LAS VEGAS TRAVEL GUIDE: 13 Things to Know Before You Go
13th thing to know before you go to Las Vegas I'm Chris this is yellow Productions and in this video I'm going to tell you how to get in how to get around what to see what to do what to eat and more all right let's go the first thing to know just a little bit of background information about Las Vegas with 40 million people that visit this city annually it is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the United States of America now its nickname of Sin City makes people conjure up a adult-oriented gambling drinking only destination and while those things are big here Vegas has actually become a really significant business destination it is the world's hub for conventions that draw over a hundred thousand people you may have heard of the Consumer Electronics Show that draws that many you may not have heard of the World of Concrete that draws that many as well but the hotels and resorts here they are really amazing the Las Vegas Strip that I'm standing on right now it's home to hotels that are shaped like pyramids castles they've got volcanoes in front of them it is truly a one in a world destination and people have tried to copy Vegas I around the world but nobody does it as good as Vegas and finally Vegas is also becoming a family friendly destination you'll see a lot of parents pushing strollers around with kids here some people like that some people don't we'll get more into that when we get into the family section but now let's get you oriented the most famous part of Las Vegas is this part right here Las Vegas Boulevard which is a street that runs for like almost 50 miles but the most famous part of it is the Las Vegas Strip a Four Mile section that runs from Mandalay Bay down to the stratosphere now there's so much to see and do on the Strip that it turns out many visitors to Vegas never leave the strip on their entire stay now an interesting fact about the Las Vegas Strip is it actually turns out it's not in Las Vegas at all the city of Las Vegas ends and the strip is actually in the unincorporated towns of paradise and Winchester so if you see Paradise Nevada or Winchester Nevada in an address look it's all Las Vegas as far as this video is concerned but you should know because you'll see those things if you're doing Google Maps and getting around okay now let's talk about downtown Las Vegas many people call Downtown the real Vegas because this is where Vegas got to start where Vegas was originally settled and the originally gambling center before the strip took the spotlight the center of downtown is along Fremont Street particularly the Fremont Street Experience a canopied five block area featuring 24 million LED lights with shows on the hour from dusk until midnight now some people really love downtown for it's more down to earth feel but others hate it sighting that is really far from the strip like a 30 cab ride and that the casinos in downtown are way too smoky but if you are a slots Gambler you'll likely find the best slot machine odds here in downtown they're likely going to be worse at the airport and I think the action on the table games is pretty cool in downtown particularly at the Circa Hotel the newest hotel and casino in downtown Vegas and then after the strip in downtown for most visitors there's just everything else or the Las Vegas that people actually live in but two neighborhoods you might be interested in as a visitor one is Summerlin and the other one is Lake Las Vegas Summerlin is one of Vegas's upscale neighborhoods you'll find a Whole Foods over there JW Marriott the Red Rock Casino and the Red Rock Recreation Area if you like hiking that's a great place to hike just please do it in the winter when it's not super hot the other neighborhood you might be interested in checking out kind of a little further afield is Lake Las Vegas it's on the way to the Hoover Dam it is this neighborhood built around a lake that kind of looks like a small Mediterranean town There's a couple of hotels over there including a Westin and it's really great if you're looking for some place to stay that is quiet and away from the hustle and bustle though it's going to be really quiet if you're looking for stores or shops is at least a 10 minute drive from Lake Las Vegas to just about anything else oh but please don't take away those are the only things to see in Las Vegas it's a huge City and there's a whole lot more off the strip in downtown but if it's your first time here those are probably the areas you'll want to concentrate on number three let's talk about getting into Vegas and if you're flying into Vegas chances are you'll be flying into the Las Vegas international airport that used to be called McCarran International Airport that is now called Harry Reid International Airport one in the same it's just changed names recently it's a really big airport there's over a hundred Gates 50 million passengers that fly through there annually now Las Vegas's Airport's biggest claim to fame is that you can gamble in there there are slot machines in the airport while you're waiting for your flight while you're connecting but its second biggest claim to fame is that it is the busiest airport in the United States that isn't a hub airport for the major Legacy carriers American United Delta do not consider this a hub airport so who flies in and out of there the budget carriers Southwest is the biggest carrier at Harriet International Airport followed by uh spirit Allegiant and some others in that category all right now how do you get into the strip from the airport most people consider taxi or ride share it to be the best option taxi has fixed fares from the airport to the strip broken down into three zones you're gonna pay somewhere between 20 and 30 bucks depending upon where you're paying cash credit card and how far you're going if you're going to downtown it's going to be about forty dollars at the max if you've got the worst traffic how long does it take about 15 minutes without traffic you know if the traffic's bad it could take you 45. a lot of people often ask me about the shared ride shuttles at the airport that you can like pay a little less and share a van with a whole bunch of people look don't do it it's going to take you a