Las Vegas is full of glitz, glamour, and nightlife and where the truly rich hang out in premium cocktail bars and million dollar games.
When you hear someone say that ‘Las Vegas has it all’, they really aren’t joking!
It’s comparable to Disneyland for adults to have fun and go wild.
Having been to Las Vegas a few times for different reasons, and have explored all districts from north to south, from east to west and surrounding areas, I want to share what is considered to be the premium Las Vegas experience.
From the exclusive airport lounges, the new private business class suites onboard British Airways and idyllic hotels to stay after a fun filled day and night, these sights, places to visit and eat and tips for UK visitors surviving a trip to Las Vegas that shouts indulgence everywhere.
Las Vegas is huge by human walking standards.
Flying over the Nevada desert the area of Las Vegas looks surprisingly small, but once on the ground and on foot it’s a whole new experience!
The size of the most flamboyant hotels is far beyond anyone’s expectation.
I stayed once in the MGM Signature Hotels. I went from my hotel room to the hotel entrance and realised I forgot my wallet. To give an example of the size of the MGM area, it took me no less than 30 minutes to walk back to my room and back to the hotel main entrance again!
Each of the recognisable hotels in the Las Vegas main strip are of similar sizes, and in some cases bigger!
From the fountains outside the Bellagio to the inside shopping mall under fictitious man made blue skies in the Venetian, each hotel theme will have you skipping from one hotel to another along your route.
What to See in Las Vegas
You can’t walk anywhere in Las Vegas without seeing a recognisable sight.
The Bellagio fountains (which were shown at the end of Ocean’s 11), the Eiffel Tower replica outside the Paris Hotel, the New York skyline replica outside New York New York hotel and circling gondolas outside The Venetian hotel are just a few of the easily recognisable sights along the strip.
Here we’ll look at some of the best and noteworthy sights to see on your Las Vegas trip:
Walking the Las Vegas Strip
Many visitors spend time walking up and down the strip and wandering in and out of the various hotels.
Entry to all hotels is free of course, and each has been carefully created and designed to the highest standards with many having spent billions on their brand.
The Bellagio fountain in the middle of the strip is well worth a stop. The fountains recreate their famous dance every half an hour through the day from early morning until late at night. It is better to see them dance illuminated at night if possible. It’s always very popular.
One of the hotels that really stood out to our team was the Venetian hotel, mid-way along the strip and almost opposite the Bellagio hotel.
The interior and Italian style décor is nothing less than incredible.
Venture past the main lobby, past the casino and follow the signs to the shops and you’ll find an indoor shopping mall. The shops offering delightful trinkets, food and gifts are nice to explore but look up and you’ll think you’re looking up at the real sky – it is in fact artificial, and wonderfully created.
Don’t be fooled by the size of the strip. It may look relatively small, but it can take hours to walk up and down!
It can be busy and navigating between roads and hotels may require zig zagging not only the huge number of people also walking the strip, but also some walkways between hotels require stair climbing and promenade walking.
Freemont Street is also worth checking out. Incredibly touristic of course, which is really in the heart of the town, but again part of the experience.
Las Vegas Shows
There are, what feels to be, hundreds of Las Vegas shows happening every night.
Not everyone wants to spend the evening gambling, so what better way to enjoy the last few hours of the day than by taking in an authentic Las Vegas show!
Some shows take place within theatres along the strip and some Las Vegas shows take place in theatres actually inside the Las Vegas hotels!
Yes, some of the larger Las Vegas hotels have theatres inside bigger than some theatres in London!
Our team went to see Reba McIntire and Brooks and Dunn inside the Caesars Palace hotel. It was not only an incredible performance, but the theatre was really big and only took up only a small space inside the Caesars hotel.
Many well known stars have residencies in some Las Vegas hotels spanning a few months at a time, so it’s worth checking a local Las Vegas show listings at LasVegas.com to see who is performing during the time of your visit.
What to do in Las Vegas
There is absolutely no shortage of things to do in Las Vegas, but the options can seem overwhelming.
Look in any Las Vegas tourist book or website and you can easily find hundreds of things to do and experience whilst you are there.
Some good, some not so good.
Here are some of the good ways of spending time at Las Vegas:
Experience Freemont Street
Freemont Street in Las Vegas is an experience all by itself.
