* You can watch the YouTube video of our trip at the bottom of this post or at the link here! *
How does my family spend our grandparents’ 50th anniversary? In Las Vegas! We spent a whole weekend there in April, which gave us just enough time to see what we wanted and kind of be ready to leave by the end. I’ve written everything we did in the following itinerary, along with other recommendations and tips at the bottom of this post, so be sure not to miss them!
ITINERARY:
Day 1:
Arrival from airport.
Mason and I stayed at the Elara, which was at the south end of the Strip.
After unpacking, we made our way to the Venetian to meet my family — it was stinking beautiful and made you think you were in Italy.
We ate dinner at Trattoria Reggiano, which was located in the mall connected to the Venetian. This definitely wasn’t our favorite restaurant, but it was good enough for our Italian fix.
Our night ended with exploring the Strip to get a feel for where everything was located.
Day 2:
We had some unplanned “explore time” on our way to breakfast (we got lost).
When we finally arrived at Hash House a Go Go, the wait was an entire page and a half full of names, so we walked to Guy Fieri’s Vegas Kitchen and ate burgers for breakfast (at this point it was closer to lunch time).
Does anyone watch Pawn Stars? I don’t, but we went into Old Vegas to tour the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop. Chumlee built a candy shop right next door, which also has a barbecue restaurant, so we had lunch there.
Then we explored Freemont Street (which is downtown “Old Vegas”). I would have liked to go there at night to see the light show, but we didn’t have enough time.
That night we saw The Beatles Cirque Du Soleil LOVE show at the Mirage, which was FANTASTIC.
We had dinner at the Oyster Bar inside Harrah’s, which was also delicious, and ended the night at the Venetian Casino.
Day 3:
Y’all… the Wynn breakfast buffet was honestly one of the best meals I’ve ever had. It was pretty pricey, but I would 100% eat there again.
We spent a few hours at Red Rock Canyon, which was probably my favorite part of the trip! There were 20-30 trails, but we hiked off the path anyways to see some beautiful views.
On our way to dinner we stopped by the Bellagio Fountains to see them dance to Beatles music.
We ate at Delmonico Steakhouse inside the Venetian — which is apparently one of the top 50 steakhouses in the US — and it did not disappoint!
The night ended at the Venetian Casino, once again. Mason, along with my dad and uncle, played blackjack and craps while I watched (and played the slot machine a couple times).
Day 4:
Since this was our last morning, we were in a small rush to make our flight and ate breakfast at The Henry inside the Cosmopolitan. This was another restaurant that wasn’t an absolute favorite, but the food was pretty good, so we were happy. Then we took an Uber to the airport and flew back home to Houston!
OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS:
The following list includes recommendations that people gave us and things that we found out about but didn’t get the chance to do. I just thought I’d share them with y’all.
Watch:
Freemont Street light show at night
The Volcano at the Mirage (pretty much dancing fire shooting in the air)
Absinthe at Caesars Palace
Tape Face at Harrah’s
Do:
The Mirage Exhibit with dolphins and tigers
High Roller – highest ferris wheel in the world
Stratosphere Tower rides
Roller coaster at New York, New York
Gondola rides at the Venetian
Helicopter Ride over the Grand Canyon
Go:
Hershey World
Beer Park
Hoover Dam
Valley of Fire State Park
Eat:
Heart Attack Grill
Any of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants
Tao
Mon Ami Gabi
Peppermill (breakfast)
Hash House A Go Go (breakfast)
Flour & Barley
TIPS:
• GET A BUS PASS!!! Seriously, it’s $8 for an entire day or $20 for three days. We didn’t know this, so we rode in taxis half the time and let them charge us up the butt. The other half of our time we used Uber, which was significantly cheaper than taxi service, but not as cheap as a bus pass would have been.
• Bring cash, especially for tipping. You also don’t want to get caught somewhere that doesn’t accept card, or the dreaded *card is declined* message. 😉
• Wear comfy shoes — there is a LOT of walking. If you want to wear those cute (but reluctantly uncomfortable) heels, bring some sandals with you to change into while you walk around.
• Schedule your ride home from Red Rock (or any hiking) ahead of time, because the service is very spotty.
• Bring sunscreen! I got a horrible sunburn while we were at Red Rock, and the next week or so was not fun.
I hope this helps you plan out your next Vegas trip, or if you decided to read along just to live through our adventure, here’s the video to make it more fun:
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June 23, 2018 at 9:27 am
Thanks for the fantastic tips!! We went last year between Christmas & New Years and barely scratched the surfaces I we plan to do it again this year!! We did the bus pass though. 👍
June 23, 2018 at 10:29 am
Oh, I’m SO glad y’all had the bus pass – we will definitely get one next time! There are so things to do, you could take several trips and see something different every time. Thanks for reading! 🙂
June 23, 2018 at 3:27 pm
It sounds like you guys had an amazing trip. What a fun way to celebrate your grandparent’s 50th anniversary! This date deserved to be celebrated with nothing less than a trip like that. 🙂 Thanks for all the tips of places to go, things to watch, and where to eat!
