I'm podcast host Joshua P. Warren, and I've lived in Las Vegas for years.
I love adventures.
I have personally visited every single one these places/attractions, and I can tell you they are the BEST things to do in the Vegas area for the price.
You don't need to be rich to have a priceless time in the Silver State.
Please share this page with others who want the local, insider's scoop on the best way to enjoy Vegas without breaking the bank.
*NOTE: Since things can change every day, please visit the link to directly confirm hours, information, etc., with any property you plan to visit.
Vegas Ghost & UFO Show
60 Paranormal Minutes in a bar! Ages 21+
See the best TRUE evidence for local UFOs, ghosts, monsters and other mysteries. PLUS, you can actually touch famous charmed and haunted items if you like. Take the ultimate selfies. This is usually available once a week at Millennium Fandom, the world’s most popular cosplay bar, just minutes from Fremont Street.
The Las Vegas Monorail
From 7am till at least midnight, this automated monorail will zip you all around the Strip, covering 3.9-mile (6.3 km), with stops at 7 stations near: MGM Grand, Paris, Bally’s, Caesar’s Palace, Flamingo, The Linq, Harrah’s, the Convention Center, Westgate, and Sahara.
Circus Circus Las Vegas
For all ages, this classic casino features a huge level of carnival midway games and a stage where free performances (like trapeze, juggling, etc) happen at least once an hour. You’ll also find an indoor amusement park, Adventuredome, with roller coasters, mini golf, and much more.
Peppermill Restaurant & Fireside Lounge
You must visit this iconic establishment in Vegas, operating since 1972. Adults can enjoy the lounge, with dim mood lighting and a mesmerizing water fountain with a firepit feature. The whole family can enjoy the restaurant, designed similar to a tropical rainforest, with GIANT portions of food at affordable prices. You’ll see why this restaurant has been featured in movies like CASINO!
Twilight Zone Mini Golf
Located inside Bally’s, this is the most unusual mini golf in Vegas! You’ll feel like you’re in another dimension as you maneuver through a mind-bending course, illuminated with black light, and featuring scenes from your favorite Twilight Zone episodes.
Bellagio
Although this resort is one of the most expensive, it offers some of the most famous free attractions. The breathtaking fountain show, free for all to view out front, operates daily. Fountain Show Hours: Monday-Friday: Every 30 min from 3p to 7p / Every 15 min from 7p to Midnight. Saturday-Sunday (& holidays): Every 30 min from Noon to 7p / Every 15 min from 7p to Midnight. Next to the lobby, you can freely access the Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, with giant, seasonal sculptures, spectacular art, and exotic plants.
Lake Las Vegas
30-minutes-drive from the Strip, this scenic, man-made reservoir covers 320 acres, and is circled by easy walking trails, freely available to all. On the waterfront are several restaurants and bars (often featuring free musical performances on the weekends), two luxury hotels, a golf course, and companies that offer watersports.
Silverton Casino Hotel Aquarium & Bass Pro Outdoor World
When you walk into this casino, you’ll immediately see a tall, striking 117,000-gallon aquarium full of impressive life like sharks and stingrays. Occasionally divers dressed as mermaids (or even Santa during the holidays) are also inside. It sits right next to a “Mermaid Bar” that features tanks of live moon jellies. A few steps away is the two-story Bass Pro Shop, with an indoor waterfall, streams, and various fish, ducks, turtles, etc. There is also a carnival-style game inside.
For video of a "mermaid," click HERE.
Valley of Fire State Park
About 50-minutes-drive Northeast of the Strip, you’ll find a scenic, 46,000-acre park, filled with amazing, craggy, red sandstone formations. It’s Nevada’s oldest state park, used to portray the planet Mars in movies like Total Recall and Star Trek Generations. In fact, Captain Kirk’s death scene was filmed on top of a rocky outcrop there! Bring your own food and beverages for a picnic. Open daily from sunrise to sunset.
Flamingo Las Vegas
Opened in 1946, this is the oldest resort on the Strip in operation today. Staying true to its theme and name, the hotel includes a garden courtyard which serves as a wildlife habitat for flamingos. The garden is free to all. Opened by gangster Bugsy Siegel, it has a rich mob history and features a memorial to Siegel.
Tom Devlin’s Monster Museum
Located in Boulder City, 30-minutes-drive from the Strip, this features the collection of local movie special effects artist Tom Devlin. Wander through a mysterious, winding hallway to enjoy his life-size statues of classic, and modern, movie monsters and creatures. The gift shop there is full of weird pop-culture items you might not find anywhere else. Spooky, but open to all ages!
