-$15 Taxi from airport to Balley's.  Taxi drivers can easily get that to $35 if they run you "the back way"</p><p>$8 shuttles are available too.</p></blockquote><p>You should come pick me up from the airport <img src="/station/images/smilies/69934afc394145350659cd7add244ca9.gif" border="0" /></p></blockquote><p>I can!  I'm planning on rolling into the Vallet at the hotel at about 3-4pm on Thursday.</p><p>Kenzo, Strolan and possibly kittycat are coming too.  We should all combine our reservations so we'll have adjoining rooms!</p>