really long time and it's just not worth your time frankly if you're a high roller consider getting a limousine while you're at the airport there are a number of limousine companies that just kind of hang out at the airport and will take you to your hotel in style particularly useful if you have a large group or you can rent a car there are 11 rental car companies that operate out of the airport in the Rent A Car Center it's a Consolidated Rental Car Center you've got to take a shuttle to get there from the airport takes about 10 minutes and then when you get there if you've got a off Airport rental car company that's not one of those 11 they have to take a second shuttle to get to those simply not worth it to do one of the off airport ones if you're renting a car make sure it's one at that Consolidated rent-a-car center oh but it is actually pretty popular to rent cars here although if you're just staying on the strip I really don't recommend it but if you do uh then make sure to prepare for a little extra time to pick up your rental car because that rent-a-car center can get quite busy and the shuttles can often have long lines to just get on them to get to the rental car center too and then the final way to get around is the old-fashioned driving and you can drive your own car which what I typically do because I drive in from Southern California you could also get a driver many of the big Resorts can provide cars and drivers they're gonna be pretty expensive though but if you're driving your own car pay attention to the traffic it can be pretty bad on the Interstate 15 and also on the Strip particularly in Saturdays or Sundays what's typically a 15 minute drive from one end of the strip to the other that four miles say at noon on a weekday can be over an hour on a Friday or a Saturday so build those Journey times into your trip planning the pros and locals in Vegas they never drive down the strip instead they'll use the roads that are just on either side along the 15 or along the other side of the strip check out those side streets unless you just want to see the pretty lights down the strip oh and if you're driving and you're looking to park your car someplace for free the place on the Strip that still do free parking Tropicana TI Venetian Palazzo win Encore Resorts World Sahara and the stratosphere the fourth thing to know is about getting around Vegas and many people ask me Chris can I walk around Vegas and yes despite it being a desert and being really oppressively hot in the summer it is really quite walkable the sidewalks are wide there are bridges to connect the different hotels so you don't even have to cross the street I will say though do beware of walking too much on your first day here that's a mistake people often make they end up with blisters on their feet and then they don't enjoy the rest of their trip because their feet hurt so do take take it easy you know the strip being only four miles from one side to the other seems like it's not that long except you'll be walking around the casinos too and so a Four Mile Walk is going to take you 10 as you navigate just everything there is here now some other ways you might want to consider getting around there's a bus on the Strip called the deuce bus this is a double decker bus that's six bucks for two hours eight bucks all day twenty dollars for three days you can buy tickets at ticket machines on the Strip or on board and it'll run uh like the entire length of the strip all the way to downtown pretty inexpensive it does get caught in the traffic on the Strip though so if it's a busy night and the strip traffic isn't moving well those buses aren't going to be moving either they also do make a lot of stops and it takes a long time to let people on or off so just be prepared for a little bit of a journey but they make nice sightseeing buses because they got a second deck you can sit up there and just watch all the lights go by another option for getting around is the Las Vegas Monorail I'll ride this while it's here because they're going to tear it down in the not too distant future it connects the east side of the strip hotels primarily to the convention center that's what it's really useful to do or if you're going like MGM Grand to the Sahara taking it that distance it's not useful for the hotels on the other side of the strip like on the side with the Bellagio and Caesars Palace because frankly the monorail just doesn't go there and on the back side you like MGM Grand it's like 15 minutes to walk through the MGM Grand to the monorail and so it's not real useful for Short Stops now veteran Vegas visitors will know to use some of the Interior hallways that connect the hotels and casinos together for example if you want to go from Paris to valleys now the Horseshoe you can use this interior hallway in the back to connect the two hotels the fifth thing to know is about hotels in Vegas where should you stay and my first tip in this section is don't pick the cheapest hotel Vegas has some really cheap hotels you can find hotels here for like 25 a night chance you're gonna regret that hotel now the rates in Vegas they do vary wildly at the time I was making this video which was over the Thanksgiving holiday season rates at the Excalibur we're going for like 19 a night but in the first week of December they were upwards of 500 a night because there was a football game at Allegiant stadium so really look at when conventions are here when big sporting events are here and plan your trip around those with something you're not going to one of those and you're trying to come when the room rates are inexpensive definitely join the players clubs Caesars or M life with MGM and then once you join the players clubs log in with your players account when you're searching for rooms and room rates because you will definitely find cheaper rates and special offers when you're logged into your Players Club account now in general the cheapest rates you're gonna find Monday Wednesday midweek they're going to be most expensive Friday and Saturday they're also going to be the most expensive closer to the center of the strip that you go so like Caesar's Palace and Bellagio or the close to the center you work your way out from that down the strip or away from it and the