This image features a tour guide pointing up and to the viewer's left to show her guests something. The group, made up of four visible guests, who are all caucasian adults, are all outside and an old tan-colored building are seen behind them. The word "Tours" is superimposed in the top left corner in black text in all caps.

Tours are a great way to learn about the places you visit from a knowledgable guide. We offer everything from private or group day tours that only last a few hours, all the way up to multi-day escorted tours with all transportation and accommodations arranged by our suppliers. We can book walking tours of the Freedom Trail in Boston, all the way up to ultra luxury private jet tours around the world. Learn more below!

My Trip to Las Vegas

by | May 25, 2023 | Las Vegas, Travel, USA

The image features the iconic Las Vegas sign on a sunny day with palm trees in the background.
Image contains a gradiant that is light green on the left and light blue on the right. The text says "This post contains affiliate links. Please click here to read the disclosures.

This was my first trip to Vegas for fun as I had been a handful of times before for another job, but didn’t have much down time to go exploring. I hope that sharing my experiences will be helpful for you as you plan your own trip!

Getting There

We arrived on time and I had previously arranged a transfer with Transferz, which you can book here. The driver was in constant communication with us via text and it was easy to find her at the rideshare pick-up area. She was delightful! She had a bubbly personality and her dashboard had a collection of anime-style figurines displayed. We enjoyed chatting with her all the way to our timeshare.

Accommodations

We stayed off-strip at the Tahiti (not the Tahiti Village) on Tropicana. I would call the place average. Maybe a little bit dated. Then again, a lot of the most charming parts of Las Vegas are dated! The layout of the place is kind of confusing and we ended up going to the right floor, but on the wrong side of the resort and had to go back down and then up again to access our suite. There was a swimming pool (completely surrounded by the resort and cannot be seen from the street), and a random, tiny putting green. You could get putters and balls from the front desk if you wanted to use them. 

This photo features the living room area in a suite at the Tahiti resort on Tropicana Boulevard in Las Vegas. It has light brown carpet, a dark brown wooden desk on the left wall, a cream colored couch and painting of a white flower on the left wall, a coffee table with a wooden top and a black metal frame underneath, a cushioned chair against the gold curtain on the back wall. There is a white curtain stretched all the way across the window and behind the gold curtain which separates the living room from the balcony. there is also a gas fireplace with a white mantel on the left wall and a painting above that.

The livingroom area in a suite at the Tahiti resort.

Our suite had two bedrooms with a central living room, kitchen, and balcony. There was also a gas fireplace. The second bedroom, which was mine, had adjoining doors, so it could be used as a standalone room if the people in the main suite elect not to use it. It had a little kitchen area with a sink and cupboards. My only complaint was that I couldn’t find a hair dryer in the bathroom. I had purposefully left mine at home since hotels and resorts usually have those things in the rooms. I went down to the front desk with wet hair (I needed a walk after sitting on the plane for most of the day) and asked if they had one I could borrow. The front desk person sent someone up with one within minutes. It was brand new in the box. My companion later found one in her own bathroom.

Eats

I’ll be honest, I mostly ate at the Denny’s next to the Tahiti while I was in Las Vegas. My companion and I ate breakfast there together each morning and the staff was always really nice. We used some 10% off coupons my companion found on the back of a receipt to save a little on one meal.

Unfortunately, we weren’t near a grocery store, but the Tahiti did have a shuttle service for grocery store runs, which my companion took advantage of.

While visiting Las Vegas, I like to meet up with friends who live in the area. My old hockey coach and his wife like taking me out for a meal when I’m in town, and on this trip they took me to the Black Bear Diner. It’s a cute, bear-themed place with pretty standard diner fare. If you’re looking for an inexpensive place for any meal off the strip, I recommend this one. After lunch, my friends offered to give me a ride to the strip and took me to the Bellagio.

