Our Las Vegas Guide

This isn’t just a guide. It’s 30+ trips worth of wisdom, questionable decisions, and Ubers that cost more than our hotel rooms. So grab a coffee… or a mimosa (Vegas is judging no one) because this is a long one.

People have many pre-conceived ideas about Las Vegas.  You can get ripped off here, you can spend thousands of dollars in seconds, and you can lose track of time and your cash!  However, when you know what to do and where to go, Vegas can be done on a budget, you can avoid the tourist traps and common mistakes. 

Therefore, we have compiled our own guide to Las Vegas, based on the 30+ times we have been here between us.   This page is designed to help you plan your trip, BEFORE YOU BOOK IT.  Check here for hotel advice before you book your trip. 

It is also designed to help you make the most of your time here.  We want to help you make the most of the city that literally never sleeps!

Please continue to check back here.  We will provide updates as we have them.

Travel – Or, “Why You’ll Be Bankrupt in Travel Fees if You Don’t Read This”

Getting off the plane, you’ll see this.  It’s a beautiful sign that invokes immense happiness.  You’ll understand why the second time you see it!  That’s because it will remind you of all of the fun you had first time around!

 

Las Vegas sign

From outside the airport, do not be fooled by the view of the Strip. It looks close to the airport, but you will not be able to walk there to save a few dollars! Nor will you be able to walk the Strip in a day. It’s over 4.5 miles long! Always check out walking distance times on your phone map app because everything is further away than you think. You’ll get a lot of Ubers.

Your travel around Vegas will start as soon as you land at the airport. We would like to pick you up from the airport. We ask for your flight number on your RSVP form so we can arrange this. But if we don’t manage to get you, the cheapest way to reach your hotel is via a local taxi. This will be the only time you’ll use a local taxi. They have fixed prices to all hotels because they had to find a way to compete with Uber and are now cheaper. Head out of the baggage collection hall and the taxi rank is right there, always with a long line of taxis. You’ll not be waiting long, if at all. The rest of the time, use Uber for private transport.

If you want to use public transport while in Vegas, it is perfectly safe. Check out the monorail map here. It’s cheap and a great way to see the Strip and get from one end to the other quickly.

Alternatively, if you want a slower way to get around, which is equally entertaining, get on the Deuce bus that runs up and down the Strip. Here is the route map and you can buy a single ride ticket for $4 or a 24-hour ticket to hop on and off whenever you want for $8. Exact fares are needed. They don’t give change.

There are three main areas to Vegas, The Strip, Downtown and the Arts District. We much prefer Downtown as a location, love the Arts District and rarely visit The Strip. Downtown is huge fun, cheaper to eat and drink and has tons to do. First timers to Vegas might want to stay in a hotel on The Strip for the glitz and glamour. If you do that, still make time and 100% visit Downtown on a night time. It’s a feast for the senses!  Don’t underestimate the appeal of the much, much quieter Arts District.  It has some of the best bars and eateries in Vegas!

If you stay on The Strip, you will be able to walk loads of places. Be aware that you won’t be able to walk between North and South of the Strip because it is too far. You’ll need get either the bus, monorail or Uber. Staying Centre Strip will save you on Ubers.

Getting between Downtown and The Strip will require an Uber.

Outside hotels and other attractions, you will sometimes be offered rides by private drivers in black SUVs. If you’re ASKED if you want a ride, NEVER ACCEPT. They are most often premium rides in premium vehicles and you’ll pay a very high price. If you want a premium ride, as Steve & Gemma often do when heading out all dressed up in Vegas, book a ‘Premium’ category ride on your Uber app. It will be a pristine, luxury vehicle that you won’t get your gladrags dirty in and you’ll be arriving at your venue in style!

You will be able to fit 4 in an UberX. If there’s more then 4 of you heading somewhere, book an XL or Premium ride for up to 6 people. This will work out cheaper than 2x UberX rides.

General Accommodation Information

Vegas has an abundance of accommodation, from the famous hotels to Airbnbs.  If you’re going down the AirBNB route, Steve has booked 200+ over the years. His advice is go for somewhere scoring 4.5*+ and preferably a Superhost. Make sure your choice has A/C!

 You can spend $20 per night or $20,000 per night in Vegas, depending on what you want.  But everyone loves a discount code!  Use the QR code below to download the ID90 app. Don’t ask how we know about it, but  it offers discounts on many Vegas hotels. They vary and fluctuate, so be sure to check back and back until you book something. You can get some real bargains!

