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One of the best things we did in Las Vegas was get outta town. This was not only for the sake of our livers and our wallets, but for sanity’s sake as well. The landscape of the Nevada desert provides such an beautiful, peaceful day or two escape from your trip to Sin City.

Red Rock Canyon

Rent a car and drive just twenty minutes westwards out of Las Vegas and you’ll find yourself in a completely different world: instead of hotels and Black Jack tables you’ll be surrounded by the red rocks of this fascinating nature reserve.

It’s $7 per car to enter the reserve and you can simply follow a 13 mile one-way scenic drive through the mountains.

There are numerous view points during the drive, with hiking trails beginning at each one of them, varying from 30 minutes to 4 hour hikes – so don’t forget to bring your hiking shoes, and sun protection, as you’ll be exposed to the desert sun everywhere.

Helicopter or Plane Tour to Grand Canyon via Hoover Dam & Lake Mead

When looking at a map, the Grand Canyon doesn’t seem too far away from Vegas – it’s 180 miles to be precise – however, the streets that you have to take to get there add up to 280 miles – which is quite a ride.

The helicopter and ariplane tours offered along The Strip are a very comfortable and exciting option, rather than sitting in a car or coach for 4 or 5 hours each way, you’ll be picked up at your hotel, driven to the airport and put in a small business plane or helicopter and flown to the Grand Canyon.

Most trips include a flight over Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. Starting at around $150 per person (without landing at the Canyon), going up to $300 (including one or two landings at the Canyon and a champagne lunch there) the trips can get pricey,  but well worth it!

Note: If you decide to do a plane tour over the Grand Canyon, make sure you’re booked on a plane that has the wings above the windows – otherwise there’s no point in paying for the trip.

Hoover Dam & Lake Mead

If you decide against a trip to the Grand Canyon, an easy trip to Hoover Dam and Lake Mead are easily done in a day, and even as quick as a morning trip out and you can be back at the slot machines after lunch.

Crossing the Dam is free, the power station can be visited for $11.

Lake Mead charges an entrance fee ($5 per car, valid for 5 days) for access to the recreational area and beaches, and cruises over the lake to Hoover Dam leave from the Boulder Basin marina, which is the first marina on entering the lake area.

Going in is worth the money if you want to take a boat tour to the Hoover Dam (Lake Mead Cruises offer brunch, dinner and sightseeing cruises), or if you actually want to spend some time on the beaches (not so spectacular) – for views of the lake there are various viewpoints on the way to Hoover Dam that can be accessed without entering the recreational area.

Have you got other tips on what to do on a day trip outside of  Vegas?

For those with the faintest interest in Vegas,  you will have probably heard of the Bellagio Hotel. If anything, you know it as one of Terry Benedict’s hotels in  Ocean’s 11 (it stars again in Ocean’s 13). Although being in the middle of The Strip, the Bellagio stands out of the typical Vegas hotels with its unique Italian theme and elegance.

Inspired by Lake Como in Italy, the entire building is built in the style of Italian architecture, including an eight-and-a-half-acre lake featuring the famous fountains and more than 2,000 hand-blown glass flowers on the ceilings of the lobby.

Opened in 1998, the Bellagio is one of the biggest and most elegant hotels on The Strip, and it does not only offer top dining experiences and broad shopping opportunities as well as an art gallery, it also has a wonderful botanical flower garden in its lobby.

The flowers in the botanical garden are arranged creatively, in different forms every season – in the form of snails, frogs, and other colorful displays giving off a wonderful scent.

Jumping water fountains and never stopping watering cans add to the beautiful atmosphere.

Leave the botanical garden on the left side and you will come to what is called ‘the world’s largest chocolate fountain’ in The Jean-Philippe Patisserie, a European-style pastry shop that not only spreads the appealing smell of chocolate but also offers fabulous Italian ice cream. Make sure you bring your credit card though, if you want to try it.With EasyToBook.com, find your cheap hotel in Las Vegas and all over the world!

We never meant to start our globetrotting adventure in Las Vegas. Instead a series of random circumstances led us to start in Sin City, but after three and a half cold & rainy years in England, the sweltering and sunny Nevada desert seemed the perfect kick-off for our around-the-world journey.

Neither of us are any good at gambling, and with no desire to lose all our savings to slots and booze, we set out to explore how to enjoy the city of Vegas beyond the sin.

Here are our Top 10 Non-Gambling Things To Do in Las Vegas:

1. Stroll up and down the Strip

The 4.5 miles between the Mandalay Bay and the Stratosphere offer nearly infinite people-watching pleasure. Either belly up at an outdoor bar/restaurant like the tequila and taco treasure –  Planet Hollywood’s Cabo Wabo, the silly slots and parrots outside the Flamingo’s Margaritaville bar, or for an Ocean’s 11 replay, score a spot at the fountain in front of the beautiful Bellagio hotel.

People-watching throughout Las Vegas, you are almost certain to see at least one, but probably more of the following: the heaviest (or even thinnest) person you’ve seen in your life, too many tattoos, people from countless countries, the most eccentric, or eclectic groups of rich or poor, lucky or un-lucky bunch of average Joes or crazy Susans and other interesting creatures than you’ve ever seen in your life. Lean back, sip your margarita and enjoy.

2. See Vegas from above on the Eiffel Tower

The Vegas Eiffel Tower (120m/460ft) doesn’t come anywhere near the height of the true blue Parisian version  (324 m/ 1,063 ft) but it offers fantastic views over the Strip, Las Vegas and the desert beyond.

