How I wish that there were more than the 24 hours in the day ’cause even if there were forty more I wouldn’t sleep a minute away If you see it once You’ll never be the same again
Viva Las Vegas, Viva Las Vegas – Elvis Presley
There are some things – you can hate it or you can love it. It seems when you read many articles about Las Vegas there is nothing between that. So this article is about the second and if you are that kind of person too you will enjoy reading it and maybe remember some of our own experiences and if not you might consider to give Las Vegas a second change – because it’s worth it. So please let me explain why I love the Vegas. Or even better – have a look for yourself in our video:
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In the last ten years we stayed three times in Las Vegas – so we are not an expert but learned from every stay and want to give something back. It was not love on the first sight but after the first time we knew we had to come back – the city got us the first time although the first stay was not great but it got better every time we visited. We think that you have to consider some things to fully enjoy Las Vegas. First of all we are not the people who want to stay in cities on our journeys and share places with many other people and second we don’t like the extreme heat – but it is possible to get rid of that in Vegas too.
So our recommendation is to go to Vegas in October – then it is really warm in the day so you can enjoy the various pools at the day and wander around the streets in the evening when it gets cooler. And there are fewer people than between June and September. On our first visit we came in September and from the Death Valley – so we were heated up a lot and in Las Vegas it wasn’t really much colder – so we were totally exhausted and spent the first night in the hotel room instead of enjoying Las Vegas – so be aware of that and plan time for recuperation when coming from Death Valley.
The most large hotels on the strip are much cheaper from Sunday to Friday than on the weekend – so if you want to stay at a nice hotel on the strip with a great pool – MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay for example – you can save a lot of money and invest it in other activities.
One thing you should not miss is watching one of the numerous shows – our personal favorite was the David Copperfield show – but if you don’t like magic you are maybe better of at another show – you can get a good insight on the site of the Las Vegas Shows. But just to mention, what David does it not the standard dig a rabbit out of an hat – it is more like he is reading your mind, literally – very impressive and totally worth a visit.
For us the highlight of the stays in Las Vegas was the Life Is Beautiful Festivals which takes place in Fall since 2013 – in the first years at the End of October now at the End of September. We were there in their first year and after visiting many festivals in Europe it was completely different – fewer drunk people, everybody was calm and enjoyed the music – there were no problems to get were you want to go – even the spaces near the stage cleaned out after every act and you could if you want go to the first rows. Our personal highlight although was the concert of – the best band from Las Vegas – The Killers which made an outstanding performance.
And if you have got enough of the city you can easily make short trips to the nature. For example to Lake Mead, the Red Rock Canyon or the Valley of Fire which in our opinion is one of the nicest places in the western USA if the weather is not too hot. The stone formations there are everything from red to yellow and even purple – just see for yourself in our best Valley of Fire pictures.
What you should not miss when in Las Vegas
- Enjoy the Show at the Bellagio Fountains (probably best viewed from the entrance at the Bellagio)
- Get the view over Las Vegas from the Eiffel Tower (in my opion best just before sunset)
- Enjoy one of the many shows – there should be something for everybodys taste (we personally like the magicians shows best)
- Walk around the Strip and take a look inside of some of the huge Hotel complexes
- Eat at one of the fabulous buffets – there are many good ones (our personal favorit was the Wicked Spoon Brunch Buffet at the Cosmopolitan
What is not worth the money
- Unless you don’t want to ride the thrill rides on the Stratosphere you can skip the view form the tower. We didn’t find that the view is that good since it is a bit outside the main attractions on the strip – it’s better to get up the Eiffel Tower. But if you stay at the Stratosphere you should go up because it’s included in the room price.
- Most restaurants around the strip that have branches elsewhere even in the city have higher prices and in our experience – fe. the Steakhouse in the Coca Cola Bottle – the food quality is not as good as expected.
I am sure that anytime soon we will make another stop at fabulous Las Vegas – anyhow we will then stay some nights at one of the unique suits with an own balcony at the Cosmopolitan so that we got that view of the water fountain show at the Bellagio too.