 

QR Code

Some hotels require security deposits at check-in and your resort fee is payable at check-in too. You may want a credit card for this.

The Check-in Tricks

At check-in, never go to a machine. Always go to a person!  That’s because you’re going to try the $50 Sandwich Trick!

The $50 Sandwich Trick

You will be asked for your passport and payment card. Before you arrive at the check-in desk, do this: Fold a $50 bill in half and tuck it between your passport and payment card. As you arrive at the check-in desk, ask how the clerk is and if they’re having a good day. When you’re asked for your passport and card, slide it across the desk, casual as you like and ask in a normal tone ‘Do you have any complimentary upgrades today please?’

This can result in some major room upgrades, free vouchers, etc. You might get a strip-view room, a suite, etc. It will be at the discretion of the desk clerk. If they say they don’t have anything, discretely take your $50 back when they hand your passport back. This is one of the greatest and lesser-known Vegas hacks. Steve tries it every time he checks into a Vegas hotel. If it works for you, you owe him an Old-Fashioned!

At every decent hotel in Vegas that Steve has tried this at, it works. If you’re in a budget hotel, it may or may not.

A Medical Fridge

At check-in, ask for a fridge for medical purposes. Tell them you need to keep medicine in the fridge. They will then not charge you $50, as they normally do! You’ll get a fridge to keep some drinks and snacks in for free! When this works for you, you owe Steve another Old-Fashioned!

The Dreaded Resort Fee

Be aware that when you book a hotel on the Strip or in Downtown, you’ll pay the room fee, PLUS a resort fee. The resort fee is detested by everyone, but there’s no getting out of paying it. It covers things like your internet, etc. It can vary from hotel to hotel and will be between $40 per room per night up to $60 per room per night in luxury hotels. This will be on top of your room fee, so be aware of this hidden cost when booking your hotel. Google the hotel’s resort fee before you book.

Some hotels are now waiving their resort fees. We know that the Sahara and Hilton Resorts World have now done this. We will update this page if there are further changes to resort fees.

Below is our breakdown of each major Vegas area with where to stay, eat and drink and where to avoid like the plague!  It’s all based on our personal experiences.

The On/Off-Strip Winners

Accommodation

  • 5* The Trump International – North side of the Strip opposite the clothes-oriented Fashion Show Mall, quiet luxury hotel, great rooms, no smoking & no casino. Free 6am alarm clock for light sleepers when the train comes by and blasts its horn.
  • 5* The Venetian – Busy luxury hotel with an abundance of bars, restaurants and shopping. A must-visit, even if you don’t stay here. Feels like Disneyland for adults. Gorgeous, but don’t gamble here unless you like donating money to billionaires. Machines are TIGHT!
  • 4* Horseshoe – Centre Strip, older rooms, but big rooms.  Great location in the heart of the Strip and home of the World Series of Poker
  • 4* Sahara – Don’t walk too far off the main streets at night here, but you wouldn’t anyway. By night, the main drag is 100% safe. You’ll get Ubers everywhere due to it’s location, but looks fab, good value for money and we loved our stay here. Quieter end of the Strip and has free parking.
  • 4* Treasure Island – Great location, good value rooms and restaurants. Great casino.
  • 4* The Westgate – Elvis’ off-strip residency hotel, cheap tram station attached which takes you to the Las Vegas Boulevard. Great rooms and great casino.
  • 4* Virgin Hotel – Off-strip location, great pool, great rooms, great casino. Be aware you will need to Uber to virtually everywhere. You can get some great room rates here, which offset the Uber costs.
  • 3* Flamingo – Great value, great vibe, centre Strip. Gemma’s choice for a Centre Strip hotel.
  • 3* The Orleans – An off-Strip budget hotel with aging rooms, but great value for money. It has a great casino, cheap food choices and a great pool. You will need to Uber everywhere.
  • 3* Gold Coast – Sister budget hotel of the Orleans. Great value, great casino and the best authentic Chinese restaurant in the whole of Vegas, Ping Pang Pong. Again, you will need Uber everywhere.

