We’ve all heard the slogan “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” in numerous films and TV shows, and there’s a good reason for that. Las Vegas is a hub of entertainment with no bars held. From world-class casinos to entertainment shows, from exquisite dining experiences to thrilling rides. This place leaves no stone unturned to keep you entertained. Plus, a few stuff here and there that only happen in Vegas! Therefore, one should visit Vegas at least once in their lifetime to experience the craziness around the city.
Two days is not enough for a city as grand as Vegas. But good enough for getting introduced to the grandeur. Plus, staying longer in Vegas can hurt your pockets. Therefore, we found a sweet spot, where you can experience the city to its fullest without breaking your pockets. Here’s a detailed itinerary of our 2-day trip to Sin City along with the total cost of the trip for two.
What exactly is Las Vegas?
Las Vegas is a resort city famous worldwide for its casinos, hotels, fine dining, shopping, entertainment, and nightlife. A fun fact about the city is that only 5% of people visit Vegas solely for gambling. However, 71% of people end up gambling while vacationing in Vegas. Interesting right? We were one of those who ended up gambling for a bit in Vegas just for the sake of experience. Here is some more details about our experience and a beginners guide to the games you can try at the Las Vegas casinos.
The Strip is what comes to our mind when we think of Vegas. However, the city has two sides, Downtown (DTLV) and the Strip. Downtown Vegas is where it all started, the historic heart of the city. It is also home to the oldest casino in Vegas, Golden Gate Hotel & Casino. The Strip is located on the outskirts and is home to famous casinos like Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Mirage, etc.
Before we jump to our itinerary, here are five interesting facts about Las Vegas
- The Vegas Strip is the brightest spot on Earth because of the cluster of hotels across the Strip, shining all night.
- The golden color on the windows of the Mirage hotel comes from actual gold dust.
- Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas has more rooms than the existing population of Bellagio city in Italy.
- MGM Grand’s Lion is the largest bronze statue in the US.
- High Roller is the second tallest observation wheel in the world.
How to reach Vegas
Unless you live in Nevada or Arizona, the flight is the best way to reach Las Vegas. Moreover, the flights to Vegas are usually cheap, especially with low-fare airlines like Frontier and Spirit. The only catch is that these airlines allow just one personal item and charge a hefty fee for any additional baggage. Hence, be prepared to travel light. But, if you ask me, it’s a win-win.
We flew with Frontier Airlines as we got a steal deal on their website, and our round trip costed $280 for two. To reach the airport, we took the light rail from Capitol Hill station and reached the airport in merely 40 minutes. To save some more bucks, we brought our food from home. Our flight was at 12:38 pm, and we reached Vegas at 3:20 pm.
Traveling within Las Vegas
The public transit system in Las Vegas is great, connecting all major spots within the city. From the hotels on the Strip to DLTV. Plus, they run 24×7, so you don’t have to worry about being stranded in the middle of the night.
Traveling within the Strip
The Deuce on the Strip runs daily for 24 hours between South Strip Transit Terminal and Freemont Street Experience. You can download the RTC App and purchase a day pass for $8. Alternatively, you can buy a 2-hour or a 3-day pass if you’re here for a shorter/longer time. Here’s a complete route schedule for the Deuce.
Downtown Loop is a Free Shuttle service running between the Freemont Street Experience and the Strat between 11 am to 6 pm from Sunday thru Thursday. And 3 pm to 10 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. You can find the schedule here.
The Monorail connects all the resorts between Sahara Las Vegas and MGM Grand. It is the fastest and most efficient way to hop between the hotels on the southern end of the Strip. The timings might vary based on the day. You can check the full schedule here.
Day 1 – Exploring Downtown and the Venetian Hotel
The best thing about Vegas is that the city never sleeps. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about attractions getting shut down or not having enough time to explore the city. On day one, we walked around DLTV and our hotel (the Venetian) until 3 am. The best part was that roaming on the streets of Vegas at 3 am felt totally safe.
Welcome to Las Vegas Signboard
We began our journey at the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Signboard. The signboard, erected in 1959, became an instant hit among locals and tourists, making this a significant landmark. This attraction is close to the airport and reachable by bus. When you visit this place, expect a long line of tourists waiting to get clicked with the board. However, we used our photography skills and angles, which helped save us time.
Reaching here:
Take Route CX (Northbound) from airport terminal 1 (level zero) until WB Tropicana and board the Deuce (Southbound) and get down at Las Vegas Sign.
Venetian Hotel
The Strip is home to numerous luxury hotel and casino resorts, making it the ideal place to stay. If you plan off-season or a few months in advance, you can get good deals that won’t hurt your pocket. We stayed at the world’s second-largest hotel, a replica of a gorgeous Italian city called Venice. We were here for two nights and costed $210. However, we feel we could have saved more on our hotel by booking through websites like Booking.com and Groupon. Yes! Groupon has fantastic Vegas hotel deals (up to $23 a night during off season). Nevertheless, we saved money by consciously choosing our food and gambling spots. I will soon share a hotel tour video and my stay experience in detail.
