A few years ago, I took a trip to Las Vegas with a friend of mine. The trip was great – we had an absolute blast…but there were a few things that I wish we had done differently. When we talk about the trip now, we like to say that it was a learning experience. Maybe we just needed to get comfortable with the city in order to tackle it properly next time? I don’t know how true this is, but it certainly helped us to feel better about it all!
So, what would I do differently next time? Well, for starters – I would never ever take a morning flight there, go out all day long, and then try to go out at night. This is the biggest rookie mistake to make. Why? We were already exhausted from that early morning flight. Then we headed out into the scorching heat and wandered around the city…. and then we tried to go out to a club that same night. We ended up leaving very early and wasted our time and energy getting all dolled up!
Something else I would do differently next time? I would avoid all of those novelty traps. (Trust me, there are plenty of them in Vegas. Everyone is looking to spend a little cash and everyone wants a piece of it!) I can’t even begin to tell you how many silly novelty pictures and videos we bought – or how much we spent on cheesy Vegas souvenirs. We were like kids in a candy store. Unfortunately, our bank accounts took quite the hit because of it.
We also learned that it isn’t always the best idea to listen to other people. Before we went away, nearly every person we met told us: go here, do this, eat that. All of it was a mistake. Instead of tailoring our trip to what we wanted, we did what other people enjoyed! The result? We wasted an awful lot of time wishing that we had stuck to our initial plans. (Plus, there are a lot of attractions that we never ended up going to…because other people pointed us in other directions!)
Lastly, what I would do differently on my next trip to Las Vegas? I wouldn’t overdo it. Every single day we had was jam packed with activities, wandering through the hotels, and experiencing the city. Then at night, we would try to check out all of the hottest clubs, bars, and other local entertainment. Not only were we exhausted all the time, but we also ended up not enjoying a lot of things we had been excited for. Talk about a letdown!
My friend and I have already discussed going back to Vegas – and doing it the right way. Until then, we are focused on learning from our mistakes. My advice to fellow travellers out there: do what you want to do, but don’t do too much. You’re better off to really enjoy a few things than try to see absolutely everything a place has to offer. So, try to learn from my travel mistakes…. I certainly plan on it!
