5 Days In Vegas

I had hoped to go to Vegas for my 40th birthday but it didn’t pan out. In December, we decided to book a last minute trip to Las Vegas with two friends of ours, leaving on Jan. 1st. Three of us had never been there, but my husband Tyson had gone once with friends six years ago. I hear lots of mixed reviews on experiences in Las Vegas so I wanted to share our experience with you. Here’s our experience having 5 Days in Vegas and our tips for your own trip.

We were actually super happy with the flights we got. We would leave Halifax at 6 am and arrive in Las Vegas at 12:30pm their time with one stop over in Toronto. If you’ve done any air travel since 2020, you know this is not what happened. As our boarding announcement started in Halifax, we got an email that our Toronto to Vegas flight was cancelled. Thankfully we quickly got a hold of an agent on the phone to tell us not to board that plane. We were rebooked to go to Edmonton, then Vegas. What was supposed to be a 9 hour travel day became a 22 hour travel day, but hey, we got there the same day right? We were also very glad we all packed a carry-on bag so we didn’t have to worry about our luggage on top of everything else.

Our first day we woke up early as we were on Atlantic time, but this was great. We got up and out before most people in that time zone. Let me preface this by saying none of us are ‘night’ people, so we saw the strip a lot more in the daylight than night time!

Vegas Is Not Hot In The Winter Months

I’m glad we chose the time we did for our 5 days in Vegas. I had never been to Vegas or Nevada but obviously my thought process was “it’s a desert, it’s going to be warm if not hot”. It was not haha. Watching the weather the weeks before we went showed that the daytime was from high single digits to mid teens. In the mornings when we left our hotel, it would be maybe 5-6 degrees Celsius. In the afternoons 10-15 degrees Celsius.

The temperature was great for walking all day for me because I didn’t feel sweaty or overheated. It was definitely chilly first thing in the morning and in the evenings but definitely manageable. I packed a lot of layers so if it started out cold in the morning, I could take off a jacket or cardigan in the afternoon as it warmed up. Tyson had previously gone in June and said it was way too hot for his liking, around 45 degrees.

You Don’t Have To Gamble

We didn’t put a single dollar into gambling the entire time we were there. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying anything bad about choosing to gamble. I was under the misconception for a long time that that’s what you did if you went to Vegas. There are literally slot machines as soon as you walk through the gate to the airport. There’s so much else to do – sights to see, food, shows, museums, comedy shows. There are endless possibilities for entertainment at your fingertips if gambling is not your thing.

The Food Is Expensive & The Portions Are Huge

You probably know I like to eat. Food is a huge part of travelling for me so I was very excited to try the restaurants in Vegas. While I knew things would be pricier there, we were NOT prepared for how expensive food was everywhere. We chose to primarily stay on the strip. I know we could have found less expensive and excellent eating experiences off the strip, which I do wish I’d looked in to more. I had made reservations for supper every night but we ended up cancelling most because the cost was just too much. We were quickly burning through our food budget. While this was disappointing, we had to make adjustments and that was ok. I know better for next time.

Drain Your Blisters

We walked almost 90 kilometres in the 5 days we were in Vegas. I had great walking shoes, as did Tyson, but we still got blisters and had sore feet (except Dave. He’s a unicorn). I’m confident in saying no matter what footwear you have, you’re going to end up with sore feet when walking THAT much on concrete and asphalt. Next time, we’ll walk through the hotels more than the sidewalks as the carpeted floors really do make a difference.

Ok, not to be gross but I wish someone had told me this! I developed blisters in the first few days. I didn’t want to pop them because I knew then the skin would be raw, and I still had more walking to do. On the second last day, I couldn’t take it anymore. I used a pin to poke a small hole and just drain the fluid at night before I went to bed. I wish I had done this sooner. The next morning it felt so much better and it was far more comfortable walking the last day.

While this wasn’t the trip I envisioned (I was also sick the first two days from a bad cold I got before we left), I can’t wait to go back again. We’re more prepared this time and I feel like there’s still so much I want to see and do! For us 5 days in Vegas was enough to be honest. I can’t see us staying for a week or longer but who knows what the future holds!