Sam’s Town Mystic Falls Park
20-minutes-drive from the Strip, inside the Sam’s Town Hotel & Gambling Hall, you’ll find this small indoor park. For free, you can relax to the sound of a rolling waterfall, complemented by the soft chirping of birds in live trees reaching up toward the skylight 10 stories above. Also free, Mystic Falls Laser Light Show is always a crowd pleaser: Monday – Thursday at 6:00pm, 8:00pm, & 10:00pm; Friday - Sunday at 4:00pm, 6:00pm, 8:00pm, & 10:00pm.
Longhorn Casino & Hotel
If you want to save some money, yet still have a casino/hotel experience, you probably won’t beat the room rates at this small, old-fashioned but charming property. It’s 20-minutes-drive from the Strip, but well worth it for adults. Drinks are cheap, the 24-hour restaurant serves big portions at great prices, and there is often live entertainment freely available each night. There is also a coin-operated, laundry facility on site. They only charge a $10 daily resort fee in addition to the daily rate, which is far less than most Vegas properties.
Ethel M Chocolates Factory & Cactus Garden
If you drive 25-minutes from the Strip, you can visit a small version of Willy Wonka's factory! Ethel M features gourmet Mars-family-made chocolates, plus tours & a garden with 300+ species of cacti. If you're nice, you might earn some free chocolates. Or you can pay for a premium chocolate and wine tasting. It's usually open every day from 10am-10pm.
Pioneer Saloon
About 30-minutes-drive from the Strip, as you enter the sparse desert, you’ll find the oldest bar in the region. Built in 1913, this classic establishment is famously haunted, and has been featured on numerous TV shows. It’s also infamous as the site where actor Clark Gable waited, for days, to learn the fate of his wife, starlet Carole Lombarde, who died in a nearby plane crash. The walls are a memorial to this tragic event, including a piece of wreckage from the plane. The food and drinks there are fantastic, and the stories enrich the entire experience.
Fall of Atlantis at Caesars Forum Shops
This free show is an amazing, animatronic display of fire, water and nine-foot-tall talking statues. With more than 400 moving parts in each statue that comes to life, everyone, of all ages, should see this! It usually runs every day, every hour, on the hour, from 11am to at least 10pm. There is also a 50,000-gallon aquarium nearby with more than 300 saltwater fish.
Floyd Lamb Park
About 30-minutes-drive from the Strip, this peaceful, 2,040-acre property features a lake, popular for laid-back fishing, and shady trails for a relaxing stroll or some exercise. Built around Tule Springs, you’ll also find some old houses and buildings that once served as a ranch. It’s open daily 8am-5pm, and is near the Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument.
Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument
About 30-mins-drive from the Strip, Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument was established in 2014 to protect Ice Age paleontological discoveries. The 22,650-acre property monument is administered by the National Park Service. Fossils found at the site include Columbian mammoths, camelops and American lions, and range from 7,000 to 250,000 years old. Open daily from 6am-7pm, you can walk the trails for free, but don’t pick up any fossils if you see them!.
Chunk of the Blarney Stone
For free, you can rub some luck off the Blarney Stone at The D Casino and Hotel off Fremont Street. It's on the second floor, on a small pedestal around The Vue Bar and a line of slot machines. A sign explains: "The D has been bequeathed a rare stone from the famous Blarney Castle in Ireland . . . The tradition requires visitors to suspend themselves upside down for a proper kiss of the stone. If the feat seems too dangerous, just give it a good rub for that special D luck!"
Take Your Photo with $1 Million Cash!
For free, you can pose for a professional photo of you, and your friends, beside a clear case containing a pyramid of ONE MILLION DOLLARS CASH. It’s an amazing souvenir, and a great thing to meditate on before you go out gambling next time! It’s located next to Club Binion's and is open from 9:00am - 11:30pm daily. Must be 21 years or older to take photo.
Fremont Street Experience
This is one of the most famous streets in the world, and you can usually walk down it for free. They sometimes charge for special events, like New Year's celebrations. This “pedestrian mall” is covered by a gigantic screen, with 49.3 million LEDs. Lined with casinos, gift shops, and bars, the noisy space is jam-packed with a variety of street performers, celebrity impersonators, and buskers you can watch for free, or for a small donation. You’ll see zipliners speed overhead from the SlotZilla attraction. Kids are usually given access here, with strict guardianship, but expect to see some people wearing very little clothing.
