Everything You Should Know Before You Hit Vegas for the First Time

What to Know BEFORE You Visit Las Vegas

Greetings from the Strip in fabulous Las Vegas! Today we’re sharing things you should know before you visit Las Vegas. When you are planning a Las Vegas vacation, there is a lot of information online about the shows and the sights, but there are little things you also need to know that aren’t always shared online. These are the Las Vegas secrets I wish I would have known before I came to Las Vegas for the first time.

Things to Do in Las Vegas

Gambling is the main attraction of Las Vegas, and it is everywhere. There are non-gambling things to do, but if you’re not into gambling, you can get bored after a few days. If you are visiting Vegas on a budget, there are free things to do in Las Vegas. The Bellagio fountain show is every 30 minutes during the day, and every 15 minutes in the evening. The Mirage volcano erupts at 7 and 8pm every day, plus a 9:00 show on the weekends. I recommend walking around inside some of the hotels and checking out sights like the canals at the Venetian or the Forum shops at Caesar’s Palace.

If you are in downtown Las Vegas, I recommend visiting the Mob Museum. It’s really well put together and super interesting if you want to learn about the history of the mob. The Neon Museum is a graveyard of old neon Las Vegas signs. In general, there aren’t many cultural museums in Las Vegas. The Bellagio has a conservatory with flowers and Circus Circus has the circus performers, but overall you’ll run out of non-gambling things to do after a few days. Gambling is 24/7 and it’s everywhere – from the restaurants to the grocery stores and the airports.

Las Vegas is Expensive

When you do find things to do in Las Vegas, it will get expensive. You can get here with cheap flights, but things cost more in Vegas than you might expect. $9 buffet dinners are not so common in Vegas anymore. At a nicer restaurant, be prepared to spend $25 or more for your dinner entree, plus alcohol which can be really expensive. You can only get comp drinks when you are gambling, so look for bars with happy hour specials and drink specials if you are visiting Vegas on a budget. Even if you don’t like gambling, play the penny slots to get the comp drinks, but make sure you tip the waitress so she comes back with more drinks.

Tip: Eating and/or staying off the Strip is an easy way to cut costs.

Tipping in Las Vegas

The culture in Las Vegas is very tip-dependent, so plan to spend a lot of money tipping. You’ll tip the bellboys a couple of dollars when they take your bags to the room. You’ll tip the tour guides for any tours you take, plus 15-20% to your waitstaff and a few bucks a day to your hotel attendants. This can all add up, so plan for it, and make sure you have small bills of cash on hand.

Tipping in Vegas Explained

Getting Around Las Vegas

A taxi in Las Vegas can be quite expensive, and they do not have the best reputation. From the airport to the Strip will cost you about $40. To take a taxi from the Strip to downtown Las Vegas, and the Fremont area, plan to spend another $20 for a taxi. When you use a credit card to pay your taxi, you’ll have the options to tip 20, 30 or 40 per cent. Look for the button that says “other” – be aware that this option is in dollars, not percentage.

It’s easy to walk around the strip, but it can get tiring after a while as the strip is pretty long. If you want to use public transportation in Las Vegas, you have a couple of options. The Deuce is a double-decker bus. The bus is a really cheap option for getting around Las Vegas. You can buy a day pass ($8) or a 3-day pass ($20.) Tickets are easy to buy and the bus stops all along the strip. The drivers are also super helpful, so if you’re not sure where to get off the bus, just ask the driver.

Things to Do Off the Strip

If you want to get off the Strip in Las Vegas, there are some fun day trips from Vegas. You can go hiking at Mount Charleston, which is at a higher elevation so it’s much cooler if you want a break from the heat. You can visit Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, and Red Rock Canyon. You can do just about anything in Las Vegas – from shooting high powered weapons at a range, to renting a super-fast sports car.

Eating in Las Vegas

One of the things I love about Las Vegas is the food. You can eat very well here. There are so many great restaurants in Las Vegas – from mid-priced to expensive. You can find all kinds of cuisines in Las Vegas – from French, Italian, American, Ethiopian – it’s all here. Service in Las Vegas is pretty good because they rely on tips for their income. Service can get a little bit over the top sometimes, so be aware of that. When deciding where to go based on price, it pays to spend a little more for the nicer place.

10 Things That SHOCK Tourists about Vegas

Hidden Fees in Las Vegas

There are a few hidden fees you’ll encounter on your Las Vegas vacation. Many of the larger hotels charge a resort fee. This isn’t shown on your booking in your room rate, and can be as high as $35 per night. The resort fees are charged for the privilege of using the pool or the WiFi, but are not something you can opt out of.

