Las Vegas Travel Guide and Things to Know About Las Vegas
Las Vegas Travel Guide
There are countries we plan to see in 2018, we plan to see in 2019, and even in 2022. Sometimes we spend the whole night in the countries we plan to visit in the future. “America“, which we see as the new world, was not on our list of countries to visit.. Of course, we thought that one day we would be on our way for a job, for a conference.. We felt right!
The company I work for is a finance company and we regularly attend trade shows in Las Vegas. In January 2018, I learned that it is necessary to go to all the fairs we will attend in Las Vegas with the company, and in April I went to Las Vegas for a week to represent my office in Munich.
Even from now on I will have to go twice a year. This means that this blog is in America in April and October! Umut could not come this time due to the intensity of his own work, but I will go to Vegas again in October and after the fair is over, I will get permission to stay in America for two more weeks.. Then Hope will come from Munich too, so we will have a chance to rent a car and take a trip to California. The new world awaits us!
Going to Vegas for business, not for a trip, had two advantages for me. At the end of the fair, I stayed for 2 extra days and spent 1 extra day touring Vegas and the second day going to Grand Canyon. I almost didn’t spend any money as I didn’t pay for the flight ticket and hotel.. The second plus was to go to world-famous restaurants in Las Vegas, which we normally wouldn’t be able to go with our own travel budget, on the pretext of a business lunch.. For the first time in my life, I can say that I made a ‘gourmet trip’.. It’s the first time I’ve had enough in an expensive place, frankly! It’s probably something I can repeat from work to business trip, so we might as well eat at the artisan restaurant on our blog trips!
After a full week in Vegas, Places to visit in Vegas and Before I come to the Eating and drinking in Vegas part, if I write down my first impressions of the city;
Impressions of Las Vegas in one breath
A ‘ of Vegas’ We already know that it was designed as ‘Sin City‘. But since everything is so ‘designed’, Vegas seemed like a very elite, very forced ‘Sin City’ to me.. Vegas might not cut you off, especially if you’ve been to Bangkok or Pattaya before and have seen what a real sin city looks like, get ready!
Slot machines start from the airport. Lobbies of hotels and every place you can think of has been turned into a casino.. There are never any glasses or clocks in these places. It’s easy to get disconnected from time and space. Alcohol service is free as long as you keep playing. They also give oxygen to these places from time to time, I guess people are afraid that they will suffocate and interrupt the game.
You can go from some hotels to another by an air-connected shuttle train.. Everything is based on the principle that you do not leave the hotels you stay in unless it is necessary.. Hotels go to shops, shops to casinos, casinos to restaurants. If you don’t need fresh air, you can easily spend a week without leaving the hotel.
Las Vegas seems quite expensive to me, especially eating and drinking in hotels is very expensive.. Cheap alternatives are usually fast food.. Since I went to America for the first time, the thing that surprised me the most was people’s eating habits.
People start their day with coffee with cream and milk-shakes as big as my head.. Everyone has something super sugary on their hands and the calories are definitely written on it.. I really don’t understand how they’re willing to drink those 1600 calorie milkshakes.. After all, we are people who start the morning with sausage and bread, but once or twice a week, it is surprising that it happens every day!
They say that the world’s best chefs and the world’s best shows are in Vegas.. I agree with the cook part because I would give it out of 10 out of 10 out of the places I’ve tried.
I can’t comment on the Shows in Vegas part because I didn’t get a chance to go.. I just realized while I was browsing that you can get last minute shows at tour desks on the Las Vegas strip for almost half the price.. In other words, if there is no fixed show you want to go to, and what you really want is to see one of the famous shows of Las Vegas, it is possible to find tickets much cheaper while walking on the road, even if you do not buy it online in advance.
Vegas also has thematic parties and ‘ pool parties are very famous. The biggest parties happen on Friday and Saturday.. If you are determined to go, it is a good idea to plan your trip to coincide with Friday and Saturday.
How long to stay in Las Vegas?
