5 Nights in Las Vegas: Full Itinerary

Sin City. Kitschy. Flashy. Tacky. Fabulous. Over the top. Regardless of how you describe Las Vegas, one thing we can all agree on is that it’s a city like no other. For those of you looking to travel to Las Vegas, I’ve put together a guide for spending 5 Nights in Las Vegas. Hope you find it helpful.

Day 1 – Las Vegas Arrival

After a 3 hour layover in Minneapolis with Delta Airlines, I was on my way to Fabulous Las Vegas! When my friends and I arrived to the LAS airport, the first thing we noticed when stepped off the plane was the abundance of casino gambling machines throughout the airport. Like no other airport I’ve been to. This city REALLY wants to make sure they squeeze every last penny out of you and while you’re waiting for your flight to arrive why not try your lack one last time?

After leaving the airport, we took our pre-arranged shuttle to the hotel. We used ODS Shuttle, but there are certainly other options available not to mention Uber and/or Lyft services. After dropping some other folks off at different hotels we finally made it to Bally’s Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. The very first thing I noticed was the smell of cigarette smoke that hit me like a ton of bricks. As someone who has slight asthma, it took some getting used to. To be fair, most of the casinos there smell of smoke.

Bally’s Las Vegas Hotel and Casino

Check in was a breeze and I felt the front desk team was friendly enough. They charged my card $250 immediately as a refundable incidental hold ($50 per room per night). There is also a mandatory resort fee that most hotels on the strip charge. The fee covers your use of internet as well as hotel amenities like the pool. Bally’s charges me $39.68 (taxes included) per room per night, paid at check out. So when planning your budget for Vegas do be sure to include those fees at the hotel so you aren’t surprised later.

Since we checked in to the hotel after 2:00pm check in time, we were able to get our room immediately. My friend who arrived earlier than that was told by the staff it’d be $20 early check in fee. Yeah… she decided to use that money on a drink at the onsite pool instead and waited.

The room my boyfriend and I stayed in was nice. Room category is Jubilee King Non Smoking Strip View room. The picture above showing the Eiffel Tower was the exact view from our room. It was BEAUTIFUL, especially when lit up at night. The Bellagio Fountains were also seen from our room. Very romantic for couples.

After checking in it was lunch time! We knew ahead of time we’d be starving so we had already agreed to meet up at the Mexican restaurant right inside of Bally’s. It’s called Tequila Taqueria and their mouthwatering menu can be found here. Considering the portions are VERY generous, the price really isn’t that outrageous.

After lunch, some of my friends went to the pool downstairs and hung out. You may as well get your resort fee money’s worth! I stayed in my room checking emails. Life of a Travel Agent…#nodaysoff

Later in the evening, we grabbed a quick dinner at next door’s Paris Las Vegas. That hotel is as massive as Bally’s is. There’s TONS of different eating shops inside Paris. Serving different ethnic foods including French (of course!), Japanese, Italian, and more. We just grabbed a quick slice of pizza. Then headed back to Bally’s to change for a evening of Casino gambling! Feeling lucky…

We started off in Bally’s, then headed to Caesar’s Palace. We then went to the casino at Aria. How nice the hotel is will be an indication of how high the minimum buy in is. At Bally’s you can easily find a $10 minimum buy in table for roulette. Bellagio and ARIA are another story. Corey won $10! That was about it. I lost my few dollars at the penny slot. Still a fun time though.

Pro tip: When considering to gamble, give yourself a Max budget of what you’re willing to spend. Total. If you win, those earnings do not count as your max budget. Don’t go crazy as gambling can become an addiction, easily. I’m cheap and just played the penny slots but that’s mostly because I do not know how to play Blackjack and other games. The rest of the night after gambling and casino hopping we were TIRED. It was a long day of traveling on top of that.

Day 2 – Touring the Strip and LINQ High Roller

Day 2, we went a few hotels down to Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. Planet Hollywood is where you will find all of the big pop stars like Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez.

There’s a mega mall there called Miracle Mile Shops and there you’re find a cheap restaurant for breakfast: Ocean One. Only $10 for 3 large sized alcoholic drinks of your choice. Breakfast was also decent priced: like $9.99 for an omelet and two sides. Portions were generous. I had the sausage gravy and biscuits with mimosa. Yum! Afterwards, we went window shopping and just looked around at some different places. Miracle Mile Shops is definitely going to be your budget friendly mall. Think stores like Forever 21.