ATM fees in Las Vegas are very high. If you withdraw money in the casinos, you can pay as much as $6 per ATM transaction. For this reason, I recommend bringing all the cash you need, and storing it in your hotel room safe while you are out.

Parking is usually free in Las Vegas, however driving in Las Vegas can be frustrating. If you are driving to Las Vegas, call your hotel ahead of time and ask them the best route to the hotel so that you aren’t stuck in traffic along the strip. This can save you a lot of time and frustration.

Las Vegas Shows

You can go to shows in Las Vegas and there are many to choose from, including the big shows like Celine Dion or Britney Spears. If you want to see one of the big shows, be sure to book your tickets ahead of time otherwise you might not get into them. There are also Las Vegas shows for kids, and shows during the day, which you can usually buy tickets when you get to Las Vegas. Make sure you confirm the start time of the show, and if you are not sure which Las Vegas show to choose, ask your concierge.

Smoking in Las Vegas

Unlike most parts of the U.S., smoking is everywhere in Las Vegas. It’s just part of the scene here that you have to get used to. Expect to have smokers around you, especially in the casinos. With all of the drinking that goes on in the casinos, don’t risk getting in a fight by complaining about smoke.

The Seedy Side of Las Vegas

Around 7pm, Las Vegas can transform from entertaining to questionable. You’ll see lots of guys who have already had too much to drink. Just avoid them, don’t cause any trouble. Prostitution is illegal in Las Vegas, but you’ll still see things that might make you uncomfortable. They hand out cards for escorts just like baseball cards on the strip.

Safety in Las Vegas

The biggest hazard in Las Vegas is the traffic. Be careful when you are crossing the streets. There are crosswalks and pedestrian bridges that go up and over the road. These are the safest ways to cross the streets in Las Vegas. They have escalators and elevators so anyone can use them. If you get hit running across the street in Las Vegas, it’s your fault.

For safety, I recommend to stay on the Strip when walking around at night. Don’t wander around behind the hotels as those are not good areas. Between the Stratosphere and downtown, there are some areas where you might feel uncomfortable. Especially late at night, don’t be wandering around. Use a taxi, Uber or Lyft.

The weather in Las Vegas can be extremely hot in the summer, with temperatures reaching 115-120 F. Don’t forget to bring your sunblock! Even in the winter, it can be warm, and the sun is very strong. Spend time indoors, and be sure to drink enough water to stay hydrated. Since you are in the desert, it can go from warm during the day to very chilly at night. Make sure you wear layers to stay warm once the sun goes down.

The people of Las Vegas can be crazy. This can range from crazy fun to crazy questionable. Don’t be too trusting of people in Las Vegas. There are a lot of scams out there, and even the concierges work on kickbacks. They might not give you the whole picture when you are looking to book tours. For example, the Hoover Dam bus tour is not worth it, it’s way longer than they will tell you. If you want to visit Hoover Dam from Las Vegas, just rent a car and go on your own.

Las Vegas Tours

A lot of the tours you might book, such as the Grand Canyon, or Hoover Dam, can be very frustrating. Generally, buses will collect you from your hotel and bring you to another location, where you’ll wait for more buses to arrive and you might spend 30 minutes waiting there. For our Hoover Dam tour, we were picked up at 8:45, but we didn’t actually leave Las Vegas until around 10:30. If you want to book a tour from Las Vegas, check Trip Advisor reviews. This also goes for getting restaurant recommendations from the bellboys or concierges. We tend to rely on Trip Advisor reviews as a more realistic picture of where to eat in Las Vegas.

Visiting Las Vegas With Kids

Many people wonder if Las Vegas is a family friendly destination. While Vegas has become more than just gambling, I really don’t recommend bringing kids to Las Vegas. There are lots of interesting people wandering the streets of Las Vegas, including barely-dressed women. It depends on what you want to expose your kids to, and how much explaining you want to do. Older kids may be easier to bring to Las Vegas. That said, there are things to do with kids in Las Vegas. There’s a children’s museum, the Discovery Museum and some family-friendly magic and comedy shows like Mac Harrah’s. Kids can get a kick out of the various hotels and think they are in Paris or Venice. If you do decide to visit Las Vegas with kids, I recommend renting a car and spending some time off the Strip as well.

Vegas for Kids

I hope this helps you prepare for your first trip to Las Vegas. Las Vegas is definitely worth a visit, especially if you love gambling. If you like to gamble, you can stay in Las Vegas indefinitely. If you don’t love gambling, come for a long weekend. Check out our other Las Vegas videos: