Las Vegas The Luxury City

Author: Joel Noah


Though a bit heavy on the neon, Las Vegas is a true feast for
the eyes. The skyline is amazing, with all of the sparkling
lights and massive shapes competing for attention. Every hotel
is striving to top the next one with its own unique theme,
majestic entrances, rollicking casinos, delectable restaurants,
and impressive entertainment. It can be said that Las Vegas does
not have a boring bone in its body.

The marketing angle of the Las Vegas tourism board has gone from
its old nickname, " Sin City," to being touted as a
family-friendly destination in the 1990's and back to Adults
Only with its new tagline, "What happens here, stays here." City
advertisers want to attract people from all over the world to
their own adult playground, complete with endless gambling,
alcohol, food, and entertainment. It is billed as a kind of
magical place that will cater to every need and fulfill every
fantasy.

The hotels in Las Vegas are truly incredible to behold. They pay
homage to other unique cities, like New York, Venice, and Paris,
by recreating smaller versions of these cities. New York, New
York hotel reconstructs the lively streets of Gotham. The
Venetian hotel has a huge indoor canal complete with gondolas
and gondoliers. The Paris hotel experience comes complete with a
replica of the Eiffel Tower. There are tributes to other themes
as well, including ancient Rome (Caesar's Palace), Hollywood
(MGM Grand), pirates ( Treasure Island), Arabian nights
(Aladdin) and many more. Two of the nicest hotels with casinos
in Las Vegas, the Bellagio and the Wynn Las Vegas Hotel, don't
have specific themes besides that of opulence and luxury.

From the Rat Pack of the mid-20 th century to Celine Dion today,
Vegas entertainment has always been a huge draw. Magicians, such
as Penn and Teller, and Siegfried and Roy, entertain crowds with
their amazing optical illusions. Comedians like Danny Gans and
Carrot Top perform often in Las Vegas and are quite popular with
their use of extravagant props and sight gags. Veteran Vegas
entertainers, like Tony Orlando and Wayne Newton, still command
packed houses night after night with their well-loved repertoire
of musical favorites.

Shopping and eating are two more favorite past times in Las
Vegas. Caesar's Palace offers a world-class mall featuring a
painted blue sky with clouds adorning the ceiling. The Venetian
also has first class shopping with many designer brands. Most of
the other hotels showcase several great shops inside their
lobbies and host many more on their premises. When hunger
strikes, there is no shortage of fabulous food. Las Vegas is no
longer a place of $3.99 all-you-can-eat-buffets. World-renowned
chefs Wolfgang Puck (Spago) and Emeril Lagasse have several
excellent eateries in town and many of the prominent hotels
boast other award-winning restaurants.

Of course, the most popular reason for visiting Las Vegas is for
the gambling casinos. From the nickel slot machines to the rooms
of tables reserved for those starting bets over $1000, there is
a venue for every budget. Games such as craps, blackjack, and
baccarat draw millions of people a year to try their hand at the
tables, accompanied by attractive cocktail waitresses handing
out free drinks aplenty. There are some success stories, but
many more sob stories, when people arrive home from their jaunts
to Las Vegas after playing against the casinos. Amateur gamblers
who visit Las Vegas report that it is best to decide how much
money to play with before starting, and stick with that limit.
After all, Las Vegas is a fun destination for vacationing and
conventions, and it has a lot to offer visitors when they
practice some moderation in the gambling arena.

About the author:
Get more useful information and resources about Las Vegas at: href="http://www.lasvegasx.info">http://www.lasvegasx.info

Cheap Vacations - Ten Ideas

Author: Steve Gillman

Cheap vacations can still be relaxing, fun and whatever else you want them to be. Unlike cars and shoes, vacations don't get better according to price. Give up that expensive resort if you don't have the money, but don't give up your vacation. Try one of the following ideas instead.

1. Visit your friends. The key here is to have friends with spare beds that live in interesting places. You've probably had friends tell you to come and stay a while, so why not take them up on it? I'm hoping my friends move to Hawaii.