Here’s a video of the hotel tour that will give you a good idea of the Venetian Hotel. You can also read my detailed review of my stay, which involves an unpleasant encounter with one of their staff.
Reaching here: Take the Deuce (Northbound) and get down at Treasure Island.
Downtown Las Vegas
The oldest area of the city is a mix of modern and vintage. While the Strip is all about glitz and glam, DTLV throws a chill vibe. It is also the home of the oldest casino in Vegas, the Mob Museum, a dynamic LED canopy, a 24-hour mall, and more. Plus, everything here is cheaper than on the Strip. Therefore, if you plan on gambling, start here instead of directly going to the Strip. You can read our beginner’s guide to gambling and learn all the hacks.
Our experience at DTLV was good. We spent almost 5 hours at the Fremont Street Experience hopping casinos, listening to live music, and concurring our fear of heights with Slotzilla. We skipped dinner as we had complimentary evening snacks at our hotel. However, we did have a few complimentary drinks while playing Black Jack at one of the casinos. Overall, it was a fun evening, and I highly recommend visiting DTLV.
Casinos hopping in Downtown Las Vegas
We began our casino hopping at the Golden Nugget, one of the oldest luxury hotels in Las Vegas, featured in many Hollywood movies, including Elvis Presley’s Viva Las Vegas. Our goal was to find a casino with the lowest bet amount ($1). Golden Nugget was nowhere near that, so we went to our next casino, Binion’s. Binion’s is a gambling hall known for good food, whiskey, and good odds. It is also the first authentic gambling hall and saloon in Las Vegas that became a go-to place for the high rollers. Next, we headed to 4 Queens, another popular casino on Fremont Street, hugely popular among tourists. It was the first casino in Las Vegas to offer Geoff Hall’s blackjack variant Blackjack Switch. Finally, we ended up at the Downtown Grand, a beautiful modern hotel next to Fremont Street. Grand was the only casino offering a minimum bet of $1. Therefore, we decided to settle down and play Blackjack for a while.
Our gambling experience
We bought $100 worth of chips and started our game at the table. Blackjack is a fun game and easy for beginners. I recommend watching a quick Youtube video to understand all the rules before heading to any casino. We played for about 1.5 hours, winning and losing some money. Overall we lost $20 and decided to call it a day. However, it was a fun game, calculating the probability of getting a higher number than the dealer. We also tried our luck at the slots but lost $10 and called it quits.
Slotzilla experience
Flying under the vibrant LED canopy is a unique thing to experience in DTLV. Slotzilla offers two ways to experience their zipline. The Zip-Zilla is a seven stories high and two-block-long zipline that lets you fly in a sitting position. Super-Hero Zoom is an eleven stories high and five-block-long zipline where you fly like a superhero. We did the Zip-Zilla, which cost $96 for two and included digital photographs as well.
Exploring Venetian Hotel
After a fun evening at DTLV, it was time to explore our lovely hotel. Staying at the Venetian was a dream come true. However, we had our ups and downs here, which you can read in detail in my hotel review article that I will be posting soon. Venetian is the world’s second-largest hotel and one of the most popular hotels on the Strip. Therefore, it remains crowded throughout the day. But it was unusually quiet late in the night, allowing us to explore every nook and corner of this place without being bothered by the crowd.
The interiors are absolutely stunning, the Venetian paintings were a delight to the eyes, and the grandeur left us in awe. The casino was grand and had a plethora of slot machines, poker tables, and blackjack tables. They also have some of the finest restaurants in Vegas and fun stores to keep you busy throughout the day. Take a tour of this grand hotel with me by watching this video.
If you are planning on visiting Venetian Hotel, here’s a great saver ticket that let’s you ride the Venetian Gondola as well as Madame Tussauds for just $63.59.
Day 2 – Visiting Hoover Dam & hotel hopping at the Strip!
Hoover Dam with National Parks Express
On day two, we started early, as we headed to see the engineering wonder of the USA, Hoover Dam. We booked the Hoover Dam Highlights Tour by National Parks Express, a Vegas-based tour company that organizes tours to several National Parks in Nevada and Arizona. It was a 4-hour tour that included pickup from the Treasure Island hotel and cost $55 per person. Here’s how our day looked.
Boulder City Historic District
We started at 10 am from Treasure Island and headed to our first stop, the Boulder City Historic District. Boulder City is a city located in a harsh desert environment adjacent to the Boulder Canyon, established for the workers who built the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River. Although it is close to Las Vegas, gambling is illegal in Boulder City. We made a quick 30-minute stop and walked around the city, exploring art installations and shops.
