Traveling! One thing a lot of us want to do. Each one of us must have atleast one place we would want go experience at some point in life. I, being 'me', have one too many places I want to travel to. One of those places being Las Vegas! But 'planning' for the trip might not sound as exciting as 'traveling'. Planning is no joke. From booking flights to hotels to your commute there. It can be a little overwhelming. To add to it, there are countless blogs , sites, apps & ofcourse Google with lots of information about the place. So, my first trip to vegas had a lot of research & planning behind it. I used a lot of movies for my reference, mostly Bollywood! A lot of bollywood movies have been shot in Vegas, specially the songs.( May be that's the reason behind my fascination with Vegas!!) of course google & a couple of friends who visited helped too with their knowledge. I went hoping to see all the best sights and not to miss any. The visit went great & Vegas was beautiful, even more than I imagined it to be. But, it was tiring as we were on our toes running from one place to the other trying to see all the amazingness of the sin city.
Well anyway, I had the chance to visit Vegas again, for the second time. (May be I subconsciously let the universe know last time that I wanted to come back & it happened) But,The second time again was easy to plan, just cake walk..ok.. I am exaggerating😉. But it was easy! Probably because this time I knew the place. I know exactly where I wanted to go & what I wanted to do. I developed my own check list and experienced everything I loved the last time I was there. I thought It would be fun to share my Las Vegas Checklist and planning with you all.
Booking your flight should be done atleast a month before your trip if not earlier. That way you can get better deals, preferred dates & also get a direct flight if you live with in the states. The perfect time to visit Vegas( weather wise) is from March to May or September & November.
With the worlds largest LED canopy screen above you, this is quite a 'Vegas' experience. The best time to be here is the evenings for the sound and light shows. Zip lining is an adventure this street offers too. This street is absolutely amazing!!!
There are a couple of Free Shows Vegas offers too. But one definitely worth going to is the Bellagio fountains. Water explodes, rockets and dances perfectly to different popular tunes. They usually start this show in the evenings through midnight and it runs every half- hour till 8 pm and every 15 mins till mid- night.
Commute on the strip is something you don't have to worry about. Cabs are available right at the hotel and at every corner of the strip. You can rent a car too, but Vegas is quite a busy place and you wouldn't want to take up the stress of driving in traffic during your vacation! The best way of commute is Bus. There is RTC bus service along the strip and down town. There are kiosks next to every bus stop where you can buy passes. It gets you to every casino and you can a catch the bus from anywhere on the strip at any point.
Well anyway, I had the chance to visit Vegas again, for the second time. (May be I subconsciously let the universe know last time that I wanted to come back & it happened) But,The second time again was easy to plan, just cake walk..ok.. I am exaggerating😉. But it was easy! Probably because this time I knew the place. I know exactly where I wanted to go & what I wanted to do. I developed my own check list and experienced everything I loved the last time I was there. I thought It would be fun to share my Las Vegas Checklist and planning with you all.
Planning for the trip
Two major parts of this are booking flights and hotels.
Booking your flight should be done atleast a month before your trip if not earlier. That way you can get better deals, preferred dates & also get a direct flight if you live with in the states. The perfect time to visit Vegas( weather wise) is from March to May or September & November.
Same applies to booking your hotel too. You should reserve a month prior. Search for hotels & casinos in Vegas on google. It will show you a list. The best ones are Bellagio, MGM grand, Aria & Vdara. Log on to those websites and sign up for their emails and they will send you deals and offs on their rooms. You can also request for a strip view room to get a gorgeous view of the strip.
Places to visit
In Vegas, all you can see is on the strip. The architecture and interior design of each casino is very innovative. You would want to visit as many as you can. Casinos you wouldn't want to miss are definitely Cesars palace and cosmopolitan. I personally loved the Librace inspired ambience in Cosmo. Other Casinos to check out are New York-New York, Paris-Paris, Stratosphere tower , Venitian.Madame Tussaud's wax museum in Venetian is fun too! Tao & Hakkasan are the places if you are looking for some longer running fun in the night.
