Las Vegas is a great vacation destination for anyone given its vibrant feel, unique offerings and ability to cater to varied tastes. While there is the predominantly popular entertainment industry associated with casinos and shows, there is much more to the city than this. Las Vegas offers spectacular natural beauty, family activities, and tourist attractions. We have undertaken multiple visits to the city over the last couple of years we have been in the US and this time we thought of putting together a three-day itinerary for anyone visiting the town based on our most recent experience.
Let's start with the itinerary that we used to explore Las Vegas in a touristy way. The aim was to cover a few other family-friendly destinations other than the usual suspects - casinos and the shows. We spent about half the time in Vegas on getaway road trips to include some exotic natural scenery into our trip. While most of the evenings would be spent on the strip hopping from one casino to the other, there are ways you can use your day to explore various national parks around Las Vegas. So, if you are tempted to know more about how to best use your time in Las Vegas, read on. Our visit was from August 31st to September 3rd, 2019.
Starting with a grand welcome - Welcome to Las Vegas Sign
As we start the day's excursion, we recommend starting with the Welcome to Las Vegas sign if you are at all inclined. There is no particular reason for this and you can easily skip this point for later or completely drop it. We believe it definitely is an overrated tourist point created to capture the fancy of visitors and to develop a must-capture photo opportunity. The craze has definitely caught up and you may actually spend quite some time waiting for your turn to get a picture with the sign. It is towards one end of the Strip and you may very well get done with it if you are one of the few who would like a picture for a souvenir. There is limited parking at the site but it mostly is filled up unless you get lucky with the timing. However some wait should be able to get you a spot - we say one of you go and grab a spot in the queue for the picture while the other waits for grabbing a parking spot.
Some children fun at Shark Reef Aquarium - Mandalay Bay
If you are with family or kids, this is a perfect place to start your trip to the city with something that everyone would like. As per the itinerary, it is still early evening and the true beauty of the Strip only dawns with the sunset. So, we had a couple of hours to kill before heading onto the Strip and hence we spent time at this aquarium. The main water tank here is considered to be one of the largest in the country and a large number of aquatic flora and fauna is available. Kids definitely enjoy this place a lot. Also, the entire floor of Mandalay Bay is more of a shopping mall than just a casino or hotel and hence you have a number of restaurants and other attractions. The royally donned large corridors are just a bonus to walk through.
Time to head to the Strip - Las Vegas Boulevard
Next, we headed to the Strip - the center of touristic activities in Las Vegas. We had researched for options to economically park our vehicle and found that the Venetian was one of a couple of casinos that allow for free parking. There is a pretty big self-park garage that offers complimentary parking. You may still want to arrive early enough as the parking tends to get full towards the later part of the evening. On our first day on the Strip, we decided to cover only a part of the Strip. We explored the Casino in Venetian and then spend time along the Grand Canal shopping arcade. Later we started across the road and then started our walk leftwards. We explored a number of casinos - each with its own unique charm on our way. We enjoyed the famous Bellagio fountain on our way. We walked until the Renaissance and then took the other side of the road to travel back to the Venetian.
We explored Paris Paris and other casinos on the way back. Then we moved to the High Roller - world's highest observation wheel and enjoyed the views of glittering Las Vegas from over 550 feet high. There is a huge line there during the weekends and so you may want to book tickets online - which is a tad cheaper too. We only had to wait for about 15 minutes before we were ushered into the cabin but if we had to pick tickets there, it would have been an additional hour or so just to get the tickets. There are two kinds of cabins to experience - one is a simple observation deck while the other is an open bar format - choose your tickets as per your preference. We obviously chose the former - pity teetotalers on travel 😇
After spending about an hour here, we called it a day and returned to our hotel.
Red Canyon National Park - Scenic Drive
After breakfast, we headed straight to the Red Canyon National Park which is about 25 miles from the city and took us about half an hour to reach. As you approach the park, you can see hills of red stone which offer spectacular views. We quickly visited the visitor center for an overview of the site and then proceeded to the scenic drive. The nicely set up 12.5-mile drive takes about a couple of hours depending upon the time you take to enjoy the natural structures and hikes. There are many viewpoints strategically located which help make the best of your time there. There are a couple of trails that take you to scenic interiors. We wrapped the trip by late forenoon and proceeded to the second spot of the day.
