Well, we did a thing! This working momma and her hubs decided to book a one-day getaway to Viva Las Vegas. If you live in Southern California and perhaps don’t have an abundance of childcare options, I definitely think this is worth exploring. You get to explore the city and engage in some much-needed adult time. As a couple, we really like to focus on doing family activities that involve our tot – but we hopped on a deal that was just to good to pass. I’ll walk you through how we travelled there, what we packed and the activities we were able to get through. Hopefully this encourages you to get out there and pursue an adventure.
How We Got There.
Let me begin by saying, the last time I travelled by air was in 2018. I became a mother in 2019 and then well the pandemic arrived. The only travel we have done since then has been by means of car AKA road trips. Hubs stumbled across an airline deal from John Wayne Airport to Las Vegas for $45 dollars. Hubs found the deal two weeks before our travel date in May 2022. And yeah, the price was for a Round Trip. Yep. You read that right. Now that price is well worth it, considering current gas prices in California. Now let’s go back to the airline. Spirit. Yeah, you’ve probably read tons of bad info. on them from flight cancellations and delays. But here’s the thing. Since we knew the fare was so low, we figured we could visit Las Vegas for a day and could bear any snafoo’s we’d encounter with Spirit.
So details. Yes. I’m getting there. We selected a flight departing at 6:48am and returning at 8:48pm. We weren’t staying over night so that literally meant no checked bags. Just a personal small item that would house the essentials for the day. We opted to pay the $20 (24 hour) parking fee at SNA to leave our car parked there. Super easy. SNA has a site where you can check to see if they have parking capacity available. I highly recommend you do this. We checked the night before and arrived to the airport by 5:30am. Security lines weren’t long so we got to our gate without a hitch. Our flight was scheduled to depart on time. We boarded the aircraft at around 6:15am. Lesson learned here, if you don’t have any carry-ons, wait to board until the very end. It’s much easier and you spend less time moving around the aircraft and getting bumped into by folks attempting to load their carry-on items in the overhead compartments. We were ready to take off on time, when the captain announced some electrical (that would later turn into engine) issues. We were on the aircraft for about 45 minutes before they decided to deplane us. Yep, that was unfortunate. I kept a positive attitude figuring that they couldn’t possibly cancel the flight since it was only an hour flight away. But I did begin thinking about how late I was willing to wait before cancelling my flight. Keep in mind our return flight home was scheduled for 7:30pm or so. We obviously hadn’t had breakfast yet so we opted for a quick breakfast with coffee at the airport. We had a good convo, caught up and made the best of it.
Good news was that by 9:30 a.m. or so we were boarded quickly and ready for take-off. We arrived at LAS around 10:30am.
Despite the delay, it was really nice to just grab your things and walk right out the airport. We followed the signs for the Uber/Lyft section. Once arrived we ordered our ride and within 7 minutes our ride arrived. Ride cost before tip $26. We got dropped off at the Link Promenade by 11am, it was center strip and we knew our breakfast plans were already cancelled.
TIP: One thing to note here is that we did not pay to select our seats. Spirit is a bare-bones budget airline, so they charge for everything. We were okay not being seated together. We downloaded the Spirit App to our phones previously and completed check in for both our flights 20 hours prior. Because we checked in together, we got assigned seats next to each other. Yay for the small wins.
TIP: As far as printing your board pass, don’t bother. Get the mobile app for Spirit and you can view your boarding pass that has a QR code. A texted picture works well too, since they scan the QR code at boarding. If you don’t have access to a mobile device then print your boarding tickets at home. I believe Spirit charges $10 for printing the boarding ticket.
Breakfast Plans
I had originally planned to have breakfast at around 9-10am at the beautiful Mon Ami Gabi. We’ve dined there before and the location is perfect. I didn’t make reservations since I knew I wanted to request outdoor seating that overlooks the strip. I was really looking forward to having champagne for breakfast, but alas… that will have to wait for the next trip.
TIP: Have an itinerary on your Notes section on your phone or mobile device. I had preplanned and researched all my dining and casino options. So, when our flight was delayed – I was able to make changes to our plans during our down time. This helps to reduce any wasted time during your precious travel time.
Drinks
We didn’t waste any time once we got to the strip. We strolled around the Promenade at the Linq to check out the walk-up bar options. They have so many. Don’t fall for the first one you see. Many of these had souvenir cups with a special for $10 refills. The last thing you want to do is carry around a souvenir cup. Or pay for the cup which you ‘ll end up having to carry or toss. You won’t go back for the refill if you’re only there for a day. We found one that made some really nice old-fashions and mojitos. I didn’t want a blended drink, so having it on the rocks was a plus. Drink cost $10-$15 each.
