I’m going to Las Vegas!!! 😀
My friend C and I had originally planned to travel somewhere warm together in February, but our schedules and budgets and stuff never really synched up so we didn’t go at that time.
We still wanted to travel together though (she lives in Ottawa and we don’t see each other much), and now that the economy in the States is so poor, we thought we’d check out the deals for Las Vegas. Everyone should go to Vegas when they’re young, right?
So last night we took the plunge and booked our trip!
We spent all day yesterday online scouring the online deals and found lots of good hotel ones, but the flights were insanely expensive! Originally we were going to go at the end of April, but it would just cost too much, so we opted for the week following Easter to head over. We saved a bundle and found a bunch of great deals.
Our budget was $1000 CAD and had to cover flight, hotel and two major activities. We decided we wanted to take a daytrip to the Grand Canyon and also take in the Cirque du Soleil show O. My entertainment fund plus my tax return and any additional savings I can keep will fund this trip for me.
So how did we net out?
Thanks to Expedia.ca, we found a great deal that included all of the above! We’ll be staying at Treasure Island (OMG pirate love!) for 5 nights and scooped airfare, shuttle from the airport, the Grand Canyon trip and the best seats in the house for O for $955.55 each after taxes!!!
I think that’s a pretty great deal, all things considered! (btw, don’t tell me if it’s not! I don’t wanna hear it!)
Of course there will still be other expenses involved in this trip, mainly food, transportation and incidentals, but they’re a little easier to scale back on versus the hotel costs, etc. We will just have to moderate ourselves while we’re there. I think food will be easy– the American portions are huge so we’ve decided to share entrees if possible.
I’m good at the food budgeting while travelling; when I was in Europe it could get really expensive eating out so I learned the best ways to do it, including picking things up at a grocery store and eating lots of samples!
So I’m pretty excited about this trip, can you tell??? I’ve travelled all over Europe and parts of Canada, but haven’t done much travelling in the US on my own, so this should be fun and easy! I love that I will speak the language, understand the money and fit in by all appearances 😀
So, let me ask anyone who has been to Las Vegas to share any fun and cheap activities that they enjoyed! Since we’re on a budget we can’t afford to do much of the fancy schmancy stuff, but I’m sure there’s lots of other things we can do…right?
9 responses to “Woo! Las Vegas!”
Eeee!!! SO jealous! I want to go to Vegas SO BAD but Papa Bear has absolutely NO interest in doing so.
I think it’s GREAT that you are doing something for yourself – you deserve it and I think you guys got a great deal.
My suggestions might be a bit off the wall but here’s a few (free!) things I’d like to do if ever I visit Vegas:
-visit the Nevada test site
-check out the pinball hall of fame
-eat chocolate at the Ethel M chocolate factory
-take pictures of the Bellagio lobby ceiling
-and their garden
-and watch their fountains
-find the best Elvis impersonator and see their show
-check out the white tigers at the Mirage and the lions at the MGM Grand
Plus you know I’d have to gamble just a teeny bit. 😉
You’re going to have so much fun!!!
Yay you did it!
Um I'm not sure that you have to worry too much about spending on transportation if you're staying on the strip and you've got the shuttle covered in your package. You wont need to go off the strip, and you can walk everywhere or take the tram.
O is AWESOME! You'll love it. I don't know… I wasn't impressed with the outlet mall AT ALL as I've mentioned before (but I haven't been to Vegas in two weeks), I wouldn't waste the $ taking a cab out there (ok so that would cost) because I didn't think it was great. Fashion mall… yes! Go. Its great. If you want to shop.
Um, free stuff? well, there's the pirates of the caribbean show which is free at the hotel you're at. The Venetian Canal is pretty neat, you might want to go on that, or at least look at it. I loved just walking around in all the hotels, Caesars Palace and the BIG money shops (Prada, Cartier, Dolce & Gabbana, etc) are pretty cool to check out, as is their aquarium. The water and light show outside of the Bellagio is neat to watch late at night. I don't know, they sound cheesy when you're not there, but the atmosphere really makes it because you're surrounded by thousands of happy, excited people. We ate on the patio at a really nice restaurant across the street from the Bellagio late one night and got to watch the light show from there, it was really cool. I think you don't need to worry too much about planning it out, just wander around and you'll find cool stuff all over the place.
SO JEALOUS! Have fun!
Oh, and one last thing. A lot of the hotels have these theme cups (?) that you can get to-go alcoholic drinks in, because you can drink on the street in Vegas. So, for example, at Paris you can get a GIANT Plastic Eiffel Tower, at NY NY you can get a statue of Liberty, etc and they fill it with your choice of slushy boozy goodness. I DO NOT RECOMMEND challenging your friend to try to drink one from EVERY place in one day. It does not end well. Trust me on that one. Plus I think i just came off the sugar high last week. (Although they are great souvenirs!)
BF wanted to take a trip there with me (I went when I was 5, so I don’t remember anything).
But we never got around to it, and are going to NYC instead because of the free hotel 🙂
Although we COULD use hotel points in Las Vegas, he’s working now, so not much free time.
You are going to have a fab time shopping 🙂 I hear there are so many free sights there, you don’t need to pay much to be entertained.
You are going to love it! Theres a free pirate show by treasure island and a water fountain show by ceasars palace I think. Try & go to Freemont street if you can and you can also get cheaper show tickets the day of if you're willing to line up.
When I went I actually didn't spend that much because you can just walk & walk for days looking at everything.
How exciting!! That is much cheaper than what my sister wanted us to book because she wanted to stay at the Venetian!
I hear the shopping, food and entertainment are all great, so you’re going to have a fabulous time!!
When are you going???
I haven’t been in years so I can’t give any advice, but have fun. You can spend a lot of time just visiting the various casinos on the strip. I think food is still expensive, but yes the portions are huge. For cheaper food head to downtown, the strip is more expensive for everything.
@MamaBear – I’ve never met someone who actually wanted to go to the test site. I went when I was in college with a professor to run some experiments. We stayed on site in Mercury for several nights, the place is surreal. You have to wear a radiation detector at all times, the lobby where you check in is decorated with pictures of mushroom clouds…
hot damn – enjoy each and every day girl! i like to just sit at the poker tables and guzzle down “free” drinks for hours on end, but that may not be the best idea for ya 🙂
take lots of pix!
http://www.cheapovegas.com/index.php
http://wizardofodds.com/
There are a TON of good food options out there. Check out the casino websites for a run down of the most recent deals. 2 for 1 buffets, etc.
Wow! Thanks for the suggestions, guys! It looks like I picked the right place to go… I’m not one for sitting around on my fanny all day!
@Mama: I LOVE your suggestions! I’m going to suggest the chocolate factory to my friend, and the Elvis thing, too! I would love to go to the test site also, but I don’t know if C would really want to… shame!
Haha it sounds like the rest of my time is going to be occupied by simply walking around and shopping! I definitely want to check out Freemont street too, I’ve heard the show there is pretty cool.
Thanks again for the suggestions, folks! I’m going from April 11-16 so when I get back I suppose I will owe you all a rundown of the trip 😉