VegasChatter

Tags: Packages / Wynn / Le Reve / Only in Vegas / Adventure / Diving / → All Tags

Calling Rich Scuba Divers! Le Reve Wants to Give You a Starring Role

Normally we’re all about the budget packages here at VegasChatter but the Wynn has just come up with a pretty fly suggestion for a watery weekend and, hey, we can dream, innit. Or should that be, we can reve?

The Diver’s Dream package gets you a two night stay, VIP tickets to Le Reve, a private backstage tour, a scuba training session with the Le Reve diving team and – the icing on the cake – the chance to dive in the show. Yes, it’s perfect for closet exhibitionists – you’ll be (an integral, we’re sure) part of the show without being seen by the audience, and you get to tell all the folks back home that you stared in a Vegas show. What’s not to love?

Err, the price, unfortunately. It costs $2,000 for one diver or $3,000 for two of you. And you have to be a certified scuba diver already. But hey, as far as we know, this is the only show that lets you take part, so if you’ve got money to burn... after all, this could be part of your submission for your own Vegas star. And that, surely, is priceless.

Also, you know, there could be some upskirts to be had from down there.

Call 702 770 SWIM (love it) to book.

Tags: Day Trips / Valley of Fire / Celebs in Vegas / Adventure / Active Vegas / Cameron Diaz / → All Tags

Cameron Diaz is All (Valley of) Fired Up in InStyle

As we opened up our copy of InStyle this month (out now in all good stores etc etc), we couldn’t help but notice the pics of Cameron Diaz looking rather lovely in a desert situation. And a desert situation, no less, that looked rather familiar.

Was it? Could it be? Yes! It was Valley of Fire, Nevada’s oldest state park which lies 55 miles northeast of Vegas.

It’s a fairly long journey – it takes well over an hour because of ridonkulous speed restrictions once you turn off the I-15 – but, wedded as we are to Red Rock Canyon, we have to admit that Valley of Fire is more spectacular: 36,000 acres of land, and 20 miles of roads to take the lazy through it (the more adventurous/heat-inured can get out and go walking at lots of spots.

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Tags: Helicopter Tours / Hoover Dam / Colorado River / Adventure / → All Tags

Beat The Dam Traffic With A (Surprisingly Affordable) New Copter Tour

We’ve all been there. You look longingly at the flyers for the Grand Canyon helicopter tours and flights, decide that selling a kidney to pay for an afternoon’s wonder isn’t quite worth it (not to mention booking far ahead and getting up v early) and resolve to hit the Rim by car.

And then, once you’ve spent five hours getting there, or even two hours getting to the Hoover Dam, as we ended up doing a few weeks back, you curse your money-grubbing self and resolve, next time, to pony up the flight cash.

But while the GC tours may still be frighteningly expensive ($300 and up), Papillon Airways launched a Vegas-Hoover Dam tour on Tuesday, and it’s actually surprisingly affordable at $119.

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Tags: Adventure / Tours / Primm / Off the Strip / Dudes in Vegas / Groupon / → All Tags

We Got Whipped Around in the Desert And Liked It

Being fond of saving money, we’ve become fans of Groupon since it launched in Las Vegas. After seeing several restaurant, yoga, and cupcake offers, our adventure radar went off at something called Landsailing. Seeing the words “Blast across miles of smooth, wide open space at up to 55 mph” was enough to count us in.

WHO: We booked with Land Sailing Tours and marked our calendars “the day we might die or at least break something”. We were joking of course as we assumed there would be helmets, goggles, and plenty of other safety equipment (pads perhaps?).

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Tags: Day Trips / Red Rock Canyon / Adventure / Cheap Vegas / → All Tags

Escape the Strip at Red Rock Canyon

Red Rock in sunnier, redder-rocked times last week

Ah, Vegas. Lovely as the Strip is, sometimes the gamblin’ and the partyin’ and the (metaphorical, of course) whorin’ around the place can get too much. Need out? You don’t have to go far. A mere half hour west of the Strip is Red Rock Canyon. According to the folk of Red Rock, it boasts some of the best rock climbing in the country and has some of the most interesting geology in the world.

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Tags: Cashing Out / Adventure / Stratosphere / The 90s are Back / → All Tags

Fall Off The Edge of The Stratosphere For $100

Adding to its list of thrill rides The Stratosphere has announced it will let crazy people with a death wish ultimate adventure seekers do a "controlled" free fall off the top of its tower. So it's sort of like bungee jumping but with a lot more tethering going on. (Still, this totally qualifies as The 90s are Back trend.)

The LV Sun reports:

Riders will be given a safety lesson and then get in custom jump suits. They will then be connected to a "descender machine."

After jumping off the tower, riders will be guided by wires to stay on course during the 108-story descent facing the Las Vegas Strip before the descender slows the rider down for a controlled landing.

Stratosphere called the ride "an incredibly safe, yet audacious adventure."

The ride is expected to open in April. About six to 10 jumpers will be accommodated each hour. The ride will be open from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday-Thursday and until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. May we suggest NOT doing this hungover. Thank you very much.

