Why did I think arriving in Vegas at 9 am was a good idea? The world will never know, but it really set the tone for our first day, and trust me on this, you don’t want to arrive in Vegas already tired.
I figured, when booking, that we could seize the day and take full advantage of all the extra time we’d have vs if we arrived at night. Instead, we were tired, hangry, and couldn’t even check into our hotel until 3 pm so we were forced to start our site-seeing immediately. Having been up since 2 am (the day after thanksgiving) and not getting any sleep on the plane, we couldn’t wait to take a fat nap ASAP even if that meant paying extra to be able to check into our room.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option so we headed to Walgreens for some Celsius drinks and began to power through.
Before I get into everything, I’ll start with the juiciest part and what’s on most people’s minds- the cost of it all. Not gonna lie, I’m always SO curious to know how much something is when I see people travel. The hotel, flights, food, transportation, everything. Not just because I’m nosey, but because it’s nice to have a reference point for similar trips later on. Almost every time David and I start browsing, we always look back on these posts to see if we’re in the same range or if the price is inflated and we should wait.
The Cost
I’ve lost track of how many trips we’ve booked through Costco Travel, but it should come as no surprise that this one was, you guessed it, also through Costco Travel. We’ve found some amazing deals through there and it’s always our go-to. The only downside this time was that it didn’t include the daily resort fee for the hotel we picked, but it varied depending on the package.
Here’s the cost breakdown of our entire Las Vegas trip:
- Costco Travel package (including hotel + flights): $1,466.52
- Luggage check-in (2 bags via Delta): $60
- Airport bagel sandwiches: $25.75
- Lyft to Hotel: $20.49
- Resort fee (daily $45+tax): $255.10
- Awakening show: $308.85
- Walgreens drinks: $6.08
- Magnets Inc: $14.64
- Sephora: $47.14
- Dirt Dog: $26.28
- Bally’s convenience store: $31.32
- Uber to Wynn for Awakening show: $16
- Allegro dinner: $98.87
- Gambling at Wynn: $4
- Ride from Wynn back to hotel: $13.97
- Ride from hotel to Saint Honore: $17.99
- Pizza Annonymous: $7.04
- Ride to Luxor from Saint Honore: $15.99
- Johnny Rockets: $19.49
- L.A. Subs: $16.23
- Big chill drink at Luxor: $22.59
- Roulette: $25
- Roulette payout: -$40
- Roulette: $40
- Michael Jackson One show: $226.31
- LV sweatshirt: $43.30
- The Tipsy Robot mexican candy shot: $8
- Dirt Dog drinks, shots, fries & hotdogs: $55.35
- Roulette: $20
- Viva Vegas waters: $4.29
- Ride to CrunCheese: $13.81
- CrunCheese corn dogs: $9.19
- The Paleta Bar: $26.82
- Ride to North Premium outlets: $14.99
- LV tshirt: $23.73
- Fremont gambling: $1
- Flippin’ Good dinner: $47
- Walgreens waters: $10.36
- Uber back to hotel from Fremont St: $27.91
- Uber to Michael Jackson show: $14.98
- Moon Walk drinks: $43
- Luxor tshirt: $16.26
- Eataly: $69.69
- Sloan’s brownie: $5.95
- Starbucks: $11.05
- Ride back to hotel from mall: $15.78
- Market cafe: $42.81
- Ride to Saint Honore: $18.23
- Saint Honore donuts: $24.84
- Ride to Vegas sign: $15.95
- In-n-out: $15.44
- Ride to the Forum Shops: $14.49
- Lululemon: $52.37
- Sephora: $23.84
- Las Vegas sweatshirt: $28.18
- Viva Vegas waters: $9.69
- Cabo Wabo dinner: $124.26
- Egg Slut: $35.76
- Ride to the airport from hotel: $18.40
- Luggage check-in: $60
- Starbucks at airport: $16.64
- Airport food: $32.74
- The Hudson snacks: $21.99
- Self parking MCI: $45
Grand Total: $3,828.74
Overall, it was more than we expected for a Vegas trip, but I’m glad we at least topped our gambling at $50. I was ready to be done after $4, but David wanted to have a little more fun with Roulette.
The food was so much more expensive than I thought it would be. On average, I think we spent $50 per meal, with some exceptions. The Uber and Lyft rides also added up quickly so we tried walking whenever we could.
The Hotel
We stayed at the Vdara Hotel & Spa right off the strip. The cleanest hotel you can find in Vegas, in my opinion. I did a separate post about our stay, here!
The Food
Dirt Dog
The number of hotdog options here is insane. It was always at the top of our list when thinking of places to go eat at. We only went twice, but definitely had planned to go more than that.
Allegro
One of the pricier meals we had in Vegas, but SO FREAKING GOOD. The portions were pretty big and the Caesar salad was one of the best I’ve had. The only downside was that it was right next to the casino area so if you’re not a smoker you might not enjoy inhaling secondhand smoke during your fancy Italian dinner.
Pizza Annonymous
We went in for donuts and left with pizza. Not exactly a bad thing, but beware if you go in after 1 pm on a Saturday, you’re most likely going to walk into an almost sold-out counter. There were 0 donuts left and even the pizza was almost sold out so I’m not sure how they were planning on staying open another 8 hours.
Johnny Rockets
Located inside The Luxor food court, I’d say it was your average fast-food meal. It wasn’t my first option, but some of the other places were having technical issues or were sold out of items.