2. Caretaking vacations. Someone in California, Costa Rica or Colorado wants you to stay in their house while they're away. You'll have to water the plants, and maybe watch the cat, but you'll get to stay in a beautiful home. You may even get paid. To learn more caretaking opportunities, visit the Caretaker Gazette online.

3. Outdoor vacations. Outdoor adventure doesn't need to be expensive. Just stay close to home, and use your imagination. On "Tom Sawyer Day" we hike up a river for hours, then build a raft from dead trees. Then we float on it back to the car. It's cheaper and more fun than a guided river trip. Where can you hike or bicycle for free?

4. Treasure hunting. Take a trip to a ghost town or beach with a metal detector. In Arizona an old Mayan Indian showed us where to find arrowheads, semi-precious stones, and ancient pottery. Treasure hunting is cheap, and you might find something valuable as well.

5. Cheap beach combing vacations. What's more relaxing than sitting on the beach with a drink? Restless? Start collecting seashells and driftwood. Bring a metal detector to find more valuable things. There are beaches in Florida where you can camp in your RV, and cheap motels on or near the beaches in Michigan.

6. Stay home. Make a list of sights to see, and things you've always wanted to do that are within an hour of home. Spend a weekend or a week checking off your list. No expensive hotels or long-distance drives.

7. Shopping trips. Cheap vacations don't normally involve shopping, but they can. Visit flea markets and rummage sales in some scenic corner of the country. Have a shopping adventure for less than a day at the mall.

8. Hotspring vacations. Hotsprings in many parts of the United States are free or inexpensive to use. Camp in an R.V. or tent to keep it really cheap. Spend nights around the campfire and days soaking in hot water. My personal favorite is a beautiful place in Arizona (106 degree water), with hiking trails. We paid the $30 annual fee and stayed more than a week.

9. Greyhound bus travel. Taking the bus is an alternative to expensive gasoline if you're traveling alone, and the trip itself is sure to be an adventure. Pick a nice place within a day's ride, pack a bag and go.

10. Camping vacations. In Florida we stalked alligators and watched a dozen other forms of wildlife. Every night we sat around the fire with new friends from England and Texas. We escaped winter there for eight days in our van. There were hot showers, and the campground was free. Camping can be the cheapest of cheap vacations.



About the author:
Steve Gillman hit the road at sixteen, and traveled the U.S. and Mexico alone at 17. Now 40, he travels with his wife Ana, whom he met in Ecuador. To read their stories, tips and travel information, visit: http://www.Everything
AboutTravel.com

What you need to know about- Costa Rica

Author: Paul Orr


More than one million tourists visit Costa Rica each year. What draws so many people to this lightly advertised destination? Natural beauty and diversity are the answers. Costa Rica covers only 0.03% of the surface of the planet but it has about 6% of the world's biodiversity.

Visitors encounter seas, beaches, rivers, waterfalls, mountains, and an abundance of flora and fauna. Twelve major life zones provide habitat for over 10,000 kinds of flowering plants, 850 bird species, 3,000 butterfly species, and 209 species of mammals. Volcanoes, rainforests, cloud forests, lowland jungles, the Pacific coastline, and tranquil Caribbean beaches stretch across seven provinces. Thirty percent of the land is protected by national and private reserves, which harbor more than five percent of the world's plant and animal species.

Costa Rica is Central America's jewel. It's an oasis of calm among its turbulent neighbors and an ecotourism heaven, making it one of the best places to experience the tropics with minimal impact.

Costa Rica boasts 20 national parks, 8 biological reserves, and a wealth of other protected areas to enchant those who marvel at the wonders of nature. It draws ecotourists from around the globe. Activities include horse-back riding, hiking mountainous paths in the cloud forests, guided bird-watching tours, volcanoes, scuba diving, snorkeling, sailing, canopy tours, golf and much more.