I think if you’re coming to Vegas to watch famous shows and explore a little. If you don’t have much to do with the night world, 2-3 nights are enough.. If you’re coming for fun or bachelorette, ’till you get tired and bored’
When to go to Las Vegas?
As you know, Las Vegas is an ‘oasis in the desert’.. An artificial world built on the Mojave Desert. In the past, this was an area where the mafia existed and there was no police control.. This is how its design as a casino began.. Sorry, we strayed a little off topic.. Yes, since it is a desert climate, the temperature can reach 45-50 degrees in summer.. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen 50 degrees in the desert, but I haven’t! That’s why I don’t recommend going to Las Vegas between June and August.
The best time for Las Vegas is between October and May.. When I went, the daytime temperature was 22 -24 degrees and the evening temperature was 12-14 degrees.. I think it was very ideal.
How to get from Turkey to Las Vegas and how to get there in Las Vegas? How to rent a car in the USA?
Unfortunately, there is no direct/direct flight from Turkey to Las Vegas at the moment.. Mostly, you can reach Los Angeles in 16-17 hours by connecting flights.
If you only have Las Vegas on your American plan and you are not going to move to other states in the USA, you do not need to rent a car, but if you plan to travel within the USA. like renting a car. It takes about 4 – 4.5 hours by car from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.
The profile traveling by bus in America is slightly different from the profile traveling by bus in Europe. While backpackers and casual people use the buses more in Europe, a slightly different profile uses intercity buses in America.
Also, if you plan to go to the Grand Canyon, you can easily rent a car for 50 Usd a day.. If you take a one-person tour, you have to pay at least 90 Usd per person, when you think about it, renting a car is much cheaper.
When we are going to rent a car, we always search through rentals.com and find the suitable options first, then look at the agency’s comments on the internet. we rent. If you don’t want to deal with this, there is an ‘Avis’ car rental section in every hotel in Las Vegas, you can go and rent it with a little bargaining.. By the way, when you rent the car, they usually charge your credit card with an authorization between 500 Usd – 1000 Usd, make sure you have a suitable balance on your card.
Las Vegas Mccarran Airport
about 14-15 km from the city center. at a distance. Uber is the easiest way to get from the airport to your hotel. In the US, Uber has now overtaken conventional taxis and is a very safe and popular method.. In fact, all hotels have an über pick-up point.. I paid about 13 Usd from the hotel I stayed to the city center.
If you haven’t rented a car for your Las Vegas trip, there is a high probability that you will need Uber at some point, so you must have downloaded and installed the application before you go.
Even if you don’t want to use Uber or a taxi, you can use the shuttles outside the Terminal.
Finally, if you want to go from one hotel to another in Las Vegas by public transport, you can use the services called CAT that travel between hotels.
How to get a US Visa?
As you know, getting a US visa was a very problematic process in Turkey last year.. Now, since the waters have cleared, it can be obtained more easily.
In this article, we wrote how we got the American visa.. Easy for everyone!
Las Vegas Accommodation and Las Vegas Hotels
This must be the last place in the world where you will have problems with accommodation, after all, everywhere is a hotel!
The beautiful thing about hotels in Las Vegas is that they are quite cheap compared to the quality of the hotels.. You can stay in a 5-star hotel for 100 USD per night.. The reason for this is that most people in hotels make real money in the hotel’s casinos! Las Vegas has lost a bit of popularity in the last 3-4 years, people have become more income for stag and crazy shows, not for gambling, so hotels have become a bit expensive.. It was possible to stay in 5-star hotels even for 40-50 USD 3-4 years ago.
I stayed at Mandalay Bay Hotel because the fair we attended was held in the foyer area of the same hotel.. I am quite satisfied. I left the link right here.
If you want to stay in the very middle of the Las Vegas Strip, you can choose Paris Hotel or Palazzo. The most famous hotel in Las Vegas, Bellagio, is the hotel where the Ocean’s Eleven series was filmed, so it’s a bit salty! The hotel where the Hangover series was filmed is Caesers Palace. Likewise, this is an expensive hotel compared to the Las Vegas average.. Palazzo has been my favorite among the thematic Vegas hotels.