Seven Magic Mountains
Open 24/7, this is a free art installation, on the side of the road, about 20-minutes-drive South of the Strip. A Swiss artist created seven towers of colorful, stacked boulders standing more than thirty feet high. These are intended to represent “A creative expression of human presence in the desert.” Installed in 2016, it was only supposed to be there for two years. But due to its popularity, the artist, and the community, hope to keep it there far into the future. Lots of people take selfies there. It’s kind of like Vegas’s version of Stonehenge.
The Golden Tiki
In Chinatown, you’ll find the Golden Tiki. This bar is open 24/7 and for adults only. You’ll feel like you’ve stepped into the jungle in this dimly-lit space filled with adventurous oddities, gaffs, and curiosities. The drinks and food are exotic. When I have guests in town, I always take them to the Golden Tiki for photos! Take home a cool, souvenir cup.
Frankie’s Tiki Room
This building has been a bar going back to the 1960s. You can sense classic Vegas history when you walk in the door. This cozy, kitschy bar has creative, fruit-based rum drinks, hand-carved furniture & bamboo decor. It’s small and dimly-lit; a great place to hide in the corner for a quiet conversation! No food, though. Take home a cool, souvenir cup.
Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas
This is my favorite area on the Strip, where I even spent my last birthday!
For free, you can walk into the main court and feel you have teleported instantly to Venice. Although you’re indoors, it feels like you’re outdoors, under a romantic dusky, Italian sky. A canal of water flows throughout, and gondola rides are available, complete with singing gondoliers. The rides are expensive, but it costs nothing to walk around and browse at the unusual shops and galleries. Sometimes the property also produces free, live performances, with singing, juggling, stilt-walking, etc, in an old European style. A must-see in Vegas!
Mirage Volcano
Boom. Pow. Wow. For free, you can watch this mountain of fire explode outside the Mirage casino on the Strip. Usually firing nightly, Sunday-Thursday at 8pm & 9 pm and Friday-Saturday at 8pm, 9pm & 10pm. The schedule may vary, and shows are subject to cancellation due to high winds.
The Wynn’s Lake of Dreams Show
Although the Wynn is one of the most expensive resorts in Vegas, they provide a stunning, complimentary light and water show inside the property. It’s billed as a multimedia experience that blends colorful puppetry, an immersive soundtrack, and state-of-the-art sound and lighting to create an unforgettable spectacle. Sparkling with 5,500 LED lights, the 3-acre Lake of Dreams is framed by a 90-foot performance waterfall and 1,500 pine trees. This is a MUST-SEE if you’re on the strip. It runs nightly, every half hour beginning at dusk. Although it’s free, you really need to at least buy a drink on the patio outside, overlooking the attraction, or you’ll feel out of place.
Bonnie & Clyde’s Death Car
If you drive 40-minutes South of Vegas, toward California, you’ll find a casino called Whisky Pete’s. Currently, they display the authentic, bullet-riddled car in which outlaws Bonnie & Clyde were killed in 1934. You can view it for free, 24/7, along with related artifacts, like Clyde’s bloodstained shirt, shredded by gunshots. Eerie history! It's sometimes loaned out to other museums, so be sure to call them in advance to check if it's there.
Hoover Dam
About 45-minutes-drive from the Strip is the Hoover Dam. It holds back the Colorado River to form Lake Mead, the leading water supply for the area. When built in the 1930s, it was the tallest dam in the world, at 726.4 feet (221.4 meters). That’s 171 feet (52.1 meters) taller than the Washington Monument. You can peer down from atop the dam and take sweeping photos. There are also impressive statues, historic plaques, a gift shop and an alcohol-free restaurant. You must pass through a security checkpoint before driving onto the property.
Lake Mead Cruises
Entering the Lake Mead national park costs $25 per vehicle. Once inside, you can enjoy many scenic pullovers and picnic opportunities. At the marina, which has a great bar and restaurant, you can sign up for a paddle boat cruise on the lake. For 90-120 minutes, this old-fashioned vessel, with food and alcoholic drinks onboard, takes you on a leisurely voyage near towering rock formations and even right up to the dam. It’s an unusual experience to take a cruise in the middle of the desert!
Aliens R Us The Flying Saucer (aka Area 52)
In Boulder City, a 30-minute drive from the Strip, you’ll find a curious shop with a large flying saucer outside. You can even take your picture, for free, posing inside the saucer! This is one of the area’s most notable UFO gift and souvenir shops. You’ll find everything from masks and posters to books and jewelry. They’re usually open daily until at least 4pm.
