Las Vegas, Nevada

“Vegas isn’t a city, it’s its own magical world.” -Unknown

This was our second time coming to Las Vegas as a vacation. We have driven through multiple times on our way to California. The first time we stayed was just an add on to our anniversary trip going to Zion National Park in Utah so we didn’t have anything planned just walked the strip. This time we were going to Las Vegas for a friend’s wedding so we stayed at a hotel on the strip and had so much fun!

Places To Stay

Usually when we drive through Vegas we have stayed at AirBNBs or at regular hotels. This time we decided to stay on the strip so we could easily walk around. We stayed at the Excalibur Hotel and I booked it through Orbitz. It was the cheapest one I could find that was right on the strip and it was a great location. Our room wasn’t the nicest but they said that they are renovating the hotel and haven’t gotten to the floor we stayed on.

Hotels on the strip are usually cheaper during the week and then sky rocket on the weekends, so plan your trip accordingly if you can. Also be aware that if you stay at a resort you will have to pay extra for resort fees. But in my opinion it’s worth it being so close to everything. -Kylie

Transportation

You have lots of options depending on where you stay. If you stay somewhere on the strip it is super easy to walk places. For our weekend trip we walked about 21 miles! There is a monorail that you can take up and down the strip. They offer different passes for different amount of days and they are affordable. For what we were wanting to do and where we wanted to go since we were there for a wedding we decided to use Lyft. It is worth it to have both Lyft and Uber and see which one is cheaper depending on where you are. Lyft was definitely cheaper than Uber for us while in Vegas. One friend went to the same destination as us and it cost him $30 on Uber and the same ride cost us $9 on Lyft.

Filet and Shrimp at Ruth’s Chris Steak House

Food

We ate so much yummy food while in Vegas! These are my must haves while there! For breakfast we went to the Cosmopolitan Hotel and ate at EggSlut and it was SO good!! The line was super long, wrapped around the backside of the restaurant but it went pretty quick (about 20 mins) and it was so worth it. I got the Slut (coddled egg on top of potato puree topped with salt and chives served with slices of baguette) and also the truffle hash browns that were super yummy! For dinner one night we ate at Ruth’s Chris Steak House and it was delicious! We each got a steak, potato and drink and all of it was fantastic! I got the Raspberry Rosemary Cosmo and it was the best cocktail I’ve had in a very long time! I’ll post a photo of how much dinner was for 3 of us…..any guesses of how much it cost??? Our favorite sushi restaurant in Vegas is RA Sushi in the Fashion Show Mall. We like to eat there every time we stop in Vegas now!

Things To Do

There are so many things to do in Las Vegas with or without kids. Something we enjoyed was visiting the M&M World which was right on the strip down the street from our hotel. It’s 4 stories high and full of all kinds of M&Ms themed goodies. It was fun to just walk around and of course we filled up cups full of our favorite M&Ms!

We also enjoyed going to the Fashion Show Mall. They have lots of different stores from high end to regular for all your shopping needs. Don’t forget to eat at RA Sushi while you’re here!

We did go over to Fremont Street which is downtown Las Vegas. We walked around and went into a few different casinos but our luck wasn’t very good there. I definitely think it’s worth exploring that part of the town if you get a chance!

We had so much fun playing Bubble Craps! I don’t really understand gambling but we did enjoy ourselves playing this game and did win some money! We had the best luck at the machines at the Excalibur. My husband was also good at playing Baccarat and did win some money on that as well. They don’t have Baccarat tables at every casino but we found one at the MGM Grand.

Walking the strip is so much fun! Just make sure you bring good walking shoes. It’s easy to walk from one hotel to another and all the stores along the way. Lots and of things to see and each hotel is completely different in style and feel. You can also get a drink and enjoy it as you walk the strip as long as it is in a plastic cup. There are lots of daiquiri and margaritas bars along the walk down the strip.

There are SO many shows in Vegas! Do your research before hand and buy tickets. We didn’t get to see any shows while we were there since we were going to a friend’s wedding but make sure you check them out! There are lots of scammers on the streets so be careful that you don’t purchase tickets from people that are not with a real company. They try to talk to you and reel you in so it’s better to just ignore them even though it’s hard to be rude. Same with people giving you things like bracelets or wanting to take pictures with you (show girls, cartoon characters, monks, etc.) they can scam you out of a ton of money and it’s not worth it. Just keep on walking and ignore them.