Having our cocktail in hand gave us the chance to walk around the strip and take in the views. We knew where we were going to head for lunch so we crossed over to Cesars Palace to gamble. Hubs placed some sports bets and I played slots. We both had luck so it was easy to walk over to our planned lunch destination.
Lunch ahem… more cocktails?
I had been so eager to visit any Vanderpump restaurant or bar in years. Huge Lisa Vanderpump over here! So visiting the Vanderpump Cocktail Garden located at Caesar’s was a must for me. I had figured we would have a nice cocktail and small bites for lunch.
Vanderpump Cocktail Garden is located right outside the Forum Shops a few steps away from the casino. We arrived by 1:30p.m and there was no line or wait to enter. Be warned, there is line staging area so be prepared for that if you plan to travel at peak times.
Let me tell you this venue is so chic. If you are looking for a romantic and whimsical vibe that is simply picturesque, then this is your spot! The $18-25 cocktails are so worth it so do not hesitate. Our waitress offered us these amazing hibiscus shots at the end, and they were a total hit! We indulged and midway decided we really weren’t ready for a meal, so we paid for our cocktails and left, amazed by the service and ambience. We will definitely be back here.
Casino’s We Hit Up
What’s a trip to Las Vegas if you don’t spend time gambling? We used our pre and post drink window time to gamble. As mentioned earlier we had a great time (and luck) gambling. These were the two hotels and casino’s that we chose to spend our time at.
- Caesar’s Palace
- Aria
Since we were there for a day, we wanted to enjoy the larger casino’s that offered us the classy and trendy vibe were after.
TIP: Enroll in the MLife and Total Rewards program. You can present your card when gambling, dining and shopping and earn rewards that can be used for future stays. This has often helped me earn great hotel room deals with the larger chain hotels. And no this isn’t a credit card. 🙂
Wrapping Up Our Day
I’m always a fan of getting to know area’s on or around the Las Vegas Strip that hold fast-food type places, because we all know that after a day of drinking you don’t really want to sit at another restaurant where you will be lured by even more cocktails. Our late lunch and what turned out to be an early dinner happened at the Shake Shack. It’s such a treat since we don’t have one in Orange County! Shake Shack is located by New York New York Hotel and is close to Park MGM and the Aria. So again we really were able to travel by foot everywhere on the strip.
Shortly after this meal we gambled at Aria and then hung out in a nice lounge to wrap up the trip. We ordered our uber ride to the airport (another $26) and arrived within 15 minutes to our gate.
TIP: Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) is not one of my favorite airports. I want to see the cleanliness of the airport has declined in the last 5 years and food options have never been great here. So take travel disinfectant wipes and plan to eat your food before you get there.
Childcare
What did we do for childcare? Mila had a sleep over at her grandparents and her cousin decided to join in on the slumber party fun. The sleep-over began Friday night since our flight would be the next Saturday morning, in the early wee hours. We had planned to pick her up Saturday evening around 9pm after our flight touched down. But you can guess what happened – yes, another flight delay. Our flight was delayed about 30 minutes, but the good thing is that we received the notification alert from Spirit through our mobile app and we were able to enjoy some more time on the Las Vegas Strip. We touched down at SNA around 9:45pm . Another down fall was that Spirit was unable to deplane us for about 25 minutes to due airport gate issues. We still managed to pick up Mila but had I known about the delay, I would have opted to have her spend one more night at my parents.
Would We Do It Again?
Yes, we would. Same airline and all. However, we did feel we learned some valuable lessons along the way. For one, we would stick with no reservations on the strip (just like we did). Because it would have caused undue stress. The same would go for any shows. It’s not worth the stress. Perhaps if I flied with a more reliable airline, I would then consider it. But overall, for a days trip – definitely worth it. Flight delays and all.
One thing that we did discuss was possibly having selected an earlier flight home, that would have helped with the flight delay and prevented a late pick up for Mila.
On our return flight home, we noticed that some of the passengers were the same on our flight in and many were couples that appeared to have planned a day itinerary of fun – just like us. This time around we learned to board the plane until the very end, and it worked out so nice for us.
We’ve already discussed potential itineraries for our next day trip excursion:
- Day Trip in Downtown Las Vegas – Freemont Experience
- Hotel Spa and Dining Day Trip
- Hotel Daytime Pool Party
I hope these tips help you plan your day trip to Las Vegas and provide you with some inspiration to get out and explore new things.
xoxo,
The Sun Queen