One afternoon/night in Vegas - what to do?

Question

As the title says, in about a month, as part of our tour of western USA, we (my fiancee and myself) will be spending an afternoon and evening in Las Vegas. We'll be staying on a hotel on the Strip itself (Harrah's Las Vegas Resort), so we should be closeish to most things.

We have a few things we'd like to do (if possible in the limited timeframe), and would appreciate any suggestions you guys might have.

• Go see a show We're a young couple, so nothing too traditional (and we've seen Cirque du Soleil last month already ;). What's good? I'm thinking I might like Absinthe or Siegfried and Roy, but open to any suggestions. Also, is it worth to look for one of those shows that have dinner included?

• Gamble. Would only be for a small amount of money (max 200$), as it would be more about sniffing up the athmosphere. I suppose we could gamble at our own resort, but I'm wondering if it's worth going to one of the bigger casino's to gawk ;) Can you use the casino of a hotel you're not staying in btw?

• See the sights. This is an open one, but since we're only going to be there a short time, I'd like to see as many must-see things as possible. For example, passing by the Bellagio to see the fountain show, and possibly the Atlantis show at the other hotel. Is there some kind of guide to things you can see while making (for example) a long walk down the Strip?

I realise this is probably a slightly difficult question as everyone has their own idea what 'must' be seen in Vegas, but at this point I'd rather have too much information then too little ;)

Answer 1

A list of things to see would make your question offtopic, so I'll tell you how Vegas works and let you make your own list.

First, Vegas is the most internet aware destination I have ever visited. Everything you need to know is on the web. Second, tons of stuff is free, offered in the hope that you'll gamble at the casino that offers it. Third, the distances are more than you think from a map, and more than you think standing there looking at something deciding to walk. You need a plan.

Find yourself a map of the strip and a list of the strip hotels. List out what they offer: lions and tigers, flamingos, sharks, volcanic eruptions set to loud music, synchronized fountains, lady pirates in skimpy clothes featuring ships that move in a fountain, etc. Make some notes like

Bellagio Fountains Monday- Friday 3:00 p.m. to 12am every 30 minutes until 7:00 p.m., every 15 minutes from 7 p.m. to 12am

I kept these in a Word doc along with a map of the strip that had the hotels numbered, and I marked each attraction with the map number and kept them in order north to south.

Figure out what you want to see. Some things are free, some are not, so if you have a budget you can keep track of that also. Some things are best in daylight (eg the Neon Museum boneyard) and others at night (Bellagio Fountains, Mirage Volcano, Fremont St) so with only one afternoon and evening, part of which you want to spend at a show, you'll need a plan.

Finally pick a show and a restaurant. We chose to stay at TI because we chose Mystere as our show - that way we just had to go to sleep afterwards. You might want to eat close to your show to minimize travel time. Don't eat at a buffet. There are so many amazing restaurants there - pick one and make a reservation. (A list of the restaurants you're considering, along with the number (from the map) of the hotel they're in, is helpful.) Every restaurant we even considered offered online reservations except BurGR - they take your cell # and send you into the mall at Planet Hollywood to hang out, then text you when your table is ready.

When you get there, buy a day pass for the bus. I suppose you could try taking a bus from the airport, but it's kind of traditional to take a cab, get long hauled, and pay $20 more than you should for the taxi ride. After that switch to the bus.

As you build your plan, you will learn more about the things you're planning to go to. For my 3 day trip I had a 15 page document. But everyone is amazed at how much we saw in those 3 days and what great food we ate. You can't just show up there and wander.

Answer 2

While I think Kate's answer is probably as good as you are going to get, I use a very different technique:

• I walk everywhere - the Strip is only a few miles long so it is easy to walk from one end to the other.
• I generally see where I am at a particular time, then google for what is on soon in that location. There is so much to see that this generally works for me, and means I have seen a wide and varied range of shows, exhibitions, events and venues.
• I eat wherever I am when I am hungry, so this has varied from an all you can eat buffet breakfast for under $5 to an amazing dinner for a few hundre dollars once.
• To me wandering is half the fun.