OT- Las Vegas/Vacation Thread

[EastSideBucksFan]

Leaving for Vegas on Wednesday.

Staying at the Excalibur.

So far only concrete plans are dinner at Le Cirque on Thursday and the show Zarkana after dinner.

I've been looking at the weather reports. It's going to be 95-98 High the whole time I'm there. Much better than this 45 degree BS we got here in WI this morning.

[JimmyTheKid]

Booked camping at Devils' Lake in June. Anyone have any favorite campgroups in WI?

Not a big camper. Probably go once every 2 years or so. But Devil's Lake is phenomenal. Great scenery. Great camping spaces. Very dog friendly which was important to me. You'll love it.

[JimmyTheKid]

I'm going to Greece/Italy from June 28th-July 16th. Flying into Athens, staying for one night, Ios for 3 days, and Santorini for 3 days. Flying to Naples on July 7th, hydrofoil to Sorrento, Sorrento for 3 days, Rome for 2, Venice for 3.

Any "must do's" or "can't misses"??? Our group consists of three adventurous couples in our late 20's/early 30's. We'll be doing a few "touristy" things (in Athens and Rome) but prefer the hidden gems. If anyone has any suggestions I'd very much appreciate it.

[MickeyDavis]

Leaving for Vegas on Wednesday.

Staying at the Excalibur.

So far only concrete plans are dinner at Le Cirque on Thursday and the show Zarkana after dinner.

I've been looking at the weather reports. It's going to be 95-98 High the whole time I'm there. Much better than this 45 degree BS we got here in WI this morning.

I was out there for 6 days last month, great time. Lots of great pools, many let you in for a small charge if you aren't staying there. I'm not a buffet person at all but if you want to splurge, try the Bacchanal buffet. I had lunch there one day. $35 (with players card) and worth every penny.

[PkrsBcksGphsMqt]

I'm looking at adding a September Vegas trip and already have one planned for November. I'll have go back through this thread in a couple of months or so to brush up on all of the good suggestions. One of the guys I'm going with in November is going to get us free rooms at Harrah's.

[InsideOut]

I leave for Vegas this Saturday for more golfing than anything else. Used Hot Wire and got a room at the 4.5 star Marriott Resort for $80 a night. The pictures make it look gorgeous and the reviews at tripadvisor.com were phenomenal. Then we'll head to Laguna Beach for a few days on the ocean and more golf. I love desert golf but playing along the pacific is also great.

[MickeyDavis]

Harrah's is decent and is great for free, I like the location. Football season is always fun out there.

[Kerb Hohl]

Harrah's is nice for walking to most of the sportsbooks with it being centrally located. Keep a website handy on your phone that has the lines.

I think MGM/Mirage/Caesers have similar books and Harrah's/Hilton/??? have their own. And some of the other books also have their own. Anyways, since you're centrally located, keep an eye on the lines. If you like Denver and Miami or something, you can get an extra half point over at the Mirage for Denver and run back to Harrah's to get Miami with some extra juice.

[EastSideBucksFan]

Vegas was a blast.

The bachelor in the bachelor party hit it big and came back up $3G.

Those Wheel of Fortune slots seemed to be the choice machines this weekend.

Highlights included dinner at the Bellagio Le Cirque and then hitting a Cirque Soleil show at Aria called Zarkana.

3 days was the perfect amount of time.

[HurricaneKid]

I'm going to Greece/Italy from June 28th-July 16th. Flying into Athens, staying for one night, Ios for 3 days, and Santorini for 3 days. Flying to Naples on July 7th, hydrofoil to Sorrento, Sorrento for 3 days, Rome for 2, Venice for 3.

Any "must do's" or "can't misses"??? Our group consists of three adventurous couples in our late 20's/early 30's. We'll be doing a few "touristy" things (in Athens and Rome) but prefer the hidden gems. If anyone has any suggestions I'd very much appreciate it.

Any movement on your time tables? Rome for 2 days and Athens for 1 is criminal. There are several day trips from Athens I would recommend but if you are only going to be there one day no chance I would put them in front of the major sights. Los and Santorini are both beautiful but you are spending 6 days on the isles and there isn't THAT much to do while you aren't spending any time on the mainland or Rome. Venice is AWESOME but 3 days is too much too.

If you are going by train try to stop at Florence for a few hours (its literally a stop between Rome and Venice and isn't a minute out of your way). Make a reservation to Academia so you can see Michaelangelo's David and walk around the city. Usually I talk people out of staying there too long but its good for a few hour stop.

[REDDzone]

3 days was the perfect amount of time.

Couldn't agree more with this. I'm just dead if its any longer. Not to mention, Vegas is a place that people usually go to more than once if not regularly, so its not like you NEED to see or do every single possibly thing in one trip.

[JimmyTheKid]

I'm going to Greece/Italy from June 28th-July 16th. Flying into Athens, staying for one night, Ios for 3 days, and Santorini for 3 days. Flying to Naples on July 7th, hydrofoil to Sorrento, Sorrento for 3 days, Rome for 2, Venice for 3.