Ticos, as the people of Costa Rica are known, are famous for being hospitable, and are quite happy to live up to their reputation. They seem to be well aware that their country is a special place, and they go out of their way to accommodate their visitors, explaining things that might seem foreign to a foreigner, and helping make their stay as enjoyable as possible.

Northwest Costa Rica, the Guanacaste province is for the active soul, drawing visitors with its beaches, rivers, waterfalls and natural attractions. Forming the eastern border is a group of volcanoes that form the Cordillera de Guanacaste and Cordillera de Tilarán.

From the mountains flow various rivers that roll down and form an alluvial plain drained by the Rio Tempisque, which empties into the Gulf de Nicoya. The name Guanacaste is derived from quahnacaztlan, a native word for the guanacaste tree, which is Costa Rica’s national tree.

With a new airport at Liberia, tourism to Guanacaste has boomed.

Costa Rica is a tropical country with two seasons – dry and wet. The Guanacaste Province is the driest region of the country with less than 55 inches of rain in the coastal areas.

Costa Rica occupies a territory of around 20,000 square miles in the southern part of Central America, and includes several small islands mostly on the Pacific side. It is much like the state of Florida with two long coastlines. The country is only about 200 miles long and 70 miles wide at the narrowest part.

Costa Rica is often compared to Switzerland and Hawaii because of its mountains and forests. Unlike many areas of Mexico, Central and South America, Costa Rica remains beautiful year-round. This is partly because it borders the Pacific Ocean on the west, the Atlantic Ocean on the east, and has a string of towering volcanoes on the Central Plateau. Combine all this and you have a unique tropical paradise with 11 climatic zones.

The high season in Costa Rica, December through April, is the dry season. The green season, which lasts from May to November, usually sees sunny mornings, with rain showers in late afternoon and evening. Overall, the climate is tropical, with an average temperature of 72°F (22°C). It can be much hotter along the coastal areas of the country, and much cooler in the mountains.

In the past, agricultural exports, like bananas and coffee, have been the staple of the Costa Rican economy. However, tourism has always played an ever-increasing role, and now it has become the dominant economic force. Ecotourism travel is the most preferred for expansion because it will provide a sustainable resource for tourism for generations of Costa Ricans to come. Costa Ricans love to show off their country, and sincerely welcome all travelers and vacationers.

San Jose, population over one million, is the capital and cultural heart of Costa Rica. Other major cities (by population)
are: Alajuela, Cartago, Heredia, Liberia, Limón and Puntarenas. To enter the country you now must have a valid passport. Some countries now require your passport to be valid for at least 6 more months in order to leave your country to come here. Check with you embassy or airline. Costa Rica is on Central Standard Time, six hours behind Greenwich Mean Time and one hour behind EST in the States. It does not currently use daylight saving time. No shots are required. The water in the major cities of Costa Rica is safe and most hotels and restaurants offer purified tap water. You might prefer to drink bottled water or seltzer to be sure. Costa Rica has excellent, low-cost medical care and well-qualified practitioners. Many North Americans come to Costa Rica for cosmetic surgery or dental work.

Costa Rica is a safe destination for 99% of its tourists, but it’s always a good idea to exercise caution whenever one travels. In general, the country has a low crime rate. In most cases, crimes are simple thievery - non-violent crimes of opportunity, so just exercise caution, as anywhere in the world.

Costa Rica has a reputation as one of the most stable and prosperous Latin American countries.

Costa Rica has something for everybody! Whatever your interests; eco-tourism trips bird watching, adventure tours, fishing, diving, rafting, canopy tours, golf, all inclusive hotels, vacation homes or just relaxing on an unspoiled tropical beach, you will find all of that and more in this tropical and secure paradise.

About the author:
We traveled to Costa Rica on vacation in 2001. Purchased property on the last day of our vacation and built a villa in 2002. Two, three, four and five bedroom villa's available, all of which are surrounded by Costa Rica’s biodiversity and over looking the Pacific Ocean. www.costarica-v
acation-getaway.com info@costarica-vacation-getaway.com