DISTANCE: 3.5 miles (5.6km) plus monorail ride
TIME: A full day
START: Flyaway Indoor Skydiving
END: New York New York (or MGM Grand if you end with the suggested show)
POINTS TO NOTE: Buy an all-day pass for the monorail. Reserve well ahead for MGM Grand’s Kà.
Gambling has always been an effective way for Las Vegas visitors to get their adrenaline racing. But today, the Strip offers many other state-of-the-art experiences that rival the top rides in any of the world’s best amusement parks (and some cost more, too). Even jaded vacationers who find slot machines and roulette boring will get their fill of sudden rushes in this itinerary. By the end of the day, you’ll be ready to head for the casino just to relax and take it easy! By the way, do not drink until dinner: tickets for most of the activities on this itinerary won’t be sold to you if alcohol can be detected on your breath or demeanor.
Indoor skydiving
Let your breakfast digest properly before you start with some indoor skydiving at Flyaway Indoor Skydiving 1 [map] (200 Convention Center Drive; tel: 702-731-4768; www.flyawayindoorskydiving.com; daily 9.45am–8pm; please note under-18s must be accompanied by an adult; no sandals or open-toed shoes are allowed, and no persons the management considers obese will be permitted to ride).
Indoor skydiving
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The experience
If you’ve never tried skydiving before, this is an uncannily realistic way to simulate the experience. If you have, this three-minute ride lasts longer than the real thing usually does. You are given 20 minutes of live and video instruction on how to fly and land, then a DC-3 propeller blasts you up into a 22ft (7-meter) vertical wind tunnel, simulating a 120mph (190kph) free fall. Unlike actual skydiving, though, you don’t have to worry about whether your parachute will open – because you’re not wearing one. Expensive, yes, but this truly is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience flying, Superman-style.
Skydiving for real
If you want the real McCoy, make arrangements through Skydive Las Vegas (tel: 702-759-3483; www.skydivelasvegas.com) or Las Vegas Skydiving Center (tel: 702-303-3914; www.lasvegasskydivingcenter.com). All offer beginners’ lessons, tandem free falls (where an instructor holds you), and even skydiving weddings.
Ride on the Stratosphere Tower
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Stratosphere Tower
The only thing missing from Flyaway is the view of the ground rushing up at you from far below. For that, take a short cab or bus ride down to the north end of the Strip, and the Stratosphere Tower 2 [map] (2000 Las Vegas Boulevard South; tel: 702-383-5210; Sun–Thu 10am–1am, Fri–Sat 10am–2am; riders must be at least 4ft 6in/137cm tall). Without a doubt, this is where you’ll find the most shocking thrill rides on the Strip. The observation tower near the top of the tallest structure in Las Vegas (1,149ft/ 350 meters) commands a jaw-dropping 360-degree view of the city and the surrounding mountains and desert, and the high-speed glass elevator up to the indoor and outdoor observation decks is a thrill in itself.
Dig This
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Three rides
The three rides off the observation decks are the highest (above ground level) amusement-park-style rides in the world. The Big Shot shoots you up a 160ft (49-meter) tower in 2.5 seconds, registering up to 4Gs in the process, before drifting weightlessly back down. Or there’s Insanity, which seats you at the end of a 64ft (19-meter) arm that spins you outward at an angle of 70 degrees with nothing between you and the Strip nearly 100 stories below. The scariest of the three rides, though, is X Scream. You enter an eight-passenger car that hoists you to the top of a 27ft (8-meter) arm and then the car drops you over the edge of the deck and downward, jerking to a sudden stop in mid-air. The experience is sure to bring alive your most basic nightmare of falling.
Dig This
Not many people know about this one. And it will be probably one of the coolest things you’ve ever done. Located northwest of the north end of the Strip, past the Venetian, is a “heavy equipment playground” where thrill-seekers can drive life-size bulldozer toys for fun. Seriously. You can choose either a burly Caterpillar D5G bulldozer or a 315CL hydraulic excavator. With a bulldozer, you can build huge mounds and push gigantic tires; with an excavator, you can dig trenches, and stack 2,000-pound (900kg) tires. Or you can even try both.
Called Dig This 3 [map] (3012 South Rancho Drive; tel: 702-222-4344; daily 10am–3.30pm), it’s just the other side of the Las Vegas freeway from the Strip, so it’s a short drive away. There’s an in-cab orientation and an instructor will show you the working of each little button and lever so that you can move your machine with grace and poise. Something that’s not easy to do at first. The classroom time is essential, but not overbearing, and the machines are well maintained. They’re also air-conditioned, which is something you’ll be grateful for in the Nevada sunshine.
KÀ at Cirque de Soleil
Cirque du Soleil
Monorail
After lunch, it’s time for a trip on the Las Vegas monorail 4 [map] (tel: 702-699-8200; www.lvmonorail.com; Mon–Thu 7am–2am, Fri–Sun 7am–3am), which you can board at Harrah’s/ The Linq Station, which is south of Sands Avenue. Follow the monorail track down Koval Lane for a block and turn right down Krueger Drive and the station is a short walk. The ride south to the end of the line takes you past all the hotels on the east side of the Strip, offering a quick tour of megaresorts such as the Venetian, Paris Las Vegas and, at the end, the MGM Grand, from two stories above sidewalk level.
Manhattan Express
At the MGM Grand, hop off the monorail and walk west along Tropicana Avenue to cross the Strip and reach New York New York 5 [map] . The facade – a copy of the New York skyline – is impossible to miss. Outside, the Manhattan Express (Sun–Thu 11am–11pm, Fri–Sat 10.30am–midnight) is the original Strip resort rollercoaster; it careers at speeds up to 67mph (108kph) along the hotel roofline and above replicas of skyscrapers, the New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty. The 3-minute ride features two drops of more than 100ft (30 meters), a unique 180-degree heartline twist and dive, and a 540-degree spiral.
Evening suggestions
One option for the evening is the MGM Grand, where you can have dinner at Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House, see 1, and then catch the show by Cirque du Soleil (tel: 702-531-3000 or 866-740-7711; Sat–Wed 7pm and 9.30pm), which makes for a suitably breathtaking end to this thrill-seeking day. In the show, entitled Kà, the action is played out on a five-story-tall stage with a floor that raises from horizontal to vertical in mid-performance. Barbarian pirates swing across the theater on ropes and shoot flaming arrows over the heads of the audience. Sinking ships, young lovers, bursts of fireworks, strange languages, swordfights, and, of course, the most unbelievable acrobatics add up to an unforgettable entertainment experience.
Food and Drink
1 Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House
MGM Grand, 3799 Las Vegas Boulevard South; tel: 702-891-7374; www.emerils.com; daily 11.30am–10pm; $$$
Whether it is scallops from Maine, pike from the Midwest, or redfish from Texas, celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse “kicks it up a notch” with Creole-Cajun flair in a setting that is more Bourbon Street than the Strip. The house special, New Orleans barbeque shrimp, is especially tasty. Meat and chicken dishes are also available.