5 Tips For Surviving Vegas

I got back from my all-girls reunion trip to Las Vegas Monday night and I am absolutely, 100% not recovered yet.  I was nervous before I left because I thought this old 26-year-old lady wouldn’t be able to hang, and if you ask the professionals at Urgent Care where I just left with a prescription in hand, maybe they’d say #Vegaswon (it did) but I still survived and I learned some things from it too. Here are my tips for making it out alive and having a damn good time while livin’ it up in the place where stuff gets weird.

1. Book well. Summer Splash, y’all. We attended the fourth and final week this year, but if you’re looking to plan a trip next summer, this is the way to go. If you like DJs, pool parties, skipping long (very, very hot) lines and VIP treatment, hit it up. We attended a pool party every day (and the first night) at different, beautiful venues and saw incredible DJs perform at night (Tiesto and Steve Aoki–we might have missed one because four days in Vegas is a lot of days). We got bottle service, a private pool (minimal creepers), free admission to the shows and even discounted plane tickets. We stayed at the MGM Grand where we partied at Wet Republic and Hakkasan, among others.

1. Statement necklace — When else do you feel comfortable wearing gaudy jewelry to the pool? The answer for me is never, so I took full advantage of my bling poolside. / 2. Shades — These pineapple shades from ApparelCandy.com are perfect for poolside tanning. / 3. Wedges — A black and brown wedge is perfect because it’ll match everything you brought leaving more room in your carry on for bikinis, plus I’ll take wedges over heels any day. / 4. Spray sunscreen — Call me vain, but I don’t want to sacrifice my makeup (and fake tan.. shh) for oily sunscreen, so go with the aerosol kind to keep that contouring on point. / 5. Waterproof mascara — When the beat gets going, the pool starts splashing. Keep your lashes lookin’ fly even if they’re not dry. / 6. Bodycon dress — Tobi always has ridiculous deals going on. I ordered four new dresses for this trip and saved 50% since it was my first time. / 7. Bag with strap — You’ll need a strap on your purse to make sure you don’t leave it somewhere to get swiped. I love this starry one from ApparelCandy, and you can find lots of other affordable wholesale clothing and dresses here.

2. Pack wisely. Everyone says carry on, and a lot of times I’m all, “naaah, I just want to throw my shampoo in a bag and have someone else deal with it,” but this time I knew it would be a horrible idea. I had flight delays left and right due to runway construction (um, hi, how was this not foreseeable to the flight booking staff..?) and I arrived at 12:30am after all the ladies had already had time to arrive, unpack, pre-game and leave (scantily clad) for a nighttime pool party. Had I waited to grab my bag from baggage claim (or not done full hair and makeup before hopping on the plane, for that matter) I wouldn’t have made it. Since I carried on, I was able to party with the rest of them from the second we arrived–aka after I sprinted through the lobby, realized I still had my liquids in my purse, ran back up and sprinted down to the pool again.

Bring sexy clothes/shoes. You probably already know this, but the ladies go all out in Vegas. You won’t want to be flouncing around in sneakers when the rest of the club is rockin’ 6-inch heels (also you won’t be allowed in), and let’s just say there’s no is-this-dress-too-short? or is-this-bikini-too-small? — the answer is always “No.” On the other hand, don’t make the mistake I made, which was to not bring any sandals. While the other girls ran downstairs to buy McDonald’s at 6am in their flip flops, I trudged down in my (very comfortable under normal circumstances and very cumbersome after wearing actual heels for hours) wedges because I wanted room in my carry-on for more heels. I never wore one of the pairs, so narrow down your choices beforehand. Also, don’t forget pool coverups — otherwise you’ll be stuck wearing a giant baggy t-shirt over your bikini as you walk through the lobby (it happened to us multiple times and it’s not cute).

DON’T FORGET SUNSCREEN.

3. Don’t drink the tap water. But do drink filtered water. If I’d known, I would’ve brought my water bottle with a filter in it (I have several!), but I didn’t and I’m spoiled by drinking delicious water out of my own tap on a regular basis. My whole room made the mistake of refilling our bottles out of the tap. Let’s just say my entire room’s stomachs were destroyed for days. When you’re already dehydrating the crap out of your body with vodka and 110-degree heat every day, the last thing you need is to run to the bathroom every five minutes. I can’t find definitive research stating that it’s hazardous, and maybe we were a room full of sensitive Sallys, but it tastes like butt anyway so you’re not going to want to drink it. Be warned that water bottles are $5 there (and Pepto Bismol was $7 for the small pack..), so if money is an issue for you, stock up at a grocery store beforehand or bring a filter. Hydration is important, people. You can’t be too hungover to go on after day 1 of 5 (more tips on beating hangovers here — Vegas IV bags not included).

4. Yelp! I’m a huge advocate of Yelp. Most of this trip was planned out for me beforehand, but there was a certain foodie on the trip (my new hero) who went on personal missions each day (despite partying each night) to find incredible food, like this, this and this. I, however, too hungover to think straight, went to the buffet in MGM Grand without Yelping it first and was severely disappointed. There are some amazing buffets, so don’t let this happen to you! Filter by “most reviewed,” “highest rated,” “open now,” “distance,” and “price,” depending on what you’re going for. I do this daily in the SF Bay Area — nobody got time for bad food in a foodie city.

5. Bring good people and stick together. You may not know this, but sketchy stuff happens in Vegas sometimes. Don’t be stupid. Just by using the hashtag #Vegas I acquired many promoter IG followers who wanted to give some fly ladies free admission to clubs. That’s all fine and good, but if you’re going to trust a rando internet fool, at least don’t go by yourself. If you follow my advice for #1, this won’t be a problem because they hook you up, but also remember that you need to be with people you trust. These ladies had my back, so when one of us got out of control someone else was holding it down. Don’t put your drink down unattended, don’t go to a stranger’s room, don’t go gambling while the rest of your friends are sleeping and know that there’s a good chance your phone will get broken, stolen or waterlogged — insurance and cross-body bags are a great idea (we had three casualties among our 12 girls). Oh, and share your photos via WhatsApp. I had never used this app before this trip, but instead of all of us taking the same pictures (and upping the chances of killing all our phones) we took turns and shared them in the group chat as we went. #squadwin

Follow these tips and you’re bound to have a semi-successful and ridiculously fun time in Vegas.

Have you been? Did you survive? Tell me stories!