TIPS FOR FIRST-TIMERS TO LAS VEGAS

By Dave Kitt

When visiting Las Vegas for the first time it can be quite overwhelming. The following tips can help you enjoy your vacation and relieve unwanted stress. 

Before You Leave - Book As Much As You Can Online 
Las Vegas is an extremely busy place. The last thing you want is to plan your dream vacation only to find out everything is sold-out when you get there. Las Vegas Hotels, Las Vegas Shows and Las Vegas Tours are the reason people go to Las Vegas. 

TIP: Book ahead and you will be guaranteed to enjoy your stay.

Choosing Your Las Vegas Hotel
The main Las Vegas strip is approx. 5 miles from end to end and the most economical way of getting around is to walk. You can take the new monorail or a taxi but these can add up and take away from your fun money. Also, if you are there to sight-see the vast hotel properties you will miss out by taking alternate transportation.

TIP: Book a hotel in the middle of the Las Vegas strip. These hotels vary from very economical (Imperial Palace) to very posh (Caesar’s Palace).

Flying Into Las Vegas McCarran Airport
You finally made it. Your hotel is booked, your shows are booked and your tours are booked. Now you just want to get to your hotel and relax for a bit. Simple, right? Wrong. Depending on when you get in you will be faced with a wait for a taxi cab and if it is during the day in the summer the heat will almost kill you and if it is late at night the cold will also get to you.

TIP: If your travel plans do not include hotel transfers and you are traveling with a partner or a group, send someone outside to stand in line for a taxi cab while the others wait to pick up the luggage. At peak times, waits can be as long as an hour for a taxi cab. Also, do not be afraid to ask the attendant if there are any hotel shuttles you may take, as a lot of times these shuttles leave with many empty seats available.

Getting to Your Hotel by Taxi Cab
TIP: Do not ask your driver to take the strip. It will cost you as you sit in long lines of traffic that seem to move backwards. Taking the #15 will reduce your cab ride substantially as it bypasses the strip and has many exits that will get you to your hotel much faster. Why waste your money?

Checking Into Your Hotel
When checking in to your hotel, don’t be afraid to ask the Front Desk if there are any free upgrades available. Depending on the time of the year some hotels are not always booked to capacity and will gladly give you perks when asked politely. Why stay in a standard room if a deluxe room is available at no extra cost. You will appreciate a Jacuzzi tub after walking the strip all day.

TIP: Unless your room has a view, try to stay in the lower floors where you can access the main floor by taking the stairs. At peak times you can wait 5 - 10 minutes every time you want to catch an elevator. It can wear on your patience after awhile. 

Arctic Tours

By David Chandler 

 Take an Arctic Tour by flying north of Fairbanks to Dead Horse, on the northern edge of Alaska's North Slope. This unreserved wilderness area, stretching to an indescribable horizon at the Arctic Ocean, is home to caribou, grizzly bear, musk oxen, and so many more species of mammals. A great place to start is with an orientation to the region, then moving on to a tour of the shores of the Arctic Ocean, finishing up with an overnight stay in Dead Horse at the Arctic Caribou Inn.

  Start early to get a morning view of the waterfowl and other tundra life. You will find the scenery is conquered by the rugged and majestic Brooks Range, the domain of traveling packs of wolves, Dall sheep, lone wolverines, arctic hare, lemmings, and other wilderness-dependent species.
   The affluent procession of wildlife found within this region includes more than 160 bird species, 36 kinds of land mammals, nine marine mammal species, and 36 types of fish. Explore historic mining roads above the community of Wiseman Hike within the border of the Gates of the Arctic National Park. Then enjoy a scenic float on the Hammond or Koyukuk Rivers.

 

 By crossing over the Arctic Circle, some tour companies will give you an official Arctic Circle Adventure Certificate. Have a picnic at the mighty Yukon River. Be in awe of the beauty of the northland's most famous waterway and learn of the rivers storied past. Visit the Arctic Circle Trading Post situated in the rural community of Joy, Alaska. While traveling to the very end of the Dalton Highway, the Brooks Mountain Range, the oilfield of Prudhoe Bay, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge an the Arctic Ocean, you will see tundra, an historic mining camp, and have a good chance of viewing lots of wildlife.