Lake Mead overlook
Next, we headed to the Lake Mead overlook to get a good view of the pristine lake. Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States, formed by the Hoover Dam. It is also the primary water source for three neighboring states, Nevada, Arizona, and California. Currently, this lake is going through a major water crisis due to over consumption and seasonal droughts. However, I hope the government and the environmentalists find a solution soon to help retrieve the lost water. We stopped here for 30-minutes, admiring the beauty of the lake and the surroundings. We also saw a few Antelope Squirrels running around in search of food.
Hoover Dam
Our next stop was the famous Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, a beautiful arch bridge between Nevada and Arizona. We walked the pedestrian walkway along the bridge to get an incredible view of the Hoover Dam and the Colorado River.
From there, we drove across the Hoover Dam to admire the beauty of Art Deco design and the outstanding work of engineering. We also got a nice view of the arch and spotted a few bunkers from World War II. Before heading back, we made a short stop on the Arizona side for photos.
Overall, it was an excellent tour and totally worth the money. Our tour guide gave us a good insight into the history of Las Vegas and Hoover Dam, and we thoroughly enjoyed his funny comments and his coffee shop recommendation in Boulder City. If you’re low on time, this is a great tour to explore the Hoover Dam in half a day.
Evening at the Prestige Club Lounge
After spending half a day under the scorching sun, we were dehydrated and decided to rest until the sun went down. At sunset, we headed to the Prestige Club Lounge on the 36th floor of the Venetian hotel to get evening refreshments. We relished our snacks and drinks while enjoying a breathtaking panoramic view of the Strip.
Walking the Strip
The Strip is home to some of the best hotels and resorts in the world, from Bellagio to Caesars Palace. These hotels have been featured in numerous famous Hollywood movies like The Hangover and What Happens in Vegas.
There are several ways you can enjoy your time on the Strip. One way is to pick your favorite casino, gamble the night and enjoy complimentary food and drinks. Alternatively, you can explore culinary scenes, nightclubs, and entertainment shows like Cirque du Soleil, Magic Mike, etc.
Or you can do what we did. We walked around the Strip, exploring the hotels and enjoying the free attractions. Found a decent prized restaurant serving good food at Venetian and indulged in some Blackjack with a $1 minimum bet.
Why hop hotels?
Every hotel on the Strip is theme based. Like Venetian is a replica of the famous Italian city, Venice, whereas Caesars Palace displays Roman art and architecture. You can do so much by simply walking around the street that you will never get bored.
The Mirage
We began our expedition from the nearest hotel, just across the street, the Mirage. This hotel is home to several attractions, including an indoor tropical forest. However, it is most famous for its artificial volcano erupting every evening from 8 pm. We watched the stunning volcano show that you can watch as well on my Vegas YouTube video. It was an immensely gripping show and free of cost.
Treasure Island
Next, we headed to Treasure Island, an underrated hotel that turned out to be our favorite in Las Vegas. This hotel displays a maritime theme with gigantic pirate ships on display. It is also the only hotel in Vegas (or that we came across) that offers a hybrid version of the Blackjack game. Therefore, we stopped here for a few rounds of Blackjack and ended up winning some cash.
Ceasars Palace
From here, we headed to Caesars Palace, one of the most famous hotels in Las Vegas. This Roman-themed hotel features many iconic spots of Rome, from the great Colosseum to the Trevi fountain. This hotel was gigantic and took more than an hour to cover the entire place. We explored the shops and art exhibit, visited the aquarium, and sat by the Fountain of the Gods admiring its beauty.
Bellagio
Lastly, we attended the spectacular fountain show at the Bellagio. It was a 15-minute-long show displaying a stunning work of art and engineering. We were tired from walking for more than 5 hours and decided to return to our hotel. On reaching Venetian, we had dinner at Grand Lux Cafe, tried our luck at one of the slot machines, and ended up winning some cash.
Before I conclude this article, I wanted to highlight the importance of being mindful of your spending and knowing when to stop. Gambling is not a bad thing when done in a controlled environment and for entertainment purposes. However, we don’t promote gambling when it could lead to addiction.
Overall we had a fun time exploring Las Vegas. But we will be back to explore the rest of the hotels, museums, and attractions. Meanwhile, you can watch our vlog and read my hotel review.
Tour recommendations for your Vegas Trip:
If you have some extra time on your hands, here are some great day trips you can take from Vegas to the nearby attractions like the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and a beautiful cove on the Colorado River.
Fun activities in Vegas that will give you an adrenaline rush
- Big Bus Las Vegas Open Top Night Tour
- Half-Day Mojave Desert ATV Tour from Las Vegas
- Emerald Cave Kayak Tour with Optional Las Vegas Pickup
