The Ultimate Guide to Free Things To Do in Las Vegas

By Matt Lashley

Let's face it. You can't gamble every minute of the day and night when you're in Las Vegas. Of course, there are plenty of shows you can see. Of course, there are usually a limited number of them you can can because like most people, you come to Las Vegas on a budget. But this is one of the purposes of this book: to help people fill in some of their time in Vegas with many of the free things you can do.

Of course, there are many people who don't like to gamble at all. But without gambling, you can spend a lot of time enjoying yourself with many of the attractions here. If you come to Las Vegas with a lot of money, you can do many fascinating things. Some of which cannot be found anywhere else in the world. But again, most people are on a budget, so even if you don't plan on gambling, the many free things to do that are listed in this book will stretch out your money.

Or maybe you're coming to Las Vegas with friends, and you don't have much money to spend. You have enough money to eat and sleep, but after this, your bankroll is kind of thin. This book will show you all of the free things you can do in Las Vegas, and the most money you'll need to spend is $8 for a 24 hour bus pass. Not only are these attractions free, but they can be easily accessed by those arriving in Las Vegas without any transportation.

Las Vegas does not go out of their way to advertise all of the things you can do for free, because they want you to spend lots of money. Naturally, they want you to gamble, this is their top source of revenue. But they also want you to spend money on shows and restaurants. In years past, this was more of a way to get people to come to Vegas and gamble, but today it is a part of their revenue. And they're trying to expand their sources of revenue wherever they can. Hotels are even charging people for parking now. But if you know what there is to do for free, you can see Las Vegas on a budget.

This book is the ultimate guide to experiencing everything that Las Vegas has to offer that will cost you nothing. Not only will you learn about the free attractions on the Strip, but there is an entire section dedicated to free things you can see and do in Downtown Las Vegas. There is even a third section devoted to some of the interesting things to do for free that are both off the Strip and away from Downtown Las Vegas.

So before you take your next trip to Las Vegas, explore the pages within this book, and think about seeing some of the free things described within the covers. It will help your budget, and you will enjoy your trip to Las Vegas much more once you see the many options available to you. Of course, if you are already in Las Vegas and find your funds drying up, you can purchase this book electronically and read it with a Kindle or other electronic device while you're in Las Vegas, so you will be able to find something to do for free.

Most attractions described in the book have photos along with directions of how to get there and comments I make about each attraction.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Teela Books
• Release date: Jun 8, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386427629

Book preview

Table of Contents

Preface

Section 1

Free Things To Do On The Strip

Introduction to Section 1

Our Starting Point - The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign

Mandalay Bay - Valley of the Falls

Tram 1: Mandalay Bay - Luxor – Excalibur

Visit Ancient Egypt

The Tropicana Courtyard

MGM Lion

Hershey's Chocolate World

M&M's World

Coca-Cola Store

Tram 2: Park MGM – Aria/Crystals - Bellagio

City Center – Art Collection

The Miracle Mile Shops

Conservatory at the Bellagio

The Ceiling of the Bellagio hotel lobby

The Water Show at the Bellagio

The Wildlife Habitat – at the Flamingo

The LINQ

The Fall of Atlantis show – Caesar's Palace

The Volcano show – Mirage

Tram 3 Mirage - Treasure Island

The Runway Show at The Fashion Show Mall

Wynn water falls and fountain attraction

Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian and the Palazzo

The circus show - Circus Circus

Adventuredome - Circus Circus

The Strip Itself

Section 2

Free things to in Downtown Las Vegas

Introduction to Section 2

Las Vegas Downtown Loop - Free Shuttle Bus

The Union Plaza – then and now

The Fremont Street Experience

The Viva Vision show

Free concerts

The Golden Nugget's Nugget

Walking Fremont Street

Fremont Street East

Container Park

A Piece of the Berlin Wall

The Golden Arm Club

Smith's Center

Gold & Silver Pawn Shop

Gamblers General Store

Section 3

Free Things to Do off the Strip

Introduction to Section 3

Wetlands

Ethel M. Chocolate & Cactus Garden

The Sunset Stampede Laser Light Show at Sam's Town

The aquarium at the Silverton hotel

The Airport Museum

A Last Word

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Preface

Naturally, everybody associates Las Vegas with gambling and rightly so. Las Vegas is the gambling Mecca of the world.  But you don't have to come to Vegas and gamble. You can spend an entire vacation here and never make a bet. Most people know this, but what you may not know is that you can spend a lot of time in Las Vegas without spending any money on entertainment. The number of things you can do in Vegas for free is amazing. Of course, you'll need money for food and lodging, but other than that, you can find great entertainment in Las Vegas, and worst case, you'll only need $8 for a 24 hour bus pass.

People arrive in Las Vegas with a certain limit to their spending, and even if a large portion of this is aimed at gambling, it is seldom possible to gamble the entire time you are here. If you need to take some time away from the slot machines, table games or sports book, you can visit a few of the destinations in this guide. The places I describe cost nothing, and will provide some getaway time for you and your friends or relatives.

With this in mind, I have written this publication about the points of interest that can be enjoyed for free along the Strip as well as a couple of spots in downtown Las Vegas.

I have divided this book up into three sections. The first describes the free things you can do on the Strip. The second section describes free things you can do in Downtown Las Vegas, and the third section describes a few free things of interest that are found away from both the Strip and Downtown Las Vegas. 

Section 1

Free Things to Do on the Strip

Introduction to Section 1

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The Strip is world famous, not only for the casinos but also for the many things to see and do. Of course, a lot of what you can do here costs money, but there are a number of things you can do for free. In fact, you can spend a couple of days experiencing all of the free things to do on the Strip. 

Section one of this book describes all of the free things you can do on the Las Vegas Strip. This excludes most of the photo opportunities, because the entire length of the Strip is filled with places to take photos of. But I have included a few places of interest. Also, shopping sites have been excluded except for three unique stores of interest on the Strip.

The first free thing to do is visit the iconic Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign. From this point I will move north and describe other free things to do, so there is a general order and flow to this guide.

Although the distance from one end of the Strip to the other is too long to experience on foot, much of the Strip can be traversed  by using the free trams. I will mention them in the order they appear. If you don't have transportation during your stay in Las Vegas, we have two bus routes that can be utilized. These buses will not only get you from one destination to another on the Strip, but they will also get you to Downtown Las Vegas and back again. There is a special appendix on the bus system that serves the Las Vegas Strip. Although you can visit all of these free sites driving a car, I have kept the Las Vegas tourist visiting on a budget in mind throughout this book.

Our Starting Point

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Although people can debate where the Strip ends, the consensus is that it begins with the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign, or if you want to reference a hotel, the Strip begins at the Mandalay Bay. It is generally thought of the south end of the strip being the beginning. I think this has to do with the large number of people coming from California on Interstate 15. Whatever the case may be, I will begin the Ultimate Guide to Free Things to Do in Las Vegas at the southern end of the Strip.

The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign

Our tour will begin at the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign. If you get here by car, you can only enter the