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The 38 Best Things to Do in Las Vegas When You Don’t Drink or Gamble
If you’re one of the 86% of visitors to Las Vegas who don’t list drinking or gambling as a primary reason for visiting Sin City, this is the post for you!
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If you’re one of the 86% of visitors to Las Vegas who don’t list drinking or gambling as a primary reason for visiting Sin City, this is the post for you!
As the quote goes, “If you know how to live in Las Vegas, you can have the best time.” For us, drinking, gambling, and clubbing just doesn’t happen much at all — especially the clubbing, which is a whole story in and of itself! But I absolutely love living here!
So what is there to do in Sin City if you don’t want to give all of your money to the casinos or party all night?
Well, have read on. Here are the 38 best things to do in Las Vegas if drinking and gambling aren’t on your Vegas vacation itinerary.
Table of Contents
Eat at a Fantastic Restaurant
Vegas is truly a foodie city! We’re home to some of the best celebrity chef restaurants in the world, as well as amazing Asian, African, Central American and Hawaiian cuisine.
For Las Vegas’ best celebrity chef restaurants head to:
- Best Friend in Park MGM (Roy Choi)
- Bazaar Meat by José Andrés
- L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon at MGM Grand
- Jaleo at The Cosmopolitan (José Andrés)
- Restaurant Guy Savoy at Caesars Palace
- Momofuku at The Cosmopolitan (David Chang)
Local Favorites:
- Fat Choy in Eureka Casino
- Shanghai Plaza in Las Vegas’ ChinaTown. Notable stops are CrunCheese Korean Hot Dog, 85°C Bakery Cafe, Xiao Long Dumplings (across the street), Kura Revolving Sushi Bar, and SomiSomi
- Tacos el Gordo
- If you’re up for heading out a little further, try HoneySalt, Echo & Rig, and Zen Japanese Curry
Related
Everything Else:
- Din Tai Fung in Aria
- Las Vegas Test Kitchen in the Arts District
- Evel Pie on Fremont Street
- Viva las Arepas
Valladolid
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998, Valladolid is refered to as the “Pearl of the Mayan Orient.” Its colorful streets, historic churches, and delicious food (try the sopa de lima and the Valladolid sausage) make Valladolid a must-see stop on the Yucatan Peninsula.
After an afternoon of exploring Valladolid take a stop by a cenote! Cenotes are crystal clear natural watering holes that are scattered all over the Yucatán Peninsula (there are so many that an aerial view of the peninsula looks like swiss cheese!). There are 10 cenotes in Valladolid alone.
Of all the towns we visited while traveling throughout the Yucatán Peninsula, Valladolid was my favorite. There’s a real vibe to the city and the colorful streets just sucked me in!
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Mérida
Mérida is such an incredible city! If you want to get away from the beaches, I highly recommend a stop in the Yucatán’s “White City.”
Recommended Guided Tours
It’s so incredible, in fact, that it’s been named an American Capital of Culture two years!
As with a lot of cities in Mexico, Mérida’s culture is a blend of traditions from the ancient Maya and the Spanish conquistadors who arrived in the area in the 16th century.
Mérida is also known for its gastronomy! Some of the best food that we ate while in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula was here in Mérida. I highly recommend dining at Manjar Blanco (featured on Netflix’s “The Taco Chronicles”) and La Chaya Maya.
Try the popular drink Agua de Chaya con Lima and get an order of tacos de cochinita pibil, salbutes, papadzules, queso relleno, and sopa de lima.
If you want to try your hand at cooking the local cuisine, there are several chefs and talented home cooks who offer classes in the Mérida.
Check out these gorgeous boutique hotels and homes in Mérida !
- Luxury Colonial Villa in Historic Center ($130/night)
- Casa Jirafa, Lovely Loft in Santa Lucia (peep that amazing tile work!!) ($111/night)
- Modern luxury villa at the Casa de las Palomas Boutique Hotel ($115)
- Beautiful grounds at the Hacienda Xcanatun ($181/night)
- Rosas & Xocolate Boutique Hotel ($198/night)
Izamal
Izamal “The Yellow City” is easily one of the most Instagrammable travel destinations you’ll find.
From the city painted almost entirely in yellow, to the cute horses in hats that trot around the city center, you’ll find plenty of photo spots in Izamal.
Related
It’s safe to say that Izamal is relatively undiscovered at this point. We saw very few other travelers while we were visiting for the afternoon. It definitely gives off a small town vibe; there is very little traffic so it almost feels as if you have the town to yourself!
Since we only spent the afternoon in Izamal, check out this post from AwayWeGo for more information on hotels and restaurants in the area!
Cenotes
Mexico is home to many cenotes, but maybe the best ones are found on the Yucatan Peninsula — there are over 6,000 in this region alone!
Over centuries, cenotes were formed as rain broke down the limestone which caused the ground to cave inwards. This created a hole which, over time, fills with water.
Some cenotes get their water from rain while some others fill up with water from underground rivers.
Cenotes come in all shapes and sizes — and not all of them have crystal clear water.
And if you’re planning to stay near Cancún, you’ll find that many of the cenotes are located in that area.
If you’re interested in suba diving the cenotes, you’ll find that there are many dive shops located near Cancún that will take you on a tour inside the areas top cenotes.
About Sarah
Sarah hails from the land of fried chicken, sweet tea, buttered biscuits, and the friendliest people you’ll ever meet…Alabama! She loves exploring undertouristed locations and sharing them with you.
Outfit Ideas
Keep cool and stay stylish when you visit Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula with this outfit ideas.
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