Breakfast

  • Hash A Go Go – The Linq – A breakfast restaurant with huge portions! 
  • Blueberry Hill – Off-strip family-owned and always busy because it is so good. Expect to wait up to 15 mins for a table.
  • Peppermill – Off-strip, expect to wait up to 15 mins for a table. Great decor and great food!
  • Denny’s – There’s one near the north end of the Strip by the Venetian and another at the south end of the Strip near MGM Grand. Classic, all-American average and cheap breakfast. 
  • Eggslut – Inside the Cosmopolitan on Level 2.
  • Omelet House 50’s Diner – 10-mins off-Strip, but vintage vibes and great, cheap breakfast menu.
  • IHOP – International House of Pancakes.  At the north end of the Strip near the Strat.  Serves all types of breakfast, not only pancakes.
  • La Salsa Cantina – Inside the Miracle Mile shopping centre at Planet Hollywood.  They do breakfasts for just $6.99 Monday – Friday.

Lunch

You shouldn’t need lunch if you’re doing the Vegas breakfast experience properly.  But if you are hungry, Earl of Sandwich in the Miracle Mile shopping mall should be your pitstop.  Trust us.  It will blow your mind!

Dinner

  • Hell’s Kitchen $$$ – Inside Caesars Palace. We all know who owns it, but we don’t think it is overhyped or overpriced.  The 3-course Menu De Prix is scallops, beef wellington & sticky toffee pudding for $135.95.  Thanks Gord!
  • Eiffel Tower Restaurant $$$ – Inside the Paris Hotel on the Strip. The ultimate date night location! It’s $80, just to secure a window table overlooking the Bellagio fountains! They don’t have a wine menu, they have a wine Bible. It’s spenny, but you’ll never ever forget eating there. It’s one of our best meals together ever! Truly world class!
  • Benihana $$$ – In the Westgate Hotel. Amazing hibachi, Japanese food that is cooked at your table. A brilliant dining experience. Just sit back and admire the skills of your chef!
  • THE Steak House $$$ – Inside the hotel where you want to hang yourself while you walk around, Circus Circus. Frank Sinatra could be singing in this phenomenal place as you eat. It has that Godfather film-set vibe. The waiters in there have all worked in there for between 32 – 44 years. They never leave. What’s that about?!
  • 888 Sushi & Robata $$ – Near the Virgin Hotel. 3 menus, $28, $38 & $48. These are all-you-can eat sushi menus with different grades of meat and fish available. Fantastic value for money and rammed with orientals, so you know it’s good!
  • Hobak Korean BBQ $$ – 5 mins off-strip. Some of the best meat we have eaten anywhere in the world, cooked right at your table. A proper dining experience!
  • The Boiling Crab $$ – Don’t Google it!!! 10 mins off-Strip. It is one of the most unique dining experiences you’ll ever have. If you like shellfish, just go and enjoy the ride. It’s WILD!!!
  • Maggiano’s $$ – Inside the Fashion Show Mall. Classic New York-style Italian food with great furnishings.
  • Tacos El Gordo $ – North Strip. The best tacos Steve has ever had. Cheap late night, post-drinking food!
  • Battista’s Hole In The Wall $ – 2-mins off-Strip behind the High Roller big wheel. Amazing, authentic Italian food and where Steve arranged for everyone to go just after he proposed! A special place in our hearts and with the best value Italian menu you’ll ever come across.
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Best On/Off Strip Bars

    • Ghostbar $$$ – Open from 9pm and located on the 55th floor of the off-strip Palms Hotel, this is a sky-high rooftop deck. Dress code enforced. Off-strip, giving you some of the best night-time views of the whole of the Vegas Strip.  Get the elevator from the entrance of Scotch 80 on the casino floor.

    • Baccarat Bar & Lounge $$$ – Inside the Bellagio Hotel, Centre Strip. Dress code enforced. This is a bougie, up-scale cocktail bar. It is never overcrowded, but a great spot to people watch on the busy casino floor. Sip slowly. It’s pricey.  Indulge in specialty drinks and an extensive cigar selection.  If you can find Dennis wandering around as we did one day, you might get free drink vouchers from him! Legend!

    • Bleau Bar $$$ – Inside Fontainebleau, North Strip. If you want to indulge on premium cocktails under a chandalier made from thousands of crystal bowties and do a spot of celeb-spotting, we have you covered.  This is your place.

    • Good Pie $$ – If you venture to the Art District, which we HIGHLY recommend for a totally different Vegas vibe, this pizza joint does surprisingly good cocktails. Sit at the bar.

    • The Shag Room $$ – 5-mins off-Strip in the Virgin Hotel. An intimate and sexy space for quiet cocktails with your nearest and dearest. Classy.

    • Tom’s Watch Bar $$ – Inside New York New York. If you want to soak up the atmosphere where Steve organises the ISCA Awards night, this is your place.  Sports TVs galore!

