This Little Nest of Mine: Viva Las Vegas Day 1

My husband surprised me with a trip to Las Vegas. We had talked about going for years mainly just to tour all the hotels on the strip. We had NO clue what to expect except for some pointers that friends and family that had already been gave us. I thought I would take a couple days to share some tips now that we have been in case anyone stumbles upon my blog and are in our shoes before their first trip to Las Vegas.

First off it is the desert so it is hot. I absolutely love desert weather. It is totally different than summer weather we have in the Midwest which is very humid. So you want to dress accordingly. I wore cotton shorts and a blouse during the day and was perfectly fine but then again I love hot weather. My husband got a little warm.

You also want to wear comfortable shoes if you plan on walking the strip. The hotels are HUGE and you will walk a long distance to get from one to the other. I saw many women wearing 4 inch heels and I don’t know how they did it. My legs would have done gone and gave out on me by the time we arrived at the first hotel.

Two more things that are key are lip balm and water. If you forget to bring lip balm with you most of the stores in the hotels sell it. Your lips will get very dry and you will want to take care of them. All the stores sell water as well but it is expensive. There are locals that sell ice cold water on the streets and walkways for $1. It is a better deal to buy it through them. While we were there we noticed several ambulances on the strip. We later found out it was from individuals drinking alcohol as a way to keep themselves hydrated which was really doing the opposite effect.

Since we did not know anything about the hotels we stayed at the Tropicana which is one of the very first hotels on the strip coming from the south. It is an older hotel that has been renovated. Our stay there was very nice. It is more of a down to earth hotel. You more than likely wouldn’t be staying with snooty flooty high rollers there. It has a smaller casino but is still a lot of fun. The only draw backs to this hotel are since it is at the beginning of the strip it is quite a walk to all the bigger hotels. Also the parking lot is always full. We would walk what seemed like a mile from our parking spot to the hotel entrance!!

Our friends told us that eating in Las Vegas was very cheap because they want you to spend your money on gambling. Well we never happened upon cheap eating. We were there on a holiday weekend so maybe they raised the prices?? Although the food was expensive it was good…. so we can’t complain.

As you are out and about walking the strip you will encounter many people trying to sell you things. Of course they will tell you they are not trying to sell you anything but that is a ploy. Just politely say no thank you and keep walking. DO NOT STOP or they will reel you in!! They may say some rude comment to you but who cares you are on vacation and enjoying your time. Everyone there is trying to make money and they get a little ticky when you won’t be their customer. The strip is good people watching. You will see things that you have never seen before. You will see things you wish you had not. And you will find people who need to be found.

We rented a car but it really was not needed. You can walk anywhere you want to go. Or they have a real good deal on 24 hour bus passes. We did drive to a few places but that was a scary experience. Ninety –nine percent of the people do not know where they are so they are all over the place. The rest are cabbies which will run you over and not look back. Then there are the locals that want to get to where they need to go and the lost tourists are in their way! One time when we went to Orlando we got a silver car and couldn't remember where we parked. We got this neon green car so that we would be sure to be able to find it if needed.