Spring Break! Vegas edition
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Spring break is on the horizon. You’ve got your schedule worked out to take a week off, you already found a petsitter for your adorable lil furbaby, you’ve thoroughly cleansed your liver for the oncoming wreckage it is about to receive, and you’ve pre-spent your tax refund on cute clothes, shoes, and a new weave. The only thing left to figure out is where exactly you should go for Spring Break. Well, here’s an easy little checklist I’ve made for the budget partier in us all.
- Are you a student??
- Are you a broke college student??
- ARE YOU JUST BROKE IN GENERAL????
If you answered yes to one or more of the following statements (or even if you said no to literally all of them), then look no further than : Dun dun dun dunnnnnn….Vegas, baby. YEAHH that’s right, it’s Sin City or bust. Except, you won’t actually be busting (but no guarantees if you like to gamble). Vegas has been my family’s go to vacation because 1) it was close 2) it was cheap 3) you don’t actually have to spend lots of time together because there’s so much to do, so I have a few tricks up my sleeve for any budget Vegas goer.
First! Getting there
If you live less than 5 hours away, I’d definitely recommend driving if you don’t absolutely HATE driving (#me). There are some good sights along the way if you’re prone to stopping, and if you’re not, then its a super easy and super cheap way to get there! Especially if you’re splitting gas with friends. I’ve roadtripped down to Vegas from Portland, Oregon, and while I would never-ever-ever-like ever do it again, it was wallet-friendly.
Me, the entire drive to Vegas. Coming from Oregon, it’s EXTREMELY boring, but once you start seeing the lights of Vegas, the mental agony slowly starts to fade away~
If you live on the continental West Coast of the USA, then you’re in luck, Vegas is extremely cheap to fly to. Like, under $150 roundtrip cheap. For spring break, however, it might be a little more expensive, but I’ve never seen it over $200. If you spend more than $250 on a RT flight to Vegas, you spent too much. Major airports from the East Coast should run you between $300-$400. But don’t worry, the ticket is the most expensive part.
Lodging
I had been spoiled as a child. Coming to Vegas every other year (or so), I had grown up thinking that hotels everywhere were always about $30-$50 a night. AHAHAHAHHAH. Boy, did I learn real quick. Anyways, yup, hotels in Vegas are extremely affordable, even on the strip. You can splurge on the fancy and fabulous Bellagio or the Venetian for $160 a night (see what I’m saying?), ORRRR you can save a ton of money and stay at a nice budget friendly hotel on the strip. There’s a ton, but the cheapest (and the only one I stay at) is the Circus Circus Hotel.
I have a lot to say about this hotel, pros and cons, but that’s for another blog post. If you want cheap and easy strip access, I’m tellin ya, Circus Circus is pretty dank. At $22 a night and a bus stop right outside the hotel, get all the bang for your buck and spend your money elsewhere! Plus, you’ll only be sleeping there anyway, right?
Other less-children cheap options: Hooters. It gets the job done.
Getting around
If you have a car, GREAT! Parking at all the hotels are free (hollaaaaaa). If you don’t, no worries. If you’re not travelling to far, walking is actually really fun in Vegas. There’s a lot of cool things to see on the strip, and a lot of people handing out flyers for strip clubs. Just politely decline (or ignore them) if you don’t want to go. There’s also the SUPER convenient bus that runs all along the strip and even goes to Fremont Street, the outlet malls, and to the airport. Best part, it’s $20 for a three day pass!
Free Activities
There’s literally, like, a ton. My personal favorite is just strolling around and exploring the different theme hotels. You get Paris, Italy, New York, Greece for the price of Vegas. There’s also a bunch of other activities, I’ll just casually list them below.
- circus show at Circus Circus
- medieval performers at Excalibur
- visit the Park, by MGM (between the Monte Carlo and New York-New York)
- carnival dancers at the Rio
- explore the Fremont East Entertainment District (I’d recommend doing it at night)
- tour Ethel M chocolate factory
- chill poolside (though it was too cold for swimming the last time I went during Spring Break)
- visit the Aquarium at Silverton (they have mermaids swimming around!)
- volcano fire show at the Mirage
- art walk at the Cosmopolitan and CityCenter (you gotta visit the Akhob installation there!)
- Bellagio Fountains show (and the hotel’s conservatory)
- free gambling lessons at Circus Circus, Excalibur, and Luxor
- waterfall atrium at the Palazzo
- tour the luxury shops in Caesar’s palace (and check out the short Atlantis show)
- wander the LINQ entertainment center (there’s a polaroid museum!)
- walk around the Flamingo’s Wildlife Habitat
- find the WELCOME TO LAS VEGAS sign (hint: its at the end of the strip)
- MY ALL TIME FAV FREE ACTIVITY — touring the downtown container park
And that’s just to name a few. There’s even more CHEAP (under $10-$15) activities, but I just wanted to highlight the free ones.
Free Drinks!
Say it ain’t so! Are there REALLY free drinks in Vegas? Well, despite what other articles you have read, YES, there are legit free drinks in Vegas. Well, first things first (I’m da realest, sorry, I had to) when you arrive in Vegas, if you have a social media account, I would recommend announcing that to the world, especially on Instagram. Hopefully, a club promoter will see your post and offer to add you to “the list.” Basically, they’ll let you know about special club events and most of them are free. Hurray for being on the list! Added bonus, most of the time, drinks at the bar are included (almost always if you’re a girl, sometimes if you’re a guy and the club isn’t too packed). There’s usually a limit like “unlimited until midnight/first five drinks/etc”, but make those drinks strong and make em count. If you’re a girl going out with your guy or a guy friend, share the love and pass your drinks back to them, especially if it’s unlimited. Spread the free liquid love.
I, unfortunately, have no classy pictures of myself at a Vegas club.
If you’re not a club goer, there are also free alcohol tastings around the strip! At the Vdara hotel, there is free wine tasting on Thursdays at Rock N Roll Wine. You just have to sign up in advance, easy peasy. If you’re a fan of whiskey (I’m not), you can sample the stock at Vom Fass anytime at the Venetian. They also have an informal class Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays that lasts about 45 minutes. There’s no need to sign up, just arrive at the scheduled time and get ready to taste and learn about whiskey!
There’s a ton of things to do in Vegas. It’s not a huge city, but there’s a lot of fun packed into it. On your way out, especially if you have a car, you should definitely check out the Seven Magic Mountains art installation about 10 miles south of Vegas. It’s going away next year in 2018, so get out to see it while it’s still around!