Chocolate Factory - what more to fancy if the kid within is still alive
Next, we traveled to the Ethel M Chocolate Factory & Gardens which are located on the other side of the town. They take you through the entire chocolate-making process and also offer chocolate tasting tours - something like wine tasting in Napa. There is also a botanical garden on the site which has a variety of cactus to explore. After the chocolate factory, we went to the hotel for a couple of hours of break and to give the little one some freedom from all the restrictions and confinements.
The Mirage Volcano - fireballs and music
Towards early evening we again approached the Strip and parked in our usual location. We then moved towards across the road to the Mirage just in time to find a good spot along the lagoon. There are generally two shows every evening so you may want to time your visit accordingly. Also, you may like to reach a bit in advance to get a nice spot. We recommend getting a spot towards the center of the lagoon, a bit leftwards, which gives you coverage across the entire show. Also, if you have kids, you may want to be a bit careful as some of the fire-balls are hot enough to send across a mild heatwave and kids may become frightened. The 15-minute show is definitely a must-see and unique experience. We have seen Bellagio style fountain at many places across the world under the name of the musical fountain but this volcano was our first.
Fremont Street Experience - the downtown Las Vegas
Towards the latter part of the evening, we visited the Fremont Street Experience, an open mall in downtown Las Vegas. This is the part of the town which was the collateral damage as the Strip gained popularity. This is the original area where the casinos flourished and still, there are few casinos that enjoy patronage. However, tourists are mostly away from here. This mall is an attempt to bring some tourists to the area. There are some or other shows going on in the wide-open forecourt. There is a huge screen encompassing the entire forecourt where the shows are projected for better views. There is a special display on the screen at the start of every evening hour. Also, if you are so inclined, there is a zipline for the child within you. However, we would recommend that if you are with family, you may not want to stay until too late here.
This was the last site for the day and we returned to the hotel post that.
Let's start with a video glimpse into the city
Detailed coverage of things to do in Las Vegas has been documented in another article given below
Las Vegas, Nevada - 10 Things Apart from Gambling and Glamour
Let's start with the itinerary that we used to explore Las Vegas in a touristy way. The aim was to cover a few other family-friendly destinations other than the usual suspects - casinos and the shows. We spent about half the time in Vegas on getaway road trips to include some exotic natural scenery into our trip. While most of the evenings would be spent on the strip hopping from one casino to the other, there are ways you can use your day to explore various national parks around Las Vegas. So, if you are tempted to know more about how to best use your time in Las Vegas, read on. Our visit was from August 31st to September 3rd, 2019.
Day 1 - Arrival in Las Vegas, Aquarium and the Strip
We assume that this is the day you arrive in town as was the case with us and hence the first half of the day is spent traveling from the airport to the hotel, check-in, and setting. Since we travel with a one-year-old in tow, we do also keep some buffers for rest and hence we only start our first day late in the afternoon or evening depending on the weather. As for the accommodation, we had picked a hotel slightly off-Strip (but still approachable) to avoid the high prices and the smoke-filled lobbies that come with Strip hotels which mostly have casinos as the primary sources of income. To be specific ours was Courtyard by Marriott - Las Vegas Convention Center.| The Bellagio Fountain with the Strip in Background |
Starting with a grand welcome - Welcome to Las Vegas Sign
As we start the day's excursion, we recommend starting with the Welcome to Las Vegas sign if you are at all inclined. There is no particular reason for this and you can easily skip this point for later or completely drop it. We believe it definitely is an overrated tourist point created to capture the fancy of visitors and to develop a must-capture photo opportunity. The craze has definitely caught up and you may actually spend quite some time waiting for your turn to get a picture with the sign. It is towards one end of the Strip and you may very well get done with it if you are one of the few who would like a picture for a souvenir. There is limited parking at the site but it mostly is filled up unless you get lucky with the timing. However some wait should be able to get you a spot - we say one of you go and grab a spot in the queue for the picture while the other waits for grabbing a parking spot.
Some children fun at Shark Reef Aquarium - Mandalay Bay
If you are with family or kids, this is a perfect place to start your trip to the city with something that everyone would like. As per the itinerary, it is still early evening and the true beauty of the Strip only dawns with the sunset. So, we had a couple of hours to kill before heading onto the Strip and hence we spent time at this aquarium. The main water tank here is considered to be one of the largest in the country and a large number of aquatic flora and fauna is available. Kids definitely enjoy this place a lot. Also, the entire floor of Mandalay Bay is more of a shopping mall than just a casino or hotel and hence you have a number of restaurants and other attractions. The royally donned large corridors are just a bonus to walk through.