It feels like one big arcade centre from the 1980s with so many flashing lights and street performers ready to distract and amaze you.
During the day it’s nice to see, but at night-time when illuminated it positively comes alive.
Restaurants, bars, casinos, shows and everything in between is housed within this semi-covered boardwalk.
It is at its busiest between 8pm and 10pm each night where crowds are there in the, what feels like, thousands.
Las Vegas Strip Hotel Exploring
We’ve already covered this topic in this article, but no trip to Las Vegas is complete without exploring everything the luxury Las Vegas strip hotels have to offer, and what lies behind the face of the hotels we’ve all come to know and love.
Be warned, exploring just three or four hotels along the strip can take 2-3 hours due to the sheer size of the venues as well as the walking distance between each in amongst the people and traffic.
The Bellagio, New York New York, The Venetian, and Caesars Palace are among the highlights we recommend.
Visit a Las Vegas Show or Residency Act
With so many shows and famous celebrity faces around Las Vegas you truly are spoilt for choice.
The big headline acts sell out fast. There are always thousands of tourists and visitors in Las Vegas everyday so if you have dates in mind, or have already booked your trip, see who is performing or has residency in Las Vegas at the same time.
Book early to avoid disappointment.
Grand Canyon by Biplane or Helicopter
The Grand Canyon is a spectacle to be seen and although the Grand Canyon is in the state of Arizona, rather than the state of Nevada which Las Vegas is home to, its nearby to either head out with your own transport, or from many of the tour operators willing to take you there.
Our Luxury Trips team took a tour of the Grand Canyon by biplane in what really was a once in a lifetime experience.
A small coach came by and picked the team up outside their hotel, the MGM Signature hotel (although there are different pickup opportunities from the main Las Vegas strip hotels), and after a short 20min coach journey arrived a small airfield in the Nevada desert.
Here they were briefed and were walked out to their small 10 seater biplane and crawled (yes literally crouched and crawled) to their designated seat on the plane.
It wasn’t long before they were airborne and were above the north rim of the Grand Canyon and had a chance to take in the truly breath taking sight. It has to be seen to be appreciated, as no words can truly do it justice.
The pilot and co-pilot did an amazing job with the trip, and they explained how the landing back at the airbase was the smoothest of any plane journey they had ever made.
The door to door experience, including complimentary coach pick up and drop off to the hotel was around £300 – and they excitedly explained it was worth every penny.
Hire a Car and Explore
Tour operators aren’t the only way to get around Las Vegas and the surrounding area, many tourists hire a car if they truly wish to explore.
Hiring a car opens up opportunities of driving out to the Grand Canyon (4.5 hours drive), Death Valley National Park in California (2 hours drive) and for those who really want to explore, San Francisco is possible (9 hours drive) or Los Angeles (4 hours drive).
Even the infamous Yosemite National Park, made famous by Yogi Bear, is within reach (6.5 hours drive).
This allows any visitor to Las Vegas to create a dual trip with either a car hire, or an additional local flight from Las Vegas International Airport to San Francisco or Los Angeles, which are both only an hour or two away.
Our team hired a car and headed out to Death Valley National Park. A true desert experience with rocky mountain terrain, sand dunes as far as the eye can see and the lowest point below sea level in North America.
The trails are nice to walk and explore but be warned, it can get incredibly hot in Death Valley. Hikes are advised in the morning only, and loads of water, food and necessities are required.
Head to the Casinos
No trip to Las Vegas can be complete without a wager within one of the very many casinos in Las Vegas.
You can’t escape the sound of slot machines from supermarkets to petrol stations and there are even quite a few at the airport!
If you are too nervous to try the gaming tables such as blackjack, poker, or roulette, you may find it easier to try your fortune at the slot machines.
Here you can spend your dollars without feeling the world is watching.
For those experienced in casinos or willing to give it a try, then playing a blackjack hand or two at a true Las Vegas casino is an experience to share with all.
Events and Exhibitions
Las Vegas is a huge city.
In fact, it is the 25th most populous city in the U.S. with close to 650,000 residents – and you can only imagine the number of tourists.
With its size, international airport, resident volume, and tourist numbers it stands to reason that many event organisers look towards Las Vegas as a place to stage events.
For example, Las Vegas holds a huge rodeo convention every December – where real cowboys and cowgirls mix with locals, and everything has a very magical Christmas theme even though outside its close to 35 degrees Celsius!
