Guide to Las Vegas – Roll the dice just one more time

 

Beginner’s guide to Las Vegas

Last time I went to Vegas, I was on my own and therefore, I checked into a hostel. The Hostel Cat was really cute. Painted in bright colors and with country flags everywhere.  All the people were really nice and for two nights I had a great sleep although people were coming back in the middle of the night. Everybody was very considerate.

 

Las Vegas during the day

When the sun is sizzeling outside, go on a little casino field trip. Every hotel is an amusement park on it’s own. Probably it’s too hot to walk along the strip outdoors. Luckily, there is the Deuce strip bus. It costs 8$ for 24 hours and takes you along the whole strip up to the famous Las Vegas sign and some shopping outlets and on the other side to more shopping outlets.

The top three hotels that are worth visiting from the inside are:

The Bellagio: It has a really pretty artificial garden inside.

NYNY:  I almost got lost inside this one but I loved how they rebuilt certain parts of the city.

Mandalay Bay: It has an aquarium and a big lagoon.

Swimming

In the afternoon heat, I followed some advice from other people and went to the Stratosphere tower. They have a pool on a terrace on the 8 floor and don’t really check whether you are from the hotel or not. Just don’t bring your own towel because you receive hotel towels at the pool. (Hotel pool crashing- check. However, next time, I hopefully won’t be alone in Las Vegas and will be able to spend the night in a nice hotel with a nice pool as well.)

Shopping Outlets

In the Premium Fashion Outlet South unfortunately, the prices weren’t that much reduced. It was more like a normal sale in a normal store. In the Premium Outlet Mall North  I found new sneakers. I wanted some good quality ones, since I was counting on more hiking and I had to leave my old ones in Australia because they were so worn out. Unfortunately, half a year later, some of the airholes got ripped open on a root. Therefore, I can not really recommend the outlets but if you just need a place to go to stay out of the sun and don’t want to go to a casino, I thought the outlet mall North was nicer.

Best all-you-can-eat buffet

I tried several all-you-can eat buffets but the best money for value I thought you can get at the Palm Casino buffet. The food was delicious and there was such a huge variety. If you sign up for a members card, it only costs $10 for lunch. I can’t believe it’s not listed on the top ten buffet list here (perhaps because there isn’t a lot of sea food. If you come for oysters, I guess you have to go to a different one and pay more. Here you find a German review page with prices.)

 

 

Beginner’s guide to Las Vegas by night

I joined the Casino hopping tour of my hostel. At the beginning, they drove us to the Whynn Casino in a Hummer. There we signed up for the player’s card to get 10$ free slot money (anyone can do this for free). I walked out with 17$ 🙂 Plus, if you are looking for a cheap place to drink while gambling, this is the place to go. The drinks are well done and actually are “free”, as long as you don’t forget to tip the waitress with at least one dollar.

If you are looking for more cheap gambling, go to Casino Royale. They have a roulette table for just 4$. At Riviera you can play Black Jack for $1. Right next to Casino Royale is an outdoor dance club.

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My last piece of advice: If you need to rent a car, don’t pick it up in Las Vegas. Prices are horrendous and therefore it’s probably more recommendable to rent it at the coast and bring it back after Vegas. To get to the airport, there is a $2 shuttle bus and therefore you don’t even need a taxi if you just need to get to and from the airport.

Where in Las Vegas do you want to stay and why? Do you have more insider tipps I can add to this site?