Surprise! I bet you didn’t see this one coming. But yes, after a 5-month hiatus, the trip reports are back! As you can probably tell from the title, we’re going to Sin City in these next trip reports. I just came back from a three-day trip to Las Vegas and boy, was it a doozy. This post will serve as a Las Vegas introduction post where I’m going to talk a little bit about what went into planning this trip.
Not only did I explore and eat my way through the entire Las Vegas strip, but I also got to explore Downtown Las Vegas and even went to nearby Red Rock Canyon. This trip was also extra special because I celebrated my birthday on this trip, and where better else to celebrate than Las Vegas!
This trip report series will cover everything I did during my 3-day trip to Vegas. I took as many pictures as I could and took detailed notes on everything we saw and did so that I could make this report as detailed as possible.
As with our other trip reports, there will be Las Vegas trip planning posts following the conclusion of this trip report series. I’m also happy to announce that I will have Manila planning articles up soon as well. Lots of big things are happening for this site and I’m excited to share it all with you.
This post will serve as an introduction where I’ll go over how I planned the trip, how I decided to go to Vegas for my birthday, and the whole pre-arrival matters we had to sort through. Hopefully these trip reports can help you plan your own trip to Las Vegas. So without further ado, let the Las Vegas introduction commence!
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Background
Las Vegas has always been in my top 3 US cities bucket list, together with New Orleans and Chicago. I’ve been wanting to go there ever since I moved to the US. Something about the city always fascinated me. Its history, its ties to the mob, and its reputation as Sin City have always captured my attention.
Then finally, after 4 years of living in the US, an opportunity to finally take a trip to Las Vegas presented itself. Needless to say, I took it, and soon I was counting down the days until my first visit to the largest city in Nevada.
After visiting the city, I can confidently say that not only did it meet my expectations, but it completely surpassed them. I found the city to be fun, lively, and chock full of things to do. Even with 3 days I didn’t get to see and do everything. But I would say 3 days is the perfect amount of time to introduce me to the city and to see its highlights.
I was initially choosing between going to the Grand Canyon or to Las Vegas for my birthday. While the Grand Canyon would have been a cheaper destination to visit, I eventually decided on Las Vegas because it made more sense time-wise for me to go there.
The Grand Canyon would have necessitated a flight and a rental car to reach it and, because of that, it can’t be done on a weekend. Las Vegas, on the other hand, is easy to reach from LA and was more efficient time-wise because of that. I wanted to be able to fully explore the destination I was going to go to, and I knew it would be possible to do that with Las Vegas.
Planning
We decided on three days because we realized that three days was enough time to see the city while also not overdoing it and eventually running out of things to do. I would recommend anyone planning a trip to Las Vegas, especially first timers, to also go for about 3 days. Although we had incredibly packed days, there was also a lot of time when we could just walk around and enjoy the strip and downtown Vegas.
We stayed at the Bellagio, which is where I would recommend anyone stay for their first time. It is on the pricier side, but staying at a hotel with such a central location on the strip made going from hotel to hotel very easy. Other good options would be the Flamingo, Caesar’s Palace, and the Paris Hotel.
We booked our dining reservations incredibly early, as you should too. I think we booked our Delilah reservation weeks in advance. We basically had to book ahead for any restaurant or bar that was located on the strip, as well as some restaurants in the surrounding areas and in Downtown Las Vegas. Take note too that some attractions and shows, like the Cirque Du Soleil shows and Red Rock Canyon’s Scenic Trail, need to be booked in advance as well.
Now every Las Vegas itinerary and trip is going to be different depending on what your interests are. If you like gambling then expect to go casino-hopping as you try your luck at the various casinos.
If you like history, Las Vegas has some amazing museums like the Mob Museum and the Neon Museum. If you like to relax, all of the hotels have amazing pools, restaurants, and spas on hand for you to enjoy. There’s truly something for everyone and every budget in Las Vegas.
I know some people say that Las Vegas can feel very fake. I totally get that. When everything is catered to tourists it can all feel a little saccharine. But there’s a lot of cool history and culture hidden beneath the glitz and glamor. And if you take the time to look for it, I promise it’ll be very rewarding.
That’s it! Expect Trip Report Part One to come out in the next couple of days. I hope you’re as excited as I was to venture into the wild wild west known as Las Vegas. It’s going to be a fun one, I promise.
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