hotels get cheaper now do make sure to pay attention to those nasty Resort fees nearly every hotel in Vegas is now charging these extra fees on top of the regular rate they charge and these Resort fees can be upwards of like fifty dollars at some of the Vegas hotels so take that into account if you are members of some of the players clubs and you're like an Elite member then they may waive them for you like M Life does this if you're a gold member so you know when you're playing in those slot machines or the table games make sure to have your players card in so you can get some of those special perks and save some money on your future trips to Vegas and if you like peace and quiet then consider staying at a non-casino hotel yes while most of the big strip hotels do have casinos there are some that don't have casinos in particular the Waldorf Astoria in City Center there's no Casino there I also like the Marriott Grand Chateau it's a Marriott timeshare Hotel just like one block off the strip you know when I come if it's just myself for a short trip and because I'm driving and I will often stay at ameria or a Hilton or ahaya like a block or two or three Off the Strip because they'll be way cheaper the parking will be free uh or cheap and same no resort fee or an inexpensive Resort fee so make sure you consider those options particularly if you have a car oh and there's a whole lot more to know about hotels and actually I've got a number of videos about it you can check out my video about my favorite luxury hotels and my best budget hotels you'll find links to that in the description or at the end of this video you should also know that the Showgirls on the Strip they don't work for the hotels they work on tips if you take a picture be prepared to tip them same with the costume characters you'll see around as well I ran into fellow explorers Andrea and Chris from Kansas City and they have a tip they'd like to share with you hey guys hi guys we love Resorts World and we love that it's warm and November with heeda pools of Resorts World along with the nice hot tub as well and we love everything there you can stay on that property for two days without leaving I ran into the fellow Explorer Nick from the Bay Area he's got one tip to share with us about hotels and parking yeah so uh yeah we stayed at the uh Madera it is a very nice place very quiet but the one downside is that parking is very difficult if you decide to do it on your own if you don't use the valet the sixth thing to know is about gambling and there sure is a lot of it in Vegas almost everywhere you'll find it certainly along the strip in downtown you'll find that at gas stations you'll find it at bars you'll even find it at the airport but definitely learn to play the games before you play them don't play a game you don't understand most of the big casinos have lessons to teach you how to play the games for free definitely sign up for the players clubs I talked about those perks before but you can get extra perks in the players clubs like front of line in the buffets free buffets those sorts of things so make sure you take advantage of those and definitely set your limit when it comes to gambling pick an amount and that's the most you're going to spend and if you lose that much don't try to win it back that's a recipe for not coming home in your 50 000 car but coming back home in a two hundred thousand dollar Greyhound bus the seventh thing to know is about money and you should know everybody here in Vegas wants your money in the form of tips so make sure you carry some cash with you one dollar bills where do you get those best place is from the ticket machines on the casino floor you can break a 20 and it'll dispense it in fives and ones oh and yeah bring cash because the ATMs in the casinos are really expensive and the bank ATMs are hard to find the eighth thing to know is about when to go and if you like swimming pools you should come in the summer because it's really good pool season in the summer it is hot if you don't like it really hot then you should come in the winter we're actually here in November shooting this and it is quite nice but really the best time to come is when there's no big event in town Vegas is driven by conventions and sporting events so check those calendars and come when there's going to be less people because that's when you're going to enjoy it more now if you do decide to come in Winter our favorite time make sure you bring warm clothes people often underestimate how cold it is and if you've got shorts and t-shirts like me you might be cold in the morning and at night because the temperatures actually can get almost down to freezing in Vegas so really check those and bring appropriate warm weather clothes or buy an extra couple jackets while you're here but OC girl wanted me to say there are no cheap jackets here all the stores on the Strip are like super luxury you know Dior Louis Vuitton so probably bring your sheep jacket from home the next thing to know is about eating and Vegas is home to a lot of really good food one of the things Vegas is definitely famous for are buffets and I think the best buffet in Vegas is a Caesars Palace the back of now Buffet the great part about this Buffet is you can make reservations to eat here so you don't have to wait in line actually a lot of Buffets now are taking reservations so damn check to see if the buffet you're gonna eat at takes reservations so you don't have to wait in a long line This Buffet though what I like about this big Trend in Vegas they're starting to Plate up a lot of food items on small plates and so they do a lot more unique things like this is a dragon fruit smoothie which I think is pretty neat now other restaurants definitely make reservations in Vegas it's really become a reservation town but some of the best restaurants they're not going to be the ones that are right on the Strip they're going to be like hidden away up on third floors up elevators Bouchon over at the Venetian you're not going to find it one on the casino floor there's a special elevator to go get it so definitely search Yelp find the ones you want or watch my cheat beats video If you're looking for cheap Beats I really love the sandwiches from Planet Hollywood Earl of Sandwich if