Las Vegas Nevada 5 Day Itinerary

Five Days in Las Vegas: What It Actually Costs and How to Spend It

Budget for the resort fee before you budget for anything else. Every major Strip hotel tacks on $45-60+ a night, taxed, mandatory, and revealed only at checkout if you didn’t read the fine print at booking. Add parking (self-park usually runs $15-25 a day now, valet $40-50) and you’re a few hundred dollars into the trip before you’ve placed a single bet. None of that is optional, so plan around it instead of getting blindsided.

Where to Stay:

  • Budget: The LINQ Hotel & Experience, Excalibur Hotel & Casino. Expect the resort fee regardless of room rate.
  • Mid-Range: Flamingo Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.
  • Luxury: Bellagio, The Venetian Resort Las Vegas. Center Strip locations cost more but cut your walking time in half.

Transportation:

  • You land at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS), not McCarran; that name changed back in 2021 and a lot of old guides never updated. Rideshare pickup is not curbside anymore, it’s inside the parking garage, and Uber/Lyft both tack on a flat $4.50 airport fee before the fare even starts. Budget $20-35 plus surge to reach mid-Strip.
  • If a cab driver suggests the I-215 tunnel route, say no. It’s a known long-hauling scam that pads the meter on a route that isn’t actually faster.
  • The Strip is 4.2 miles end to end, and resorts are enormous inside, so “next door” can mean a 15-20 minute walk in 100-plus-degree heat. The Deuce bus covers the full Strip plus downtown for $8/24 hours. The monorail only runs the east side, MGM Grand to SAHARA, and skips Bellagio, Caesars, and Wynn entirely, so don’t count on it as your only transit plan.
  • Renting a car is worth it only if you’re leaving the Strip for canyons or dam trips. On the Strip itself, a car is just another parking fee.

Things to Know:

  • Set a gambling budget before you sit down and treat it as the price of entertainment, not an investment.
  • Hydrate constantly. The desert air pulls moisture out of you faster than you’d expect, even indoors.
  • Tip bartenders, servers, and bellhops; it’s expected and the service usually reflects it.

Day 1: Arrival and Fremont Street

  • Morning: Land at Harry Reid, deal with the parking-garage rideshare pickup, and check in. Expect the resort fee to show up on your folio.
  • Afternoon: Head downtown for the Fremont Street Experience. The Viva Vision canopy light show is free and worth the trip on its own; skip SlotZilla unless you specifically want to pay for a zip-line.
  • Evening: Dinner at Carson Kitchen downtown, then a Cirque du Soleil show like “O” or “Mystere” if your budget has room for it. These run well over $100 a ticket and are worth it once, not nightly.

Day 2: Pool, Views, Neon

  • Morning: Poolside at your hotel. Most Strip resorts run DJ sets and cabana service by midday.
  • Afternoon: The High Roller observation wheel at The LINQ runs somewhere in the $25-35 range depending on time slot; check current pricing before you go since it shifts by season and demand.
  • Evening: Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen at Caesars Palace for dinner, then a headliner if one’s booked. Big-name residencies sell out fast, so book ahead, not day-of.

Day 3: Off the Strip

  • Morning: Rent a car for Red Rock Canyon, about 20-30 minutes west. Between February and November you need a $2 timed-entry reservation on top of the roughly $20 per-vehicle entrance fee, so book the slot before you drive out.
  • Afternoon: The Mob Museum downtown is genuinely well done and gives you a break from casino floors.
  • Evening: Tacos El Gordo for cheap, solid Mexican food, then free Bellagio fountain shows every 15-30 minutes in the evening.

Day 4: Arts and Neon History

  • Morning: The Arts District downtown has real street art and independent galleries, a good contrast to the Strip’s polish.
  • Afternoon: The Neon Museum preserves old Vegas signage that the Strip itself has long since replaced; it’s one of the few genuinely historical stops in the city.
  • Evening: Joel Robuchon at MGM Grand for a splurge dinner, then Absinthe at Caesars Palace, which is sharper and funnier than most people expect from a tent show.

Day 5: Last Bets, Departure

  • Morning: Buffets aren’t the bargain they used to be. The MGM Grand and Luxor buffets have both closed; Bacchanal at Caesars is excellent but runs $55-90+. If you want buffet nostalgia, Wynn or Circus Circus are still open and more reasonably priced.
  • Afternoon: Last casino floor session. Skip the casino-floor ATMs, which charge $5-8 in fees; find a bank ATM if you need cash.
  • Evening: Depart from Harry Reid International.

Tips:

  • Book shows and dinner reservations ahead of time, especially anywhere near a major event weekend.
  • Loyalty programs from the hotel chains genuinely knock money off rooms and comps; sign up before you book.
  • Wear shoes you’ve already broken in. You will rack up miles daily just crossing casino floors.
  • Skip anything billed as a free show or timeshare presentation pitch; they run 90 minutes of hard sell and aren’t worth the hour you’ll never get back.