Las Vegas is quite a small place, if you want to stay in a more convenient place rather than one of the 5 star hotels, there are several hotels for you. We chose;
For an affordable and close to center option, my first recommendation is Arizona Charlie’s Boulder, and my second recommendation will be ‘Hey Google’, which is also affordable and highly recommended to us.. Its link is here.
Although it is right in the center and a little more expensive, you can consider Red Roof for a very affordable hotel compared to the Vegas average.. If there is no room there, the address from the same category can be ‘Skyline Casino Hotel’.
The thing you should pay attention to when choosing a hotel in Las Vegas is the facility usage fee called ‘resort fee’. I first heard of such a thing in Las Vegas.. Most hotels’ resort fee is not included in the room price and is added later.. For example, our hotel was around 40 USD per day.. It is necessary to pay attention to this.
I will talk about the hotels in Las Vegas in detail in the ‘Places to Visit in Las Vegas’ section below, because hotels make up 80 percent of the places to visit in Las Vegas. !
Places to Visit in Las Vegas
Las Vegas is the city of consumption! Naturally, places to visit are centered around the Las Vegas Strip, the main street of the city.. These are mostly concept and huge hotels.. For example, the Venice-themed one has the gondola at its pool, the Paris-themed one has the Eiffel tower, and people climb to the top.. Of course, there are people like me who came for business and were traveling around, trying to understand why people pay 100 Usd to ride a gondola in a hotel in Las Vegas! Anyway, after all, everyone has Las Vegas to themselves.
By the way, all these hotels are free to get in and out of.. When you think about it, everything is designed so that you can enter the hotels and spend money!
Luxor Hotel
At the beginning of Strip Street there is the Luxor Hotel with the concept of the Egyptian Pyramid. You can go from the beginning to the end of the street (approximately 5 km) by visiting all the hotels.. At the very end of the street is the thematic Wynn Hotel.
Luxor Hotel is a hotel inspired by the Egyptian Pyramids at the very beginning of the street.. Frankly, it’s a bit uninspiring next to other hotels, so I didn’t go into it because it didn’t interest me.
Bellagio Hotel
If I say the hotel where the Ocean’s Eleven series was filmed, you might know this hotel right away.
Actually, I said Bellagio Hotel, but I should say Bellagio Fountains because the beautiful thing about this hotel is the water show in the huge pond in its garden! It is done every 15 minutes after 7 pm in winter and every 15 minutes after 9 am in summer seasons.. It’s free to watch this water show that dances to the music. You can watch this water show very well from the observation floor of the Eiffel Tower in Paris Hotel.
There are many similar ones in Dubai, even made by the same people.
Bellagio Hotel’s It also has a small botanical section.. You can have a look at it like this. I left the link of the hotel right here.
Ceasars Palace Hotel
Wouldn’t it be Roman-themed to have a Venice-themed hotel in Las Vegas! Introducing the Roman-themed Caesars Palace. Right next to Bellagio Hotel. It is also one of the most expensive hotels in Las Vegas.. For example, limousines are waiting at the door instead of taxis.
One of the most important symbols of Rome, the Fountain of Love and the Collesium, is right in front of you.
There is also a huge shopping mall called Forum inside the hotel.. There is also a fire & water show called Atlantis in the evenings and it’s free to watch.. Caesar’s right, Caesar, the fire show was really good.
Venice Hotel (The Venetian)
I think this is the most successful animated hotel in Vegas. The guys really managed to make a ‘fake’ of Venice from start to finish.
There is a canal where you can take a goldol tour, St. Mark’s Square, Rialto Bridge, Dukes’ Palace, whatever you look for! Even the sky is fake, they even made it out of paper.
There is also a Palazzo that Venice Hotel is connected to. If Venice’s gondolas don’t cut it, you can take a gondola ride in the pool here too! By the way, it’s not a joke, there are people who ride gondola separately in this and the other.. Have fun!
Paris Hotel
If you want to catch the sunset on top of the Eiffel while visiting Las Vegas, it’s the right address!
