Spring Break in Las Vegas – The Ultimate Guide
As Spring Break closes in, America’s hottest destinations are starting to warm up in anticipation of floods of young revellers. As ever, Las Vegas is top of the pile in terms of the sheer numbers it will attract, the massive number of ways to spend your time and the crazy variety of ways to have fun. We’ve got a guide on some of the best things to do when your Spring Break hits and you find yourself under the bright lights of Vegas.
Encore Beach Club
For a classic Spring Break experience, don’t look any further than Encore Beach Club. Frankly, it would be a crime to let your Spring Break in Vegas pass without at least one stop-off to get wet at this iconic spot.
With a three-tiered pool complex lushly landscaped with pagoda showers, lily pad water lounges, cabanas and eight ‘ultraluxe’ two-story bungalows, it’s basically the ultimate pool party. It regularly attracts big name acts such as Diplo, the Chainsmokers and Dillon Francis, and David Guetta starts a Saturday residency in April.
It’s Spring Break and you’re going to want to get wet. Encore Beach Club is a must.
Fountains at Bellagio
If you’re scratching your head at what this one is, you won’t be once you’ve looked at a picture. One of the most iconic sights in Vegas, the Fountains of Bellagio gyrate almost as impressively as the city’s many top-flight performers.
The 8.5-acre lake has no less than 1,214 jets of water that shoot 460 feet up into the air. The free shows are choreographed with magnificent lights and more than 30 different songs, making for a hell of a spectacle. It’s so impressive it requires more than 30 staff working 365 days a year to keep the whole thing running smoothly.
For the first time ever the Bellagio has added an EDM show, too, put together by none other than Tiesto. The shows run regularly. Take a look at the schedule here and plan your Spring Break around it.
Gamble at a Casino
Las Vegas was virtually built by and for casinos, and it’s the casinos that form part of the other mega attractions that make Vegas so much fun, too. However, not all casinos are created equal – so it’s worth doing a little bit of research ahead of time. Make sure you know what there is to do, what your limits are, what you fancy trying your hand at and plan accordingly.
If poker’s your game, you should pay a trip to the Bellagio. New spots have come and gone, but the Bellagio has stuck around as a favourite among newcomers and veterans alike. This huge room has a massive 40 tables boasting a good mix of limit and no-limit Hold’em, Omaha and more. You can even get yourself a little neck massage right there at the table.
For slots, the best spot is arguably ARIA. It has one of the largest selections on the Las Vegas Strip and offers one of the most-exclusive high-limit rooms in Nevada with machines that cost up to $5,000 per pull. Perhaps don’t start with that one, though!
There are nearly 2,000 slots in all to choose from – all themed around a variety of niches, from music to movies and more. It really pays to have a solid understanding of the game strategy and the key terms used in slot machines. This slots dictionary is a good place to start.
Or, if you’re just looking for sheer variety you could do a lot worse than try your hand at Golden Nugget. It’s downtown’s swankiest venue and has the biggest variety of table games going. The managers there have historically welcomed trials of new games, so there’s usually something novel on offer and you can even try out games poolside.
Alternatively, if games of chance aren’t your thing you could test your eye for a winner with some sports betting. Caesar’s Palace is a great place to start and delivers a tailgating-style experience during big games. The pride and joy of the place is a huge 138-foot video wall comprising six oversized 12-by-15-foot screens, 12 50-inch plasma screens and 20-by-50-foot LED board showing lines on all the games.
See the Grand Canyon
Sure, you probably showed up for the bright lights, the mega structures and Las Vegas’s always-on entertainment industry. Yes, Las Vegas is arguably one of the most man-made places in the world, a city that treats the Nevada desert as a blank canvas on which to paint its neon display of decadence. But let’s not forget that the city’s within an easy enough drive of one of the great natural wonders of the world, the Grand Canyon.
A quick fact check on this epic spectacle – the Grand Canyon is 277 river miles long, up to 18 miles wide and a mile deep. It exists on a scale that, frankly, puts the Luxor to shame and overwhelms the senses.
Once you’re there, the park offers a wealth of hiking and rafting opportunities. Look out for the South and West rims, the Bright Angel Trail and Grand Canyon Village.
Dance all night at Las Vegas’s most insane night club
It’s difficult to verify, but being the most insane nightclub in Las Vegas arguably makes you one of the most insane nightclubs in the world.
Opened in 2015, even by Vegas standards Omnia is huge. It covers a massive 75,000 square feet including an outdoor terrace with an incredible panoramic view of the Strip. The ceiling is basically one massive high tech chandelier made of eight oval rings hanging over the main room of the club that move independently like a spaceship about to descend on the dancefloor. It even has state of the art climate control. Basically, it’s a nightclub from the future.
It also boasts talent like Calvin Harris and Afrojack, with celebrity sightings aplenty. It is, in short, the glitziest and most epic nightclub experience in a city already known for off-the-scale nightlife.
Ride some of the world’s scariest roller coasters
httpvh://youtu.be/ZAMjH-MBkVc
The Stratosphere Hotel is a classic example of Las Vegas’s tendency to take things to the nth degree. It offers an amusement park, but 109 stories in the air. Get spun out over the edge of the building with the highest thrill rides in the US, or maybe you’d prefer to jump off under your own steam with the Skyjump? Whatever crazy scare you’re looking for, the Stratosphere Hotel will take it to the extreme.
It’s also a great way to see the skyline, if you don’t mind being scared out of your mind while you take in the views. Not advised after a night out in Omnia.
Cruise the canals on a luxurious gondola
Or, if you prefer to see the views in a more relaxed manner, you might try a Venetian-style gondola ride instead. Take in Vegas’s own recreations of the Eiffel Tower, the Luxor pyramid and the canals of Venice from the luxury of a boat as you’re serenaded by your gondolier. You can even do it indoors, if you’ve spent a little too long at Encore Beach Club and need to get out of the sun for a while.
Whatever you end up doing in Sin City, the city is so unique your visit is bound to be a memorable one.