Any "must do's" or "can't misses"??? Our group consists of three adventurous couples in our late 20's/early 30's. We'll be doing a few "touristy" things (in Athens and Rome) but prefer the hidden gems. If anyone has any suggestions I'd very much appreciate it.

Any movement on your time tables? Rome for 2 days and Athens for 1 is criminal. There are several day trips from Athens I would recommend but if you are only going to be there one day no chance I would put them in front of the major sights. Los and Santorini are both beautiful but you are spending 6 days on the isles and there isn't THAT much to do while you aren't spending any time on the mainland or Rome. Venice is AWESOME but 3 days is too much too.

If you are going by train try to stop at Florence for a few hours (its literally a stop between Rome and Venice and isn't a minute out of your way). Make a reservation to Academia so you can see Michaelangelo's David and walk around the city. Usually I talk people out of staying there too long but its good for a few hour stop.

Unfortunately cities and dates are set in stone. I was outvoted on the Rome/Venice thing. (unfortunately my wife was against me, too, so we can't just do our own thing) I wanted 4-5 days in Rome, 2-3 in Sorrento and 2 in Venice. We're flying back to the States from Venice because it was a lot cheaper than flying out of Rome (don't understand that, but whatever). I've already been to Italy and spent a couple days in Florence. Never been to Venice or Sorrento.

Do you have any less touristy hidden gems to recommend? Or any activities outside of your run-of-the-mill group tour groups? Thanks.

[Fort Minor]

Looking to book a trip to Vegas in early August. What's everyone's preference on finding the cheapest airfare?

[HairyBaboon]

I've stayed at the Hooters Casino and Hotel. You can get a room for $60 a night and it's right off the strip across from MGM. There's gambling, restaurants, pools, etc in the hotel, but it's a short walk to all the other bigger casinos on the strip. Plus the walk alone is the best part since you get to watch all the crazies roaming around. Best game to play is to see who can collect the most Hooker Trading Cards.

[EastSideBucksFan]

Looking to book a trip to Vegas in early August. What's everyone's preference on finding the cheapest airfare?

Book early and watch for deals.

I got Southwest roundtrip for $209 about 3 months in advance.

Nonstop on the way there and a 45 min layover in Phoenix on the way home.

[MickeyDavis]

Southwest from Milwaukee is your best bet. Best selection of flights, several round trip. Spirit out of Chicago is very cheap as long as you have no luggage, they even charge $40 or so for a carryon. Between that and having to deal with Ohare, it wasn't cheap at all.

[HurricaneKid]

I'm going to Greece/Italy from June 28th-July 16th. Flying into Athens, staying for one night, Ios for 3 days, and Santorini for 3 days. Flying to Naples on July 7th, hydrofoil to Sorrento, Sorrento for 3 days, Rome for 2, Venice for 3.

Any "must do's" or "can't misses"??? Our group consists of three adventurous couples in our late 20's/early 30's. We'll be doing a few "touristy" things (in Athens and Rome) but prefer the hidden gems. If anyone has any suggestions I'd very much appreciate it.

Any movement on your time tables? Rome for 2 days and Athens for 1 is criminal. There are several day trips from Athens I would recommend but if you are only going to be there one day no chance I would put them in front of the major sights. Los and Santorini are both beautiful but you are spending 6 days on the isles and there isn't THAT much to do while you aren't spending any time on the mainland or Rome. Venice is AWESOME but 3 days is too much too.

If you are going by train try to stop at Florence for a few hours (its literally a stop between Rome and Venice and isn't a minute out of your way). Make a reservation to Academia so you can see Michaelangelo's David and walk around the city. Usually I talk people out of staying there too long but its good for a few hour stop.

Unfortunately cities and dates are set in stone. I was outvoted on the Rome/Venice thing. (unfortunately my wife was against me, too, so we can't just do our own thing) I wanted 4-5 days in Rome, 2-3 in Sorrento and 2 in Venice. We're flying back to the States from Venice because it was a lot cheaper than flying out of Rome (don't understand that, but whatever). I've already been to Italy and spent a couple days in Florence. Never been to Venice or Sorrento.

Do you have any less touristy hidden gems to recommend? Or any activities outside of your run-of-the-mill group tour groups? Thanks.

Dear god. I just spent an hour typing up my recs and managed to delete it.

I have never been in a tour group and don't believe you can see the area and the people in any such arrangement. Though, once you leave Europe and get into 3rd world countries its not a terrible idea.

Spend more time outside Sorrento than in it. The Amalfi coast is beautiful. A day in Positano, Capri, etc.

Venice is beautiful but too small for 3 days. Get lost. It won't be hard and you can find some interesting places. Get out of town to some of the islands (Murano is easiest but Burano, etc are farther off the beaten track).

Find out the schedule at the vatican for the days you are there. They have events regularly that wreck plans (1st time I went I tried to get in and it closed at noon and I had to wait to come back to Rome). Outside of the Sistine Chapel (still overrated) I didn't care for the Vatican museum and thats almost an all day affair. Unless you or your party really like religious art I would skip it. DO NOT miss Basilica. You can enter the church, climb lots of stairs to look over the piazza, see the Pieta, etc easily and cheaply.

