The mere thought of New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas can make anyone jump with anticipation at the prospects. The key to making NYE 2016 – 2017 in Vegas memorable and successful is planning ahead. So, if you’re choosing to join the masses ringing in 2017 in Sin City, 702 ENT has compiled a list of tips to help you feel prepared.
1. Book early
Hotel rooms sell out early and prices can be sky high for the holiday, since it’s peak season. So make sure to book your room ASAP to get the best prices and your first choice of accommodations.
2. Evading Traffic
On a run of the mill day, traffic can be challenging in Vegas, so you can only imagine how manic it gets when you throw in hundreds of thousands of extra people to the mix for New Year’s Eve. If you’re planning to celebrate on the Strip, we suggest for you to get there early, even if you’re going to attend an event or party within a casino.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police usually shut down Las Vegas Boulevard between Sahara Avenue and Russell Road to cross-traffic from as early as 6 p.m. If you need to travel across the Strip (east-west), using the Desert Inn super-arterial is the safest bet to get you from point A to B on time. For north-south travel (parallel to Las Vegas Boulevard), try Frank Sinatra Drive to the west or Koval Lane to the east.
3. Transportation
The best ways to getting around on the Strip on NYE are by taxi, walking or using the Las Vegas Monorail. Alternatively, if you have a car and want to park in a hotel garage, you might want to choose one that’s near one of the ends of the Strip rather than in the middle. It’ll be more efficient to get out once you decide you’ve had enough and want to head back to your hotel. But please, be sure to not drink and drive. Having a designated driver is something that’s always advisable.
4. For those who aren’t a fan of crowds…
If hordes of people dancing or huge crowds of people standing around drinking annoys you, then don’t pick a club, Las Vegas Boulevard or the Fremont Street Experience as your NYE’s venue. A lot of the shows in town do something special for the occasion, so you could go watch a Broadway show and toast to another prosperous year with a bunch of like-minded people.
5. Be sure to be dressed accordingly
While the sun is almost always shining during the day and the temperatures can be quite pleasant, it’s still the desert and it does get quite chilly at night, so be prepared if you’re going to join the party outside on the Strip to wear the appropriate attire. Save your cute little black dress for the indoor parties. That being said, don’t forget to keep hydrated and drink plenty of water.
6. Don’t forget Hotels’ Security Precautions
Be aware that if you’re trying to get into one of the jam-packed hotels on New Year’s Eve, you could run into some bureaucratic hitches. A number of Strip hotels, will allow only those with proof they are guests of the resorts to enter the properties during the height of the festivities outside. This is done in an effort to keep the crowds inside within occupancy limits set by county officials.
7. Just because it’s past midnight, it doesn’t mean it’s over…
So it’s officially 2017 and the last firework has exploded and your hangover is starting to kick in slowly… The city will begin to clean up the streets almost immediately, but fret not – that doesn’t mean the party is over! You might want to head indoors, whether it’s to get a bite to eat at one of several 24 hour cafés inside hotels, or join the party at a nightclub or to seek a little old fashioned Las Vegas fun in the casino. It’s also useful to note that the Strip doesn’t typically reopen until well after midnight, therefore if you’re in a hurry to leave, you’ll want to take note of our earlier tip on New Year’s Eve transportation and travel. If not, you might as well plan to spend the first few hours of 2017 stuck in a traffic jam.
For more helpful tips to keep in mind for NYE in Las Vegas, make sure to contact us at 702 ENT.