L.A. Subs
David went here while I went to Johnny Rockets and almost every time we get something different, I always wish I would’ve gotten what he got. This was no exception. I think with all the junk food and drinks we had up to this point, something topped with lettuce would’ve been the better option.
Big Chill
You can’t go to Vegas and not get one of those tall slushy drinks to walk around with!! There’s a Big Chill almost everywhere you look and some do free refills with the purchase of a bigger size.
The Tipsy Robot
I hate to admit it, but this was the biggest waste of $8. I was expecting the shot to at least come with a paleta vero dipped in it or something given the name “Mexican candy shot”, but this was it.
CrunCheese
Thanks to TikTok, once again, I saw something I really wanted to try- Korean Corndogs. They did NOT disappoint, although I’m so glad we shared 2 of them because I don’t know in what world I thought I would be able to eat 2 on my own.
We got our sauces on the side since we don’t like the same ones, but a lot of people had them drizzle it over the whole thing which is the way to go I think!
The Paleta Bar
The corndogs left us feeling a bit sluggish but thankfully we walked past The Paleta Bar shortly after and omg…I wish we had one of these back home. We started off by choosing the flavor of the popsicle we wanted. David got Cookies n Cream and I got Mangonada. Then we moved on to fruit toppings. Literal chunks of fresh fruit!! Then sprinkles, and all the other smaller toppings and dips. It was one of the best-unexpected dessert shops I’ve stumbled upon.
Flippin’ Good
The name doesn’t lie, but the menu options aren’t anything out of this world. We both got a chicken tender basket with fries and shared a milkshake.
Eataly
Weeks later, I’m still craving the pasta we had here. I always want to try new places wherever we go, but I would 1000% go back here time and time again.
Sloan’s
This brownie with cookie chunks was HEAVENLY. It was such a good sweet treat!! I could try replicating it at home, but I doubt it would come close to being the same.
Market Café
This was located inside the Vdara hotel where we stayed. The most I’ve ever paid for a panini & chips, but it saved us from having to walk another hour or more to get food and come back.
Saint Honore
If there’s one thing TikTok knows how to do, it’s overhype something. Don’t get me wrong, the donuts were delicious, but it’s a complete sugar overload. I almost think a maple-iced donut from Quik Trip is slightly better.
There were so many different ones to try, but they all tasted almost the same. I’d say the only difference between a lot of them is the small toppings like gold flakes, edible pearls, Nutella, etc.
In-n-out
One of our best (and most affordable) meals in Vegas. You can’t go wrong with a burger, fries, and soda.
Cabo Wabo
DO NOT GET THE MOJITO PITCHER!!! We made that mistake and it cost us around $50 when most of it was ice and the margarita itself was so weak. We got about 4 glasses out of the whole pitcher which would normally be pretty good, but it all might as well have been water.
Other than that, the food and service were pretty good.
Egg Slut
DO NOT GET THE DUCK FAT HASHBROWNS. Unless you like the taste of duck fat, but in my opinion it was horrible.
Other than that, the egg breakfast sandwiches were similar to the ones we like to get at Einstein Bros. They were good, but not a must-have on our Vegas food list.
The Activities
One thing about me- I love tracking my steps on my apple watch. I’m borderline obsessive when it comes to closing my rings. And if I don’t close one then there’s no sense in closing any. I’m either fully motivated or a complete potato. Luckily for my peace of mind, I was able to close every ring (and then some) daily thanks to all the walking we did which surprisingly was more than when we went to NYC.
With that being said, our trip activities consisted of walking, eating, shopping & repeat. It might be surprising to hear that a couple in their 20s didn’t even step foot in a nightclub during a Vegas trip, but maybe next time. We were so exhausted by the end of each day, it didn’t even cross our minds to try and go party it up.
Although I can’t recommend any nightlife in Vegas, I can tell you some of the best shopping, shows, and what tourist traps to skip.
Shopping
Most of our walking came from all the malls we visited. The good thing about Vegas is that if your luggage gets lost or you forget to pack a certain clothing item or makeup, you’ll be able to find it on the strip. Some of the places we went to included: North Premium Outlets, Grand Canal Shoppes, The Forum Shops, Fashion Show, and Miracle Mile.
Shows
Awakening: I recommend you look up videos of this on TikTok because some people have managed to sneak some clips of it on there and it’s so hard to put into words how good it was!! I actually came across it thanks to a TT video and bought tickets because of the 1-minute video I watched on it. Since the theater is round, it doesn’t matter where you sit. The view from wherever will still be amazing and the special effects they have throughout the show make it impossible to lose interest at any point.
Michael Jackson One: David and I thought we were walking into a concert-type of show where an impersonator sings the whole time, but to our surprise, it was a Cirque du Soleil show. I guess we should read the description a little closer next time. It was still really good & I’d go again 100%!
Tourist Traps
We took an Uber to the Las Vegas sign on a Tuesday morning, and I kid you not, the line to take a picture with it was about 2 hours long. NO THANKS. I wish we hadn’t even wasted the $15 to Uber there because then we had to walk an hour to our next stop and it was just such a waste of time. We ended up just taking a selfie from afar and calling it good.
Transportation
We entirely relied on Uber and Lyft for this one. We didn’t take any taxis, but we heard they’re probably double the price. Sometimes we walked to save money, but a 30-minute walk would turn into an hour for what could’ve been a 7-minute drive.