    • 108 Drinks $$ – Inside the Strat, North Strip. We stayed at the Strat in 2024 and drank here during the Las Vegas Grand Prix qualifying. While we wouldn’t stay at the Strat again, we’d certainly head back here for inexpensive cocktails with amazing sunset views.  If you want to watch the bright lights of Vegas come alive at sunset, this is your spot!

    • The Superbook $$ – Located off-strip in the Westgate Hotel.  If you’re a sports fan, you MUST head to the Westgate. They serve your typical game food, wings, burgers, etc. They are the 2nd biggest Sportsbook in Vegas and have great atmospheres on game day!

    • Blondies $ – In the Miracle Mile Shopping Mall. Try to hit their happy hour, Monday – Friday from 3pm – 6pm. We got an off-the-menu unlimited champagne here for $20 for 3 hours! They don’t do it anymore sadly. Good news is, they do dirt cheap beers and unlimited coctails for $20 for the 3 hours! Some of the best value drinking in Vegas!

    • McMullan’s Irish Pub $ – 5-mins off-Strip. Home of the Las Vegas Liverpool Supporters Fan Club. Sat there at 7am for a 3pm UK kick-off, watching the match whilst drinking beer and eating breakfast with Americans belting out football chants is an experience and a half!  Typical UK pub vibes!

    • Stage Door Casino $ – The ultimate Las Vegas Strip dive bar, just next to Battista’s Hole In The Wall. You’ll need you ID, but it is the cheapest drinking in the whole of Vegas. $1 for a premium bottled beer and cheeeeap drinks galore on the rest of the menu!
    • Dick’s Last Resort $ – Inside Excalibur Hotel. Don’t Google it. Were not telling you why you should go, but you should go! It’s hilarious in there. You’ll laugh A LOT!!!

Places We Know Something About

  • 5* Fontainebleau – Vegas’ newest luxury hotel. If you want 5*, you could get a bargain room rate here because they are haemorrhaging an incredible $400,000 A DAY and they need to get people in! State of the art everything, but you pay for it.
  • 5* Caesars Palace – Jawdropping to walk around, but over-priced. Don’t gamble here. Notoriously hard to get a win.
  • 5* Aria – Expensive, but bougie AF.
  • 5* Bellagio – Overpriced, overhyped and always BUSY! That said, if you can get a good room rate, you will enjoy your stay in one of the most iconic hotels in all of Vegas
  • 5* Cosmopolitan – Overpriced and turning English chavvy. Great breakfast at Eggslut and an Instagram dream of a hotel.
  • 5* Wynn – The ultimate Vegas hotel, but you’ll pay through the nose to stay there. Opulence epitomised. Everything in here is pricey, but classy.
  • 4* Paris – Rooms are average, but has one of the best vibes and selections of amazing food choices of any Vegas hotel.
  • 4* New York New York – Where Steve organises the ISCA Awards night. Average rooms, but great atmosphere everywhere you go. Great food and great bars.
  • 3* The Linq – Average rooms, but bang centre Strip and has amazing breakfast in Hash A Go Go.

On/Off-Strip Losers

  • 2* The Strat – No Bed-making in Room Service
  • 3* Harrah’s – Awful Service
  • 3* MGM Grand – 20 minute walk from your room to the front door!
  • 3* Circus Circus – Don’t be tempted by the cheap prices. You want to hang yourself just walking around. Puzzlingly, has one of the most luxurious and best steakhouses in Vegas, however, imaginatively called ‘THE Steakhouse’!
  • 3* Excalibur – Old and tired. Hard ‘NO!’
  • McDonald’s – Anyone caught eating McDonald’s at any point will be publicly shunned, castigated and shot at the following dawn.  If you want a shit, mass-produced burger, at least try a chain that you can’t get back home!
  • Virtually every hotel breakfast restaurant. Don’t be lazy. Make breakfast an occasion to go out for. Your hotel breakfast restaurant will be bland and overpriced. The exceptions on the quality front are probably only the Terrace Point Cafe at the Wynn and Mon Ami Gabi at the Paris, but they’ll be pricey.

Downtown Accommodation

  • 4* Downtown Grand – Amazing location. Downtown is very noisy and busy, but this hotel is set back a block and noise levels here are much, much lower. It has $5 3:2 Blackjack tables, which are rare in Vegas and give you the best paybacks.  Also has a great hotdog and beer deal!
  • 4* Golden Nugget – Hugely popular. Fremont Street chaos on your doorstep. Request Rush Tower rooms unless you want to sleep inside a nightclub! Great location, great casino & great restaurants.