Freemount street experience
With the worlds largest LED canopy screen above you, this is quite a 'Vegas' experience. The best time to be here is the evenings for the sound and light shows. Zip lining is an adventure this street offers too. This street is absolutely amazing!!!
Shows
You have to watch a show when you are in vegas. They are Magnificent & breath taking, specially cirque du soleil ones. I watched Mystere & Ka, both are spectacular and a must watch. There are many more shows each casino offers. The best place buy tickets for shows is 'tix 4 tonight' as they offer the best deals. You can find their booth on almost every nook and corner on the strip.
There are a couple of Free Shows Vegas offers too. But one definitely worth going to is the Bellagio fountains. Water explodes, rockets and dances perfectly to different popular tunes. They usually start this show in the evenings through midnight and it runs every half- hour till 8 pm and every 15 mins till mid- night.
Retail Therapy
Fashion Show mall is right on the strip and if you are looking to indulge in some luxury shopping experience then ceasars place, Aria should be on your list.
Shopping at Caesars Palace
Transportation
Commute on the strip is something you don't have to worry about. Cabs are available right at the hotel and at every corner of the strip. You can rent a car too, but Vegas is quite a busy place and you wouldn't want to take up the stress of driving in traffic during your vacation! The best way of commute is Bus. There is RTC bus service along the strip and down town. There are kiosks next to every bus stop where you can buy passes. It gets you to every casino and you can a catch the bus from anywhere on the strip at any point.
Food
Although every casino offers breakfast, Lunch & Dinner buffets, don't miss The Bacchanal Buffet at Ceasars Palace, the biggest Buffet in sin city with more than 500 items from different cuisines. The dessert options are way toooooo many. I was in heaven when I saw the dessert arrangement and somehow convinced myself that those calories wouldn't matter at all ( but of ourse not true when I weighed myself after the trip).
Also there are food joints on the strip if you looking for a quick bite on the go. The canteen next to MGM Grand has all Wendy's, Subway, sbarro, Panda Express & more.
Packing
Vegas is sure a place to bring out all your dressy outfits but also don't forget to get your comfortable clothes too. There will be a lot of walking around to do there, so, comfortable clothing and foot wear is important. Don't forget your sun glasses & sun screen. Also some restaurants and clubs have dress codes too, So check with them before visiting.
Highlight of my second visit
The highlight of my trip the second time was visiting the TV show 'Pawn Stars' pawn shop. Well, I am not really a big fan of the show but I do enjoy watching it. The one person who I know loves that show is my little brother. My dad once was shocked, confused & questioning his upbringing skills when he asked my brother what he was watching & my brother replied "Pawn stars"casually (because you know what it rhymes with :p). Then I was quick to clear the confusion there and we all had a good laugh about it. Well anyway, Yes, I visited that shop this time. It really felt nice to actually be in the shop you watch on TV all the time. I picked up some souvenirs from there. Talking of souvenirs there are 2 good Souvenir shops right next to MGM Grand (which are the best compared to others around) & a couple on the Freemont street experience.
Thanks for stopping by lovelies. I hope you enjoyed reading this & for those of you planning to visit Vegas, I hope this helped. Anyone who have been there already please share your experience or any tips that could help others palnning to visit.
Here, check out these two songs from Bollywood movies shot in Vegas I referred to. Hope you like them.
Here, check out these two songs from Bollywood movies shot in Vegas I referred to. Hope you like them.
'I feel good' from the movie Anjana Anjani (Strangers)
Title track from the movie Ek main aur Ek tu (Me & You)
Title track from the movie Ek main aur Ek tu (Me & You)
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Vegas is magical. You must have had a lot of Vegasy fun there. Lovely and vibrant shots of different locations. Did you go ziplining at Fremont street? Great experince. http://fashionablyidu.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteThank you IDU EMEZIEM. It was a lot of fun there. I did not go zip lining this time too as I was too tired by the time we got there! But plan to do it the next time I am there.
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