I recently returned from my first-ever trip to Las Vegas, Nevada. It was a place I have always wanted to go and finally had a chance.
I highly recommend doing some research before going on a trip to a new place but also know the value of just letting yourself explore. Because of this I did some research beforehand and talked to some friends before leaving but didn’t plan every minute. We spent the first few days exploring but quickly found several things we wish we had known before we left. While we had a fantastic time, it took a few days to figure out what we were doing wrong and what to do instead.
To help you plan your trip to Las Vegas, I am sharing our experience and lessons learned. Of these, I will keep in mind when I make a return trip. And there will be a return trip! Learn from our mistakes to make your trip AMAZING!!
Most of these may seem obvious but I’m a seasoned traveler and still fell for these mistakes on my first trip to Las Vegas. I hope this will help draw attention to the obvious so you can avoid my mistakes.
Below are ten things I wish I had known and two things I knew but didn’t believe until I experienced them.
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1 – Something I heard but didn’t believe – Things are A LOT farther away than they look.
Before I left, I heard everything is farther away than it looks. I had no idea how true this statement was!! It’s something that is hard to believe until you actually experience it.
On our first full day, the plan was to walk down to the Welcome to Las Vegas sign. Google Maps said it was 1.7 miles from our hotel. Having walked double that with the frequency we figured we could make the walk. NO PROBLEM!! Our first mistake… with temps reaching 106 degrees one block felt like twenty.
The length of a Las Vegas block is also a LOT longer than a normal city block. Maybe not the 20 it felt like but did seem to last forever. We finally saw the sign in the distance but were exhausted. I pulled up Google Maps again to see how much longer…. we were only halfway… yes half way and had been walking for what seemed like an hour. With an end in sight, we pushed through and finished the walk to the Welcome to Las Vegas sign for the obligatory picture then started the walk back. It took three times longer to walk that 1.7 miles than that same 1.7 miles at home. Please, please, please, believe me, things REALLY are farther away than they look!!
This leads me to the next thing I wish I knew…
2 – Las Vegas Strip has a FREE tram!!
Wait what…there is a FREE tram??? Something is FREE in Vegas??? We walked the whole way to the Welcome to Las Vegas sign and there was a free tram that would have taken us over half the distance!!
At this point, I need to take this moment to apologize to my boyfriend. He tried to get me to use this tram (at the time we didn’t know it was free). Then he tried to get me to buy a bus pass but I kept saying it’s so close we can walk. The exercise is good for us! While exercise is good I wish I had taken advantage of the options and saved us time but also that heat is not good for your body.
Vegas actually offers two different options. The Las Vegas Monorail runs from the MGM Grand to the Sahara Las Vegas hotels with several stops along the way. There are options for single-ride tickets or up to seven-day passes. I had heard of the Las Vegas Monorail but the MGM Grand was the last stop and would not help with getting to the Welcome to Las Vegas sign and it cost money. While not overly expensive there are other things you will want to spend money on.
The FREE Option
This brings me to the FREE option… I had NO idea there were three different free trams offered!! Since not very much in Vegas is free this was an exciting find. The trams are paid for by the various hotels with tram stops as a convenience to their guests. You will need to check the hotel sites as times can vary based on the day of the week or if there are special events such as Las Vegas Raiders football or Las Vegas Knights hockey games but they are a fantastic option to get you where you want to go much faster (and cooler) than walking.
It’s actually three trams connected
The first runs between Mandalay Bay and Excalibur with a stop at Luxor one way. This is a convenient way to not only get you between these three hotels but also get you a significant way to the Welcome to Las Vegas sign. The tram station is across the street from MGM Grand, Tropicana, and New York, New York hotels. A quick walk across the street (please use the bridges and not try to cross traffic!) and you are at the Excalibur tram station.
The second tram runs between Park MGM and Bellagio with a stop at Aria. While there is not a formal stop at Cosmopolitan the Aria stop is across the street and gives you quick and easy access to Cosmo. Cross the streets from the Bellagio and you are at Cesar’s Palace, Bally’s Paris, Flamingo, and Planet Hollywood hotels. This tram is the one we eventually used the first time. I promise you I will NEVER go back to Vegas and not take advantage of these free rides.
The third tram runs from the Mirage to Treasure Island. While the walk between the Bellagio tram stop and the Mirage is a little longer it’s still better than trying to walk the whole distance. The Treasure Island stop is across the street from the Venetian hotel and The Fashion Show Las Vegas shopping mall.
While these free trams will not take you from one end of the strip to the other, they do cover the heart of the strip and many of the main attractions. If you want to explore the strip, you must check out the hotel trams!
3 – Almost everything in Las Vegas is REALLY expensive!
Everyone talks about the great deal they got on fights or the awesome price of the hotel. NO ONE talks about the cost of everything else. Food, drinks, and entertainment tickets are way more expensive than I ever imagined! Coming from the Midwest I realize these prices may not be as drastic for some of you but for others, it’s a shock. A hamburger and French fries at a casual restaurant were around $20-$25. The cheapest beer I found was $9. For reference, the average cost of a beer in New York City as of this writing is $7.50. Even a discounted beer bucket of “water” beer broke down to $8.33 a can! I can buy a case of 24 cans for about half the cost and you get a lot more.
You can save on a few things
We easily spent about double our initial food and drink budget. When you plan your trip look at the menu of a few places you are interested in eating to gauge the cost. For my next trip, I will allot $125 a day for food and drink. Also, look into buying beer and wine from Walgreens or CVS which sell alcohol on the strip. If you decide to buy at the casinos, find the Essentials retail spots, they give you a free shot when you buy two cans of beer. (This deal works for hard seltzers too) It’s still more than the drug store but at least you get a free shot of liquor.