you're looking for a cheap quick tasty sandwich it's definitely on the other end of the scale from the high-end buffet and a lot of people ask me Chris is the back of now Buffet worth it because it's kind of expensive like for brunch it's 64.99 and having just finished the buffet and getting onto my dessert course right here I'm going to tell you I think it's worth it the food here is not mass produced Buffet slop it's all really quite good tasty the roast pork from the Chinese section is like better than any of the roast pork we've ever had in LA and it's funny to think that we can get it here on a buffet and you know some buffets they give you like tiny little Buffet plates for dessert not here they give you full dinner size plates to get dessert which is of course my favorite course now if you do come to Vegas you're gonna eat the buffets Pro tip just one buffet a day if you have more than that you just won't be able to walk anymore and you'll probably have to add a second buttonhole to your pants but one thing to be aware of at this buffet and some others is time limits now because people are waiting so long in the lines and now they take reservations with reservations they give you time limit back now it is 90 minutes and oh by the way like I said there's things on the buffet here that you don't see a lot of other buffets like Portuguese egg Tarts on the buffet served warm and toasty it's really good thing that fuels Vegas after gambling is drinking and you should know there's drinking everywhere but the drinks in Vegas are really expensive particularly on the strip in the bars if you want something cheaper you know get some drinks at CVS or Walgreens actually funky princesses just don't do it don't drink it's not good for you but if you are do responsibly know that on the Strip you can drink almost anywhere but it might be better to bring a plastic cup with you most of the hotels have plastic cups you can get your cup in a to-go container from a glass to plastic oh my favorite place to pick up cheap alcoholic drinks or just drinks in general is the ABC Store you'll find a number of them on the strip and inside the Planet Hollywood Miracle Mile shops the 11th thing to note is about smoking and if you're a smoker you can smoke just about everywhere in Vegas and if you're a non-smoker it means you'll be smelling smoke just about everywhere in Vegas now I will say the whole no smoking thing is definitely proliferating to more places in Vegas you'll find no smoking sections in casinos and you'll find one Casino the park MGM has gone entirely no smoking on this trip we're staying at the Bellagio and they ask us do you want a smoking or non-smoking room they still have smoking rooms here many places you go you know it's not an option anymore I will say in addition to cigarette smoke uh cigars you'll see people smoking cigars throughout the casinos and marijuana is legal here and while you can't smoke it in the casinos you will definitely smell people smoking it out on the strip although that's not legal either you're not supposed to smoke it out in public but the enforcement is almost nil related to that the Dual thing to know is about Vegas being a family friendly destination and I get a lot of questions from you fellow explorers about Chris is Vegas a good place to bring my kids to bring my family and you know this kind of Ebbs and flows between Vegas being a family destination and not but I will say right now hotels Resorts casinos targeting families is definitely on the upswing one thing you'll see right here at the new Horseshoe hotel used to be Bally's they spent a lot of money in a new arcade there's a little bowling alley there's miniature golf and so this is something I see quite a bit now obviously the name Sin City definitely conjures up topless cool day clubs but you know for every topless swimming pool there are three more pools that definitely catered families now people often ask me about what my favorite swimming pool is for kiddos and I like the one at the Mandalay Bay they have a gigantic wave pool over there your kids are dead definitely gonna enjoy it kids are allowed with most places in Vegas including the casinos they're allowed to Transit the casino floor and just kids under 21 are not allowed to linger on the casino floor like if you're playing the slot machine you probably shouldn't have your two-year-old on your lap and they're definitely not allowed to go to the casinos by themselves also if you do come here with young kids you might want to stay off the strip after 9pm when it starts to get a little bit more Rowdy and probably stay away from the Fremont Street Experience because that place is kind of generally Rowdy and risque all day but if you stay within the resorts on the strip in the daytime early evening I think it's a pretty good family destination oh do beware though if you're coming here with kids there are two hotels that are 21 and up entirely the Circa Hotel downtown and also the El Cortez now 21 and up just to go in or stay in the hotel so no kids there which if you're an adult and you're looking for a place to get away from the little screamers well now you know two places you can do that and the 13th thing to know is about popular day trips from Las Vegas the most popular one is the Hoover Dam it's about a 45 minute drive if you've got a car there are a ton of tour companies that'll take you down there two in addition to seeing the dam you can go in it for tours inside to see how they make the electricity second most popular tour from Vegas is the Grand Canyon there's a couple you'll see advertised there's one on Native American land that's a couple hours away that's got the Skywalk on it or the Nate the Grand Canyon National Park that's four hours away you can do it in a day trip but it's a long day trip two of my favorites Zion National Park and Death Valley National Park two to three hour drive from here depending upon which one you go to but if you want to see more about those you'll find links on the screen to my Death Valley Zion and more Vegas videos more Vegas videos also in the description things like the best cheap eats and the best hotels and fellow explorers as usual we won't say goodbye because we're gonna see you in the next video
2023-01-11 17:00
