- 30 common mistakes tourists make
visiting Las Vegas, Nevada.
I'm Chris, this is Yellow Productions.
I do travel guides that are fun,
informative, and entertaining.
This video is part of my series on Las Vegas.
You can find other videos like cheap eats in Las Vegas
or the best free shows in Las Vegas
linked at the end of this video or in the description below,
but in this video, I'm gonna be sharing with you
some common mistakes I've made coming to Vegas
and that other people have made coming to Vegas, too.
To compile this video, I asked
the fellow Yellow Productions subscribers
what mistakes have you made coming to Vegas.
The response was overwhelming.
I got over 120 responses.
In this video, I'll be sharing with you the top 30 of them.
You can learn from other people's mistakes
so you don't have to make these.
The first common tourist mistake
people make coming to Las Vegas is drinking too much
and no, I don't mean drinking too much apple juice,
I mean drinking too much alcohol.
If you're coming to Las Vegas, pace yourself.
There's alcohol everywhere.
Bars on the strip, free drinks inside the casinos,
drinks at the clubs, foot-long margaritas.
There is alcohol everywhere and you don't want to end up
drinking so much on your first day
that you have nothing to do your second day
because you're spending the entire day
just feeling awful in your hotel room.
So, go slow.
The second common mistake tourists make
visiting Las Vegas is eating too much.
In addition to alcohol everywhere,
there is food everywhere you look and not just food,
lots of food, particularly at the buffets.
And I know at first sight, that 24 hour buffet pass,
all the buffets you can eat at 24 hours,
seems like a really good deal.
But let me tell you, if you do that,
your stomach will be hating you afterwards.
So, pace yourself on the food.
Common mistake number three is gambling too much
and never bet your life savings on red, always on black.
But seriously, if you're the kind of person
who has no willpower towards gambling,
Las Vegas will suck you dry.
So, if you are gambling, make sure to pace yourself,
set a budget, and most of all, be careful,
especially if you brought your rent check.
The fourth common mistake is
thinking that you'll make money.
You know, those of us that go to Las Vegas a lot,
we call it the city of lost wages for a reason.
You know and the best joke about this
is the one about my friend.
He went to Las Vegas in a $60,000 BMW
and he came home in a $200,000 Greyhound bus.
Seriously, the casinos, they're smarter than you.
Unless you're the guy from MIT
that has the supercomputer in his shoe.
But if you're not him, then they're smarter than you
and they are designed to take your money.
The fifth common mistake in Las Vegas
is thinking what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas.
You know, maybe 20 years ago
but not in the world we live in today.
The world we live in today, what happens in Las Vegas,
it gets posted on Instagram or maybe even YouTube.
That fun thing you were doing that weekend
could turn out to be a really awkward conversation
at work tomorrow.
Mistake number six is trying to walk
the entire Strip in one day.
From the Mandalay Bay to Fremont Street in downtown
is over six miles and you know,
a lot of people say, "Chris,
"but six miles doesn't seem very long.".
But particularly if you're here in the summer
when it's 120 degrees, six miles can be
pretty life sapping and by the way,
the section of Las Vegas Boulevard between Circus Circus
and the Stratosphere really doesn't have much
and the Stratosphere to Fremont Street
can get pretty sketchy.
But yes, it technically is possible.
You can do it.
In fact, I've done it.
I've done it exactly once until I realized
that was a total mistake.
Mistake number seven is only using
your feet for transportation.
You know, it's really tempting
to just walk everywhere when you're in Vegas
because you're walking on the Strip,
the hotels are big, they don't seem very far away,
but I'll tell you, if you're walking everywhere,
your feet will be hating you
by the end of your trip to Las Vegas.
There's a lot of other options for getting around.
There's buses, there's the monorail,
there's trams, there's free trams you can take
between the Excalibur and the Mandalay Bay,
between the Park, MGM, and the Bellagio.
Use these other transportation options.
Maybe walk one direction and take some transportation back.
This is another one: You don't want to overdo your walking
on the first day so you're unable to walk
for the rest of the days you're in Las Vegas.
Mistake number eight, wearing the wrong footwear.
Ladies, I'm talking to you on this one.
High heels, that would be a mistake.
Boots in the summer, that would be a double mistake.
And the triple mistake would be high heel boots.
Ladies, bring some roll up flats and some Band Aids
for those blisters that you're gonna get.
Usually, around midnight or 1 AM
is when you see a lot of ladies walking down the Strip,
not wearing their shoes but carrying them
because they can't wear them anymore.
Mistake number nine, walking from Caesar's Palace
to the Rio Hotel, this neon one back here.
It's so close, looks like you could reach out and touch it.
That would be a mistake 'cause to get to the Rio Hotel,
you have to go across the interstate 15 freeway.
Many people mentioned this one, as well.
Said they did it and they really regretted it.
If you're trying to get to the Rio Hotel,
take a taxi, take an Uber, do not make that walk.
