Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is an absolute must in your 20’s!! I was spoiled in college because fraternity’s would have their formals in Vegas every semester. That meant I got a lot of Vegas trips by the time I graduated at 22! Even after graduation, my friends and I make a point to go back once or twice a year. I’m still only a 4 hour drive so Vegas is easy. For those who have somehow escaped reality and every pop culture reference and don’t know what Vegas is all about, I will enlighten you.
The Strip
The strip is built of giant hotels and when I say giant I mean you get lost trying to find a bathroom. Vegas is like an adult Disneyland, everything has a theme. For instance, the Venetian is styled like Italy. There is a canal with gondolas styled just like Venice! The ceiling is made up of intricate paintings and artwork worthy of a ceiling in a museum. There are fabulous statues and Italian restaurants. Vegas hotels sell you on the ambiance. You have to spend a couple hours walking the strip to see all the sights. At the flamingo there are actual flamingos, Caesar’s Palace looks like, well Caesar’s Palace, Paris has a miniature Eiffel tower, not to mention the roller coaster, Ferris wheel, water shows, and lite up city at night. Best part? Open container law! Grab yourself a drink at Fat Tuesday’s and explore! Wear comfortable shoes, I promise you your feet will hurt because you cover a lot of ground! The strip is huge!
The Clubs
The clubs for all those twenty-somethings out there are the reason to go to Vegas! You will dance your heart out until 6am to wake up and do it all over again the next night! The clubs oddly enough are actually in the hotels. Each hotel has a club that people go to. Some of the clubs I have been to are Omnia, Intrigue, Tao, XS, and many more. You really can’t go wrong with a club in Vegas. Just look up online before you go what DJ is playing. If you are a group of girls you can probably get in for free. Vegas is just looking to give girls free stuff. If you are a group of guys or a mixed group try to buy tickets beforehand to avoid paying an escalated cover charge on the day of. I am talking $150+ just to get in. It is all about the ratio and the more girls your group has the better. If you can splurge, get a table. It is so much fun to have your own space and bottle service. I’ve always enjoyed Vegas the best when my group has bought a table, but it is certainly not necessary! Being in the thick of the dance floor when the light show is going off and confetti is falling from the sky can be so much fun!! Beware, the prices for drinks are $30 plus anywhere you go….Vegas is not cheap…On a side note if your not 21 don’t even try to use a fake, they see it every night and it won’t work.
Day Clubs
But wait there is more!! During the warmer months there are day clubs. Did you really come to Vegas to remember your weekend and not get trashed the entire weekend? Probably not. This is basically a giant pool party with everyone in bikinis and swim trunks partying in the sunshine. There are decent DJs that play during the day. Some clubs can be as much as $50 per drink so pregame because you can easily rack up a giant tab here. As an alternative, you can also enjoy your hotels pool where you can tan and relax. If you are smart, you can sneak in your own alcohol and just order sodas. I did this and saved a lot of money pool side.
Gambling
Bring a little spending money to gamble! This is a must to get the full Vegas experience. I normally bring $100 and play blackjack, but there is craps, poker, slots and a lot of other games too. Have a planned amount you will spend and just plan on losing it! I think of it as paying for the entertainment value. You also get free drinks as long as you are playing! My recommendation is to find a cheap table ($10 minimum) and play for a couple hours if the money lasts!
Where to Stay
You really can’t go wrong with any of the hotels on the strip. I tend to go towards the cheaper places because I’m on a budget but if money is no factor it really does not matter. I’ve liked the Flamingo, the Venetian, Bally’s, and Mirage. One place that had horrible customer service was MGM. I had a really bad experience with them. I would never stay there again, but unless you have an issue I’m sure it’s fine. They screwed up my reservation by instead of a room with two queens they gave us two rooms with one king. Okay that’s fine except the next day they decide to switch us back to our original reservation of the one room with queens without telling us. We got home from a day club and our door was locked. We had to go to the front desk to find out we were not allowed back in our room and we had to switch rooms. Well fine but the temporary key didn’t work. Neither did the next or the next one. This hotel is HUGE so we wasted two hours of our night walking back and forth from our hotel room to the front desk for THEIR MISTAKE. We were close to calling the cops it was that bad and management could care less, they just cared about selling our room that night. Can you tell I’m still mad about it?
When to go
I would go from April-September. You can look up when the day clubs are open because they are only open during the warmer months. Vegas is high desert so winter nights can get COLD. I just got back from a trip (late February) and I froze my butt off at night walking the strip. Not to mention mid 60’s during the day meant no pool time which I love my pool time!
What to Pack
Dress your best in Vegas! Clubs have dress codes! That means dresses and heals for the ladies and suits or slacks and a dress shirt for the men. Day time is more casual but people still look good. Bring your own alcohol to pregame and any snacks because you will be paying an arm and a leg for anything once you touch down in Vegas. The casinos will nickel and dime you for every little thing. You would think they made enough money from the casino! Make sure you bring cash. If you use an ATM it is a $10 charge to get out your own money.
How to Get to Vegas
The airport is a quick 20 minute Uber from the strip. If your from neighboring states, I find driving to be easy as well. Once you are there you can walk or Uber everywhere. No need to rent a car nor should you because you will be drinking!
All in all, you will love Vegas. There is truly no where else in the world like it. Spend 2-3 days here for a solid weekend of fun and hazy memories. I’d avoid going longer, it’s way too expensive and your hangover will start to out weigh the fun. Hopefully there are no tigers in your hotel room and all of your friends are accounted for in the morning or your life will really start to feel like the Hangover. Really soak up all the fun in Vegas because there’s only so much of your life that it is acceptable to go clubbing all weekend! Once you are older Vegas becomes more about the bar scene, concerts, and shows. Which is all fun, but when your young you have to do Vegas like I described! I apologize now for my pictures of Vegas because most of the time I’m too focused on having a good time and forget to take pictures. Plus the light is somehow never flattering and pictures just don’t do this place justice. So enjoy some pictures of my friends and I all dressed to the 9’s and hurry and plan your trip to Vegas! Hopefully you make it an annual trip!
