Las Vegas is probably most known for it’s elaborate hotels, dining, entertainment and of course for gambling. Before planning our trip to Las Vegas I was worried that my husband and I wouldn’t enjoy a vacation there because neither of us care for gambling. After doing more research, I realized that there were far more activities to do in Las Vegas other than gambling. So we planned the best week of non-gambling activities and had a great time in Las Vegas.
However, I will say that we did do a little gambling while we were there. And when I say a little, I really mean it. During my entire week in Las Vegas I gambled a whopping total of $2. Yep, 2 whole dollars – which I lost in a matter of seconds. But you can’t go all the way to Las Vegas and not try your luck… I’ve listed out non-gambling options below, including some activities I did personally, and other options I found through my Vegas research.
So if you aren’t a gambler and have ruled out Vegas out, here are 14 Things to do in Las Vegas Other Than Gambling that you could add to your list.
1. See a Show
In planning my trip to Las Vegas I was overwhelmed with the number of shows I could choose from. We didn’t have enough days to see everything we wanted and definitely didn’t have enough money. Let me tell you – these shows are generally not cheap! You can find some cheap tickets on the strip for the same day if you’re willing to take a chance on what you will see that night. I don’t like to leave my vacations to chance so I purchased tickets to Ka, Penn & Teller and Rock of Ages. Ka and Rock of Ages were fantastic, but I wasn’t thrilled with Penn & Teller. My husband and I did want to see a magic show while in Vegas though, so at least we can cross that off our list. I found some good ticket deals online that came with dinner before the show and excellent seats all on Vegas.com so would recommend checking out that site for your own deals.
2. Mirage Volcano Show
The Volcano is located by the Las Vegas Boulevard main entrance and nightly shows take place at 8:00, 9:00 and 10:00pm every day. The explosions are in tune to a rock soundtrack and you can feel the heat of the fire and lava if you’re close enough. A fun, free activity to add to an evening on the Strip.
3. Sigfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage
Enjoy a day outside at the Mirage Hotel & Casino exploring the grounds of Sigfried & Roy’s Secret Garden. This attraction is located near the pool entrance at the Mirage and is home to various tigers, lions, other exotic cats and also a dolphin habitat. There are numerous ticket options to choose from including basic admission all the way to VIP access and painting with the dolphin packages. We did basic admission and it cost around $20 per adult.
4. Bellagio Fountain Show
Before heading to Vegas I knew we had to catch a fountain show at the Bellagio. This was highly recommended by so many people I thought it might not live up to the hype, but I was pleasantly surprised. The fountains are choreographed with music an light to create a mesmerizing display and each performance is different (well, I’m sure after being there for a few days you might see the same one again, but we didn’t!). The fountain show takes place every 30 minutes on Mondays to Fridays from 3:00 – 8:00pm and then every 15 minutes from 8:00pm to midnight. On weekends you have even more opportunity to catch the shows as they start earlier and are more frequent throughout the day. This is a beautiful and free activity, so I’d highly recommend stopping to watch.
5. Shop at The Forum Shops and Watch the Fall of Atlantis Show
The shopping at the Forum Shops was quite impressive, with a long list of specialty shops, restaurants, and attractions to keep you interested if shopping isn’t your thing. You can also catch an animatronic show called the Fall of Atlantis that takes place every hour. The animated show includes nine-foot tall talking statues with quirky costumes, sound waves and heat to bring the story to life. It was pretty fun to watch and the best part was it is free! So if you’re in the Forum Shops, make sure to catch a show.
6. Explore the Las Vegas Strip & Hotels
Walking the strip during the day and evening to explore other hotels was one of my favourite things to do. I loved being able to see the hotels all lit up at night! There was also lovely displays and decor within each hotel. Some of my favourites were in the Bellagio, Wynn and Caesar’s Palace. e walked the entire strip at least once during the day and twice in the evening to admire the hotels. Plus this is an entirely free activity! You can get in a lot of steps and stop in at Walgreen’s to get alcohol to drink along the way!