The expensive mall is right next door to ARIA. It’s called The Shops at Crystals, and there you will find stores like Dior, Christian Louboutin, Balenciaga, and Cartier. Pretty much, the only thing I could afford at this mall were the pictures… lol

Lunch consisted of a delicious burger (animal style) and cheese fries at In N Out Burger (LINQ Promenade location). When you live on the east coast, you can’t travel to the west coast and not enjoy. Plus, it’ll be one of the cheapest things you eat there. They have a limited menu: literally just burgers, fries, drinks, and milkshakes. But what else do you need? Just make sure someone can grab a seat while the other person is waiting in line. You have to be aggressively scouting for seats the moment you walk in as it gets packed.

After lunch we walked around the strip more, seeing sites like the Bellagio Fountains. Later that evening we headed back to Miracle Mile Shops to have dinner at a Brazilian steakhouse called Pampas. After eating at Texas de Brazil and Fogo De Chao, I’ll say I wasn’t impressed. Hate to be that person but it’s true. Salad bar selection was very minimal. No lobster bisque soup. Their soup was bland. It was also a much smaller buffet area so I felt like I was constantly in other people’s way and vice versa.

After dinner, we headed to the LINQ Promenade, where we redeemed our pre-purchased tickets for the High Roller. The High Roller offers incredible views of the strip in the evening. We also upgraded for a cabin with open bar, it’s called the Happy HALF Hour. So drink as much as you can within 30 minutes to get your money’s worth. Though I think I only drank water because I was so dehydrated so it was kind of a fail that I paid ~$40 for water. Check out the views you’ll see!

Day 3 – Pool Parties and Fremont Street

Today for breakfast, the group just went to the Italian restaurant within Bally’s and enjoyed their big breakfast buffet. Pretty decent spread – French toast, eggs, bacon and sausage, cereal, fresh fruit, sausage gravy and biscuits, country fried steak (my personal fave), various breads and Danishes, coffee and tea in addition to other juices.

After breakfast we went next door to Flamingo’s GO Pool which is where the first stop of our pool party hopping tour was. We met there right at 11:00am. Although I booked this with Viator, the name of the company they outsourced was Vegas Rockstar. Their exact tour can be found and purchased online here.

Pool Party VIP Tour Experience

The pool party itinerary was as follows:

11:00 AM – Met our party host (Vicki) in front of Flamingo’s GO Pool so she could give us our VIP wristbands for entry. We were able to skip the line which was nice. We stayed at this pool party until 12:30 PM. It was a lot of fun. The DJ was bumping some oldie but goodie hits. Drinks are VERY expensive but you have to be aware of that before even going to Vegas.
12:30 PM – Group was picked up in a party bus/limo where we drove to the Fabulous Las Vegas sign for a quick photo stop. We enjoyed a random concoction of alcohol that Vicki made for us along the way. She kept the drinks coming!
1:00 PM – We arrived at our second location Sapphire Beach Club. It’s actually a strip club so don’t be surprised when you walk in and see bare breasts in your face. Sapphire Beach Club was definitely the highlight of the trip. Was so much fun! We played volleyball game while listening to the DJ. Girls just prancing around without anything on but some small bottoms.
4:00 PM – The tour technically “concluded” at 4:00 PM but there is not transportation back to your hotel so you can leave whenever you want at the second location you visit. I was pretty drained though by this time so I left around 4.

I don’t have any pictures from the Sapphire Beach Club pool party for obvious privacy reasons. What happens here stays here. But I do have some pics from Flamingo I can share. Shout out to the bride to be with the veil on to the left.

Pro tip: Please note that most of the pools have a 21+ age minimum requirement. Also note that the pool parties in Vegas are seasonal and are not open year round. My group happened to go during Labor Day Weekend so it was VERY MUCH OPEN and ALIVE. Famous DJs could be found at other pool parties that weekend like Encore Beach Club (Encore by Wynn) and Drai’s Beach Club (at The Cromwell).

Hair Blowout & Dinner

After the pool party shenanigans at 4:00p my hair was pretty messed up. Luckily, Bally’s is right next to Planet Hollywood’s Miracle Mile Shops. As you can see, we went there quite a bit. Within Miracle Mile Shops, you’ll see a few hair salons to get you right after the pool. I wanted to go to Dry Bar because they were advertising $49 blow outs (which is actually double what I pay back home but still not as bad as I thought it’d be). They didn’t have any availability until 8pm that night (4 hour wait!) so I kept searching and found another salon called The Original Diva and they had an opening. $45 for blow out + $15 for flat iron over top. Oye vey! Oh well… needed it done so what are ya gonna do?

