My wife and I spent over $4,300 to visit Las Vegas for 5 days. Here's how we spent it and what was worth it. (2024)

There's no denying that what was once a cheap trip is now a much more expensive one, but it's easy to splurge when you're celebrating. Fortunately, we used points for our flights so we saved there.

Here's a breakdown of some of our spending, including what was and was not worth the money.

We stayed off of the Strip to save money, but we did upgrade our room

I love saving money by staying off of the Strip and adore the Virgin Hotel.

It has huge rooms — sorry, "chambers" — and a fairly quiet casino that makes the hotel seem relaxing after a busy day.

On this trip, we stayed at the Ruby Tower grand-chamber corner suite. We loved the split-usage room design, huge bath, Strip and Sphere views, and cacti throughout the hotel.

The bed was also so good that, after one night's sleep, I was Googling to see if I could buy one to bring home.

We paid just under $1,500 for our stay, including the $45-a-day resort fee (which most Vegas hotels charge). I thought this was excellent value compared to many other suites in hotels on the Strip, which started at $600 a night.

Although we weren't on the Strip, which would've been convenient, our Uber costs still weren't high enough to make this less of a bargain.

We spent a lot of money on food and drinks —and LPM was our favorite

LPM in The Cosmopolitan is less than a year old, but it is currently the best-kept dining secret in Vegas.

Everything about our dinner was exceptional, from top-notch service to delicious Mediterranean-inspired food to buzzy, beautiful vibes in the dining room.

I still dream of the escargot and sea bass with lemon and chili confit. Oh, and the burrata, co*cktail list, baguettes … pretty much everything on the menu.

We paid $346 for three courses and a co*cktail each. We ate a lot of good food on our trip but LPM was the best of the best.

We also got drinks at the Pinky Ring co*cktail lounge

We also stopped by Bruno Mars' Pinky Ring at the Bellagio, a one-of-a-kind co*cktail lounge that recently opened in the middle of the casino floor.

We walked past the singer's Grammys on the way into this small womb-like space. It had vintage vibes and a splendid co*cktail menu, too.

We got to see his longtime band, The Hooligans, perform, which made us feel like this was the most exclusive place to be that night.

We paid $56 for two co*cktails, plus tax and tip.

Bazaar Meat was our most expensive meal, but it let us down

We heard good things about Bazaar Meat by José Andrés at the Sahara from Vegas locals.

So, when we visited, we chose the most expensive tasting menu.

We were served caviar, cotton-candy foie gras, liquid sphere olives, three different types of tartare, Washugyu rib eye, and other dishes. We had A5 Japanese wagyu, which was cooked tableside and came with its own certificate.

We paid $760 for two of us, and the restaurant comped us a bottle of Champagne as we were celebrating.

Although the food was fantastic, I felt it was overpriced and the room too big to experience a menu of this quality. It lacked the personal touches you would normally get for spending this much money on a tasting menu in what would traditionally be a smaller restaurant.

Lastly, we had a few excellent meals at the Cosmo

Not a day went by when we didn't eat something at the Cosmopolitan. It nailed its food offerings.

We paid $36 at Egg slu*t for two breakfast sandwiches, $109 at Momof*cku for lunch, and $181 at China Poblano for dinner.

In terms of activities, we did a vow renewal and spent time at a spa

Of course, the reason for our trip: Renewing our vows at The Little White Wedding Chapel.

The chapel is a true Vegas landmark that even some celebrities enjoy. It was a bit cheesy, but perhaps that's our fault for choosing a package with a pink Cadillac. We spent about $250 total for our package.

The two of us also went to Awana Spa at Resorts World, one of the few spas on the Strip with co-ed spaces.

We paid $280 for two, and the Fountain of Youth pass gave us three hours of access to spa facilities such as rain walks, saunas, and experience rooms.

I got us tickets to my favorite magic show on the Strip and a burlesque comedy performance

We saw Piff the Magic Dragon at The Flamingo, my favorite magic show on the Strip.

It's hilarious, with mind-blowing magic, a grumpy dude, and a chihuahua in a dragon suit in a classic Vegas showroom.

Tickets started at $52, but we paid $80 a pop to be closer to the front. Piff even held a free meet-and-greet after the show.

We also caught "Absinthe" at Caesars Palace, which is circus performances, burlesque, and comedy combined.

Performers do wild circus stunts dangerously close to you. It's filthy, sexy, and full of energy. We've seen a lot of shows like it, but this is truly one of the best.

We booked a few days in advance and paid $151 per ticket for standard-view seating.

We made sure to book seats for 'Postcard from Earth' at The Sphere in advance

Watching "Postcard from Earth" at The Sphere — the largest screen in the world — blew experiencing Imax out of the water.

We got to spend an hour exploring the technology and talking to robots in The Sphere before watching Darren Aronofsky's film on the largest screen in the world.

We paid $94 for each ticket and had to book a few weeks out to get the best of the cheaper seats (try to get as central and high as possible).

It's expensive but worth it for the novelty. I wouldn't recommend spending more than the base price, though.

The Neon Museum was one of our cheapest activities

We went to the Neon Museum before sunset and took a 45-minute guided tour. It was brilliant to see Vegas history lit up in front of our eyes, and we took the best photos of our trip here.

We paid $33 each for museum access and the guided tour.

Omega Mart and Liftoff at Area 15 were also one-of-a-kind

Omega Mart is a wild supermarket art exhibition of weirdness that felt all the more nuts because we experienced it while jet lagged. It was unlike anything we've ever seen before.

Outside, we got on the Liftoff ride so we could go about 100 feet in the air and have a drink in the sky.

We paid $49 each for Omega Mart and $15 each for Liftoff.

Overall, we had a great trip

We returned home after five days, full and exhausted. We'd had fun, reconnected, and created memories that will stay with us.

Five days always feel like enough time for us to do what we really want without fully pushing our credit limit.

There's really no place like Las Vegas.