This post has been contributed by Linda Butler, an auto travel counselor for AAA Tidewater in Virginia.

AMAZING!!  By day three of our week in Las Vegas my friends were begging me to find another word.  Grandiose, extravagant, over the top?.  Those all work really well in describing the western ‘City That Never Sleeps.'  That’s what Las Vegas reminded me of, too -- a western New York City -- lots and lots of people and traffic, huge buildings, lots of concrete and half-price ticket booths sprinkled throughout the Strip.

After you pick up your luggage and head outside of McCarran Airport there are people greeting you, asking if you need a shuttle, a taxi or a car.  Knowing that the shuttle was only $6 per person we had decided on that before we ever left Norfolk.  However, when the lady said a private car was only $10.50 per person we were sold.  Great choice…we didn’t have to worry about stopping at a dozen hotels before we made it to ours and it gave us one-on-one time with a local -- we had about a 15-minute drive to pick his brain, ask questions, get suggestions, etc.

We stayed in a condo because we were there for seven nights and wanted to make sure we had a kitchen…the days of the $5 buffets are gone!  Even the cheaper buffets (at least on the Strip) are upwards of $12 and eating out every single meal for an entire week would have left no money to gamble with.  So, like many tourists, we experienced the famous resorts of Las Vegas by visiting them.

The very first thing we saw once we checked in, dropped the bags, and hit the pavement was the water show at Bellagio.  There is a large bell that rings to alert you that the show is about to begin.  And since the Bellagio literally takes up a city block there is plenty of room for all of the passers by to stop and watch and everyone has a great spot.

Across the water you can see the shops at Bellagio that are attached to the hotel…places like Hermes, Armani, etc.  We did a tour of the hotel and saw the infamous Chihuly glass ceiling and the open air atrium with incredible landscaping (ladybugs and snails made completely out of flowers) that smelled, well, amazing.  The casino is exactly what you would imagine when you hear the word Bellagio.  Some of my group went into the night club (The Bank) while we were there.  They said it was just as you’ve seen glitzy places on TV—not a single dirty glass or bottle anywhere.  Periodically, foam confetti fell from the ceiling in rhythm to the music but never did seem to fall onto anyone or anything.

We had originally planned on using the monorail as our transportation back and forth along the strip, however, we were talked into trying The Deuce and found it more than adequate (and affordable).  The Deuce is the double-decker bus that runs from Mandalay Bay (at the very south end of the strip) all the way to downtown/Freemont Street.  A single trip is $3, an unlimited daily pass is $7 and there is a 3 day pass that is $15.  

The wait is not long at all and there are stops every 2 or 3 blocks/casinos. Just like public transit in any city, if you are traveling at a peak time of travel there is a chance that you will not get a seat, but there is plenty of standing room and things to hold onto. The trick is, when they unload passengers, grab an empty seat before they let the next load of people on.  There are TV monitors on the Deuce that show where on the Strip you are and what the next three or four stops will be.

We took the Deuce to Mandalay Bay and started our walking tour of the hotels/casinos.  Mandalay Bay is huge.  We saw the shark reef aquarium (a bit pricy but pretty cool).  There are so many different restaurants there just in the hotel—everything from House of Blues to Wolfgang Puck’s.  Friends of mine ate at the very fancy sushi place.  They said, cost-wise, it wasn’t that bad.  They offer a happy hour and most everything on the sushi menu was $5.

We heard about a tram that takes you from Mandalay Bay to Luxor without ever having to walk outside.  While we were walking around looking for that we actually found our way over via Mandalay Place, a crossover filled with boutique shops and eateries (and an ice bar…it's 27 degrees  in there).

The Luxor was nice.  Not quite as ostentatious as Mandalay Bay but still beautiful.  It was really neat to stand in the middle of the lobby and look up because of the pyramid design.  From the Luxor you could walk over to the Excalibur via a series of moving sidewalks and without having to step outside.

The Excalibur felt like a step down.  Maybe we should have started in the other direction (from Excalibur to Luxor to Mandalay Bay).  Actually, Excalibur was not as bad as I was expecting.  I’ve heard some pretty intimidating stories about this budget hotel.  It’s more cheesy than scary.  Definitely a family-themed resort with carnival games (like ‘Guess My Weight’ and basketball with Nerf balls) on the second floor open area.  They even have a SpongeBob 4-D ride.

We walked through New York New York and the MGM Grand as well.  The lion exhibit at MGM was pretty neat.  We saw the Cirque de Soleil show, Ka, at MGM.  The theater was extravagant and the show was truly impressive. We ended that day with a great meal at the Two Diamond Diablo’s Cantina.  On that note, most of the places that we ate on the strip were not bad with prices averaging $12-$17/plate.

On another day we toured more of the resorts, this time on the other end.  We started the day walking through the Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace and then wound up over at the Venetian walking through more stores that only the rich and famous shop in (Versace, Coach, Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, Tiffany’s).  The thing I really liked about the Grand Canal shops is that it gave you the feeling of walking through the streets of Italy with cafés and bistros scattered among a central courtyard on a perfect day—the ceiling was painted blue with big puffy clouds on them.  You almost forget that you are inside of a building, much less the middle of the desert.  Friends that traveled with us saw Phantom of the Opera at the Venetian and raved about it.

We only spent about two hours downtown, mainly to say that we got the Freemont Street Experience.  The large pedestrian mall is enclosed with a ceiling that doubles as a large screen for the laser light show that happens every hour.  I can see why they call it ‘Old’ Las Vegas.  I would recommend everyone shopping there for a souvenir…that’s about it.

I spent a day out in Red Rock Canyon, which was only about a 20-25 minute drive away from the strip.  It was like nothing I have ever seen.  But keep in mind that it is a higher elevation and even though it may not feel super hot (that whole dry heat thing) it is and you have to stay hydrated.  And pack ChapStick!