7. Sit Poolside
We were staying at Caesar’s Palace and spent one morning by the pool. Unfortunately for us Vegas was a experiencing a heatwave when we were there, so the pools were crowded. I can’t remember how much it cost us, but at the time we did have to pay for towels. Lounge chairs were first-come, first-served and cabanas or day beds had a cost to reserve for the day. Looking at the website now, even lounge chairs cost money to book! The cabana and day bed prices have also gone up… good old inflation.
8. Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay
At the end of the strip sits Mandalay Bay with an aquarium boasting more than 2,000 animals! The aquarium had sharks, rays, sea turtles, and more! There are different tickets options to choose from depending on your price point. These included general admission, stingray or sea turtle feeds, and shark experiences (diving with or feeding sharks). Again we opted for general admission ($25 per adult) and spent a few hours admiring the different animals and a good amount of time watching the sharks.
9. Explore Fremont Street
We decided to visit Fremont street after an exceptionally long day exploring the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon. Since it was such a long day we almost decided not to go – but I am very glad we went to experience it. This is old Vegas – what I grew up thinking Vegas would look like and feel like. It was a very different experience than being on the Strip and had it’s own entertainment throughout the pedestrian only area. There were musicians playing, free concerts taking place, artists doing paintings choreographed to music, zip lining through the street, and a beautiful light show Viva Vision above you along the street. There were numerous restaurants to eat at and lots of souvenir shops to stop in. To this day I say this is a highlight of my Vegas experience and definitely encourage you to make the drive out to see experience it for yourself. Best part – once you are there the experiences are mostly free!
10. Visit the Hoover Dam
We decided to rent a car in Vegas and drive out to see the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon. It is free to walk and drive across the dam, however parking is approximately $10 near the visitor centre and if you want a tour of the dam it will cost you as well. We decided not to take a tour, but explored the dam from above and even went to walk across the Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge that spans the Colorado River between the states of Arizona and Nevada. We got fantastic photos from the bridge and the dam and thought it was a fun activity that was very low-cost.
11. Visit the Grand Canyon
Since we had rented a car already, we decided to continue our drive to go see the Grand Canyon. It was a long drive, with not a lot to look at except desert and the occasional cluster of houses. Once we got to the Canyon we purchased a bus tour and headed to the South Rim. It was an amazing experience to see such beautiful scenery in person. It was also crazy to me that you could get right up to the edge of the Canyon with nothing preventing you from plummeting to your death. There were so many people standing close to the edge for that “amazing shot” and this was years before Instagram was a thing… I can’t even imagine it now. Definitely worth a visit if you have the time to drive out of the Vegas area.
12. Drink as you walk the Las Vegas Strip
This one was just a novelty for us Canadians… we researched and the re-reasearched to make sure this was a legal thing, and indeed it was. You can drink alcohol while walking the Las Vegas Strip. But here’s an even better idea for you: don’t go to a restaurant to get an over-priced tiny drink. Stop at one of the many Walgreen’s or souvenir shops that sell alcohol and buy your booze there! We literally spent no money on alcohol at restaurants one the Strip (unless we were at dinner) and only went to Walgreen’s. Sure you’re not going to get a ridiculous souvenir cup with a swirly straw and umbrella in your beverage, but you can probably by five drinks for the price of one. But you do you.
13. Dine at a famous chef’s Restaurant
There certainly is no shortage of dining options in Lad Vegas. It seems like every famous chef has a place on the strip and of course, we heard the food is amazing. We decided to eat at Gordon Ramsay’s Pub & Grill and it was a a very tasty meal. You definitely pay premium prices for your food but it is a fun experience to visit one or a few different famous restaurants.
14. Shop at the Outlets
My husband actually enjoys shopping so he was all for visiting both of the outlets in Vegas. We went to the north outlets and the south outlets in the same day via bus. The bus wasn’t too expensive and was pretty convenient as you could catch it in numerous spots along the strip. We found amazing deals at the outlets (when the Canadian dollar was stronger) and got a little carried away. Definitely a fun way to spend a day browsing the outlets or any of the shops along the strip. And hey – window shopping is free!
So there you have it, 14 things to do in Las Vegas besides gambling. Have you been to Vegas? Share any other non-gambling suggestions below in the comments.
