Our trip to Las Vegas this year was different from visits in the past. We had a little more money to spend, so we weren’t against splurging a little. However, there are some things that you just don’t want to spend a fortune on. The good news is that there are ways you can save a little money and not pay full-blown Strip prices.
It’s nice to browse the shops inside or attached to the Strip hotels and even shops at the Fashion Show Mall. But unless you want to buy a Coach bag for $300+ or plan on shopping at Chanel and have the means to do so, you can bargain shop on the Strip. Ross Stores, Dress for Less have several locations in Las Vegas including one on the Strip ne
ar MGM Grand. This is much like a Marshalls or T. J. Maxx and we’ve always shopped here when we travel. Fortunately or unfortunately, this visit was okay, but I didn’t get anything there as we had a Ross store open up the week before our trip in the St. Louis area so it wasn’t a big deal anymore. Walgreens and CVS both have stores on the Strip. One was right near The Venetian. We were able to stock up on soda and snacks here at regular prices and this particular one even had a fountain drink area with specialty coffee drinks. This was especially nice to get a coffee and breakfast treat inexpensively. http://www.walgreens.com/storelocator/result.jsp?_requestid=127845
For those of you who tire of the hustle and bustle of Vegas, you can take chartered trips to the Grand Canyon or Boulder Dam. However, for the price of a rental car we have previously take
n a hiking trip about 30 minutes away from downtown to Red Rock Canyon. We did this one year during Spring Break when it was more seasonal and we enjoyed the day in the peace and quiet. The area is beautiful, although very arid, so no matter what time of year, take plenty of water with you. The Imperial Palace Auto Museum was incredibly nice and cool in temperature as well. If you search online before you go you can find printable coupons to go for free. There are many vintage cars here and this was another delightful thing to pass time other than being in the casino.
I have a couple of warnings for you about a trip to Vegas. The first is that no matter how hot you are, never, ever buy water bottles on the street from vendors. We were told by a shuttle driver that they have found out that people are collecting used water bottles and filling them with tap water, sealing them with super glue and selling them on the streets. That’s so disgusting, I couldn’t even believe it. You can get water bottles at any casino if you sit at a machine because the drink hostesses come around all the time and if they don’t have a bottle on their tray will bring you one if you ask. Or stop in at Walgreens, CVS and many souvenir shops sell water.
Also, if you decide to walk the Strip – make sure you are wearing your most comfortable tennis shoes – and be ready to avoid the peddlers of prostitution. These annoying people will be trying to force flyers and business cards into your hands at all costs promoting call girls. One item of note, there are fewer of them on the Bellagio side of the strip. Also, it appears that the Harrahs groups of hotels and casinos have no problem with these jerks. But if you spend most of your time at the nicer hotels, as we did, you can avoid having to deal with them. They were right up to the edge of The Venetian property but did not cross over the property line.
Our trip to Vegas this year was a pleasant getaway, but I believe it will last us for a while and we probably won’t be going back anytime soon. We have a list of other places where we wish to travel. Now it is just about finding the time.
Reading back over this post it seems as if I am advertising for some of these places mentioned. I am not receiving anything for these and have not been in contact with any of the brand names or locations that I have spoken about. I just found these to help out with our trip.
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