Our team visited the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas in 2021, had an amazing time and experienced one of the largest exhibition centres they had ever seen!
Look out for events and exhibitions on at the same time as your trip for an unforgettable experience.
Where to Stay in Las Vegas
Las Vegas is well known for its opulent themed casino hotels along the main strip, but there are in fact hundreds of hotels along and just off the main strip.
Some like to be in the heart of the largest hotels soaking up the experience, others prefer to stay slightly off strip in quieter areas away from the hustle and bustle of Las Vegas life.
Our Luxury Trips team have stayed both on the strip and off the strip, so can give you a real tried and tested account of the experiences of both options.
Staying in Hotels on the Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas strip is usually busy from 10am until past midnight, particularly in the main centre of the strip around the Bellagio, New York New York, and the Venetian hotels.
It isn’t until gone 1am that things start to quieten down somewhat, but with something happening 24 hours a day and 7 days a week in Vegas, it is never considered quiet.
Our teams first stay was in the MGM Signature suites at the back of the main MGM Hotel.
It’s a huge hotel towards the south of the strip, opposite the Luxor hotel. The hotel convenient for an event the team were attending whilst there.
The great thing about staying on the strip is heading back to the hotel during the daytime, and ease of heading back to the hotel once done for the day.
Hotel rooms in the main within themed hotels are away from the hustle and bustle of the onsite casinos, but considering casinos are open all day and night plus so many events and clubs in the vicinity, there are always people wandering around the hotel corridors at all hours.
The main hotels on strip are:
- MGM Hotel
- New York New York Hotel
- Paris Hotel
- The Bellagio
- The Venetian
- Caesars Palace Hotel
- The Luxor
Staying in Hotels off the Las Vegas Strip
On the other hand, staying off the main strip also has advantages. These hotels generally do not have indoor casinos and are considered much quieter overall.
A disadvantage is getting to and from the hotel and the main strip, depending on where you are staying.
Taxis are not easy to hail down in Las Vegas, and although getting a taxi, Uber, or Lyft from your hotel to the main strip is straight forward, it isn’t so easy hailing a taxi or ordering an Uber or Lyft from the main strip. Our team tried and was asked to join a main hotel taxi rank with over an hour wait.
It can be a long day venturing out your hotel at 10am and not arriving back until 10pm.
Our team stayed in a hotel off strip but was within a 15 min walk of the strip, to the Bellagio hotel. The hotel we stayed in was The Platinum Hotel along East Flamingo Road.
This was the best of both worlds.
It meant staying off strip and somewhere quieter, but also gave an option to head back to the hotel during the day if so desired, and it did not require a taxi to get to the strip and back.
Although this hotel is recommended by our team, there are many similar star hotels in similar distances off strip – unless of course you want to dive right into the luxurious themed hotel suites and experiences!
FAQs
There is a lot covered in this article which should hopefully help any UK traveller get started planning a luxury trip to Las Vegas.
Here though are some shorter direct answers to some commonly asked questions about travelling to Las Vegas from the UK:
What is the best month to go to Las Vegas
Las Vegas is hot most of the year round, summer months for British tourists can be tough in 40 degree heat. April and May as well as September, October, November, and early December are considered optimum months to visit Las Vegas.
What is the best airline to fly to Las Vegas from the UK
There are lots of carriers who fly to Las Vegas from London international airports. Two popular airlines who fly direct to Las Vegas are British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.
If flying in economy or premium economy our choice would be Virgin Atlantic. If flying Business Class, and the British Airways plane offers the new suite we would recommend this – although it is a similar offering to that of Virgin Airways.
If money is of no object, then flying First on British Airways will always win hands down.
Are Ubers available in Las Vegas
Ubers are available in Las Vegas but booking a taxi along the main strip can be incredibly difficult. Uber though is ideal for pick-ups from off strip hotels to the main strip.
If trying to order an Uber from the main strip proves difficult then walking 5 mins into a side street can help your Uber driver find you easier.
Is a Las Vegas Trip Worth It?
There is more to Las Vegas than gambling.
It’s easy to spend days in Las Vegas without spending a single dollar gambling in the casinos.
From shows, experiences, Grand Canyon tours and just the splendour of the hotels and glitz and glamour of Las Vegas, it is certainly worth a trip whether you wish to gamble or not!