Nov 01, 2018 Viva Las Vegas
Day one: a day of travels
This was my first time in sin city. We went with a group of friends! This was a day for us to relax and walk the strip especially since we were flying in and had some jet lag. The strip was HUGE, a lot more walking than I thought.
We went to Ocean One at Planet Hollywood for lunch, which located in the Miracle Mile Mall. Every lunch item on Ocean One's menu was only $4.99. They also served 3 cocktails for $10 all day, which made it well worth it. Their mixed drink list was pretty long. I recommend a table outside of the restaurant. By outside, I mean under Planet Hollywood's indoor sky. On their patio you can overlook the rainstorm show with fog, thunder, lighting, and actually rain pouring. The Miracle Mile Mall is fully indoor with 1.2 miles of shops, restaurants, and shows such as the free Zeus and Children's shows. As you keep walking in this mall you all of a sudden find yourself transported to Venice, Italy. There are people taking gondola rides at The Venetian. This brings shopping to another level.
Day two: Grand Canyon Tour
Set your alarms! The early bird gets the worm! We woke up around 5:40 a.m. to be down stairs at 6 since the tour company we chose picks up its guest at different hotels. Unfortunately, we were the first hotel to be picked up. Since we were one of the first to be picked up, we were first to be dropped off! The tour company that we chose, Canyon Tours, brought us on a ten hour tour of the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and the surrounding areas. (https://www.canyontours.com/grand-canyon-west-rim-bus-tour/). The tour included the Grand Canyon and a picture stop at the Hoover Dam. The tour guide was very entertaining and knowledgable on both the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam. The Grand Canyon was beautiful. Definitely something everyone needs to see once in their life. I am so thankful I had the opportunity to see it, since it was on my bucket list! Once you arrive at the Grand Canyon, a shuttle bus takes you to three different locations along the Grand Canyon. It is self guided and you only have four hours to move between locations and to soak everything in! The first location was Hualapai Village, an area where you can explore more about the Native Americans who live there. Unfortunately, due to lack of time we skipped this location because we wanted more time to enjoy more of the Grand Canyon. I wish we had more time to learn about their culture and history. The second location, Eagle Point, was a location in the Grand Canyon where an eagle is inscribed into the canyon rock. This is also the location where the SkyWalk and restaurant were located. There were also the Hualapai Indians there singing, however, as our tour guide explained, if you take a picture with any of the Indians you have to ask. It is their belief that if you take a picture of them, you also take a piece of their soul with you. There was also a path showcasing the different types of teepees the Indians used to live in. The third location had authentic barbecue served by the Hualapai Indians overlooking the canyon.
At the Grand Canyon, there is an attraction called the SkyWalk. It is a walk-way glass installment that floats over the edge of the Grand Canyon. I was stoked about the attraction. Unfortunately, it is an additional $25 to walk on it and see the views. It is not included in the tour price, but it is something to think about. On the SkyWalk, you cannot bring your own camera to take pictures. They have a photographer who will take your photo for $35. For that reason alone it was not worth it to me. Plus, the area where you can take your own pictures is almost identical and just as photogenic. I suggest going there first if you want to go to this installment because sometimes there is a long line. The restaurant overlooking the canyon was called Sa Nyu Wa. The view was breathtaking. This was not included in tour either, however, we made a stop in to grab a glass of wine and water of course! If your not one to tour the Grand Canyon, I would suggest eating lunch or dinner at this restaurant just for the view and great service! Our lunch that was included in the tour consisted of Native American authentic barbecue overlooking the Grand Canyon. This lunch was outside under tents, so be prepared to sweat ha.
Day Three: ATV Tour
ATV Tour - We took a four hour, unguided ATV tour in Red Rock Canyon. The unguided tour is way better than the guided tour. During the guided tour you are in a line with a guide in the front everyone going at same pace. The guided tour is also shorter. If you want a very thorough tour of Red Rock Canyon, I believe this tour is for you! The unguided tour is for adventurous outdoorsy people willing to take on a challenge. You might think we had the need for speed, however, Red Rock Canyon was surprisingly very rocky hint rock in the name. We also had to go up rocky canyon walls to remain on the trail, so you cannot always go super fast. Once you hit sand dunes you can increase your speed. When you depart the base, you are given a GPS, a map, and a transmitter in case you get lost, break down, or in case of emergency. There is a signal you can press for 911 in case something serious happens. Just that alone made me ask myself what did I got myself into LOL. Even one of the workers told us a guy broke his arm doing donuts because he flipped the machine OUCH! This was my favorite day I loved the scenery and the whole ATV experience.
Pro Tip: SO, this is what makes it difficult. We wanted to have a car rental for a day because the ATV tour was an hour away from the strip. We wanted to get there right when it opened because no one wants to be in the desert at 2 in the afternoon. It was already 122 degrees when we were leaving in the afternoon; the heat was intense. We had to rent a car get one from the airport because they are open 24/7 for rentals!