This image shows the dining room at the Black Bear Diner in Las Vegas. It features many pieces of artwork carved from wood with bear motifs.
The author, an early forties, but much younger-looking, caucasian female with medium-length strawberry blonde hair clasps her hands while standing at a slight angle to the camera and smiling. She is in the garden at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas with sunlight coming in from above. She is wearing a black tank top and denim shorts and is carrying a black purse.

The Las Vegas Strip

Ah, the Vegas Strip, where much of the action is. Most of the resort casinos and main attractions are along Las Vegas Boulevard. That first day, I spent a lot of time walking around and taking in the sights. My first stop was at the Bellagio with my friends. I like visiting the garden, which changes every season. There’s a little gazebo in it where you can pay extra to have a meal there from one of the nearby restaurants. I also really enjoy the Chihuly glass ceiling!

Madame Tussauds

Next, I visited Madame Tussauds next to The Venetian. I’d never been to any of the locations before, so I was curious. In advertisements, you see pictures of the wax figures, but seeing them in person is a very different experience! They are so masterfully crafted that I was sure they were going to start moving. Presumably, they are made to exact measurements of the celebrities they represent and I was shocked at how small some of those people are compared to how they look on tv or in pictures.

This image features a wax figure of Celine Dion in Madame Tussaud's in Las Vegas. She is wearing a metallic gold mini dress with long sleeves. She is in a standing positon with her legs wide and raising a microphone in the air.

Most of the rest of the first day I spent walking around looking at things. I rode the free monorail between The Mirage and Treasure Island (about a two minute ride, but it saves your feet if you’re tired of walking). I saw the live flamingos at The Flamingo. I found a souvenir shop that sold hoodies for $15 and zippered tote bags for $5. So I bought myself a cool pastel tie-dye hoodie that’s a little too big for me. I was grateful for it when the sun went down as it got chilly and I was only wearing a tank top and shorts. Little did I know that, when I took the hoodie off later, one arm would be stained blue from the dye that hadn’t been rinsed out before they sold it in the shop. As much as I love my cheap Las Vegas hoodie, I recommend you wash it a few times before wearing it if you buy one!

Day two started after lunch. I felt I needed a little recovery time after all the walking I did the day before. My plan was to visit Area15, the Mob Museum, and the Neon Museum. I had purchased a 24 hour ticket for the local bus system for $8, which was a great deal in my opinion. I took the resort shuttle to the Tropicana to start my day.

Image shows the author, an early forties caucasian female with medium length blonde hair, outside on a sunny day wearing sunglasses. The Las Vegas sign is behind her to the right.

At the last minute, I decided I wanted to see the famous Las Vegas sign. I saw that it was a little ways away but was not deterred. That ended up being a longer hike than I had expected. It was about  ¾ of a mile from Mandalay Bay. I should honestly have activated my bus pass right then. I made the walk to the sign and there were probably about 30 or more people waiting in a line to take pictures right in front of it. I had seen a post on Instagram from someone who suggested that you stand off to the side and get a shot from an angle. It still looks good and you don’t have to wait. So that’s what I did. Pro tip: If you have a car, DRIVE THERE. There’s a parking lot right there at the sign.

After that I wandered into Mandalay Bay and looked around a little bit, then tried the free monorail that went between there, the Luxor, and Excalibur. I poked my head into New York New York, which contains a Hershey’s store and a roller coaster.

This image shows the Las Vegas skyline on a cloudless sunny day and features the Eiffel Tower replica at Paris, a replica hot air balloon, and several other hotel casinos.

AREA15

At that point, I finally activated my bus pass and decided to make for AREA15. By the advertisements, it looked like a sort of neon dystopian playland. There was an attraction within called Omega Mart that I was interested in checking out. Omega Mart, from the ads, gave me the impression that it was sort of like a haunted house-type of deal with a fake grocery storefront. 

AREA15 is off the strip so I took the bus over that way. Unfortunately, the closest bus stop is still a 15-minute walk from the place, so be prepared for another long march if you’re a budget traveler. They suggest that taking a ride share is the best option to get there as the parking lot tends to fill up and the walk from the bus stop is long. It didn’t look busy to me, but I went in late April on a weekday. Purchase your ticket in advance to avoid having to scan the QR code and buy it on my phone at the last second as I did. There’s no ticket office on site. This is also a good idea if it’s peak travel season because they have a capacity limit.