Some info about your budget would help some too.

[Kerb Hohl]

Lulz, yeah Spirit is great. Nearly their only Minneapolis flights are a few late night/red eye flights to/from Vegas and into Chicago.

If I'm going to Vegas, I don't really care what the service is like on it, but it's a hilarious experience. I'm 5'11" and was barely able to fit my legs between the seats. 6'3" guys in front of me stood the entire flight talking to the flight attendants (who didn't care). Flight attendants were fairly unprofessional and complaining about their job right behind me half of the time.

I had heard about the carry on fees so we planned ahead only to bring the allowed backpack, but I didn't see anyone being charged or asked to pay for a carry on.

All of that said, who cares? It's a 2 1/2 hour nighttime flight to Vegas. I wouldn't fly them to any other destination or with a family or something.

Due to the volume of customer service complaints and overall deterioration of service, in January 2013, Skytrax Airline Quality Research downgraded Spirit to a ranking of 2 stars (on a scale in which 5 stars is the highest rating).[41]

Ironically enough, I flew them in January 2013.

[JimmyTheKid]

I have never been in a tour group and don't believe you can see the area and the people in any such arrangement. Though, once you leave Europe and get into 3rd world countries its not a terrible idea.

Spend more time outside Sorrento than in it. The Amalfi coast is beautiful. A day in Positano, Capri, etc.

Venice is beautiful but too small for 3 days. Get lost. It won't be hard and you can find some interesting places. Get out of town to some of the islands (Murano is easiest but Burano, etc are farther off the beaten track).

Find out the schedule at the vatican for the days you are there. They have events regularly that wreck plans (1st time I went I tried to get in and it closed at noon and I had to wait to come back to Rome). Outside of the Sistine Chapel (still overrated) I didn't care for the Vatican museum and thats almost an all day affair. Unless you or your party really like religious art I would skip it. DO NOT miss Basilica. You can enter the church, climb lots of stairs to look over the piazza, see the Pieta, etc easily and cheaply.

Some info about your budget would help some too.

I've never been in a tour group either. And have no interest in starting now.

Would you recommend renting a car in Sorrento since we're going to be there for 4 days?

This will be our last big trip for awhile as I plan on starting a family next year. Same goes for the other couples. Lets just say we're not to worried about a budget as this will be viewed as a once in a lifetime vacation. We know we're going to be spending a lot of money. The one thing I'm worried about is wasting any day, hour, minute. Just want to make sure I don't look back and say, "I wish we wouldn't have done this..." or "I wish we would've done that..."

Thanks again for all of your suggestions.

[HurricaneKid]

I have never been in a tour group and don't believe you can see the area and the people in any such arrangement. Though, once you leave Europe and get into 3rd world countries its not a terrible idea.

Spend more time outside Sorrento than in it. The Amalfi coast is beautiful. A day in Positano, Capri, etc.

Venice is beautiful but too small for 3 days. Get lost. It won't be hard and you can find some interesting places. Get out of town to some of the islands (Murano is easiest but Burano, etc are farther off the beaten track).

Find out the schedule at the vatican for the days you are there. They have events regularly that wreck plans (1st time I went I tried to get in and it closed at noon and I had to wait to come back to Rome). Outside of the Sistine Chapel (still overrated) I didn't care for the Vatican museum and thats almost an all day affair. Unless you or your party really like religious art I would skip it. DO NOT miss Basilica. You can enter the church, climb lots of stairs to look over the piazza, see the Pieta, etc easily and cheaply.

Some info about your budget would help some too.

I've never been in a tour group either. And have no interest in starting now.

Would you recommend renting a car in Sorrento since we're going to be there for 4 days?

This will be our last big trip for awhile as I plan on starting a family next year. Same goes for the other couples. Lets just say we're not to worried about a budget as this will be viewed as a once in a lifetime vacation. We know we're going to be spending a lot of money. The one thing I'm worried about is wasting any day, hour, minute. Just want to make sure I don't look back and say, "I wish we wouldn't have done this..." or "I wish we would've done that..."

Thanks again for all of your suggestions.

If you think gas is expensive here you should see it in Venice. Its probably 3X more and boats devour gas. You can take water taxi across town and drop $50 easily. If you are going between islands even more. But the Vaparetto is ~a water bus. Just sit in the front and go up and down the Grand Canal for pics/etc. A gondola ride is $100+. Thinks can spiral quickly. I even bought some art when I went to Venice.

I am the same way about not wanting to waste a minute. But its tough when there are a lot of people in your group who may feel differently. I took my then GF to Barca, Paris, Rome, Florence and Venice for 22 days and when I was planning it was considering proposing on the trip. By the time the trip was over I didn't want to get on the plane with her. I broke up with her a month later. Doing it with 4 is tricky.

I would push your priorities in Athens and Rome as you are just going to miss a lot and if you keep the crew moving you should be able to get to your priorities.

The coastal highway around the Amafi coast is treacherous/breathtaking. I wouldn't want to drive it but I would LOVE it if someone in my party did. Renting a convertible would be amazing/deathly.