A few days ago, my wife received an email from MGM Rewards saying that you have an offer to book four free nights in any MGM hotel plus $750 free play credit and $300 room credits to use. She told me about that, and we immediately used that offer and booked a room at Bellagio Hotel and a flight to Vegas from Feb 5th, 2025, to Feb 11th, 2025.
In this blog post, I will write about our experience in Vegas. We have been there before twice, but this time, we did a lot more than the last 2 times. This time, we did more outdoor activities than staying in the city. We went to Hoover Dam, Red Rock Canyon, and Valley of Fire.Â
We booked a flight a month before the trip. Tickets were cheap. We got two return tickets for only $260 from Seattle to Las Vegas. I booked these tickets from Kiwi.com with Alaska Airlines.Â
Travel Day : Seattle to Las Vegas
After waiting for a month, our travel day finally arrived, and we were filled with excitement. My brother dropped us off at the airport, where our flight was scheduled for 5:20 PM. We arrived around 3:15 PM. Since we had already checked in through the app, we had our boarding passes ready and headed straight to security. Although there was a line, it wasn’t too long; we waited only about five minutes before going through.
 Our gate was N9, which was quite a distance from security. However, the good thing about Seattle Airport is that it has trains that connect to different gates, arriving every three minutes. Including the train ride, it took us an additional five minutes to reach our gate from security.
After waiting for an hour, boarding started, and we took our flight. The total flight time was around 2 hours and 30 minutes. We reached our destination around 7:30 PM.
Las Vegas Airport : Welcome to Las Vegas
We have visited Las Vegas twice before, but we traveled by road both times. This was our first experience flying into Las Vegas Airport. After arriving, we called an Uber and went directly to our hotel. The view of the city from our hotel was stunning; we had a fountain view from the 17th floor.
By the time we reached the hotel, it was already 8:30 PM, and we were quite tired. There were water bottles in the room, so I grabbed one because I was thirsty and took a drink. My wife then received a notification that we were charged $24 for the water bottle because there were sensors in the room. Luckily, we had room credits. That price was ridiculous! So, we immediately ordered some food and a case of 24 water bottles, which only cost $5. So we ate dinner and fell asleep immediately.
Day 1: Exploring Hotels and Casinos
The next day, we woke up early and got ready for our first day of exploring Las Vegas. We went downstairs and headed straight to Starbucks, where we both ordered white chocolate mochas and spinach egg wraps. After that, we decided to use some of our free play credits at the MGM. Unfortunately, luck was not on our side, and we lost $200 right away. However, on the last spin, I won $100, so we ended up with some money in our hands because the free play was just for playing and not redeemable for cash. We were happy about that.
After that, we visited various places and had a great time. Las Vegas is home to massive casinos and hotels, and we walked over 12000 steps that day. For dinner, we enjoyed a Panini sandwich. We were exhausted, so we returned to our room and fell asleep.
Day 2: A visit to Hoover Dam & Red Rock Canyon
During my time as a truck driver, I passed by Hoover Dam numerous times but never had the chance to stop and visit. This time, we decided to explore it. To make the trip more affordable, we rented a car since it was much cheaper than taking an Uber. The cost was only $12 per day for a mid-size SUV. We booked our car through Priceline and headed straight to Hoover Dam. went straight to the Hoover Dam.
.It was a cool place to visit. If you ever go to Vegas, you must see Hoover Dam. There are helicopter tours available for the dam, which you can do as well. We spent an hour there, and by then, we were really hungry. So, we went back to the city and ate some chicken rollers.Â
After that, we decided to head to Red Rock Canyon. It was a 40-minute drive from there. When we arrived, we found out that reservations were required. We tried to make a reservation online, but there was no cell signal, so that was an epic fail. However, I managed to take some beautiful photos from the outside because it was golden hour, and the lighting was really good.
After taking beautiful photos and videos, we returned to our hotel and ordered Indian food from DoorDash. It was butter chicken and tandoori roti, and it was delicious.Â
Day 3: Valley of Fire (My favorite One)
The Valley of Fire was my favorite destination. It is a vast state park that has been on our bucket list ever since we watched Allison’s video about it. We started our day with a delicious breakfast at Divine Dosa & Biryani. After enjoying our meal, we grabbed some coffee and then drove to the Valley of Fire. The drive took us about 50 minutes.
We don’t need reservations for the Valley of Fire. You can purchase an entry ticket at the entrance, which costs $10 for Nevada residents and $15 for non-residents. After obtaining our tickets, we entered the park, and our first stop was not too far away. We were amazed by the views and immediately stopped to take photos at our first location.
The scenery was stunning, with the rocks displaying vibrant colors. After spending some time there, we continued driving to our next destination. In this park, there are many points of interest, including Atlatl Rock, Arch, Visitor Center, Fire Canyon, White Dome, and more. This park is a must-visit when planning a trip to Las Vegas.
Day 4: Red Rock Canyon (This time we were actually there)
This time, we tried to make a reservation while we were in the city. There were many slots available because it was a weekday, and not many people were visiting the park. It was just $20. We made our reservation and started driving immediately to the park.Â
It took us 30 minutes to arrive. When we got there, they asked for our reservation before letting us in. Our first stop was the Visitor Center. It’s important to stop there because once you pass it, you can’t come back. You’ll need to complete the entire 13-mile loop and then re-enter the park, which requires another reservation.
At the visitor center, you can find snacks and information about the park. There is also a shop where you can purchase items related to the park. We bought a passport book to collect stamps and stickers from the national parks we visit.
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After that, we started driving to complete the 13-mile scenic route. We reached our first stop in about five minutes. There was plenty of parking and restrooms for convenience. We spent some time there, took some photos, and then continued driving to the next stop.
Red Rock Canyon offers a variety of hiking and off-roading trails. However, we were not prepared for those activities, so we chose to drive through the park instead. We made several stops to take photos along the way and completed our 13-mile loop in about two hours.
After completing our ride, we returned to Las Vegas to pack for our early flight the next morning. On the way back to the hotel, we grabbed some pasta for dinner because we were really hungry.
We had pasta for dinner and then started packing. It was already 10 PM, and we needed to wake up around 4:45 AM. Our flight was scheduled for 7:57 AM, but we had to return the rental car first before heading back to the airport.
We woke up at 4:45 AM to get ready and left the hotel around 5:30 AM. We drove straight to the car rental, arriving at 5:56 AM, just before they opened at 6:00 AM. They offered a shuttle service to the airport, but we knew it would take longer, so we decided to take an Uber instead. We reached the airport around 6:30 AM.
The airport wasn’t very busy since it was Tuesday, and there was no line at security. We went straight through, which took us only 5 minutes. After that, we grabbed some coffee before boarding the plane and flying back to Seattle. The flight took just 2 hours and 30 minutes, so we arrived in Seattle around 10:20 AM.
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3-Day Las Vegas Trip: Must-See Spots - Gurjivan Singh | Travel & Photography
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