Las Vegas Travel Guide; The Strip & Downtown.

Bright lights, big drinks, residencies & big money, welcome to Las Vegas! This was my first time on the Las Vegas strip & I absolutely loved it. I found it to be way more than I expected and wasn’t only about getting drunk and gambling.

The whole reason I wanted to go to Las Vegas and stay on the strip was to see Lady Gaga’s residency, Enigma. I brought the tickets 11 months in advance, flew all the way from Australia, and then an hour and a half before the show was due to start, she canceled! Can you believe it… But let’s not talk about it… Moving on! 

We flew from Melbourne to Los Angeles and after a couple of days in LA, my husband & I hired a car to drive to Vegas.

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The drive to Vegas took all day but we stopped at two outlets malls along the way, Barstow & Primm. The outlet malls aren’t out of the way so it’s a great opportunity to get heaps of shopping done. I liked both of the malls but Barstow is much bigger and had heaps of fast-food restaurants as well. 

If we didn’t stop as much along the way the drive from LA to Vegas would have taken between 4 and 5 hours. 

I’m glad the drive took all day though because it meant we arrived in Vegas after dark when all the neon was shining brightly. 

Accommodation on the Las Vegas Strip:

We booked the Flamingo Las Vegas for 7 nights. I decided to book here because Lawrence had stayed here in the past and rated it, plus it was much cheaper compared with many other hotels in the same area. 

The location of the Flamingo is perfect, right in the middle of the strip. It is a little bit worn compared to many of the other hotels but it’s still great and had everything we needed. Plus I had heard how amazing their pool parties are…. But, wahhhh, we were there at the start of November & the pool had just closed for the season 😔. Thankfully we got lucky with a free room upgrade, the room was bigger and had the most amazing view of the strip and the Bellagio fountain. 

We kept our hire car for the next couple of days because we wanted to explore the surrounding areas of Vegas (click here for Las Vegas Day Trips article) and we could park at the Flamingo for an additional $15 a night. 

I couldn’t believe how much there is to do in Las Vegas, so many shows, attractions, shops & casinos! What you do will depend a lot on your budget as Vegas can quickly become very expensive. 

Here’s a list of what we got up to during our week on the Vegas strip: 

Las Vegas Casinos:

This one is so obvious because, well, you’re in Las Vegas! But the casinos are way more than just gambling. I don’t gamble very much, I may just put a few dollars in the Slots (or as an Australian I’d say Pokies) but it is fun watching some of the tables and how excited people get. If you’re gambling drinks are free and as long as you’ve tipped the waiter they’ll keep coming back to you. 

Gambling aside, there is so much to see in the casinos and hotels. Many themed after cities or countries, it can sometimes feel as if you’ve just stepped thousands of miles away from Vegas. You’re free to walk around any of the hotels without being a guest, there filled with shops, bars, restaurants, and attractions. Two of my favorites were New York New York and Caesars Palace. 

Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club:

We knew we wanted to go to a comedy club and chose this one because it’s basically right next to the Flamingo! We went on a Sunday night and only purchased tickets the night before, they cost $44 each. The name of the comedian we saw was Luenell and she was bloody hilarious. Also, the theatre isn’t too big so any seats would have been awesome.

Night Clubs in Vegas:

I was so excited about clubbing in Vegas! I don’t care how old you are, you need to go and I promise you’ll have a blast. Have a little google beforehand and see what clubs will be hosting special guests while you’re there. We went to Drai’s nightclub (the Cromwell Hotel), Marquee nightclub (The cosmopolitan) & Omnia nightclub (Creasers Palace). We saw Steve Aoki at Omnia and his energy was insane!!!

Entry to all the clubs can be so expensive and guys will always pay extra. You can get yourself on a guest list pretty easy and then you’ll get free entry and sometimes free drinks. A club promoter actually contacted me on Instagram, which I was so thankful for, click here to check her out @tiffbalog. 

Also, the drinks are so expensive!!! Maybe I’m just a poor bitch but $20 for 1 bourbon, ahhhh! We’d generally drink somewhere in the afternoon during happy hour, then smash some duty-free in our room while getting ready! 

Shopping:

Shopping in America is always amazing so I always make sure I have a good budget for it. My favorite shopping malls around the Vegas strip were Northern outlet, Planet Hollywood, Caesars Palace & Fashion show mall. 

The Bellagio, Fountain & Conservatory:

The Bellagio fountain is such an iconic star along the strip. We could hear the raw of the water from our room across the road, on the 27th floor. The fountain shows are every 30 minutes in the afternoon and from 8 pm onwards (7 pm on weekends) the show is every 15 minutes.

The Conservatory & Botanical Gardens is free entry & changes seasonally. The displays are made from thousands of flowers, it’s all so stunning and as you can imagine how good it smells. 

The Stratosphere:

Or also known as “the strat”. This is a hotel & casino tower. On the top level is the observation floor where you get 360° views of Vegas. This is so worth doing, a ticket up there will cost you $24 and is valid or 24 hours. But the best part of all is the three rides at the top that will literally have you hanging off the edge of the tower. Even when you’re strapped in, you’ll still be hanging on for dear life.

It’s such an awesome adrenaline rush, so don’t let fear stop you. Check out the website here. 

Neon Museum:

This museum is in downtown Vegas and is an exhibition displaying many of the old, iconic Las Vegas neon signs from casinos and other businesses. The property is pretty big but separated into sections. We purchased general admission tickets for $30 each which gives you entry for 1 hour. But we had no trouble having a good look around in under 30 minutes. For all the photographers out there, unfortunately, SLR cameras aren’t permitted, you can only take mobiles in.  

I did like this museum but wasn’t overly impressed, I thought it was a bit uneventful and overpriced for what it was. 

I don’t want to end on a sour note though, I absolutely LOVED Las Vegas! The Vegas strip is also one of the funniest places to people watch. I can’t wait to return and see all the things I didn’t get a chance to do this time…. And hopefully, that includes Lady Gaga….  

From the Vegas strip to the airport it’s a 10-minute drive and the Uber costs around $15. From the airport drop-off area, it was a nice surprise to see one last view of the whole strip!

If you’re staying in Las Vegas for longer than a weekend I’m sure you’ll need a breather from the strip and there are so many great day trips. Click here to read my article on Day Trips From Las Vegas.

Thanks for reading, 

Happy Travels.