June 24, 2018 at 11:09 am
Absolutely! Thanks so much, Isabel! 🙂
June 25, 2018 at 4:57 pm
I’ve never been there but I’ll pull this post up again if I ever do!
June 25, 2018 at 5:42 pm
Awesome! Thanks for reading, Shari! 🙂
June 25, 2018 at 6:24 pm
Ain’t no shame in burgers for breakfast! Ha ha! Your trip to Las Vegas sounded fun. Lots of eating at great establishments. The Beatles show sounds awesome! You’ve got me wanting to travel.
June 26, 2018 at 9:01 am
Oh, I’ve definitely been bitten by the travel bug. 😂 Vegas is a pretty neat place to go! Thanks so much for reading!
June 26, 2018 at 10:17 am
Sounds like a great trip and congratulations to the happy couple. Fifty years married is impressive. Next time I am Vegas, I will check out some of these plans.
June 26, 2018 at 6:49 pm
Absolutely! Thanks so much for reading!
June 26, 2018 at 10:35 am
Thanks for the practical tips! Pinning this for later! I’ve always wanted to see Red Rock and bet that would be my favorite part, too.
June 26, 2018 at 6:49 pm
It was BEAUTIFUL! Thanks for pinning it! 🙂
June 26, 2018 at 12:06 pm
I only went to Las Vegas once (with my husband on a business trip), and my spirit felt really heavy. Spiritually the place is rampant with sexual sin. I did like the buildings that had themes, though–they looked almost like Disney World!
June 26, 2018 at 6:54 pm
Oh, I completely agree. I feel like it sets a good reminder of all the sin we have in the rest of this world – Vegas is just a place where it is highlighted more. It’s definitely a city we need to bring Jesus to. Thanks for reading! 🙂
June 26, 2018 at 2:17 pm
Looks like a great trip full of fun and laughter! Thanks for sharing with us.
June 26, 2018 at 6:47 pm
Thanks for reading! 🙂
June 26, 2018 at 3:25 pm
Sounds like a fabulous time! Thanks for the tips!
June 26, 2018 at 6:46 pm
Thanks for reading, Nancy! 🙂
June 27, 2018 at 7:36 am
How fun! My husband and I will be at the airport in Las Vegas this Saturday! Unfortunately we won’t have time to walk around the city as we’re catching another flight. But great info here for when we are able to visit!
June 27, 2018 at 11:03 am
Absolutely! Hopefully y’all will make a trip in the future! Thanks for reading. 🙂
June 27, 2018 at 9:07 am
Wow, that burger looks absolutely crazy! Thanks for giving me a glimpse into the Vegas I have not seen. It’s a popular destination place for us Albertans in Canada during the winter as isn’t very far to travel too. I’m going to keep this in mind to maybe head there for a weekend next winter. Thanks for the ideas! And very nice video!
June 27, 2018 at 11:04 am
Thanks so much for stopping by, Lynn! It was such a fun trip, I’d definitely recommend you make plans to travel there in the future! 🙂
June 28, 2018 at 8:06 am
Sounds like you had a great time. I have been to Vegas once with my husband, my best friend, and her husband and we had a blast. Love these recommendations. Going to try out a few next time I go.
June 28, 2018 at 8:58 am
Yes, it’s so fun! I definitely think you could take several trips and never do the same thing – there is so much to do! Thanks for reading. 🙂
June 28, 2018 at 8:24 am
Sydney, what a great trip review. Thanks for sharing the details with us. That first line about spending your grandparents wedding anniversary in Las Vegas made me smile. So, I had to read on. Love the pictures too!
June 28, 2018 at 9:01 am
Thanks so much, Karen! It was definitely a fun trip! 🙂
June 28, 2018 at 8:25 am
Sounds like you had a great time! And those are great tips! Too often we get caught up in “vacationing” and forget the practical side of life. Your tips are spot on for any vacationer.
June 28, 2018 at 9:05 am
Thank you, Heather! I am such a Type-A planner, and this trip was more of a spontaneous one, so I thought I’d help out anyone else with Type-A tendencies in the future. 😉 Thanks for reading!
June 28, 2018 at 9:46 pm
We were there this month and had a blast. We did many of the touristy things, even though it wasn’t my hubby’s first time going there. The Paris Hotel Tower was nice at night.
June 29, 2018 at 11:24 am
That’s definitely something I want to do next time we go! Thanks for reading, Mamie! 🙂