I guess its true you can live indoor in Vegas, but how busy is August? Im thinking of a 2-3 nights stay (probably Sat/Sun/Mon) the last week of August. Is the heat really that bad?

Also, I was thinking of flying to LA and then driving to Vegas, I really enjoyed driving through the desert. Should I make special arrangements ref. rental car since I will be driving about 4 hours through the desert during the warmest part of the year?

Any advice/suggestions are most welcome. Thanks.

HOT!!!

Vegas is busy at any time of the year,
ESPECIALLY on SAT night. I've always liked the days after a "hard" Sat night gambling.
Nice and relaxed. You'll enjoy Sun and Mon.

I am not a car expert, but if you are renting from any of the major car companies, any car you rent will be fine. MAKE SURE IT HAS A/C!
I personally feel very comfortable in a full size car driving across the desert.

It's not like the old days when people drove at night when it was cooler out as my grandfather explained he did many times.

Weekends are the busiest times. My cousin who lives there told me that an estimated 100,000 or more people from the L.A. area descend on Vegas every weekend.

The only noticeably slow period is after the National Finals Rodeo (first 2 weeks in December) until New Year's Eve.

I did the L.A.-Las Vegas drive a while back, and I seem to recall signs along the highway at certain points (on steep grades leading up to the mountain passes) telling you when to turn off the A/C. Heed the signs to avoid engine overheating. The only other warning about driving is avoid L.A.-to-Vegas on Friday afternoon/evening and Vegas-to-L.A. on Sunday evening. As FTraveler mentions, tons of people from L.A. go to Vegas on the weekend, and Interstate 15 gets pretty crowded I've heard.

Yes it is HOT, but as they say, "it's a dry heat". Valet parking at the casinos is convenient and free (plus a small tip), and as long as you avoid long walks under the daytime sun you'll be fine.

Crowds are only a problem during the really big conventions like COMDEX, when rooms can be tough to get, but I don't recall any major ones in August. Check out a site like http://www.vegas.com

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Tony

Brings bottles of cold drinks w/ you!! We drove from LA to Vegas several times, and generally (w/o traffic) you can get to Vegas about 3-1/2 hrs. But, it's much slower on Fri evening. Yes, summer can get real HOT!! But, if you pay precaution, drink plenty of H2O and watch for car overheat, you will be ok. Enjoy.

Gaucho100K-

I'll be in LAS Aug 23-25, staying with friends. I usually fly down about every two months. Let me know when you set up your trip and maybe we can get together for drinks if the dates work. I fly home on the 25th around 1600.

I would expect temps up to 120F that time of year. It's guaranteed to be hot. You'll find yourself not wanting to venture outside into heat like that, preferring to stay somewhere air conditioned.

tips on driving to vegas.

1. fly into ONT, not LAX and rent a car there, you will cut 60 miles and 2 hours off of your trip each way.

2. rent a luxury or premium car with low mileage. you will be happy you had the v8 and the power and cruise control. traffic will be heavy both ways, dont expect to drive too much over the speed limit. watch out for tailgaters and bad drivers. there are a lot of people killed on this road every year. the ride home is worse. watch the grade coming down from victorville. people are nuts. stay away from those 18 wheels.

3. try driving evening or early morning when the heat is low. temps will be as high as 120 during this time of year. expect night time in vegas to be as hot as during the day. i spent a july 4 weekend in vegas when the temp at 10:30pm was 118!

4. there are a lot of stops you can make along the way, go ahead and make them. the mall at victorville, the outlet mall at barstow, the bun boy and the worlds biggest thermometer in baker, prim (formally stateline) nv for a big roller coaster, gene nv for cheap food and gaming and finally lost wages nv.

5. play 'count the broken down cars along the highway' this is a fun game. you can usually count 1 broken down car per 2-5 miles for the entire trip. multiple cars within 50 feet of each other count as 1.

6. dont plan on walking much outside, you will melt.

7. traffic on the strip is awful, try paradise road on the east and the road on the other side of i-15 on the west. they are less traveled.

8. the prirate show at treasure island is the best free show i have seen. it is in front of the casino. see it at night to get the full effect of the giant fireball!

9. see the light show downtown.

10. valet park everywhere. most are covered parking so your car will be cool when you get it. you will also save a lot of time walking. you will do enough of that.

11. there are many elevated trams between affiliated hotels, these typically are poorly a/c'd and crowded, but you can use them if you dont want to walk or drive.

12. dont walk between the strip and downtown, it is dangerous.

13. be aware of pick pockets and theives. if anyone distracts you, beware, it may be a diversion scam. always keep you chips/money in front of you and i sight or with you fingers on them. it is unlikely you will have a problem, but just be aware of your surroundings.

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f

Back when I used to drive to Vegas (in my pre FF days), I would leave LA around 10am on a weekday. No traffic anywhere and I would get my big LTD convertible up to about 120mph once I made it to the desert.

I would try renting a convertible. When you are driving fast, the heat isn't that bad. And a covertible at night under the stars or on the strip is great. You can always put the top up and turn on the AC when you need to.

Thanks to all for the superb tips !!!

Get there early enough to get a spot on the bridge, against the railing, preferably on the "pirate" side, roughly in the middle.

Not that it's not worth seeing from anywhere, but for the best experience....

--L

The fountains of Bellagio is quiet cool as well. I saw that with my co workers last night and it was one of the better ones I have seen.

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Al

Drive only at nite, even after midnite is fine. Brings lots of WATER. Plus the last weekend of August will be HOT. Traffic from LA can take hours, but it may not be too bad, since many people will be coming the next weekend, for Labor Day weekend. Send me a note, and would be glad to meet fellow FT'ers, that visit our WILD city.

Watch out for Labor Day Weekend--can be very busy. I was in Vegas over Labor Day a couple years ago and it was announced on the news the city was running at 97% capacity--this a city with 120,000+ rooms!

Take along your shorts and look for plenty of water when you're out walking around...it gets very hot in August.

Here's my secret tip for the pirate show at Treasure Island. Go upstairs to the bar, ask for an outside table, order a soda and you have a first hand seat for the show. Can't beat that one.