VMware Explore Las Vegas 2025 is almost upon us! In a little over 100 days, the biggest virtualisation conference will kick off in Las Vegas. Just like last year, I’ll be going again with high expectations! In this post I want to take a moment to talk about some tips and tricks to make your Explore a succesful conference.

Packing

Last year, I got a new found appreciation for humidity. Las Vegas is in a desert after all, but I underestimated how much of an effect it would have on my lips and skin. By day 3, my lips were all cracked and the skin on my hands was irritated, very dry and becoming a wound. The dry desert air, combined with non-stop AC really did a number on me. So the first tip: pack lipbalm and moisturizing creme for your skin! If you forget, just pick it up at a CVS in Vegas, you will need it.

Pre and post conference

Explore hosts a fair amount of international travelers who also like to take a moment before and/or after the conference to explore the area. We’ve done this ourselves last year and took a rental car out to Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon West Skywalk.

The visit to Hoover Dam was mind blowing! We’ve all seen pictures of Hoover Dam at one point in our lives, but you can’t imagine how big it is until you’ve been there! I cannot recommend this visit enough. During the tour, they take you to the generator room, you walk across the spillway pipes and get to walk through the tunnels inside of the dam.

After Hoover Dam, we drove to Grand Canyon West Skywalk. This one left us with mixed feelings. We saw the skywalk pictures and thought it would be cool to do. So we paid the general admission and the add-on to walk across the skywalk. We were all hyped up, right up to the point where we walked across the skywalk. Before walking across the skywalk, you need to put your belongings in a locker. The only way to get a picture of you there is to buy one from the photographers that walk around and take pictures of you.

That left us a bit annoyed and we were ready to head back to Vegas. When we took the bus, which we thought would take us back to the entrance, we were dropped off at another site. Guano point. Let me tell you, this spot alone was well worth the price. Once we started walking around Guano point, our collective moods changed completely! This place has everything you would expect to see while visiting the Grand Canyon. The cliffs, the valley, the Colorado river, …

After this, we headed back to Vegas completely energized (and still jetlagged), ready to start the conference in full.

Odyssey / Hands on Labs

While at Explore, you can count on me participating in the Odyssey game that the Hands on Labs team organizes every year. Last year was a blast participating. The games were about very familiar topics, like vSphere, but some of the questions were still challenging. To my surprise, I finished in third place during the first 2 games, which meant I qualified to participate in the finals. If you’ve never attended the Odyssey finals before, make time for it this year, especially if you can appreciate the art of the dad joke. The HoL team have made it a habbit to distract the participants…I mean entertain the spectators by shooting off one dad joke after another.

The final game itself was very challenging, I got the first few questions answered pretty fast but the final one threw me off a bit. Another contestant had already finished the game so I started to feel a bit stressed out, I wanted to win! Finally, after a few minutes of trying out different things, I remembered where I could find the answer. I entered the response and to my surprise I saw my name jump to first place! Fast forward another 10 minutes and I had really won the game! Never thought it was possible.

As the defending champion, I have to defend my title!

Community

For me this is the most important part of the entire event. Meeting up with people I know from all over the world and making new connections.

Hanging out

The hallway track is very good at Explore. Just walking around the conference, seeing familiar faces and having a chat before moving on to the next session or event at the conference. You never know where you’ll end up or who you’ll meet!

Leader reception / vExpert party

Last year, the VMUG Leader reception and vExpert party were combined. This meant there was a larger group of people, which made the gathering feel really alive! Hock Tan also stopped by to give a speech, take some pictures and do a bit of Q&A. It’s nice to see him make time for VMUG Leaders and vExperts, I hope to see this support continue in the future. Something I don’t doubt after attending VMUG Connect

After hours

As with any conference, there are some after hours activities as well. Since we’re still in Vegas, we wanted to hit the tables and play some blackjack. Now, I have to admit..I was a complete noob when I first sat down at the table. My partner in crime, Evert was gracious enough to give me a crash course in the rules and strategies to employ. We sat down at a low stakes table, together with Matt Heldstab . Matt’s reaction to some of the hands I played, yes there was shouting “WHY DID YOU DO THAT” going on, also played a big role in understanding the game better :D

It’s still gambling, don’t lose too much money and never spend more than what you’re prepared to lose!

Sessions

I would almost forget there are still sessions going on at Explore. Last year, I crossed off a huge bucketlist item, speaking at Explore. I presented 2 sessions, one by myself and another one together with Evert. Going into the presentations, I was very nervous but it all went well, I got a ton of great questions and feedback! Getting to sessions in Vegas is also a lot easier than in Barcelona. No need to walk 1,5 km (1 mile in freedom units) to get from the Expo to the breakout rooms. Something I could appreciate very much