Time to head to the Strip - Las Vegas Boulevard
Next, we headed to the Strip - the center of touristic activities in Las Vegas. We had researched for options to economically park our vehicle and found that the Venetian was one of a couple of casinos that allow for free parking. There is a pretty big self-park garage that offers complimentary parking. You may still want to arrive early enough as the parking tends to get full towards the later part of the evening. On our first day on the Strip, we decided to cover only a part of the Strip. We explored the Casino in Venetian and then spend time along the Grand Canal shopping arcade. Later we started across the road and then started our walk leftwards. We explored a number of casinos - each with its own unique charm on our way. We enjoyed the famous Bellagio fountain on our way. We walked until the Renaissance and then took the other side of the road to travel back to the Venetian.
| The Strip |
After spending about an hour here, we called it a day and returned to our hotel.
Day 2 - Nature at Red Canyons, Chocolate Factory, Mirage Volcano and Fremont Street Experience
The second day of the trip was a mix of nature and glitter and can be considered as two half-days as the first half of the day was spent on a quick getaway while the other half was spent exploring Las Vegas.Red Canyon National Park - Scenic Drive
| Red Canyon - The Model Posing in Spectacular Backdrop |
For a detailed trip report from our Red Canyon Scenic Drive visit, read the article - Coming Soon
Chocolate Factory - what more to fancy if the kid within is still alive
Next, we traveled to the Ethel M Chocolate Factory & Gardens which are located on the other side of the town. They take you through the entire chocolate-making process and also offer chocolate tasting tours - something like wine tasting in Napa. There is also a botanical garden on the site which has a variety of cactus to explore. After the chocolate factory, we went to the hotel for a couple of hours of break and to give the little one some freedom from all the restrictions and confinements.
The Mirage Volcano - fireballs and music
Towards early evening we again approached the Strip and parked in our usual location. We then moved towards across the road to the Mirage just in time to find a good spot along the lagoon. There are generally two shows every evening so you may want to time your visit accordingly. Also, you may like to reach a bit in advance to get a nice spot. We recommend getting a spot towards the center of the lagoon, a bit leftwards, which gives you coverage across the entire show. Also, if you have kids, you may want to be a bit careful as some of the fire-balls are hot enough to send across a mild heatwave and kids may become frightened. The 15-minute show is definitely a must-see and unique experience. We have seen Bellagio style fountain at many places across the world under the name of the musical fountain but this volcano was our first.
| The Volcano @ Mirage |
Fremont Street Experience - the downtown Las Vegas
Towards the latter part of the evening, we visited the Fremont Street Experience, an open mall in downtown Las Vegas. This is the part of the town which was the collateral damage as the Strip gained popularity. This is the original area where the casinos flourished and still, there are few casinos that enjoy patronage. However, tourists are mostly away from here. This mall is an attempt to bring some tourists to the area. There are some or other shows going on in the wide-open forecourt. There is a huge screen encompassing the entire forecourt where the shows are projected for better views. There is a special display on the screen at the start of every evening hour. Also, if you are so inclined, there is a zipline for the child within you. However, we would recommend that if you are with family, you may not want to stay until too late here.
This was the last site for the day and we returned to the hotel post that.
Day 3 - Day trip to Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam
This was the day that we spent on a day trip out of the city to explore some natural and engineering marvels near Las Vegas. The trip took about 10 hours which was most of our day and hence we only visited the Strip in the night to enjoy the tram ride from Excalibre to Mandalay Bay.Grand Canyon - The Wonder of the World
We started early after a quick breakfast and headed straight towards highway 11 before getting onto the highway 93. The morning ride was great on our Chrysler 300 - this definitely is a ride meant for longer travels with a sunroof and ample space inside. Near Dolan Springs, which is about two-hour away from Las Vegas, we took the exit to Highway 25 which is mostly a two-lane road with highly reduced speed limits. It took about another hour for us to enter the final approach road to the Grand Canyon West territory. The west rim area is located on the Hualapai Indian Reservation and is operated by the tribe. The area is a sight of a touristy commercial spot and has all the stuff accordingly. We had our tickets done online and hence we went straight to the bus terminal where their buses pick you up for the tour. There are three distinct spots within the area - one is the touristy ranch where there is a raw Texan set up for picture opportunities. The next is the Skywalk - a glass floor balcony extending onto the Grand Canyon providing spectacular views of the rocky walls merging on the Colorado river below. The third spot is the view of the canyon through one of the rims up close. We spent about a few hours exploring the region before the bus took us back to the boarding point. There are hop-on-hop-off format buses plying continuously on the circuitous route.
