Itinerary Begins with "I"

Ever notice that you seem to spend more time in Vegas getting to where you want to go than doing what you want to do? Especially on the Strip, where traffic can come to a crawl?

If you plan your day carefully, you can do all of the things you want to (and then some!) if you group like things together. Here's what I mean:

I get emails from the online form for a free itinerary where people check a bunch of items on the list... let's say: see a free show, go shopping, eat at a good restaurant, and gamble. Obviously you can do all of these things all over the Strip. However, with a little preparation, you can cut out your travel time and increase your fun time. For example, let's say your hotel is on the south side of the Strip (MGM Grand, Luxor, Hooters, etc.) and you are staying in Las Vegas just for two days. I would suggest the following itinerary for the criteria above:

Day 1: See the lion habitat at MGM Grand, have lunch at Backstage Deli or La Salsa at the Luxor, shop at Mandalay Bay, have dinner at Aureole. The gambling part is easy - anywhere you feel lucky and comfortable.

Day 2: Take the monorail (or car, bus, etc.) to Aladdin to shop at the Desert Passage. While you're there, see the Merchants' Harbor Rainstorm. Grab a bite anywhere at Paris. See the fountain show at Bellagio at night, have dinner at Olives. Again, gamble anywhere you like.

Simple, right? But when you get to Las Vegas, it's so easy to go from one end of the Strip to the other that you wind up exhausted from running around. If instead you go from MGM to the Luxor to Mandalay Bay, you've covered 3 properties easily and have saved considerable time, especially considering you can use the free tram when going from Mandalay Bay to the Luxor!

The same holds true if you are staying at or traveling to the outskirts of the Strip or downtown. If you're in Vegas for more than a day or two, chances are you're going to venture out beyond where you are resting your head at night, even if you think it's the best hotel in the world. The more you group like things together, the more time you'll have to do the fun stuff that you came to Vegas for in the first place.

So give those tired feet a break, plan ahead, and save time!