Las Vegas Background
I’m gonna tell you how to get in, how to get around, what to see, what to do, what to eat, and more. Alright, let’s go. The first thing to know is a little background information about Las Vegas. With 40 million people visiting this city annually, it is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the United States of America.
So now, Las Vegas’ nickname is Sin City, which makes people conjure up an adult entertainment, hot vegas escorts, drinking only destination. And while those things are big here, Vegas has actually become a really significant business destination. It is the world’s hub for conventions that draw over a hundred thousand people. You may have heard of the Consumer Electronics Show that draws that many.
You may not have heard of the World of Concrete that draws that many, but the hotels and resorts here are really amazing. The Las Vegas strip that I’m standing on right now is home to hotels that are shaped like pyramids, castles. They’ve got volcanoes in front of them. It is truly a one-of-a-kind destination, and people have tried to copy Vegas around the world, but nobody does it as well as Vegas.
And finally, Vegas is also becoming a family-friendly destination. You’ll see a lot of parents pushing strollers around with kids here; some people like that, some people don’t. We’ll get more into that when we get into the family section.
Orientation
The most famous part of Las Vegas is this part right here, Las Vegas Boulevard, which is a street that runs for almost 50 miles.
But the most famous part of it is the Las Vegas Strip. A four-mile section that runs from Mandalay Bay down to the Stratosphere. Now there’s so much to see and do on the strip that it turns out many visitors to Vegas never leave the strip during their entire stay. Now, an interesting fact about the Las Vegas strip is that it actually turns out it’s not in Las Vegas at all.
The city of Las Vegas ends, and the strip is actually in the unincorporated towns of Paradise and Winchester. So if you see Paradise, Nevada, or Winchester, Nevada in an address, look, it’s all Las Vegas as far as this video’s concerned. But you should know because you’ll see those things if you’re using Google Maps and navigating around.
Downtown Las Vegas
And now, let’s talk about downtown Las Vegas. Many people call downtown the real Vegas because this is where Vegas got its start, where Vegas was originally settled, and the original gambling center before the strip took the spotlight. The center of downtown is along Fremont Street, particularly the Fremont Street Experience.
A canopied five-block area featuring 24 million LED lights with shows on the hour from dusk until midnight. Now, some people really love downtown for its more down-to-earth feel, but others hate it, citing that it’s really far from the strip, like a $30 cab ride, and that the casinos in downtown are way too smoky.
But if you are a slots gambler, you’ll likely find the best slot machine odds here in downtown. They’re likely gonna be worse at the airport. And I think the action on the table games is pretty cool in downtown, particularly at the Circa Hotel, the newest hotel and casino in downtown Vegas. And then, after the strip in downtown, for most visitors, there’s just everything else, or the Las Vegas that people actually live in.
Summerland and Lake Las Vegas
But two neighborhoods you might be interested in as a visitor are Summerland and Lake Las Vegas. Summerland is one of Vegas’s upscale neighborhoods. You’ll find a Whole Foods over there, JW Marriott, the Red Rock Casino, and the Red Rock recreation area. If you like hiking, that’s a great place to hike.
Just please do it in the winter when it’s not super hot. The other neighborhood you might be interested in checking out, kind of a little further afield, is Lake Las Vegas. It’s on the way to the Hoover Dam. It is this neighborhood built around a lake that kind of looks like a small Mediterranean town.
There are a couple of hotels over there, including a Weston, and it’s really great if you’re looking for some place to stay that is quiet and away from the hustle and bustle. Though it’s gonna be really quiet if you’re looking for stores or shops, it’s at least a 10-minute drive from Lake Las Vegas to just about anything else.
Oh, but please don’t take away, those are the only things to see in Las Vegas. It’s a huge city, and there’s a whole lot more off the strip in downtown. But if it’s your first time here, those are probably the areas you’ll want to concentrate on. Number three, let’s talk about getting into Vegas.
Las Vegas International Airport
And if you’re flying into Vegas, chances are, you’ll be flying into the Las Vegas International Airport, which used to be called McCarran International Airport, and is now called Harry Reid International Airport. One in the same, it’s just changed names recently. It’s a really big airport; there are over a hundred gates, and 50 million passengers fly through there annually.
