Hey guys! So we just got back from celebrating my best friend AC for her bachelorette weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada. I wanted to hop on and share with you guys what we did, what I wish we had done, and what I wish we hadn’t. Don’t worry, I won’t spill all the tea – what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas right?
Bachelorette Weekend in Las Vegas – Thursday:
We left on a Thursday in Birmingham at about 5:45pm and drove to Atlanta where we were flying from. Our flight left at 10:00pm and we landed in Las Vegas at about 11:45pm. We grabbed an Uber and went to our hotel in Planet Hollywood. There were 7 girls on our trip, so we got two rooms that adjoined. We just kept the doors open and it legitimately felt like a suite! We got settled and went to bed pretty early that night.
Bachelorette Weekend in Las Vegas – Friday:
This was our first full day and we started off with a bang! We got up, got ready and walked across the street to the Cosmopolitan. They have a rooftop pool called Marquee and the Friday we were there happened to be the first pool party of the season! We rented two cabanas (again, probably could have gotten away with only one cabana under normal circumstances to save money, but they were limiting the number to 6 because of Covid. Because we had seven people, we had to get two). We stayed there for about 6 hours, and then returned to our hotel to get ready for the evening. We walked up and down the strip, taking in all the lights and music. We ended the night in Bally’s casino where the bachelorette won $95 at a blackjack table!
Bachelorette Weekend in Las Vegas – Saturday:
We woke up Saturday and went to brunch at Sugar Factory. We found a Groupon for bottomless mimosas and a food credit for $25 per person – food in Vegas is pretty expensive, so we snagged this deal quick! After we ate, we drove about 45 minutes outside of Las Vegas to go to the Valley of Fire State Park for a casual hike. It was so worth the drive! It costs $10/car so it was by far the cheapest activity we did all weekend – not to mention, it was absolutely breathtaking! We ended up staying for hours and didn’t leave until about 4pm. We went back to the hotel and got ready for the evening. We ate dinner at an Italian place called Trattoria Reggiano located in the bottom of the Venetian hotel. This meal was the priciest of the trip, but it was SO good! I got shrimp scampi and almost licked my plate clean! After dinner, we went to the Neon Museum. The neon museum is basically a graveyard for old neon lights and signs that used to be located on the strip. We did a guided tour, took some pictures, and then went back to the hotel. We spent the rest of the night in the casino (shock, haha), this time staying in the Planet Hollywood casino.
Bachelorette Weekend in Las Vegas – Sunday:
Sunday was our return travel day. We had to be at the airport by about 9:30am, so we woke up early to get packed and ready to go. We did stop at the Vegas sign on the way to the airport – the pictures aren’t great but at least we can say we did it!
Things I Loved About Our Bachelorette Weekend in Las Vegas
Some things we did that I absolutely would NOT miss:
- Hike in the desert – this was probably my favorite thing we did. We did the Valley of Fire State Park, but there are other options as well. Just do your research beforehand to look at pictures and see what kind of scenery you want to be looking at!
- Gambling in a casino – even if it’s just $5… can you really say you went to Vegas if you didn’t gamble?
- A meal at the Sugar Factory – I thought the food was amazing and we found SUCH a good deal!
- Picture at the Vegas sign – while it might seem touristy and stupid, this was one of those things that I knew I would regret later if I didn’t do it. We were literally only there for :30 seconds, but I’m so glad we made sure to stop!
Things I Didn’t Love About Our Bachelorette Weekend in Las Vegas
The only thing we did on this trip that I didn’t enjoy as much as I thought I would was the neon museum. It was a really cool concept, don’t get me wrong. You could also tell how passionate our tour guide was about the museum. However, it was over pretty quick and they wouldn’t let anyone take any photos without a mask on. I would have liked getting to take pictures where you could see us smiling! (Don’t send me hate mail – I’m not an anti-masker. Just don’t want my mask in every single picture.)
Things We Didn’t Have Time For:
- Seven Magic Mountains – I was pretty bummed about this but it was just too far in the opposite direction of the Valley of Fire to make it work.
- The Haunted Museum – we tried to go see this but the tickets were sold out for the whole weekend. This is why we ended up going to the Neon Museum instead.
- Slotzilla Zip Line or the Strat Thrill Rides – most of us wanted to do this but we unfortunately never made it. These things are located off of the strip and other than the trip to the Valley of Fire, we never really left the strip.
A Show or a Nightclub – these last two we would have made time for, but Covid was the culprit. A lot of shows are still not being performed, and the clubs were charging ridiculous rates to let people in. Something to put on the list for next time when everyone has a better handle on the pandemic!
Here are my recommendations if you are going for a Trip to Vegas.
- Plan what you want to do BEFORE you get to Las Vegas! I’m not saying don’t be spontaneous, but you need to book/buy most tickets ahead of time. There were a couple of things we tried to do on the fly and weren’t able to because either a) the tickets were sold out or b) the prices went WAY up for people trying to book last minute.
- Budget for food (and alcohol, if you drink). The food was all pretty expensive! There were fast food chains like Chick-fil-A that are obviously more affordable, but in terms of eating a “Vegas meal” get ready to spend a pretty penny.
- Search Groupon – we found some AMAZING deals including brunch, tourist attractions, drinks, etc. If you’re traveling on a budget, don’t skip this step! Every penny you can save adds up!
If you’ve never been to Nevada, it’s definitely a bucket list trip. Las Vegas is amazing (a culture all its own!), and on top of that, there’s SO much more to Nevada than just Las Vegas. I hope this helps with your planning for a trip to Vegas.
