Recently, my husband and I had been working 14 hours days on a house.  I thought for sure he was going to quit one night and I decided we needed a little getaway.  I didn’t want to spend much money since we’re going to Mexico in January, but I started searching the internet anyway for good deals.  I thought about a road trip, but they always seem to end up costing just as much money as flying sometimes.  I checked into package deals and most places were just too expensive and then I thought, VEGAS!  I had to put a ton of different date combinations in to get exactly what I was looking for.  I booked this trip about three weeks before travel.  I knew it would be cheaper during the week so I searched weekday trips only. 

We paid $708 for a 3 night/4 day trip.  This included flights, hotel, and rental car.  I did have to pay an additional $50 for my checked bag.  I have been to Vegas before and I knew I wanted to rent a car this time.  I did a lot of research before going and discovered that parking is mostly free.  This gave us the ability to tour parts of the town I hadn’t seen before.  It also allowed us to do the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and Valley of Fire.

FOUR DAY ITINERARY

If you’re headed to Vegas for four days, here is the itinerary we followed.  We found it to be a perfect mix of fun and sightseeing mixed with good food, people watching, gambling and some relaxation time.

DAY ONE {Arrival}

I paid a little more money for a non-stop flight that got us in at 3p.m.  We picked up the rental car, checked into The Westin Lake Las Vegas.  I’ll do a separate blog reviewing the places we visited, but it was very nice, didn’t have a casino and was about 30 minutes off the strip. 

After freshening up, we headed to the strip.  We parked at Caesar’s Place for free and explored the strip.  We ate dinner at Carmine’s (delicious Italian family style dining) and then wandered around.  We checked out several hotels and gambled a bit at Caesar’s Place, watched the fountain show at the Bellagio and checked out some stores.

DAY TWO {Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, Valley of Fire}

We left for Hoover Dam around 10a.m.  Take the scenic route through Lake Mead National Recreational Area, it cost $10 but the pass is good for 7 days.  We did pay the $10 to park at Hoover Dam, but I noticed a couple of spots before and after the Dam to park for free.  It was super hot, so we decided to pay.  We wandered around the Dam and took lots of photos and read the informational signs.  The tour is $30/pp and I am too cheap for that, but I’ve heard it’s a great tour.  You can also do the visitor center tour for $10/pp.  NOTE:  I wish we would have arrived later.  I wanted time to do Hoover Dam and drive to Valley of Fire and stay there until sunset.  We only spent about 45 minutes at the Dam and it would have been better to go later, or on the way to Grand Canyon, UNLESS you like to hang around places, do the tours, etc. 

Once leaving Hoover Dam, we drove back through Lake Mead National Recreational Area and drove to Valley of Fire.  We LOVED this drive.  It was gorgeous in its own unique way.  We stopped several times to take photos.  The road is brand new and there are many bathroom and picnic stops.  NOTE: There are NO gas stations/restaurants or ANYTHING. We didn’t eat lunch and had no snacks with us so it ended up being a rough ride with no food or water the whole day.  BRING SNACKS and pack a lunch!! 

Valley of Fire State Park has its own entrance fee of $10.  We drove through the park and stopped at the various landmarks.  The coolest ones were Arch Rock, the beehives and the Rainbow Vista.  REGRETS:  I REALLY wish we would have arrived at the park later in the day.  I got cool photographs but with sun right overhead, it didn’t make for epic photo ops.  GO LATER in the day or first thing in the morning.

The entire day was awesome, the views were unique and different, the drive was relaxing and we saw a lot of things in a short day. 

That evening we went to Fremont Street and LOVED it.  Fremont Street was BY FAR our favorite gambling/Vegas experience.  It has a very laid back atmosphere, the casinos practically spill out into the streets, no high end shopping (that I can’t afford anyway) and super friendly people.  MORE ON FREMONT STREET EXPERIENCE IN ANOTHER POST.

DAY THREE {Grand Canyon} 

WARNING: Do NOT visit the Skywalk that is 2 hours from Vegas and think that is seeing the Grand Canyon.  You’re not allowed to take photos (WHAT?!?!) and it’s expensive.  The four hour drive was worth every moment.  The views along the way were beautiful and it was an easy trip.  We left around 7:30a.m.  Again, I wish we would have left a little later, or stayed longer for some different sunlight. We toured the south rim and hit up all the hot spots.  TIP: FIT THE GRAND CANYON IN ON A VEGAS TRIP AND SAVE MONEY.  I might be alone in this, but I am so glad we did the Grand Canyon while on our cheap trip to Vegas.  I’ve always wanted to see it but would have been very disappointed if I had paid for a special trip to Arizona just to do the Grand Canyon.  I might be alone in thinking that, but a day at the Grand Canyon was the perfect amount for me.  It is incredible, but I don’t think I could have made a whole trip out of it.

We made it back to Vegas around 8:30, showered and decided to do the other side of the strip.  We parked at the MGM and almost immediately wished we had just done Fremont again.

DAY FOUR {THE M}

We didn’t fly out until 6 so we had quite a bit of time to kill on Friday.  We slept in and had it been a bit sunnier, probably would have vegged out at the hotel, but it was cloudy and I wanted to see another casino/hotel off the strip.  We went to the M and enjoyed their buffet for lunch and wandered around.  This hotel is beautiful and very new.  The buffet was delicious and is one of the only ones that includes alcohol.

We had a great time and fit a lot into our trip.  DON’T go to Vegas and just do the strip.  There is so much more to experience and the scenery nearby was beautiful and worth the experience.  More to come of various parts of our trip!