The cost of entertainment varies across venues and types. I figured the main events (Cirque De Soleil, concerts, etc.) would be expensive but I didn’t realize even the impersonator entertainment was $40-$70. I regret not doing a little research and picking a show to go to ahead of time. This would have helped me level set on cost and pick a show I would enjoy while having a realistic budget.
4 – Many things in Las Vegas are closed Tuesday and Wednesday
Being known as the city that never sleeps, I was shocked to find out that most theaters and restaurants, and bars are closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I guess residents really do need some sleep. Since Weekends are the hot time to travel to Las Vegas, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the days for performers and staff to have a day or two off. It’s a wonderful time to visit as the strip is relatively quiet and you can get a lounge chair at the hotel pool; don’t plan on doing much else.
We learned this the hard way. My boyfriend and I both wanted to see a show in Vegas but didn’t have any one thing in mind. We were just going to figure it out when we got there. Our first couple of days were spent wandering around and getting the lay of the land. Monday morning, we started looking at tickets and realized many things were already sold out for Monday and there were little to no options for Tuesday. When I started digging, I found theaters were dark Tuesday and Wednesday. Having worked in a live theater box office for 7 years I should have known but alas it did not cross my mind. Please heed my advice, if you want to see a show or eat at a specific restaurant, check ahead for days they are open.
5 – People, people, and more people
If you have done any research on Las Vegas you will find hundreds and hundreds of perfect pictures with everything from the Welcome to Las Vegas sign to the Mandalay Bay Shark Reef Aquarium to the Bellagio fountains. You will notice there are few or no extra people in the pictures.
This gave me a false impression about the sheer number of people that actually pack the streets and attractions. Believe me, when I say everywhere we went was packed with people! I’m not sure if the photos were cropped out or if the photographer reserved a private time slot but I was not prepared for the number of people.
Since this trip was my first time, I’m willing to concede this if I go again with far fewer people but until I can see it with my own eyes, I have to believe there really are that many people there ALL THE TIME!
6 – Bar Seating Does Not Always Require a Reservation
This is another dumb move on my part but wanted to share it with others who may benefit. Several times we were looking for a place to eat dinner and realized there were no more reservations available. Discouraged we ended up eating at a fast food place and missed out on some really good food.
Then it dawned on me… the bar is open; I wonder if they require a reservation there…so I asked and NOPE. No reservations are needed for bar seating. While some places may have a separate bar menu, most will serve the same food at the bar. Reservations are best especially if you have your heart set on a specific restaurant but if you can’t get in, check the bar. You may be able to get right in.
7 – Speaking of Restaurants, Please Bring Business Casual Attire
I knew Las Vegas was known for fantastic food and options galore. What I was not aware of is how many would require business casual attire. I read some articles on this before I left but others said not to worry about it, so we didn’t. Sadly several of the restaurants in our hotel required business casual (one of which I would have LOVED to try). We had to spend a lot of our time not only looking for restaurants with open reservations but then had to look for restaurants with casual dresses.
It started to get very frustrating. We’d find a place we wanted to try only to be disappointed by the dress code. If you have a variety of clothes it will open up your options and allow you to eat at any restaurant you can find.
8 – Since I’m on a food track – Don’t limit your dining options to your hotel!
The difficult part about not having a set itinerary when traveling is it can limit your view of the city. This happened to us for the first part of our vacation. We would be discussing dinner options and would focus on options in our hotel only. I have no idea why; I knew there were a lot of other restaurants around us but our brains went back to the options close to us.
Each hotel has probably 10-25 different dining options. Since multiple hotels are within a short walking distance it should not be that difficult to find a place to eat. It should be the opposite in fact, TOO many options. I’m not saying you should avoid the restaurants in your hotel but don’t limit your view.
A quick way to check on reservation availability is to go to the hotel website. There is usually a link to check reservations, pick a time, and number of guests. It will return reservation availability for their restaurants. You can also check them one by one from the hotel’s website. An additional word of warning, not all restaurants use the hotel reservation site. You may find some use third-party sites like Open Table.
9 – Las Vegas Strip hotels on the same block have tunnels or skyways to adjacent hotels
Many of the hotels in Las Vegas are owned by the same company. For example, MGM Resorts owns thirteen of the primary hotels on the Vegas Strip. Because of this, it’s to their advantage to make it easy to navigate from one property to the next. For the hotels we explored, we discovered all on the same block had tunnels or skyway paths to the next property. This allows you to explore more without having to go out outside in the heat and sunshine.
Don’t get me wrong, you MUST spend at least some time outside as the Strip has a lot to offer outside the hotels. However, if you want to spend some time in each hotel, use the connectors to get from one to the next.
10 – Have Water!!
This is the last thing I knew (thankfully) but didn’t realize the importance until I got to Las Vegas. There are very limited options for getting water other than spending $3-5 for a bottle. With the excessive dry heat in Las Vegas, you will need to drink more water than you normally do. (Also keep in mind the key cause of a hangover is dehydration…you need a LOT of water in Vegas!!)
I always travel with an empty water bottle and I’m so thankful I made my boyfriend bring one too. It’s a little of a pain to carry in your handbag or pack but you will need it. Even with two full water bottles to start the day, we still ended up buying a couple of bottles of water while we were out.
Don’t rely on finding water fountains either. I don’t recall seeing a single one. I read many removed them a few years ago so this is not new for Covid. Finding free water is difficult so bring a water bottle and fill it at the hotel before you go out.
I hope you find these lessons learned helpful. I know I will use these for my second trip to Las Vegas.
What are some things you wish you knew before going to Las Vegas?
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