Mistake number 10 is never venturing off the Strip.
You know, the Las Vegas Strip is really easy to stay on.
There's a lot of bright lights
and tourists, like a moth to the flame,
are often attracted by the bright lights.
But if you want to experience the real Las Vegas,
you have to get off the Strip.
Take an Uber, take a taxi, go somewhere away from the Strip,
maybe like Chinatown or even downtown Las Vegas
and check out the real Las Vegas,
which people who live here, they'll tell you
they never go to the Strip.
There's a lot of great food outside of the Strip
and it's a lot cheaper, too.
Mistake number 11, thinking that
taking the bus down the Strip will be faster than walking.
It won't be faster than walking.
It might save you on your feet.
Particularly on a Friday or Saturday night,
this is what the traffic on the Strip looks like.
Pretty much stopped and so, in that case,
you'll be better off walking
or you'll be better off taking a taxi or Uber
because taxis or Ubers, they won't be going down
the super gridlocked Strip.
Taxis or Ubers can take kind of the back roads
that get through a lot of the traffic.
Mistake number 12.
I heard this one from my fellow Yellow Explorers quite a bit
and that is many people felt that
taking a taxi at all was a mistake.
Why?
Because taxis in Las Vegas can be expensive.
From the airport, they can long haul you.
It's known as tunneling, where they take you
through the tunnel to the 15,
instead of taking you on the local streets.
If you want to take the local streets
to your hotel from the airport,
tell the taxi driver you want to take Swenson.
Swenson is kind of the local street
that takes you out of the airport.
But what are the other options than taxis?
Well, there's plentiful Uber and Lyft.
Usually at the hotels, though,
Uber and Lyft pick up in a different place
than the front of the hotel,
so look out for the special Uber and Lyft spot.
Also, related to taking taxis,
sometimes why people think it's a mistake
is also, hotels can have really long lines for the taxis.
So, if you think you're just gonna take a taxi
and it's really quick, well, it won't be really quick.
Hey, and who do we have right here?
- Mahxie.
- Mahxie? - Mahxie.
- Good to meet you, Mahxie.
- M-A-H-X-I-E Music. - Alright.
- Gold plaque selling producer.
- Never a boring day in Vegas.
Mistake number 13, booking your hotel
on a night when there's a big concert,
a fight, or a big convention in town.
If that's the case, you'll probably be paying
three times the price that
you'd regularly pay for that same hotel.
Mistake number 14, if you made
that hotel reservation way in advance,
it's not rechecking the reservation
a few days before you go to see if prices have fallen.
A lot of travelers check the rates
maybe one or two days before they go
and realize the room rate's cheaper,
but only to realize that
the cancellation period was 72 hours.
So, make sure to recheck the room rates
four or five days before you go.
If the hotel's not getting a lot of people to book,
they often lower the rates and you can
rebook your room for a savings.
Mistake 15, going on a whim and waiting 'til 9 PM
the night that you're actually in Vegas to book your hotel.
You might find all the good rooms, they're gone
and you're ending up staying at
the Travelodge or the Circus Circus.
By the way, those hotels?
Not so great.
Mistake 16 is not factoring all those
sneaky hotel fees into the rate.
Many hotels in Vegas are charging crazy fees.
Resort fees, parking fees, and a lot of hotels
charge a deposit now and that deposit isn't per stay,
it's often per night charged at
the time you book your reservation.
So, if you're planning to come here on a tight budget,
make sure you take a look at all those fees
so you don't blow your budget away.
Mistake 17 is thinking that
the Mandalay Bay is close to the Strip.
It's that gold building back there
and it is really the end of the Earth.
The other mistake related to this
is thinking that the Stratosphere is even on the Strip.
I know some people try to convince you of that.
It's on Las Vegas Boulevard but the Stratosphere
is really the middle of nowhere.
And so, if you get a cheap room at one of these hotels,
you should factor in the transportation costs
going from the hotel to the Strip
that will quickly eat away any savings
you got from that really cheap room.
Mistake number 18 is thinking that that resort swimming pool
is going to be a relaxing experience.
This one was submitted by fellow Yellow Explorer Lois.
Lois said she came to Vegas.
She checked out her resort swimming pool,
took one look at the mob scene that was in it,
and said, "Oh, no, I'm not going in.".
Many of Las Vegas' hotel swimming pools,
particularly in the summer, are packed like a Tokyo subway.
That is busy.
One of the ones that's the most packed?
The Mandalay Bay.
You hardly have any room to even extend out your arms.
Their wave pool is crazy busy.
Mistake 19 is going in the summer.
Any time during the summer.
The temperatures of 118 degrees Fahrenheit
will really make you regret it
and if you were wondering why
those hotel rooms are so cheap in the summer,
come in the summer and you'll understand why.
Mistake number 20 is thinking you don't need sunscreen.
If you're out in Las Vegas in the daytime, you do.
Particularly in the summer at 118 degrees Fahrenheit,
the sun is strong, it is hot, your skin will be boiling.
