Alright, I've decided to tell you about my experiences with Las Vegas. This is one of the places I most like to visit, and I think a lot of people underestimate this city and what the area has to offer. You might already have noticed I've put up a couple of recommendation posts from the area, if not; I'll give you the details here anyways.
So, I've been to Las Vegas a total of 3 times now, and I don't get bored with it! Let's start with downtown, most people think about the glamorous Las Vegas Strip with the huge resorts when they think of Las Vegas, and I'll get into that later in this post, but I feel downtown is often overlooked, so I'll start with that.
Downtown Las Vegas is located north of The Strip and the buses takes about 20 minutes. Which is why my cousin and I decided to stay at a hotel downtown for a couple of nights during one of our visits to the city.
The downtown area under the Fremont street experience is something quite unique and it has a completely different vibe from the famous Strip. It's more laid back, more festival like. There are often a couple of free concerts on, as there are 3 stages under the big screen, and they sell cool drinks in these fantastic big funny plastic cups. I've had some really good times dancing through the street here with a huge drink in my hand.
There is also a container park with charming little shops, eateries and bars in the downtown area, just a short walk from the street experience.
Now I want to talk about what options you have for activities around Las Vegas. One is quite obvious to a lot of people; The Grand Canyon. So I'll talk about that first. There are a lot of ways of seeing the canyon; by bus tour to the Skywalk, by plane or helicopter, you can land in the canyon and have lunch there. Or you can book a tour with just about everything; helicopter, bus and boat, or maybe rafting. The options are close to endless. My cousin and I opted for the Helicopter tour with a champagne lunch on the ground in the canyon. We landed on the native side of the canyon, meaning not only have I been on native land, which I think is pretty cool, it also means I've contributed to their economy as the tribe receives a small amount for every person setting foot on their land. The lunch was good and the view was amazing. There really are no words to describe views like this. Nature truly is amazing! I will absolutely recommend doing this. I sort of want it all though, so if I manage to get back to Las Vegas again I might do the Skywalk next, or maybe a boat trip.
Another activity I've done in Las Vegas is horseback riding in the Nevada desert. This was my first meeting with a desert and to me this was so cool. I love horses and I think horseback tours are a good way of seeing nature. And seeing a little chipmunk just beside me along the trail was a highlight for me, it's not something we have in Norway. The desert is quite beautiful and there are hiking possibilities too, there are several hiking trails, or if you want a guide there are day tours with transport as well.
And if you like helicopter rides there is the option of seeing Las Vegas from the skies. This is not something I've done myself, but it seems to be quite popular.
And then there's the shopping! In addition to the Fashion Show Mall and all the shops and mini malls at the resorts on The Strip there are also two outlets in Las Vegas, one close to downtown and one south of the The Strip, the buses does go to these. Personally i prefer the Northern outlet, but it's all about what you like, so look at the list of shops before you decide. I also always go to the Fashion Show mall, there is a huge Forever 21 I may or may not have spent a few hours in.
Right, I believe it's time to talk about The Strip now. A lot of people will tell you that you're sick of Vegas after a couple of days, I highly disagree. I would recommend at least 5 days, especially if you're traveling far to get there. The hotels in and of themselves are incredible and if you want to see them all it'll take you quite some time, so put on your walking shoes. I would recommend stopping by most of the hotels just to see the decor and the different themes, but here are some of my favorites:
The gardens leading up to the Mandalay bay, such a beautiful little walk.
The exterior of Luxor, meaning you don't actually have to go inside. (But having stayed here, I quite like the hotel).
New York New York and Paris, I think both of these hotels are pretty cool, I feel they've captured some of the essence of these cities.
Flamingo gardens, the gardens here are truly something, but I really don't like playing at their casino, and will never stay with them again.
The Venetian has the canal, which is so amazing.
And Caesars palace has the Forum shops.
There are a couple of free shows to catch while you're here, the lava show at The Mirage and the fountain at The Bellagio. You don't have to go into the hotels for these, they can be viewed from the street. And personally I could watch the fountain again and again, but because I'm a dancer I might enjoy the water show set to music even more than most people.
In addition to all the free things you can do in Las Vegas there are some great things that do cost money as well. There's the aquarium at the Mandalay Bay, the amusement park at Circus, the Stratosphere tower, where you can see the whole city below you, and the Secret garden and Dolphin habitat at the Mirage. I know a lot of people don't like animal parks, but my impression is that the Mirage cares about their animals and treats them well. This is where you can see the famous white tigers and lions. And their Dolphin habitat has several interactive programs, one of which I tried out on my first Vegas trip. I really enjoyed the Dolphin trainer for a day program, where we learned a lot about dolphins and how all their dolphins have different diets. They take photos of you all day, so you can just enjoy it all and then at the end of the day you get all the photos on a CD to take home with you (they might have changes how you get the photos though, I did this in 2011). What you see in the picture is one of the coolest things I've done in my life, but it is quite strenuous for the dolphin so we only got to do this once, which is fair.
And now we've gotten to the shows! I can't say I've seen them all, I can't even say I've seen a lot, but I have seen a couple of shows. I've seen one Cirque du Soleil show, and I suspect they're all amazing, it's just about find that one that appeals the most to you. And I've seen Jabbawockeez, they're an amazing dance crew and I absolutely loved it. I'd recommend seeing at least one show while you're in Las Vegas, but recommending a show is difficult. There are so many shows and I'd say we all like different things. Do some research, find what seems like your thing.
In addition to this there are always concerts as well, lately my favorite band, Backstreet Boys, has had a residency, this is coming to an end real soon though. I wish I would have been able to see this, but unfortunately it didn't work out that way. I have seen them in Las Vegas though, back in 2011, and they were amazing, as always.
So if you like big concerts just look up who has a concert, or maybe a residency, when you're in town.
I guess I do need to say something about the casinos too. I'm not a big gambler myself, so I haven't tried the table games and such. I like playing the cheap slots while I get free drinks (which I normally tip $1 for). I'll look for the slots that look like fun and then I spend a couple of dollars on the machine. Luckily my cousin thinks it's fun and entertaining to play like this too. Although she normally spends a little more on the machines than me. But I'm cheap so.
Now I only have one more little tip. And then if you have questions for me you can ask them in the Facebook comment section at the bottom of my travel page.
Conventions! If you're like me and love watching fantasy shows like Supernatural, Once upon a time, Vampire Diaries and such, then you might like to know there are ways to meet the actors. A lot of these shows have conventions all over the US, but if you're from another part of the world you might not know that this exists. We ended up going to Supernatural Vegas con after my cousin asked if I would consider a Supernatural convention with her. After doing a little research I found they had one in Las Vegas and the plans began to form. As there were more things I wanted to do in Las Vegas I used this as my "ticket" to get her there with me. The convention was so amazing we ended up going again the next year. Meeting the actors, seeing them talk about the show and meeting other fans got me to liking the show even more than I did before going to the convention. I didn't really think that was possible. Now I'm a proud member of the SPN family and an avid Gisher. (Don't know what that is? Look it up! It's amazing, weird and fun.)
So this was my little tip if you like shows like this; find out if they do conventions, and the Vegas conventions are often a bit bigger, and longer, than other conventions.
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