Now, Las Vegas’s Airport’s biggest claim to fame is that you can gamble there. There are slot machines in the airport while you’re waiting for your flight, while you’re connecting. But its second biggest claim to fame is that it is the busiest airport in the United States that isn’t a hub airport for the major legacy carriers.
American, United, and Delta do not consider this a hub airport. So who flies in and out of there? The budget carriers. Southwest is the biggest carrier at Harry Reid International Airport, followed by Spirit, Allegiant, and some others in that category. All right, now, how do you get into the strip from the airport? Most people consider taxi or ride share to be the best options.
Las Vegas Taxi Faires
Taxi has fixed fares from the airport to the strip, broken down into three zones. You’re gonna pay somewhere between 20 and 30 bucks, depending on whether you’re paying cash, credit card, and how far you’re going. If you’re going to downtown, it’s gonna be about $40 at the max, if you’ve got the worst traffic.
How long does it take?
About 15 minutes without traffic. You know, if the traffic’s bad it could take you 45. A lot of people often ask me about the shared ride shuttles at the airport, where you can pay a little less and share a van with a whole bunch of people. Look, don’t do it. It’s gonna take you a really long time and it’s just not worth your time, frankly.
If you’re a high roller, consider getting a limousine while you’re at the airport. There are a number of limousine companies that just kind of hang out at the airport and will take you to your hotel in style. Particularly useful if you have a large group. Or you could rent a car. There are 11 rental car companies that operate out of the airport in the Rent-A-Car Center.
It’s a consolidated Rental Car Center. You gotta take a shuttle to get there from the airport. Takes about 10 minutes, and then when you get there, if you’ve got an off-airport rental car company that’s not one of those 11, then you have to take a second shuttle to get to those. Simply not worth it to do one of the off-airport ones.
If you’re renting a car, make sure it’s one at that consolidated Rent-A-Car Center. Oh, but it is actually pretty popular to rent cars here. Although if you’re just staying on the strip, I really don’t recommend it. But if you do, then make sure to prepare for a little extra time to pick up your rental car because that Rent-A-Car Center can get quite busy, and the shuttles can often have long lines to just get on them to get to the Rent-A-Car center too.
And then the final way to get around is the old-fashioned driving, and you can drive your own car, which is what I typically do ’cause I drive in from Southern California. You could also get a driver. Many of the big resorts can provide cars and drivers. They’re usually pretty expensive, though. But if you’re driving your own car, pay attention to the traffic.
It can be pretty bad on the Interstate 15 and also on the strip, particularly in Saturdays or Sundays, what’s typically a 15 minute drive from one end of the strip to the other, that four miles, say at noon on a weekday, can be over an hour on a Friday or a Saturday. So, build those journey times into your trip planning.
The pros and locals in Vegas never drive down the strip. Instead, they’ll use the roads that are just on either side along the 15 or along the other side of the strip. Check out those side streets unless you just wanna see the pretty lights down the strip. Oh, and if you’re driving and you’re looking to park your car somewhere for free, the places on the strip that still do free parking are Tropicana, TI, Venetian/Palazzo, Wynn/Encore, Resorts World, Sahara, and the Stratosphere.
Getting around Vegas
The fourth thing to know is about getting around Vegas. And many people ask me, “Chris, can I walk around Vegas?” And yes, despite it being a desert and being really oppressively hot in the summer, it is really quite walkable. The sidewalks are wide, there are bridges to connect the different hotels so you don’t even have to cross the street.
I will say though, do beware of walking too much on your first day here. That’s a mistake people often make. They end up with blisters on their feet and then they don’t enjoy the rest of their trip ’cause their feet hurt. So, do take it easy. You know, the strip being only four miles from one side to the other, seems like it’s not that long, except you’ll be walking around the casinos too.
Deuce Bus
And so a four mile walk is gonna take you 10 as you navigate just everything there is here. Now, some other ways you might want to consider getting around, there’s a bus on the strip called the Deuce Bus. This is a double-decker bus that’s six bucks for two hours, eight bucks all day, $20 for three days.