Hoover Dam - The engineering marvel
While on our way from the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas, we took a small detour to the Hoover Dam which is just 30-minutes out of the city. We were stopped before the dam for a quick security check where officers did a quick scan of the vehicle and checked our credentials before allowing us to the dam. This made sense considering the strategic importance of the site. We parked the car in the earmarked parking (for a fee of $10) and then moved to the dam. We spent about half an hour in the area appreciating the engineering marvel and the acumen of the engineers and architects. There is a museum showcasing the story and also a memorial in memory of all those who lost their lives during the construction - while it may be difficult to fathom today, construction was a pretty dangerous activity a few decades ago.
We returned to our hotel for freshening up and then proceeded to the Strip for one last time.
Mandalay Bay Tram - Connecting Sins of the city 😈
We ended the day with a quick visit to the Strip - one last time before we end the trip. In case you are actually leaving the city on the third day you would be heading to the airport at this time. We wanted to do the tram ride which connects the Mandalay Bay with Luxor and Excalibur. The Mandalay Bay Tram is on an elevated electric track connecting the three casinos and provides an easy way to traverse a part of the Strip in style. You get to see the charm of the street while riding across it - and to top it up this is a free ride. We took the ride both-ways stopping at the Luxor for a while. This was the end of our trip and we returned to the hotel to pack up and get ready for the journey back to the base.
| Grand Canyon West |
We started early after a quick breakfast and headed straight towards highway 11 before getting onto the highway 93. The morning ride was great on our Chrysler 300 - this definitely is a ride meant for longer travels with a sunroof and ample space inside. Near Dolan Springs, which is about two-hour away from Las Vegas, we took the exit to Highway 25 which is mostly a two-lane road with highly reduced speed limits. It took about another hour for us to enter the final approach road to the Grand Canyon West territory. The west rim area is located on the Hualapai Indian Reservation and is operated by the tribe. The area is a sight of a touristy commercial spot and has all the stuff accordingly. We had our tickets done online and hence we went straight to the bus terminal where their buses pick you up for the tour. There are three distinct spots within the area - one is the touristy ranch where there is a raw Texan set up for picture opportunities. The next is the Skywalk - a glass floor balcony extending onto the Grand Canyon providing spectacular views of the rocky walls merging on the Colorado river below. The third spot is the view of the canyon through one of the rims up close. We spent about a few hours exploring the region before the bus took us back to the boarding point. There are hop-on-hop-off format buses plying continuously on the circuitous route.
For a detailed trip report from our Grand Canyon visit, read the article - Grand Canyon West - Day-trip from Las Vegas to the Natural Wonder
Hoover Dam - The engineering marvel
While on our way from the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas, we took a small detour to the Hoover Dam which is just 30-minutes out of the city. We were stopped before the dam for a quick security check where officers did a quick scan of the vehicle and checked our credentials before allowing us to the dam. This made sense considering the strategic importance of the site. We parked the car in the earmarked parking (for a fee of $10) and then moved to the dam. We spent about half an hour in the area appreciating the engineering marvel and the acumen of the engineers and architects. There is a museum showcasing the story and also a memorial in memory of all those who lost their lives during the construction - while it may be difficult to fathom today, construction was a pretty dangerous activity a few decades ago.
For a detailed trip report from our Hoover Dam visit, read the article - Hoover Dam - Experiencing the Engineering Marvel
| Hoover Dam |
We returned to our hotel for freshening up and then proceeded to the Strip for one last time.
Mandalay Bay Tram - Connecting Sins of the city 😈
We ended the day with a quick visit to the Strip - one last time before we end the trip. In case you are actually leaving the city on the third day you would be heading to the airport at this time. We wanted to do the tram ride which connects the Mandalay Bay with Luxor and Excalibur. The Mandalay Bay Tram is on an elevated electric track connecting the three casinos and provides an easy way to traverse a part of the Strip in style. You get to see the charm of the street while riding across it - and to top it up this is a free ride. We took the ride both-ways stopping at the Luxor for a while. This was the end of our trip and we returned to the hotel to pack up and get ready for the journey back to the base.