Container Park
This offbeat shopping center downtown was built from shipping containers. You’ll find a courtyard buzzing with people, plus galleries, a playground, unusual shops, bars, restaurants, and wild sculptures. It’s especially famous for its animatronic, 40-foot-tall Praying Mantis that often moves around and even shoots fire from its antennae Thursday-Saturday at sunset!
Hofbrauhaus Las Vegas
Experience Oktoberfest every day of the week! You’ll swear you’re in Germany, with a staff dressed in Bavarian clothes, giant mugs of beer, and all the sausage and pretzels you can stomach. Their lively bier hall encourages everyone to share in the revelry with live entertainment, community-style seating, and plenty of brew. It is the world's only true replica of the Munich original. All ages are welcome.
Red Rock Canyon
If you drive about 25-minutes West of the Strip, you’ll enter the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. It showcases a set of large red rock formations: a set of sandstone peaks and walls which were formed by thrust faults. The walls are up to 3,000 feet (910 m) high, making them a popular hiking and rock climbing destination. The 13-mile scenic drive is usually open daily from 6am to 8pm.
Mount Charleston: Spring Mountains Visitor Gateway
About 45-minutes-drive from the Strip, you’ll enter the soaring ranges of Mount Charleston. At 7,510 feet (2289 meters) elevation, it remains snow-capped much of the year. Heavily-wooded, you’ll find it hard to believe the Vegas desert is nearby. It’s an excellent place to cool off on a hot day. The Visitor’s Center has a variety of nature displays, gifts, and a large piece of wreckage from a CIA plane that crashed, in 1955, while carrying top-secret info to “Area 51.” Sometimes the center is only open Friday-Sunday from 9am-4pm.
World’s Largest Chevron Station
30-minutes-drive South of the Strip, you’ll find “Terrible’s Road House,” a gas station that is the world’s largest Chevron. It’s 50,000 square feet with 96 gas pumps. Inside you’ll encounter a wonderland of huge display items (like an airplane or a car), a giant Bigfoot statue, a restaurant, and sections filled with candies, snacks, alcoholic beverages, souvenirs and gambling—you name it. It’s a FUN stop for a free experience, and only an 8-minute-drive away from the Pioneer Saloon in Goodsprings.
Clark County Museum
If you drive 30-minutes Southeast of the Strip, you’ll find this vast museum property. It focuses on the history of the region with emphasis on the early Native American inhabitants, mining, the impact of the railroads, and gaming. Exhibits include several historic houses as well as a recreated ghost town. The administrator, Mark Hall-Patton, nicknamed “The Beard of Knowledge,” appears frequently on the History Channel’s Pawn Stars TV show. Open every day from 9am to 4:30pm, it’s only $2 for adults and $1 for kids—practically free.
Pawn Stars Shop
One of my favorite TV shows is Pawn Stars on the History Channel. The store is called the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, and it’s a 5-minute drive from the Fremont Street Experience. You can enter the shop, for free, and browse it like a normal customer, in a normal pawn shop, from at least 10am-5:30pm every day. You may even catch of glimpse of a Pawn Stars celebrity. Across the parking lot, Rick Harrison, who owns the pawn shop, also owns a BBQ joint with some of the best BBQ in town. There is a bar upstairs with excellent drinks. Also, Chumlee has a candy store downstairs. If you love the Pawn Stars show, this is a must-do experience!
Fashion Show Mall
Fashion Show Las Vegas is a shopping mall that hosts weekend fashion shows on a retractable runway within the mall's central atrium. The architecture of the mall is notable for "The Cloud," a 412-ton steel disk that hovers 128 feet above the mall to provide shade and a projection surface for advertising and events. This pet-friendly indoor property (YES, you can bring your leashed-dog inside) is jam-packed with all the stores and restaurants you might expect. Even if you don’t buy anything, it’s an interesting place to browse. Open from at least 11am-8pm every day.
Black Bear Diner
In the Vegas area, you’ll find at least 3 of the Black Bear Diner restaurants. Usually open 6am-10pm, they offer delicious, down-home cooking, similar to Cracker Barrel, at great prices. The environment is rustic and family-oriented. Last Thanksgiving, I even ordered my complete Thanksgiving dinner from them!
If you’re into gambling, you might find you win much more by playing at area gas stations and small bars on the outskirts of town. The machines are more basic, but they often pay out more frequently to attract visitors away from the Strip. If you can, each time you “spin” always bet MAX!
You might save money if you stay at motels/hotels that do not have a casino. Many hotel/casinos also charge an additional, daily RESORT FEE that is not prominently advertised. Be careful to read the fine print when making a reservation, or just call the property and ask if there is an additional “resort fee” before booking.