West coast road trip- SFO, Yosemite, LA, Vegas, Grand Canyon

ScoobySu: was interested on your thoughts re: Freemenot Street. I have heard mixed reviews, mostly bad to be honest, and we have decided to not bother visiting Downtown at all. We have limited time in Vegas and Downtown does not sound like somewhere we would like. Thanks for confirming my suspicions.

I'd not be taking advice from someone who walked off the bus, turned around, and walked back on the bus...

Fair enough if you visit the place and don't like it, but its a 30 min bus journey and a walk about. To me its much more original vegas than the sanitised malls of the strip. It's got an hourly show, ziplines, multiple stages of live music most nights, real bars, cheap drinks and the type of place you'll get cheap prime rib. Next time I stay half my trip in Main Street Station, with its cheap craft beer, and free buffet included for the price of £28 a night. You'll be paying that in resort fees in other parts of vegas (no resort fee there).

A few years ago a bit of it wasn't very well lit, and people mistakenly and naively thought that they'd get stabbed if they walked like two steps away from the bright bit, but even that isn't even true anymore on the lighting, never mind the total idiocy of that thinking, it's close to a heavily secured area of vegas and you'll more likely be robbed or ripped off outside of Paris or Planet Hollywood...

I'm not sure where you read the bad reviews of it, and in general what would constitute 'bad reviews' of a whole area of town, but you're missing a pretty cool and vital bit of vegas if you dismiss it like that. Most unfairly.

While I mostly agree with what you say - I would still advise caution. Not far past the end of Fremont Street (where the zip wire starts) is not a very nice place and even the local Las Vegas residents avoid it.

I agree that Downtown can split opinion but having stayed both on the strip and Downtown my preference has been for Downtown for my most recent visits.
First went to Las Vegas about 36 years ago when Downtown was in it's prime and I loved the place. It was however approximately twenty years before I was able to return. Been going regularly ever since witnessing the building of Mandalay Bay, Bellagio’s, Venetian, Wynn and the many other resort hotels.
Yes Downtown can be a little lively but it is nice to be able to wonder easily between the different hotels and casinos rather that the hike you have on the strip. I have also found the staff to be more friendly and welcoming and there is a good mix of restaurants for every pocket and new places are opening all the time.
Whilst cost is not an overriding factor for me I do find it hard to accept that exactly the same round of drinks and same quality can justify a 3/400% increase when on the strip.
Having said all of this and despite being a real supporter for Downtown I would always recommend the first time visitor to stay on the strip at one of the main resort hotels.
You can then sample downtown by making an evening visit to watch the light show and make your own decision.

[honey lamb]

Last year I was in Las Vegas for a 50th birthday party. I and a friend decided to forego the show they had chosen and headed to to the Fremont Street area. She loved it, I hated it. I was brought up in Blackpool and thought I had seen tacky at its heights but this raised it to an entirely new (and awful) level. I couldn't wait to get out of it. For me I think it was the noise levels (although all hotels with casinos in LV are noisy but this is beyond noisy), the sensory overload from lighting and also the number of young children and toddlers being exposed to stuff that they really should not see at that age. OK , the latter is true of the Strip also but it is less in your face.

Dragon Lady once described Las Vegas to me before my first visit as "Blackpool on speed". And to think that as a teenager, I thought that Kiss Me Quick hats were the height of tackiness!!

Dragon Lady once described Las Vegas to me before my first visit as "Blackpool on speed". And to think that as a teenager, I thought that Kiss Me Quick hats were the height of tackiness!!

"There’s a famous desert place called Vegas,
Not noted for fresh air but fun,
And Mr and Mrs Ramsbottom
Went there with young Albert, their son"

The cool box tip is a good one for road trips in hot climate areas, I usually get a sturdy plastic one from Target for about $20.00, I fill it each morning at the hotel ice machine with soda ans water and fresh milk for our morning coffee.... you cant beat fresh milk in your morning coffee. At the end of the holiday I leave it for the room cleaners at the hotel....