The last time I went to Las Vegas was for a residency conference in 2016, so it wasn’t the time to relax . My husband also had never been to Vegas so we went for his birthday at the beginning of April. All I can say is, wow, it was expensive! When I looked at the prices of food and drinks it honestly was shocking to my soul. We still had a lot of fun but I want to filter through some of the fun activities for you! We tend to just walk around and sight see for fun!
Activities
- Bellagio Fountains: At Bellagio, more than a thousand fountains sway in front of the hotel, enhanced by music and light. The display spans more than 1,000 feet with water soaring as high as 460 feet into the air. The schedule for the show is on the website, with the fountains “performing” every 15-30 minutes. When I go with my family we watch the fountains across the street while at Mon Ami Gabi.
- Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Garden: Each season, their teams transform this 14,000 square foot space into the most magical garden full of sounds and colors! Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter are all featured—along with a special display for Lunar New Year. Pay attention to the “dark dates” on the website when they are doing the installation to make sure you don’t miss it!
- Gondola Ride at the Venetian: To participate in this activity, you have to purchase your tickets in person. Next, you have choose if you want to do the inside or outside tour that lasts 13 minutes. I personally prefer the inside experience as you wind through the shops of the Venetian. I think it is a fun experience to do once just to say you have been! It’s $34 per person Monday-Wednesday and $39 per person Thursday-Sunday. Also, if you want the picture at the end you have to pay for that too.
- Paris Hotel and Eiffel Tower: This replica Eiffel Tower is 46 stories, or half the size of the real Eiffel Tower in France. I personally haven’t paid to go to the viewing deck as there have been extremely mixed reviews. After reading online, they do close it down quite frequently due to wind so a lot of people said to just buy your tickets onsite instead of pre-paying online. Apparently the Eiffel Tower restaurant is just one floor below, so instead of spending your money on the elevator you could put it towards food.
- Vegas Residencies: Keep an eye out for your favorite performer in Vegas. We saw Carrie Underwood at Resorts World Las Vegas. I would highly recommend going to this concert if you can. She didn’t have any performers before she came on and started promptly which I really appreciated. She has such a strong and powerful voice, she is amazing to see in person.
- Top Golf: If you just want more a relaxing day or evening Top Golf is super fun. You don’t have to be a pro golfer to come here! You can also have light bites and drinks here as well. I would highly recommended making a reservation because the spots sell out super quick.
- We didn’t get to go everywhere this trip but next time we said we could drive to Valley of Fire, take pictures with the Welcome to Las Vegas Sign, and take a ride on the High Roller.
Party
- Night Clubs: Hakkasan at MGM Grand, XS at Wynn, Omnia at Cesar’s Palace: One of the easiest ways to ensure entry into a Las Vegas nightclub is by connecting with a club promoter or VIP host. Promoters are employed by clubs to fill the club’s guest list, ideally with women and VIP hosts are also employed by the clubs to assist you with bottle service reservation. Keep in mind there are dress codes to get into the clubs. The guest DJ or performer typically comes on at 1:30-2 AM.
- Day Club or Pool Parties: Encore Beach Club at Encore, Marquee Dayclub at Cosmopolitan Hotel, Tao Beach Dayclub at Venetian
- The Chandelier: Situated inside the Cosmopolitan hotel, this bar and lounge consists of three separate stories, each housing their own setup, atmosphere, and speciality drinks menu.
Shop
Vegas has numerous spaces for high end designer items including inside most hotels. The Shops at Crystals is mostly high end designer jewelry and clothing stores. The Forum Shops and Fashion Show Mall are a mix of high and mid-range brands.
- Forum Shops
- The Shops at Crystals
- Fashion Show Mall
Eat
I will say our options were limited due to not eating meat, but still having gluten-free options available for Tushar so please feel free to ignore this section! I did start to eat some fish so you will see those options below. We do not eat beef so most of the steakhouses are wiped off our list from the very start. I personally think Vegas food is very over-hyped. Most dishes are there for the “wow” factor or are celebrity owned restaurants that do not taste any different than any New York restaurants. Make a reservation at restaurants you want to eat at as they fill up super fast! There are food courts in most hotels so if you want sometime more affordable you can grab a quick bite there!
- Mon Ami Gabi located in Paris Hotel: French Cuisine
- Wazuzu located in Wynn Hotel: Asian Fusion & Sushi Bar
- EggSlut located in Cosmopolitan Hotel or Sun’s Out Buns Out in Resort World Las Vegas: American egg sandwiches with gourmet twist
- Secret Pizza located in Cosmopolitan Hotel: NY style pizza
- Luke’s Lobster Las Vegas located in front of Fashion Show mall: Lobster rolls
- Resort World Food Hall Experience located in Resort World Las Vegas: Famous Foods Street Eats offers 16 food stalls spanning dumplings and lechon to fried chicken and barbecue
- Spago by Wolfgang Puck located in Bellagio Hotel near the fountains: American/Italian
- Nacho Daddy: Modern Mexican Restaurant: We personally didn’t like this place at all as the food had zero flavor, but maybe the meat options taste better!
- Best Buffets: (not vegetarian/gluten free friendly): Bacchanal in Cesar’s Palace, The Buffet at the Wynn
- Off strip: Viva Las Arepas
Feel free to share your favorite restaurants in the comments!
Las Vegas Tips
- Go to your local CVS or Walgreens on the strip to buy a couple cases of water for the weekend. Each bottle in our hotel room ranged between $10-20 so save yourself a couple hundred dollars in water.
- Wear comfortable shoes! I cannot stress this enough. In two days we walked over 20 miles up and down the strip. The distances between hotels is deceiving as most streets you cannot cross so you have to take escalators and stairs up and down.
- If you are heading to Vegas on a weekend and you want to eat at a popular restaurant, you have to make reservations weeks to months in advance. When we went to Bacchanal they told us they were booked solid for 2 months on the weekend.
- When you are going to dinner or gambling, I would highly recommend bringing a light sweater as we found it FREEZING inside the casinos.
- If you are staying on the strip, you do not need to rent a car. Cars can be burdensome as the parking garages are usually in the back of hotels and you have to walk a lot. We took Ubers/Lyft mostly when we didn’t feel like walking. We rented a car the last day to go to Valley of Fire but unfortunately our flight was canceled derailing our plans. If you are planning to visit different deserts just rent a car for a day or two.
- I know people are trying to make a living, but the dressed up characters will ask for money if you take pictures with them.