This mistake was actually submitted
by a fellow Yellow Explorer
who is of African American descent with dark skin
and they said they never need sunscreen anywhere else
but they've never gotten sunburned anywhere
like they've been sunburned here.
So, make sure you wear sunscreen.
Mistake number 21, not dressing warm in the winter.
You know, I know you've heard it's so hot here.
I've been talking about how it's so hot here.
I'm here in April, it is 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
But in the winter, it's really cold here, too.
If you come here in December or January,
you're gonna need a jacket, particularly because
it gets really windy in Vegas.
So, if you're coming in the winter months,
actually check the temperature
and bring some cold weather clothes.
I mean, not like, snow clothes, but still
bring some layers, particularly something
to block the wind when you're outside.
Mistake number deuce deuce, that's 22,
trying to eat at fancy restaurants after 9 PM.
I'm sure you've heard Vegas is a 24/7 town.
Well, not really.
Vegas is 24/7 when it comes to the casinos
and maybe some of the fast food restaurants,
but the fancy, high-end restaurants,
they actually close and so, if you're trying to eat there,
you probably want to do it before nine.
Otherwise, you'll find out you'll be pretty hungry
or eating at McDonald's.
And this ties in to number 23,
which is if you want to eat at any of
the celebrity chef restaurants
or the high-end restaurants, make a reservation.
Pro tip: Most of the Gordon Ramsey restaurants
can book out up to three weeks ahead of time.
So, make your restaurant reservations well in advance.
Buying your water at a hotel gift shop?
That would be a mistake.
Why?
Because it's often $7 a pop
in hotel casino gift shops because they can.
Las Vegas is super dry.
You're gonna be thirsty.
Where should you buy it instead?
Buy your water at CVS, Walgreens.
If you've got a car, there's Targets, Walmarts,
and even Costcos for much cheaper water options.
Mistake number 25, being conned into
a timeshare sales presentation.
I heard this one so many times.
People describe it as being locked in a room
with three hours and no way out.
Madness, a waste of their vacation.
If somebody comes up to you on the Strip
and starts chitchatting with you
and asks you how long you're gonna be in town
and you think they're a timeshare salesperson,
the answer is always, "I'm leaving tonight."
or in fact, "I'm leaving in an hour.".
That ends the conversation real quick.
Now, I know some of you love the timeshare presentations
and get a lot of good deals out of them.
Go for it.
Everybody else, it's a mistake.
As a complete side note, this was unplanned.
Here in April, the Bellagio is doing
the Game of Thrones Fountain, which is pretty cool.
But also a mistake, calling these girls direct to your room
and expecting them to actually look like it.
I did have that comment a few times.
I didn't add it to the top 30,
but that was just too fortuitous.
The girls that come to your room
aren't the ones on the poster.
Mistake number 26 is paying full price for show tickets.
Show tickets in Las Vegas can be really expensive,
particularly if you buy them at the hotels,
at the box office where the show is.
There are tons of these booths on the Strip.
This one's Tix 4 Tonight.
There's a few other ones.
You can also find good ticket deals
on Vegas.com, on Groupon.com.
There's a lot of place to get discount tickets
so don't just check out the hotel
but do look for those tickets.
You can often get them for half the price
of what their retail value is.
Same goes for spa services.
If you book the spa service at the hotel,
it's gonna be really expensive.
But take a look on Groupon.
It might end up being half the price.
Mistake number 27, shopping at the stores on the Strip.
There are a lot of stores on the Strip,
but you know what, they're expensive.
Why?
Because they pay premium rent to be on the Strip.
If you're looking to do shopping while you're in Vegas,
well check out some of the outlet malls.
There's two outlet malls.
There's the Premium Outlets north
and the Premium Outlets south.
That's where you'll find some of
the best prices for shopping.
Mistake number 28, driving back to Los Angeles
from Las Vegas on Sunday night
or Monday night of a three day holiday weekend.
Oh my gosh, that's a mistake you will never do again
because a drive that is usually four hours?
Well, at the end of a busy weekend
can be eight or nine hours of your life
of bumper/bumper traffic that you will never get back.
Mistake number 29, this was submitted
by fellow Yellow Explorer Tim.
He said getting married in Las Vegas.
And then he said, "Just kidding, babe.", I'm sure.
A pretty similar one that was
submitted by Fellow Explorer Sam.
Sam said, "Taking my wife with me.".
What a big mistake.
Pretty funny.
And the 30th mistake you can make visiting Las Vegas,
and this would be the biggest one,
it was brought up by Jason,
it is not watching the awesome and insightful
Yellow Productions videos on Las Vegas.
Well, thank you Jason.
You'd think I paid him but I really didn't.
So, you might want to watch some of
my other videos from Las Vegas here and here.
Here's a link to all of my Las Vegas videos
and here's just one, the next one you might want to watch.
Well, I won't say goodbye because
I'll see you in this video.