You can buy tickets at ticket machines on the strip or on board and it’ll run like the entire length of the strip all the way to downtown. Pretty inexpensive. It does get caught in the traffic on the strip though. So, if it’s a busy night and the strip traffic isn’t moving well, those buses aren’t gonna be moving either.
They also do make a lot of stops and it takes a long time to let people on or off. So just be prepared for a little bit of a journey. But they make nice sightseeing buses ’cause they got a second deck. You can sit up there and just watch all the lights go by. Another option for getting around is the Las Vegas monorail.
MGM Grand
Ride this while it’s here ’cause they’re gonna tear it down in the not-too-distant future. It connects the east side of the strip hotels primarily to the convention center. That’s what it’s really useful to do. Or if you’re going like MGM Grand to the Sahara, taking it that distance, it’s not useful for the hotels on the other side of the strip, like on the side with the Bellagio and Caesars Palace, ’cause frankly the monorail just doesn’t go there.
And on the backside, like the MGM Grand, it’s like 15 minutes to walk through the MGM Grand to the monorail. And so, it’s not really useful for short stops. Now veteran Vegas visitors will know to use some of the interior hallways that connect the hotels and casinos together. For example, if you want to go from Paris to Bally’s, now the Horseshoe, you can use this interior hallway in the back to connect the two hotels.
Hotels in Las Vegas
The fifth thing to know is about hotels in Vegas. Where should you stay? And my first tip in this section is, don’t pick the cheapest hotel. Vegas has some really cheap hotels. You can find hotels here for like, $25 a night. Chances are you’re gonna regret that hotel. Now the rates in Vegas, they do vary wildly.
At the time I was making this video, which was over the Thanksgiving holiday season, rates at the Excalibur were going for like, $19 a night. But in the first week of December, they were upwards of $500 a night because there was a football game at Allegiant Stadium. So, really look at when conventions are here, when big sporting events are here, and plan your trip around those.
Assuming you’re not going to one of those, and you’re trying to come when the room rates are inexpensive. Definitely join the Players Clubs, Caesar’s, or Mlife with MGM. And then, once you join the Players Clubs, log in with your Players account when you’re searching for rooms and room rates, because you will definitely find cheaper rates and special offers when you’re logged into your Players Club account.
Now, in general, the cheapest rates you’re gonna find are on Monday, Wednesday, midweek; they’re gonna be most expensive on Friday and Saturday; they’re also gonna be the most expensive the closer to the center of the strip you go. So like, Caesar’s Palace and Bellagio are the closest to the center. You work your way out from that, down the strip or away from it, and the hotels get cheaper.
Now, do make sure to pay attention to those nasty resort fees. Nearly every hotel in Vegas is now charging these extra fees on top of the regular rate they charge. And these resort fees can be upwards of $50 at some of the Vegas hotels.
So take that into account. If you are a member of some of the Players Clubs and you’re like an elite member, then they may waive them for you. Like Mlife does this if you’re a gold member. So, you know when you’re playing in those slot machines or the table games, make sure to have your Players Card in so you can get some of those special perks and save some money on your future trips to Vegas.
And if you like peace and quiet, then consider staying at a non-casino hotel. Yes, while most of the big strip hotels do have casinos, there are some that don’t have casinos, in particular, the Waldorf Astoria in the city center, there’s no casino there. I also like the Marriott Grand Chateau; it’s a Marriott timeshare hotel just like one block off the strip.
You know when I come, if it’s just myself for a short trip and ’cause I’m driving in, I will often stay at a Marriott, or a Hilton, or a Hyatt, like a block or two or three off the strip ’cause they’ll be way cheaper, the parking will be free or cheap, and same, no resort fee or an inexpensive resort fee.
So make sure you consider those options, particularly if you have a car. Oh, and there’s a whole lot more to know about hotels, and actually, I’ve got a number of videos about it. You can check out my video about my favorite luxury hotels and my best budget hotels. You’ll find links to that in the description or at the end of this video.
You should also note that the showgirls on the strip don’t work for the hotels; they work on tips. If you take a picture, be prepared to tip them. Same with the costume characters you’ll see around as well. I ran into fellow explorers, Andrea and Chris from Kansas City, and they have a tip they’d like to share with you.
