General

The Bellagio is right across the road, definitely check out the fountains and then walk inside to see the Bellagio gardens

The old strip is kinda gross, but it's cheap and entertaining. Only strip you can eat for under $5 and get a drink. The new strip is expensive, home of the $15 Subway footlong and many drinks. My favorite restaurant was Ventano's in Henderson. Great view of Vegas if you get a window or patio seat, and great food the few times I was there. Not cheap, but not ridiculous by LV standards.

As someone who doesn't care for much of that, red rock canyon is 15 minutes outside of Vegas, as is the Hoover dam. The west rim of the grand canyon is a 3 hour drive, but it's on a rez so it will cost you. If I ever go back, it will be for the hiking.

Make sure to check out the canals in the Venetian, the fountains and garden at the Belagio. I personally like the craps tables better at The Orleans, which would be a quick uber ride from your hotel. People get a kick from Madam Tuseaus Wax Museum.

For food, eat at Momofuko, get Adobada and Lengua tacos at Tacos El Gordo. A cool experienxe place to eat dinner is at the Top of the World at the Stratosphere (rotating restaurant that you can see the entire city from).

Beatles Love and O are great shows if you're looking for any more shows to watch.

Definitely recommend a Cirque for sure.

MrBean wrote:


Meh. I went to one, too artsy fartsy and it was a lot of $$. If you do go to a show, there are shops(?) where you can get discounted tickets the day of. I think they sell tickets for shows that aren't sold out at a discount. I know my buddy got me the Cirque tickets at something like $20 off. Not sure exactly where, but I'm pretty sure it's on the strip.

Dont have any good suggestions to contribute, I’m in Vegas right now (1st time) and I kind of hate it lol...although I had some great fast/street food. the general “oppressive consumerism” vibe just isnt that appealing to me, but it’s likely I just havent seen or done enough because it’s a work trip, i’m sure i’d feel differently if i went with friends or gf

Thanks all! Good suggesstions here. Will definitly check out the Bellagio fountains and some of these places to eat. I don't mind spending some money this weekend having fun. I have to come back next year for work so it will be good to get the lay of the land too. I'd LOVE to do some hiking and exploring but my friends aren't the type so maybe next time.
Flying in late tonight and our fun begins tomorrow.

... Don't forget about the hookers and blow!

Haha, have fun!

MrBean wrote:

lol thanks. My luck I'd find a cop on my first try

Agreed. Some of the best Cirque du Soleil shows are in Vegas. I would highly recommend O (stunts over a stage with water) at the Bellagio or Ka (sword-fighting and flips across moving walls, fire, etc.) at MGM.

MrBean wrote:

Ka was my first (12+? Years ago) Loved it, would like to see it again! Also saw O there, was good but didn't seem to be as awesome as I had heard.

Have seen numerous others outside of Vegas (the new one at Disney is much better than it used to be).

Would love to get back for the Beatles how, heard it's great!

I just took my first trip to Vegas in February. We had a ton of fun! The Bellagio and Ceasar's Palace are musts! We also hit a buffet at Ceasers, it was expensive but it was fantastic!

I feel like Caesar's is also Planet Hollywood... I am confused by that because it's billed as Caesars but location is PH. Anyway will be there either way.

Didn't even think about Cirque de Soleil. If we have time we will squeeze in a show. Ours nights are pretty full so it depends on showtimes I guess!

DrizzDrizzDrizz wrote:


I went with friends and my gf and still felt the same way. I was done with both strips after 1 day. Really wanted to hike Red Rock but my buddy got sick so never got to do it proper. If you get a free afternoon or early evening check it out. Back then it was under $10 by the car to get in.

I've seen a few Cirque shows and the Beatles show is by far the worst one I've seen. I thought it was boring and pretty unimpressive when compared to the other Cirque shows I've seen. Two of the people I was with fell asleep.

But I don't care for the Beatles so that was probably a significant factor in my experience.

What stuff do you like? I just got back and the weather was not great - mid 70's / low 80's.

- Everyone has raved about Area 15: https://meowwolf.com/visit/las-vegas
- The Punk Rock Museum opened not too long ago, and they recently started offering guided tours from notable punk icons: https://www.thepunkrockmuseum.com/
- I'm a grown adult who loves magic, so many good acts to see.