Here's what else is on in Vegas:
· Jon Stewart to perform at The Mirage [The Mirage]
· The ideal golf 'Mancation' in Vegas [MSNBC]
· Haha. Best way to describe town right now: "Nerd Paradise" [Vancouver Sun]
· Elaine Wynn donates a $1 million to Three Square Food Bank [Fox5Vegas]

Tags: Adventure / Car Racing / Summerlin / → All Tags

Zero to 60 in 5.2? Not Quite, But It's Still Fun at The LV Mini Gran Prix

Dudes love fast cars, which makes the Las Vegas Mini Gran Prix in suburban Las Vegas a perfect spot to go with a bunch of buddies.

The family-oriented facility, located waaaaaay off the Strip in Summerlin, offers four go-kart tracks in all—three for grown-ups, and one just for kids. It’s owned by Jerry Barton, whose son, Taylor “The Bomber” Barton, races professionally on the NASCAR circuit and was named the 2005 Rookie of the Year.

Most track experiences cost $6.25 apiece, though there are discounts for buying in bulk. The main attraction is the “Sprint Kart Speedway,” a series of S curves around which visitors can race against each other.

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Tags: Valley of Fire / Attractions / Adventure / Active Vegas / → All Tags

Get a Dose of History with The Spectacular Scenery at Valley of Fire

An hour or so from Las Vegas is a spectacular example of why so many East Coasters and international travelers are enamored of the American Southwest. Valley of Fire State Park is located 55 miles northeast of Las Vegas on I-15 (60 miles on the slower, more scenic North Shore Road around Lake Mead).

You may have seen its flamboyant, red sandstone formations north of Lake Mead while flying into town. The landscape is a professional and amateur photographer’s dream, and its historical significance as a site for religious ceremonies, hunting and food gathering for ancient inhabitants of the region make it a winner, too.

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Tags: Summer Relief / Lake Mead / Outdoor Vegas / Adventure / → All Tags

Lake Mead Will Always Be An Option For The Summer

Look, you could go the website and read a briefer on the Lake Mead Recreation Area and take what you would need to know. We just want to share you the information of the fun you might have just to get there.

But first, the formalities. it is officially titled the Lake Mead National Recreational Area (say it slowly, it’s a mouthful) and it lies about 35 miles from the heart of Las Vegas. And the beauty to it is that within a 40 minute drive from the infamous Strip, you really are in another world that ends up being that rare thing these days - a rewarding getaway for the whole family.

In the summer, it's pretty hard to top this hotspot of outdoor activity as there is everything from swimming, water skiing, boating, wind sailing and fishing to curb your athletic appetite.

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Tags: Adventure / Active Vegas / Thrill Rides / Boulder City / → All Tags

Bootleg Canyon Flightlines for Adrenaline Junkies

About 30 minutes east of Las Vegas is the quaint little hamlet of Boulder City. Among other distinctions, it's one Nevada town that prohibits gaming. Also unlike its Sin City neighbor, it places strict limits on development, so it's retained a small-town feel. It also happens to be home to one particularly wild ride.

Bootleg Canyon Flightlines are high-tech zip lines, essentially, that form an "aerial trail system" from the top of Red Mountain up to 2,250 feet down a canyon that affords views of Lake Mead, Las Vegas and El Dorado Canyon along the way. Speeds can reach 50 miles an hour and your “eco-tourism” guide will be on hand to point out interesting sights along the way. Here’s how the Web site describes the experience:

Suspended from cables and comfortably sitting in a para-gliding harness, you travel from point to point by flying over the desert ecosystem from the top of Red Mountain. Instead of hiking or cycling down the trails, you are exploring the mountain from an aerial trail.

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Tags: Only in Vegas / Extreme Vegas / Adventure / Indoor Skydiving / → All Tags

If High-Stakes Gambling Thrills Aren't Enough, There's Always Indoor Skydiving

Thirty-thousand fans can’t be wrong on this one. You read correctly. Roughly 30,000 tourists and locals alike come down to Vegas Indoor Skydiving to partake in one of the most unique and enthralling gigs in Las Vegas.

A mainstay in the city since 1982, Indoor skydiving will give all the g-force thrills you would get with a simulated skydiving experience, but within the safety confines of a mesh trampoline floor and foam padded walls. The bottom line - enjoy the thrill of a freefall without the use of an airplane or parachute.

With a training class, and proper one-on-one instruction, you should be ready to go in no time. They supply you with what looks like a fat suit with considerable padding and then you are subjected to a vertical wind tunnel, with speeds that vary depending on the size and weight of the student - anywhere from 65 to 90 mph. Although the experience lasts an hour, you’ll pack a lot of (no pun intended) proverbial punch within that hour.

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Tags: Adventure / Red Rock Canyon / Bike Rides / → All Tags

Sweat Off Your Hangover With A Red Rock Bike Ride

About 30 minutes west of Vegas is the stunning Red Rock Canyon, a national conservation area that seems about as anti-Vegas as you can possibly get.

What we mean by that is you can’t even see the developed part of Las Vegas from behind the canyon walls, so civilization – much less the jangle of casinos – seems far, far away. Plus, there are countless opportunities to engage in wholesome acts of physical exertion, with nary a topless pool nor a yard-long margarita stand in sight.

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