7 Mistakes Las Vegas Travelers Make Every Day

Las Vegas is still the most popular destination for gamblers. But Sin City isn’t just for gamblers anymore. The city has worked hard to make it the entertainment capital of the world while maintaining its standing in the gambling community.

It doesn’t matter if you’re traveling to Las Vegas for the gambling or the entertainment or both; you want to avoid making too many mistakes on your trip. Here’s a list of the top seven mistakes that Las Vegas visitors make every day that you should avoid.

1 – Don’t Drink Enough Water

It’s easy to forget that you’re in the middle of a desert when you’re in Las Vegas. Until you go outside it seems like any other place in the world. But when you step out the doors of the casino when the sun is up the heat and humidity hit you like a brick.

One of the most important things every visitor to Las Vegas needs to do is drink enough water to keep from getting dehydrated. Even if you don’t go outside while you’re in Las Vegas, the air in the casinos can work against you staying hydrated.

Many people think they can get all the water they need from other types of drinks, but some drinks actually work against you. Alcoholic drinks and tea can actually make you more dehydrated.

Even if you’re drinking other types of liquids, make it a plan to drink some water every day. I like water so this isn’t a problem for me, but my wife hates to drink water. She has to set a timer on her phone to remind her that it’s time to drink a bottle of water.

One trick you can use is getting water every time you eat, even if you also drink something else. Make sure you finish your water with every meal. This helps you drink at least two or three glasses of water every day.

2 – Don’t Have a Plan for Their Trip

Las Vegas has so many options for gambling, eating, and entertainment that it’s easy to get overwhelmed. If you don’t plan your trip before you go it’s easy to find so many things that you want to do that you feel rushed and like you’re missing something.

I’m all for finding and experiencing new things, but I always schedule most of my trips to Las Vegas before I go. I leave a little free time in my schedule so I can take in a show or a new restaurant if I see one I really want to visit, but I don’t let myself get too distracted.

If you’re only planning to take one trip to Las Vegas in your life it can be difficult to choose between all of the options. But if you know you can come back it takes some of the pressure off. When you know you can come back you know you don’t have to do everything on your current trip.

Keep a list of things you see that you want to try, and when you’re planning your next trip you can include some or all of them. Of course, not everyone is like me and wants to have almost every minute planned. If you enjoy being spontaneous Las Vegas is a great option. Just get on the plane and go, and you’re not going to run out of things to do.

3 – Gamble Too Much

When I go to Las Vegas the main reason I go is to gamble. My wife gambles some when we go, but here main reason to go doesn’t have anything to do with gambling. It doesn’t matter what the main reason is that you’re going to Las Vegas; if you gamble at all while you’re there you need to be careful that you don’t gamble too much.

Las Vegas casinos are designed so you forget about the time and gamble as long as they can keep you at the slot machines or at the tables. You can’t see outside from most spots in the casino and they don’t have clocks on the walls. The casinos want you to forget everything else in the world and keep gambling.

The best way I’ve found to avoid gambling too much when I’m in Las Vegas is to set a timer on my phone. I budget a particular amount of time to gambling, and when my timer goes off I need to stop gambling to get to the next thing on my schedule.

4 – Don’t Join Player’s Clubs

Many travelers don’t think it’s worth their time to join the player’s club when they go t Las Vegas. Because they’re only visiting once or don’t plan to come back until the next year, they don’t think they can earn enough comps to make it worth joining.

This is a mistake for a couple different reasons. The first reason why this is a mistake is when you join the player’s club it puts you on the casino promotion list. Casinos send out promotions and special offers to members of their player’s club, so you can often get a great deal on your next trip.

The second reason why it’s a mistake to not sign up for the player’s club where you’re gambling is even if you don’t earn much in comps; something is better than nothing. Even if you just earn a free buffet coupon, it’s one less meal you have to pay for on your trip.

5 – Don’t Take a Jacket

Many travelers to Las Vegas forget to pack a jacket. They think that because they’re in the middle of a desert that they don’t have to worry about getting cold. But the truth is that when the sun sets it can get quite cold in the desert.

I always pack a light jacket when I travel to Las Vegas. I don’t spend much time outside at night when I’m there, but a light jacket doesn’t take up much room and there’s no reason to feel like you’re freezing when you go out after dark.

6 – Forget the Sunscreen

It only takes a few minutes outside in the Las Vegas sun to get sunburn. You might think that walking up the strip to a different casino is a short trip, but casino properties are big and it seems like it takes forever to walk far on the strip.

I live in the Midwest and if I travel to Las Vegas in the winter or early spring I’m not used to the heat and the bright sun. Unless you’re used to high temperatures and bright sun, the weather might be quite a shock to your system.

Pack a small thing of sunscreen for your trip and don’t forget to take it with you any time you’re leaving the casino. You don’t want nasty sunburn to ruin your trip.

7 – Stay at the Cheapest Option

I only made this mistake once, but it was such a bad experience that I’m never going to make it again. I was traveling to Las Vegas for a conference and decided to get the cheapest hotel room I could find. I found one close to where the conference was being held and booked my room.

It wasn’t far from the strip, but it definitely didn’t feel safe. It wasn’t filthy, but you had to walk through some scary areas to get to the strip. It was simply a bad experience, and it could’ve been avoided if I hadn’t been so cheap.

I recommend trying to find the lowest rates you can on hotel rooms, but I always stay at one of the main hotels on the strip when I go to Las Vegas now. I get promotions from different player’s clubs and I keep an eye out for the best deals.

When I want to go to Las Vegas I usually don’t have a particular set of dates in mind. This way I can take advantage of a discount when one is available, instead of being forced to search for a better rate on a specific date or range of dates.

Conclusion

A trip to Las Vegas is fun and exciting, but if you make one of the seven mistakes on this page it can ruin your entire experience. The good news is that with a little bit of planning you can avoid all of these mistakes.

The most important mistakes to avoid are the ones dealing with your health. Drink enough water to stay hydrated, make sure you use sunscreen when you’re outside during the day, and take a light jacket for excursions after dark.