I've been 5 times as an adult. Hated it at first. I'm growing neutral towards it.

- Gambling sucks
- The strip is not just soulless, but soul sucking. It feels as gross as it is.
- Lake Mead just looks sad now
- It really isn't very convenient to nice nature stuff. Red Rock is only cool if you haven't seen Utah or Arizona stuff. Death Valley isn't normally very nice, Zion you need to get in the park by like 7 or 8 if you want to get in this time of the year, west rim grand canyon is ok, north rim is the best though way too far from Vegas for a day trip. Valley of Fire is IMO the best drivable place and its okish.

+ there is a good variety of shows for everyone
+ lots of great restaurants, though many require reservations
+ Hoover Dam is still an impressive mega project regardless of how Lake Mead is doing
+ Quite a few good roller coasters and thrill rides
+ Good number and variety of museums


So yeah, for your wild and middle aged women goal, i'd say make sure and get at least 1 good restaurant reservation and find a thrill ride everyone is up for.

I just remember one thing I liked in Vegas: The Star Trek Experience... but, I guess it closed in 2008.

Here's something my wife mentioned.
https://meowwolf.com/visit/las-vegas - it's like an art installation you can visit and explore...
"an interactive, mind-bending immersive art experience. Explore an extraordinary supermarket that bursts into surreal worlds and unexpected landscapes."

bill wrote:

I went to Vegas back around 2003 or so. The Star Trek Experience was one of the highlights of the trip for me. I think that was at the Hilton.

Whatever you do, DO NOT TOUCH THE MINI BAR FRIDGE in the hotel unless you plan on paying for it... I'm not sure if it's all of them, but when I stayed at Caesar's Palace... I opened the fridge, took out an item to get a better look at it and put it back... they tried to charge me for it. There are sensors in the fridge that will alert an item is removed so housekeeping can restock when they make their rounds... but luckily I got the charge removed after explaining to them it was my first time in Vegas and I didn't know what it was and wanted a better look at the label and put it back.

Don't take photos w/ anyone, don't buy or take anything from street vendors like water, cds, etc... and if someone tells you they can get you things if you go somewhere, tell them "No."

I've been told how to get free drinks spending little money in a casino but it seems to vary each casino... I tried it once... was told I could have a beer but they never came back with it.

Maybe try the Bacchanal buffet at Caesar's... I wanted to try it but got distracted by something else...

There's like an indoor mall connected to Caesar's as well that has glowy ceillings, and while a lot of the stores are expensive stuff, it was really interesting to check out.

Yeah the mini bar sensor bit is crazy lol at MGM grand too
And the water bottle outside the minifridge is NOT complimentary :D (i knew it wouldnt be but they did a good job hiding the $22 price for a liter of water)

Thanks all. We just got home last night. Had a blast but I am not sure I'd want to take in Vegas for longer than 3-4 nights at a time. It was a rare indulgence to start drinking at 9am and pace yourself until 2-4am. No one got sick, we just were having a good time. We got alcohol at the airport which everyone said was overpriced but it was surprisingly reasonable compared to what we're used to at home. So we'd pre-drink some before going out.

We did The Chicks concert (it was great)
Walked a ton in Miracle Mile. I got a sweet koi/lotus/waves tattoo
Saw the Chippendale's show at the Rio
We did some gambling but I found it incredibly annoying. I lost maybe $100 and was good with that.
The food was great but so much more I wanted to try but my gut wouldn't let me.

Our room had a perfect view of the Bellagio Fountains so that was great. We also saw them close up at night.

We went to the Tipsy Robot and I had crazy Fallout vibes watching a robot mix my drink, that was cool.

The street vendors and panhandlers were insane. We just kept walking and didn't make eye contact.

But yeah, the city is gross. I love that you can grab a taxi for anything and we didn't need a car. I really loved walking around and the mountain views were amazing.

Glad to hear you had a good time. As someone who grew up there, it's more like a giant suburb with the Strip and Freemont being the place that tourists go. It was certainly fun in my early 20s when I was going to the clubs, doing midnight bowling, and eating $2 steak & egg breakfast at 3am.

