Las Vegas Vacations

Spoiled by marquee-worthy acts, VIP clubs and theme-park-esque resorts, Las Vegas is one city that doesn't really operate on time. In fact, you likely won't see clocks in the casinos, because who needs to be reminded that it's 3 a.m. when you're doubling down at the blackjack table? That said, the best time to take a Las Vegas vacation depends on the visitor.

Weather is a huge consideration: From June to September, the mercury hits 90 degrees Fahrenheit and can flirt with 100-plus degrees.  If that's too tropical, visit Vegas during off-peak seasons such as fall and winter, when the crowds thin, hotel rooms are plentiful and the weather is bearable.

Check out the Pinball Hall of Fame, where people flock to play pinball machines from the 1950’s until the present. The newest addition is “Insert Coins,” a lounge/arcade located in Downtown Las Vegas. From Atari 2600 to Xbox360, you'll find it all here in a club-like setting. When you get tired of playing Pac Man, step onto the dance floor to get your groove on.

Everyone thinks Las Vegas is a big desert, but once you get up in the higher elevations we have some of the most picturesque forest areas around. Try Mt. Charleston, one hour from the Strip -- when it's 100 degrees in the city, it's only 80 there. Mt. Charleston is part of the Spring Mountain Range and Toiyabe National Forest, which boast great hiking, picnic grounds and waterfalls. The Resort on Mount Charleston offers midweek specials throughout the year on Orbitz.

Book a tee time after 11 a.m. in the summer and golf at some of the top golf courses for 50 percent off.  Just drink a lot of water and bring the sun block.

Pretty rebellious for such a swanky bistro to hide in a business park in Summerlin. From the Black Dragon cocktails and plush booths to the torch-lit patio and tiramisu, this neighborhood gem takes the Strip to task.

Let there be lights – 12.5 million of them. You'll be dazzled by the largest projection screen in the world -- dubbed Viva Vision -- which takes up the size of five football fields. Don't blink or you might miss the flock of showgirls walking past, or the free live shows conducted by bands paying tribute to KISS, the Beatles, the Doors and more.

While the kiddies have Disney World, adults escape to their own private playground: the Las Vegas Strip. Here, in the backdrop a billion neon lights, casinos and resorts the size of theme parks, visitors are encouraged to disregard time and embrace excess.

Everyone's an entertainer in Las Vegas – even the water. The granddaddy of them all entertains every 30 minutes until 8 p.m., then every 15 minutes until midnight. The free display is choreographed to music, shooting streams as high as 460 feet from 1,214 jets on an 8.5-acre man-made lake.

Lest you think a Las Vegas hotel pool was meant purely for doing laps, the Sunday pool party at the Hard Rock Hotel will change your mind. The pool is teeming with singles, and you might even mingle with a celebrity by the DJ table or private cabanas.

You're bound to run into a celebrity – or three – in Las Vegas, but unless you're sitting in the VIP section, you won't find dozens in the same room. Not so at Madame Tussauds Las Vegas Wax Museum. Life-size figurines of Barack Obama, Lady Gaga, Gwen Stefani and Johnny Depp dressed as Pirate Jack Sparrow beg for close inspection, but ladies and gents, no touching, please.

Despite its adult-oriented packaging, Las Vegas has plenty of options for families, and the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay is one of the best. You and the tykes will walk through underwater tunnels and past tanks filled with piranhas, golden crocodiles and endangered green sea. The best part: Kids 5 and under are free.

The Grand Canyon was never named one of the Seven Wonders of the World, but after a ride above the 277-mile-wide chasm, you'll think differently. An aerial view reveals just how massive, intricate and awe-inspiring it is, and how little you'd see if you traveled by foot. Excursions depart from Grand Canyon Airport, just 45 minutes by air from Las Vegas.

Vegas, we love you, but sometimes we just need to chillax. Enter the Gondola Rides at the Venetian: Each four-passenger boat glides down the indoor river by the Grand Canal Shoppes or along an outdoor lagoon. While you and your loved ones enjoy 14 or 12 minutes along the water, you'll also take in the soothing sounds of a gondolier.

Jubilee!, the last-standing revue in Las Vegas, puts the show in showgirls. Decked out in Bob Mackie and Pete Menefee designs, the 100 performers are a vision in feathers, sequins and beads. Through song and dance carried out on elaborate sets, the girls pay tribute to Cole Porter, a reminder that old-school Vegas is still very much alive.

Who would have thought a strip of land in the middle of the Nevada desert would become the “Entertainment Capital of the World”? Las Vegas actually has humble beginnings as a stopover town en route to the golden promise of the West Coast in the early 19th century, before the legalization of gambling and the construction of the Hoover Dam in the 1930s helped bring in the mob and made it the playground for the Rat Pack and every glitzy, campy shows featuring sequins and feather headdresses anyone over the age of 40 dares to remember. The ghosts of Frank, Sammy and Dino, however, fade a little each year as new high-rise casino resorts and luxury shopping malls replace the tarnished venues of old. Today, a Las Vegas vacation offers up much more than slot machines and Elvis impersonators—though you will see both the minute you touch down at McCarran International Airport. The city famously tried to promote itself as family friendly about a decade ago, and gambling can be avoided if desired. Adrenaline junkies can drive a racecar, swim with sharks, bungee-jump over the Las Vegas Strip or dine at a table floating 180 feet in the air. The nearby Red Rocks makes it great place for hikers. The city also has become a magnet for culinary adventurers, with a glut of celebrity chefs and a variety of dining experiences that has few rivals. Shows still reign in Las Vegas, as does its lively nightclub scene, making sure that the Sin City moniker isn’t going away anytime soon.

AOL Travel’s Las Vegas Guide

AOL Travel's Best Las Vegas Hotels