As you guessed, this hotel A great Paris imitation. If you’ve seen Paris with your own eyes, it might not affect you much.
New York Hotel
We came to New York after saying Paris, Venice, Rome!
Here too you will see the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Empire State Building. There is also a roller coaster called The Big Apple Coaster’ outside the hotel.. It might be more fun to ride than to tour the hotel itself!
Let’s not skip it, the world’s largest Ferris wheel ‘High Roller’ is in Las Vegas. Tickets are between 22 Usd – 32 Usd. If you want to check it out, the website is here.. ‘High Roller’ is called those who gamble with very big bets and take lots of risks.. So the name of the Ferris wheel is not a coincidence.
These were the thematic hotels I visited in Las Vegas.. If not, you can also visit ‘Treasure Island Hotel‘ and ‘Stratosphere‘. There are certainly other hotels, but since it was enough for me to visit the hotel, I didn’t wonder more.
I almost forgot, and Las Vegas’ famous ‘Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas!’ has a sign. You are more likely to run into people getting married in front of you.. It is on the road a little behind Mandalay Bay Hotel.. There is always a line of at least 30 people in front of it, but after coming all this way to Las Vegas, I bought a branch from this cliché!
Red Rock Canyon (Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area)
When I saw this place, I said; ”Welcome to Las Vegas, now we’re speaking the same language!”
Red Rock Canyon is located approximately 25 km from Las Vegas and formed by sand rising with tectonic movements about 180 million (!) years ago. a vast region of colored earths. Some parts of the canyon are red, some are yellow, and some are grey.
You can also join trekking tours here if you wish.. I would love to go and trek here in a wider time.
I can’t say that you should definitely visit this hotel in Las Vegas or go to the show, but I think Red Rock Canyon is beautiful enough to be on the Vegas list! Everything with history and nature is beautiful. Especially if this is a 160-million-year-old canyon.
Las Vegas Food and Drink Tips
If there is one thing I should give Las Vegas credit for, it would be its success in world cuisine!
Before I went, I had heard that the best chefs in the world were in Las Vegas, but I thought it was overrated. I really admired each place we ate at.
For dinner, you usually have to make reservations at the places you choose.. You can book most places using the Yelp app, you don’t need to search.
Mon Ami Gabi Mon Ami Gabi, just below the Paris Hotel, was my favourite.. Ideal for both breakfast and lunch.. You also have the chance to sit outdoors, which is a rare thing in Las Vegas.
In-N-Out-Burger the famous American hamburger chain. There’s always a long line in front of their Las Vegas branch, but I think it’s definitely worth it.. You can choose it for lunch.
‘Once’ The very famous Peruvian cuisine restaurant of Las Vegas. We had one dinner here. I was a little hesitant as I had never tried Peruvian food before, but I liked the food very much.. If there is one in Munich, I’m thinking of going after this.
For meat lovers ‘Texas de Brazil’ The best ‘Steakhouse’ in Las Vegas. You can eat meat until the morning by paying a certain fee per person! Since I’m not that much of a meat lover, I didn’t fall in love here, but there are many people who love it.
I can recommend Cheesecake Factory, which is also an American classic, with my eyes closed.
Shopping in Las Vegas
The only thing I did for shopping in Las Vegas was to go to the ‘Las Vegas South Premium Outlets south of the city.
I understand why people shop so much in America, because it’s really cheap compared to European prices.. But in most stores, there is no discount if you buy one product, you need to buy at least 2 products so that you can get a discount.. You can’t get a single shirt you want from a store at an affordable price and leave. Since both Umut and I have gotten used to buying only what we need in recent years, I realized that the outlets are not for us at all.
There was also the ‘Las Vegas North Premium Outlets’ but I did not go, that was my shopping experience in Las Vegas.
Las Vegas has been a city for me that I am ‘nice to meet’ but that I find a bit overrated.. After all, everything different is good, I’m happy to discover another city. It was a place that I always heard a lot, listened to his stories, and saw in movies, I am happy to see it with my own eyes.
With an excuse, I also saw Grand Canyon! That’s it for the next post!