Now when I go to visit family, I typically avoid the Strip unless there is a show/concert that I'm going to. The Orleans is where I'll go to play craps with friends/family, it's a good community game that can be played for quite some time on $50 if you're conservative.

There's a lot to do in the town outside of the Strip depending on what you're looking for, but it didn't seem fitting to share those for a girls trip that was focused on staying close to the Strip.

The one thing that I missed out on when I lived there was sports. Yeah, I went to the occasional minor league baseball game or a UNLV basketball game, but nothing like seeing an NFL or NHL game. I'll have to check out the new arenas sometime in the next couple of years. Maybe I'll become a Raiders and Golden Knights fan.

DrizzDrizzDrizz wrote:

YAS!! i was thirsty as get all and ended up drinking that not so complimentary bottle of water w/o checking first... Luckily I could afford it. LOL

Pro tip on water at hotels. Bring a bottle with you on your trip. At the hotel, go to the gym to fill up on water. Most hotel gyms have a filtered water dispenser. If you don't have a bottle ask the concierge if you can have a bottle of water. Decent hotels will still give away free water, they just have to charge for the stuff in your room.

SwiftJAB wrote:


My default on any trip no matter the distance or time is to go to a local convenience or department store and buy basics. A gallon of water is less than $2. Bananas should be cheap. A 6 pack of beer (the basics). A box of Breakfast bars. Bring some jerky. I do this on nearly every trip.

sinnie wrote:
My wife and I have been doing Vegas once a year for the last few years. This is absolutely true. Unless you have a convention or some other multi-day event I would even say 3 days is enough. 2 may be ideal once you know what you are doing.


1000% true. If you are not afraid to step out of your comfort zone for a food budget (Living in WI, food is quite reasonable by comparrison) there are some spectacular options. Our last trip, we focused on trying some new and different restaurants. There were a couple of nights where we agreed that a budget did not apply. Thankfully, we both drink very little and don't have to worry about getting too out of hand with drinks and food together. This decision was the best part of our most recent trip. We got to discover some amazing new restaurants. Our next trip, I am hoping to get in on a tasting menu if at all possible. One that jumps out to me is é from Jose Andreas.

I still want to try the Gordan Ramsay burger. I love a good burger. But the grease/change in diet wasn't agreeing with me much. We did The Wicked Spoon buffet and it was "meh" and I believe something there got me a little sick.

I go back July 2024 for a work convention and it'll be 4-5 days. I won't have as much time to do things, won't be with friends, but I should be able to squeeze in more stuff. I was considering trying to take the kids (they would be 10 and 2) but am not sure, I think they'd be bored and it would be very hot.

There is a ton of stuff for kids in Vegas. Some hotels offer kid zone play spaces. There's a lot of kid arcades (aka kid casinos). The children's museum is great (https://www.discoverykidslv.org/). Depending on where you're staying, the pool could be hours of entertainment. The Springs Preserve is another great interactive place for kids (https://www.springspreserve.org/). If your 10yo likes it, bowling lanes are all around. There are tons of parks, some even have water features to help the kids stay cool and some have sun shades over the playground equipment to keep them from getting scorching hot.

You'd want to rent a car if you're bringing kids. That all being said, bringing the kids would also completely change the vibe of your stay. You have to consider how your kids may react to all the stimulation, time change, etc. We just got back from Maui with our 2.5yo and the trip was basically 7 days of eating and going to the beach/pool with a small hike and a trip the aquarium. We had fun for sure, but after day 5, I was looking for more ways to kill time.

sinnie wrote:

It's expensive, but there's a reason it's the best. Skip wicked spoon and go to bacchanal at Cesar's palace.

pr0phet wrote:

I actually heard the burgers weren't worth it. One is like $30 which is less than The Wicked Spoon buffet. We won't go back to the Spoon due to the lines. Stood for 2hours during their least busy time and the food was just... basic.

sinnie wrote:

Ramsay’s Burgers are absolutely worth it. I go there each time I go to Vegas. I’m a big fan of their Farmhouse burger and their Truffle fries.

BluesideL wrote:

*sad hungry noises*
Oh well, July 2024