Gambling in Las Vegas
The sixth thing to know is about gambling, and there sure is a lot of it in Vegas, almost everywhere you’ll find it. Certainly, along the strip and downtown, you’ll find it at gas stations, you’ll find it at bars, you’ll even find it at the airport. But definitely learn to play the games before you play them. Don’t play a game you don’t understand. Most of the big casinos have lessons to teach you how to play the games for free.
Definitely sign up for the Players Clubs. I talked about those perks before, but you can get extra perks in the Players Clubs, like front of line in the buffets, free buffets, those sorts of things. So make sure you take advantage of those. And definitely set your limit when it comes to gambling, pick an amount and that’s the most you’re gonna spend and if you lose that much, don’t try to win it back.
That’s a recipe for not coming home in your $50,000 car but coming back home in a $200,000 Greyhound bus.
Money
The seventh thing to know is about money. And you should know everybody here in Vegas wants your money in the form of tips. So make sure you carry some cash with you, $1 bills, where do you get those? Best place is from the ticket machines on the casino floor.
You can break a 20 and it’ll dispense it in fives and ones. Oh, and yeah, bring cash because the ATMs in the casinos are really expensive, and the bank ATMs are hard to find. The eighth thing to know is about when to go. And if you like swimming pools, you should come in the summer ’cause it’s really good pool season in the summer, it is hot.
If you don’t like it really hot, then you should come in the winter. We’re actually here in November shooting this and it is quite nice. But really, the best time to come is when there’s no big event in town. Vegas is driven by conventions and sporting events. So check those calendars and come when there’re gonna be fewer people, ’cause that’s when you’re gonna enjoy it more.
When to come in Las Vegas?
Now, if you do decide to come in winter, our favorite time, make sure you bring warm clothes. People often underestimate how cold it is, and if you’ve got shorts and tee-shirts like me, you might be cold in the morning and at night, ’cause the temperatures actually can get almost down to freezing in Vegas.
So, really check those and bring appropriate warm-weather clothes or buy an extra couple of jackets while you’re here. But OC Girl wanted me to say there are no cheap jackets here. All the stores on the strip are like super luxury, you know, Dior, Louis Vuitton, so probably bring your cheap jacket from home.
Food in Las Vegas
The next thing to know is about eating and Vegas is home to a lot of really good food. One of the things Vegas is definitely famous for are buffets and I think the best buffet in Vegas is at Caesars Palace, the Bacchanal Buffet. The great part about this buffet is you can make reservations to eat here so you don’t have to wait in line.
Actually, a lot of buffets now are taking reservations, so definitely check to see if the buffet you’re going to eat at takes reservation so you don’t have to wait in a long line. This buffet though, what I like about in its big trend in Vegas, they’re starting to plate up a lot of food items on small plates and so they do a lot more unique things like this is a dragon fruit smoothie, which I think is pretty neat.
Now other restaurants definitely make reservations in Vegas. It’s really become a reservation town. But some of the best restaurants, they’re not gonna be the ones that are right on the strip, they’re gonna be like hidden away up on third floors, up elevators. Bouchon over at the Venetian, you’re not gonna find it wandering the casino floor, there’s a special elevator to go get it.
The roast pork from the Chinese section is like better than any of the roast pork we’ve ever had in LA and it’s funny to think that we can get it here on a buffet. And, you know, some buffets they give you like tiny little buffet plates for dessert, not here. They give you full dinner-sized plates to get dessert, which is, of course, my favorite course.
Now, if you do come to Vegas, you’re gonna eat the buffets, pro tip, just one buffet a day. If you have more than that, you just won’t be able to walk anymore and you’ll probably have to add a second buttonhole to your pants. Oh, one thing to be aware of at this buffet and some others is time limits now, ’cause people are waiting so long in lines and now they take reservations.
With reservations, they give you time limit. At Bacchanal, it is 90 minutes. And oh by the way, like I said, there’s things on the buffet here that you don’t see a lot of other buffets, like Portuguese egg tarts on the buffet served warm and toasty. It’s really good.