The ATV rental place we used was: https://www.ultimatedesertadventures.com/#thrill
We planned to go to Seven Magic Mountains, which is an art installment 30 minutes away from the strip since we had a rental car until 9 that night. We chose, instead, to go to dinner at The Wynn which stopped serving dinner at 9:30. I felt like that is so early because most people do night life in Vegas! We went for both the dinner buffet and the bottomless pour. The buffet was spectacular and the food was amazing! Honestly, just impressed with the service and decor! The variety of the food served was amazing and Sam seemed to eat a million crab legs ha!
Just when you thought this day couldn’t get more eventful, we went to see Calvin Harris at the Omni nightclub at Caesars Palace. The club was intense to say the least. The room where Calvin Harris performed had a 3D chandelier with its own light show in sync with the music. If you ever go, don’t forget to go upstairs on the balcony outside since it overlooks the strip and has its own (less packed) bar.
Day Four: Pool Party
Brunch - We planned to go to brunch and get a drink package with it. Unfortunately, we overslept on vacation and couldn't make it since there was such a long line. Before going to Vegas, we purchased a package that included the Calvin Harris show and a pool party. The pool party tickets stated that we needed to get there before 1 pm or entrance would not be guaranteed. I am not sure if that was true, but we wanted to make it there in case it was. The pool party was at the Wet Republic and included a performance by Kaskade. It was insane! It took us an hour to get in, and that was with pre-sale tickets. I definitely recommend getting resale tickets as the line is usually quicker. By the time we finally made it in, the pool was packed! Even though it was a crazy amount of people, it was a good day just hanging by the pool.
Tickets were bought at: https://ticketdriver.com/hakkasangroup/buy/tickets/.
Pro tip: print ticket just in case your phone doesn’t load.
Day five: downtown Las Vegas
Brunch - We went to Paradise Buffet brunch with bottomless champagne. It was an okay brunch, but it was also super cheap, so we weren’t expecting much. The did have a waffles and omelettes bar, which was nice. It has old school, retro vibes in the casino.
Downtown Las Vegas - This is the old Las Vegas Strip. There were many vintage casinos and some touristy shopping places. We walked the strip. Though it is lengthy, it is not as lengthy as the new strip. It was one of my favorite days, because I loved the old school vibe of the strip. I HIGHLY recommend going at night. We did not get a chance to stay for the evening events. The large screen covering the downtown strip lights up, street performers, and you can even zip-line under the strip.
A List of things to do:
Sigma Derby Horse: Very cool vintage gambling game
Million Dollar Photo at Binion’s: Free real photo with a million bucks.
Berlin Wall at Main Street Station: The men’s restroom has real pieces of the Berlin Wall.
Light Show: Downtown Vegas lights up at night, and its an experience in itself. Unfortunately, we just toured during the day.
If you like to gamble, this is apparently the place to go for lower minimums, and apparently craps are big here. I don’t gamble. This is just from what I read ha.
In Downtown Vegas, you can visit the world’s largest functioning fire hydrant. IDK why they have this, but it is interesting. Also apparently they have great drinks and happy hours throughout the old strip.
Endless options here we had to choose between:
1.) Citrus Grand Pool Deck: Rooftop pool vintage vibes and super chill. Happy hour 5-7. If you want to relax hangout by pool and take a dip. Free entry
OR
2.) Container Park: They have live entertainment. This park is made of shipping containers true to its name. It is mainly shopping and food, however; it turns into a 21 and over at night and become an adult playground. Real games and whatnot and they have drinks!
OR
3.) Neon Light Museum: This is what we choose to do for the rest of the day. This is a museum that is known for neon light graveyard. It is opening in the evening to so one can see some of the neon signs that were preserved. However, we went during the day and it was beautiful all the detail in the signs. The workers were well informed on each piece and walked around answering any questions and giving one fun facts on each piece!
Day Six: Las Vegas Strip
So, we planned a day to walk the strip of course. This day was our ULTIMATE day of the strip tour. There is a pass one can buy for $89 per person is a 55+ attraction ticket, which included the monorail for the day which helped us get around the strip easier.
Monorail pass, Linq hotel London Eye, Paris-Eiffel Tower, NYNY- NY rollercoaster, Voodoo Zip Line, and Madame Tussards Wax Museum just to name a few. Madame Tussard's Wax Museum was neat because we were able to see all of the well sculpted wax figures. OH if you watch VANDERPUMP RULES, Schena was doing a promo in the bar area. They were doing promo pictures and I was so startled because everyone in the museum is was, she was real! The Voodoo zip line gave us a 360 view of the strip and mountain range. Bring your walking shoes!
That night, we went to see Lil Jon at Jewel nightclub. TURN DOWN 4 WHAT! The clubs in Vegas are like no other and was such an amazing experience!
**Note with the pass there are 55+ attractions I just listed a few we thought were pretty impressive. https://www.lasvegaspass.com/
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