Tickets are $10.50 per person – pick up one of the free Vegas brochures that are available up and down the Strip for a 2-for-1 discount.

3. Fremont Street Experience –  ‘Old’ Vegas

A trip to the Fremont Street Experience inspires the nostalgic, classic Las Vegas of the early 20th century before Sin City became the epitome for bigger, better, more.

Many of the famous hotels and casinos such as the Golden Nugget are still operating and you can feel the special flair that Vegas must have had in the 1950s.

In the 1990s, a roof was built over Fremont Street and area of Old Vegas was repackaged as the Fremont Street Experience in an attempt to draw visitors back after numbers sunk thanks to the explosion happening over on ‘The Strip’. We could give or take that darned roof overhead, but the casinos are more fun, there is more free entertainment, the staff is more friendly and apparently the odds are even better.

4. Explore the magnificent hotels

Competition among the hotels on the Strip is fierce, and Las Vegas is one place where the concept of ‘Less is more’ has gone completely lost.

Every hotel is an adventure in itself! Circus Circus has a big top, New York New York has its Statue of Liberty & Brooklyn Bridge replicas and even a roller coaster.

The Bellagio has its famous fountain show and Italy-inspired design, while the Mirage is home to Sigfried & Roy’s dolphin and white tiger garden and not to mention daily volcano eruptions.In Vegas you can walk by the Egyptian pyramids at Luxor, a near exact replica of Venice at the Venetian with its lake and gondolas, the aforementioned famed French tower at the Paris hotel and casino,  a replica of the Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace, a pirate battleship at  Treasure Island and and and… who knows what they will come up with next.

5. Take a ride

Several hotels in Vegas have added an adventure ride to their premises, but the most spectacular rides can be found on top of the Stratosphere tower:

Three extreme rides on top of the 350m (1,149 feet) tower – Insanity, which dangles you over the edge of the tower, Big Shot and X-Scream. If that’s not enough of an adrenaline rush, you can now also jump off the tower with the Stratosphere’s latest thrill: the Vegas Skyjump.

Other rides include:

• The roller coaster at New York New York
• The Las Vegas Cyber Speedway at Sahara
• Various rides in the Circus Circus Adventuredome

6. See a show

Vegas has always drawn the biggest stars of entertainment to have their own permanent show – there is something for everyone: comedy, cabaret, circus, burlesque, hypnosis, musicals… The biggest thing at the moment seems to be Cirque du Soleil, with currently 7 (!) different productions in Vegas.

Here are some of 2010’s top shows:

• Cirque du Soleil – Zumanity
• Cher at the Collosseum
• The Blue Man Group
• Le Rêve at Wynn
• KÀ Cirque du Soleil
• Penn & Teller

7. Shop ‘til you drop

Las Vegas offers some great shopping opportunities for shopaholics: Not only do most hotels have ‘shopping streets’ under their roof (Via Bellagio,the Wynn Esplanade, Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian, Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace, Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood, Mandalay Place), there are also a couple of malls on the Strip:

I. The Fashion Show Mall

Located opposite the Wynn hotel, the Fashion Show Mall has more than 250 shops and restaurants – clothes, shoes, accessories, technology, books, etc – incl. stores like Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Sketchers, Abercrombie & Fitch, Mango, Apple, Levi’s, Nordstrom, Bath & Body Works.

II. Crystals at Las Vegas CityCenter

The more up-scale shoppers will find satisfaction in the long awaited newly-opened CityCenter which includes shops like Prada, Christian Dior, Bulgari, Carolina Herrera, Hermes, Roberto Cavalli, Cartier, Versace, Tom Ford, Miu Miu, Paul Smith and Porsche Design.

8. Wildlife in Vegas

Even animal lovers get their money’s worth in Vegas – with several hotels having some fantastic animal habitats:

• Shark Reef (not only aquarium, Shark Reef also displays reptiles, such as golden crocodiles, and turtles at the Mandalay Bay ($ 12.95)
• Wildlife Habitat at the Flamingo Hotel (with Chilean Flamingos, African Penguins, exotic birds, fish and turtles, ducks and swans – in a beautiful lush environment with waterfalls – FOR FREE!)
• Secret Garden (including white tigers, white lions, snow leopards, and black panthers) and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage ($15.00)
• Atlantis Aquarium at Caesar’s Palace – divers feeds the more than 100 species of tropical fish including sharks each day at 1:15 and 5:15 p.m (FREE)

9. Get outta town

Red Rock Canyon, Hoover Dam or the Grand Canyon – check out our Las Vegas: Get Outta Town for more things to do outside of Sin City.

10. Vegas Challenge: The Buffet of Buffets

Success in Las Vegas comes from rising to the challenge. As we mentioned above, the gambling girls we are not. Our challenge, our Everest if you will, was food-based. It was the Buffet of Buffets – a 24-hour pass to seven of the biggest and best gut-busting buffet in Vegas: Caesar’s Palace, Rio, Paris, Harrah’s, Planet Hollywood, Imperial Palace and Flamingo.

While we may have taken the challenge very literally, (the Globetrotter Girls can proudly boast hitting 6 out of 7 buffets within 24 hours!), instead of testing all 7 it might make more sense to try out 3 or 4 in the better hotels. At $54.99 (Jan ’15) the Buffet of the Buffets is still cheaper than even two buffets, would cost separately. Skip the Flamingo and the Imperial Palace unless you want to do all seven to beat us :-). Go to Paris twice if you can, their buffet is by far the best of all.

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