Upon entering, it truly was a neon dystopian playland. As soon as you walk in, you are immediately greeted by a neon glowing skull. There are various little shops and bars (including one with a color-changing neon tree!), and a sort of aerial ride where you slip into a harness and ride around the perimeter of the facility on a track hanging from the ceiling.

The image features products on a shelf in Omega Mart, an interactive art installation by Meow Wolf. One of the products is "canned mammoth."

Products on the shelf in Omega Mart at AREA15, Las Vegas.

Omega Mart

Then there was Omega Mart. The admission is steep at $50, but I was excited to see what it was all about. I kept seeing the name Meow Wolf associated with it and I had never heard of that and didn’t bother to look it up. Upon entering, it looks like a typical grocery store…until you take a closer look at the products on display. I saw things like “canned mammoth” and “personalized bleach” akin to the campaign that Coca Cola did with their cans and bottles of Coke with random names on them. Supposedly you can purchase anything that isn’t glued or bolted down in the grocery store section, albeit at high prices.

In the back of the store there are several portals by which to enter the real attraction. I choose to enter through a hedge-maze type of portal. I was expecting someone to jump out and scare me, or costumed characters to interact with me in some way. There was none of that, but I did see something completely different than (and seemingly unrelated to) the grocery store. I can only describe it as a surreal, cave-like, glowing area. There were several other areas that seemed to have different themes from fantasy to sci-fi.

Inside the Omega Mart attraction at AREA15 in Las Vegas. This section of the exhibit features an area bathed in red light with trees that have hanging pieces similar to a willow.

In the upstairs was a lab/office type setting where you could sit at computer consoles and open all the files and phone directories and make calls on the phones. There’s supposed to be some sort of story line activities that you can follow along with for an extra fee, and they seem to have something to do with this being the headquarters for the company that makes the products for the grocery store.

Overall, I was pretty disappointed with Omega Mart as it was not the kind of attraction I was expecting. It’s more of an immersive surreal art exhibit. While there are a lot of people who would really enjoy that, I, personally, felt that the price was too steep and the place was too out of the way to justify a visit. If it was convenient to get to, it was clear what it was, and about half the price, I would get on board. It was cool, but not what I thought I was spending my money on. Admittedly, I should have researched Meow Wolf before making the trek out there.

This image shows the St. Valentine's Day Massacre wall that is on display in the Mob Museum in Las Vegas. The actual bullet holes are visible when seen up close.

Mob Museum

My next stop was the Mob Museum. It’s allllll the way past the Fremont Street Experience. At this point, I was tired of walking and took the Deuce Bus to head down there. It was definitely nice to sit for a little while! The museum is housed in an old courthouse where trials were held to bring corrupt mobsters to justice. If you visit this museum, give yourself about 3 hours if you want to actually read the information in the displays and watch the films throughout the facility. This was the most interesting attraction I visited on my trip to Las Vegas. I highly recommend a stop here! You can get tickets here.

Tips for Your Trip to Las Vegas

As of the writing of this blog (May 2023) there is construction on the strip, which makes the Deuce Bus take a lot longer. It took 90 minutes to get from the Fremont Street Experience to the MGM Grand as the traffic was reduced to one lane each way for miles.

Here are some tips for your trip to Las Vegas:

  1. Buy a bus pass. Also, bring a jacket because they crank the AC in there!
  2. Plan your day in advance and stick to the plan. Do one area per day to make it easy on yourself.
  3. If you want to gamble, give yourself a limit on how much you are willing to lose before you stop.
  4. Buy tickets to shows in advance such as Cirque du Soleil, David Copperfield, etc.
  5. Expect to be hounded for a minimum of $20 tip if you take pictures with showgirls or costumed characters.
  6. If you can drive to the Las Vegas sign, do that. It’s a long walk from the nearest hotel.