Downtown Food

Where do we even begin??? There is nothing to match the unique after-dark atmosphere of Fremont Street!  You can EASILY spend 6-8 hours here.  So here’s the best of where to stay, eat and drink here.  You want to party on the cheap?  Look no further than Fremont!

  • Oscars Steakhouse $$$ – Downtown. Try to get a window seat for amazing views and the food is amazing!
  • Heart Attack Grill $$ – Downtown. Average food, but again, a total one-off eating experience which is worth every cent!

    • Victory Burger $ – Inside Circa Hotel, Downtown. One of Steve & Gemma’s favourite places. They do amazing wings! We eat there and enjoy drinks at the Overhang Bar opposite. A classic night for us that we do nearly every time we go to Vegas!

    • Tony Roma’s $ – inside the Fremont Casino, Downtown. They do a Steak & Lobster Special for $11.99 between 9pm -11pm. Get there at 8pm because you have to book a table in person. Wander and explore, then go back 10 mins before your table time. Not mindblowing, but incredible value!

  • Pizza Rock $ – Downtown. The BEST pizza in Vegas bar none! Go, don’t mess around, just go!

Best Downtown Bars

  • Carousel Bar $$ – Outside the Plaza in Downtown. Somehow, this has turned into an immortal place for us. Not least because whilst staying at the Plaza one time, we came home one night at 1am to discover U2 were just about to record the music video for Atomic City right outside the bar! A mega Vegas memory. Gemma is in the video!
  • Bar 46 $$ – Inside the Golden Nugget, Downtown. This bar is where Steve & Kevin first shared a drink together. The rest, as they say, is history!
  • Troy’s Liquor Bar $$ – Again, inside the Golden Nugget, but has a balcony area overlooking the centre part of Fremont. Amazing place to have a couple of drinks and people-watch!
  • The Speakeasy $$ – Inside The Mob Museum. We’d highly recommend the Mob Museum as a tourist attraction, especially the gun-training exercise. Incredibly fascinating and you can finish off with a cocktail in the underground speakeasy bar.
  • Hogs & Heifers $ – Around the corner from Pizza Rocks in Downtown, this is one of the wildest bars in Vegas. A proper dive bar, but great fun! To get in, you’ll 100% need your ID!
  • Whiskey Licker Up & Down $ – Grab a table on the rotating bar section of this Downtown establishment and look down on the antics of the people on Fremont Street. Wild!
  • Cats Meow $ – The go-to karaoke bar in Downtown. On a Friday and Saturday night, this place is lit!

Downtown Losers

  • 2* The Plaza – Noisy & Terrible Staff

Head Out Of Town

Hiring a car out here is CHEAP and you don’t need to drive too far out of Vegas to have your mind blown by the sights! It’s beautiful!

It may seem intimidating to drive in Vegas when you see the volume of traffic and the size of the roads, but after 10 minutes, you will find it easy. When driving, if you miss your turn, don’t worry. Take the next one and your sat nav will re-route you. The whole of the U.S. is one big noughts and crosses board. You’ll do well to get lost out here.

Driving Tip: There’s one massive driving difference in the U.S. compared to the U.K. You can turn RIGHT at red lights on two conditions. 1. There is no sign saying ‘No Right Turn On Red’. 2. If there’s nothing coming. You treat it as you would a right turn at a Give Way in the U.K. If you sit at a red light where you can turn right, don’t worry. The locals will let you know by blasting their horn at you!

So it is 100% worth hiring a car for the day and if you do, here’s some good day trip routes:

Route 1 – Cowboy Town via Route 66

Las Vegas > Lakeview Overlook > Hoover Dam > Chloride > Kingman Visitor Centre > Drive Route 66 to Oatman > Laughlin > Las Vegas

Route 2 – Western Rim of Grand Canyon

Las Vegas > Lakeview Overlook > Hoover Dam > Western Rim Grand Canyon > Las Vegas

Route 3 – Zion National Park & Bryce Canyon

Las Vegas > Zion National Park > Bryce Canyon > Las Vegas

Route 4 – Valley of Fire

Las Vegas > Valley of Fire > Elephant Rock > Rogers Hot Springs > Redstone Picnic Area > Las Vegas

Route 5 – Death Valley

Las Vegas > Zabriskie Point > Furnace Creek Inn > The Last Kind Words Saloon > Towne Pass > Ridgecrest > Peggy Sue’s 50’s Diner > Las Vegas