Drinking
The second thing that fuels Vegas after gambling is drinking. And you should know, there’s drinking everywhere, but the drinks in Vegas are really expensive, particularly on the strip in the bars. If you want something cheaper, you know, get some drinks at CVS or Walgreens. Actually, spunky princesses, just don’t do it, don’t drink, it’s not good for you.
But if you are, do it responsibly. Know that on the strip you can drink almost anywhere, but it might be better to bring a plastic cup with you. Most of the hotels have plastic cups. You can get your cup in a to-go container from a glass to plastic. Oh, and my favorite place to pick up cheap alcoholic drinks or just drinks in general, is the ABC store. You’ll find a number of them on the strip and inside the Planet Hollywood Miracle Mile shops.
Smoking in Las Vegas
The eleventh thing to know is about smoking. And if you’re a smoker you can smoke just about everywhere in Vegas. And if you’re a non-smoker, it means you’ll be smelling smoke just about everywhere in Vegas.
Now, I will say the whole no smoking thing is definitely proliferating to more places in Vegas. You’ll find no smoking sections in casinos and you’ll find one casino, the Park MGM, has gone entirely no smoking. On this trip, we’re staying at the Bellagio and they asked us, “Do you want a smoking or non-smoking room?” They still have smoking rooms here.
Many places you go, you know, it’s not an option anymore. I will say, in addition to cigarette smoke, cigars, you’ll see people smoking cigars throughout the casinos. And marijuana is legal here, and while you can’t smoke it in the casinos, you will definitely smell people smoking it out on the strip, although that’s not legal either, you’re not supposed to smoke it out in public, but the enforcement is, hmm, almost nil related to that.
The twelfth thing to know is about Vegas being a family-friendly destination. And I get a lot of questions from you fellow explorers about, “Chris, is Vegas a good place to bring my kids, to bring my family?” And you know, this kind of ebbs and flows between Vegas being a family destination and not.
Family Travel Las Vegas
But I will say right now, hotels, resorts, casinos targeting families is definitely on the upswing. One thing you’ll see right here at the New Horseshoe Hotel, used to be Bally’s, they spent a lot of money in a new arcade. There’s a little bowling alley, there’s miniature golf. And so, this is something I see quite a bit.
Now, obviously the name Sin City definitely conjures up topless pool day clubs, but you know, for every topless swimming pool there are three more pools that definitely catered families. Now, people often ask me about what my favorite swimming pool is for kiddos and I like the one at the Mandalay Bay, they have a gigantic wave pool over there.
Your kids are definitely going to enjoy it. Kids are allowed most places in Vegas, including the casinos, they’re allowed to transit the casino floor. Just kids under 21 are not allowed to linger on the casino floor. Like, if you’re playing the slot machine, you probably shouldn’t have your two-year-old on your lap and they’re definitely not allowed to go through the casinos by themselves.
Also, if you do come here with young kids, you might wanna stay off the strip after 9:00 PM when it starts to get a little bit more rowdy and probably stay away from the Fremont Street Experience ’cause that place is kind of generally, rowdy and risque all day. But if you stay within the resorts on the strip in the daytime, early evening, I think it’s a pretty good family destination.
Oh, do beware though, if you’re coming here with kids, there are two hotels that are 21 and up entirely, the Circa hotel downtown and also the El Cortez now, 21 and up just to go in or stay in the hotel, so no kids there, which if you’re an adult and you’re looking for a place to get away from the little screamers, well, now you know two places you can do that.
Day Trips from Las Vegas
And the 13th thing to know is about the popular day trips from Las Vegas. The most popular one is the Hoover Dam. It’s about a 45-minute drive if you’ve got a car; there are a ton of tour companies that’ll take you down there, too. In addition to seeing the dam, you can go inside it for tours to see how they make the electricity.
Grand Canyon
The second most popular tour from Vegas is the Grand Canyon. There are a couple you’ll see advertised. There’s one on Native American land that’s a couple of hours away that’s got the skywalk on it, or the Grand Canyon National Park, that is four hours away. You can do it in a day trip, but it’s a long day trip.
Two of my favorites, Zion National Park and Death Valley National Park, are a two to three-hour drive from here, depending upon which one you go to.