Later in the evening around 8:00 PM – we all split an Uber and headed to Fremont Street Experience. It’s not really something I can explain and put into words. It’s like NYC’s Times Square but on steroids. People walking around posing for pics in exchange for money. Some things cannot be unseen unfortunately. But it’s great for people watching and getting a taste of “Old Vegas.” We later stopped at the famous Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino where we enjoy a bit more gambling (and losing). We had a late evening dinner at the Golden Nugget at this onsite diner serving casual comfort foods like grilled cheese, burgers, and pasta. Large portions, decent price.

After the bright lights and craziness (I’m talking a fire breathing enlarged bug craziness!), we Ubered home and called it a night.

Day 4 – Touring the Strip

Day 4 was another day of exploring at leisure. It was a day for us to get some last-minute stops in and if there was anything left to do this is the time to do it. We started our morning with breakfast off the strip at a diner called Blueberry Hill Family Restaurant. Cheap eats before driving to see The Fabulous Las Vegas sign. Our first stop of the day. Although it was very crowded, even as early as 11:00am, you’ll be happy to know there is someone organizing the crowd so it goes by pretty quickly. There’s also people selling water bottles for $1 if you get hot. You WILL get hot. Say Hi to Elvis while you’re there!

We then continued to explore the strip. Seeing the Bellagio more in depth other than the fountains outside. There, I recommend visiting their beautiful botanical garden and art collection. Exquisite. Each hotel on the strip has their own “theme.” The Bellagio’s is an Italian theme. And speaking of Italian…

We then headed to The Venetian for an OVERPRICED gondola ride. $29 per person for a 7 minute ride,  seriously? For couples who want a private ride you’re looking at $76 for both of you. But because I’m a sucker for all popular tourist attractions.

Later for dinner… we cabbed it over to Stratosphere Casino Hotel & Tower. There is a restaurant on top called “Top of the World” and it is a 360-degree rotating restaurant. Very fancy schmancy. Not cheap. Small portions. But I would recommend if you’re looking for something nice or celebrating something special. Why not treat yourself while you’re in the city of indulgence?

Dinner was very satisfying. Admittedly, I filled up on bread before the meal even came. I did get a little salty that they charge $8.00 for flat tap water but… I had to remind myself that this is what a high end restaurant in Vegas is like and I should stay at home if I want to eat cheaply lol. So when going to this restaurant. Prep yourself for the high bill. It’s an experience that you’re paying for. After dinner, we were all too stuffed (and broke!) to do anything the rest of the night. Netflix + Chill in the hotel room? Yes please.

Day 5 – Red Rock Canyon & Seven Magic Mountains

Day 5 was our last full day in Nevada (waahhh) so we decided to rent a car and see a different landscape. The strip was fun and all but we needed change of scenery. Luckily, there is a Hertz Rental Car is located inside of Bally’s so we didn’t have to go back to the airport to catch a car like I thought we’d have to.

So we headed to the desert. In the heat of August. More specifically, Red Rock Canyon National Park. There’s not much to do there unless you plan on hiking it. There’s lot of overpass and scenic stops along the way. The price is $15 per vehicle for you to park your car and have access into the park. Very beautiful!

Later that evening we had a fast dinner a Bubba Gump’s for some fried seafood and hit the Chandelier Bar. The Chandelier Bar is located inside of The Cosmopolitan on the strip. If you’re looking for another fancy spot, do yourself a favor and visit. They have a special cocktail not on the menu called “Verbena.” You eat this little Sichuan flower that numbs your mouth for a few minutes, which is supposed to heighten your taste buds. Really cool experience. Cocktail was $17. So icey…

Later that evening, we went back to our hotel to get changed up for our final night in Vegas… STRIP CLUB BABY! We negotiated a free limo to the venue, Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club. Spent the last dollars we had. The DJ didn’t really play music I was hoping for but the dancers were very friendly, and it was overall a decent experience.

Day 6 Back Home

All of our flights left early in the morning. Until next time Vegas… If you are interested in a trip to Las Vegas please email me for a free quote at cassandra@accent-on-travel.net.

Heading to Las Vegas?