Needing budget saving tips for Las Vegas

[Tamiele]

I am going to buy a little trip for my step-son and his girlfriend to go to Vegas for a few days. I have been there a few times but have drove through and stayed one night here and there. It has been overwhelming the little bit that I was there so I really don't know too much.

Going to need flights (Calgary to Vegas) & hotel. Was looking on Expedia and can do some for around $1100 for 4 nights at a reasonable place to stay. They don't need top notch accommodations but not as bad as Circus Circus please.

I also wondered if I can purchase vouchers that give them access to a hotel's buffet/restaurant for the entire time they are staying there??

Some hotels, like the Orleans, are off of the strip but provide free shuttle down there. Is staying on the strip or off the strip that much of an inconvenience??

They are 20-something kids who will walk and see everything they can from morning till night.

I have agreed to pay for hotel, flight and meals. Keeping it to hopefully not much more than $1200 but can go up a bit.

I am hoping there are some people on this board who have that knowledge of Vegas to know how to put a good trip together for cheaper.

I also want to have a list of free stuff for them to do/see. If they chose to pay for shows/attractions over and above that would be up to them to pay for it.

I recall once seeing an offer that the Stratosphere room package offering unlimited access to the rides as well. That would be something I would be interested in.

So, in summary, I would like to purchase Flights, hotel with attraction package for 4 nights, and meal vouchers all for between $1000-$1500 if that would even be possible. Anyone have any ideas or advice to guide me in my research, I would be grateful. Thank you.

[Garrett240]

We just got back from there a few days ago.

My kids are all younger (14 years old to 4 years old) so we didn't do too many things on the Strip. I used LasVegas.com and TripAdvisor.com before leaving. Trip Advisor has a free app that I downloaded on my iTouch. It gave good ideas for free things to do.

I did find that some of the buffets allow you buy a 24 hour pass. So you could come and go at a certain buffet for 24 hours. I would suggest that they have a late dinner one day, buy a 24 hour pass to enter. Then they can have the dinner, breakfast, lunch and an early dinner the next day. The 24 hour pass was just a little more than a dinner at the buffet. The internet tells me they are at Caesar's Entertainment properties with buffets (Harrah's, Rio, Planet Hollywood, Flamingo, Imperial Palace, Caesar's Palace andParis). My family did not do the buffets. I don't know if you can purchase the meals in advance or not.

[Tamiele]

Thank you for your reply.

[techskip]

Sunday-Thursday is your best bet, but honestly it will cost you more regardless because it's officially "summer time". If you can hold off until after Summer the deals will be better AND the weather will be nicer (it was 110 F on the Strip today). Weather like that limits the sightseeing to evenings.

There are a lot of free and low cost things to take in depending on their tastes. Again I'd HIGHLY recommend waiting until after Summer to do the trip.

[TCadillac]

Hotwire.com is your best bet for the cheapest round trip flight. IMO staying somewhere on the strip is definitely worth it. Sometimes those shuttles from off the strip casinos aren't consistent to say the least and taxi rides add up. Check out Priceline for hotels. You can find good deals for decent hotels on the strip such as the Flamingo, Luxor, Ballys, Monte Carlo, etc. for around the $40 - $50 range per night. Some (most) hotels charge resort fees that are $15 - $20 extra per night so look out for that.

[1Disneylandfan]

Having mid-strip location is always a plus. I stayed at Harrah's a few months ago for like $41 a night. It was a sale going on at hotels.com Since I'm in the USA I always use Southwest for flights. Maybe you could fly into a major city within the US and then hop on to a Southwest flight, that might be cheaper in cost. Use kayak.com for checking flights and hotels as well.

Keep in mind like others have said that Vegas tacks on quiet a bit in resort fees and taxes. During summer the temperatures are high but hotel costs run cheaper. I've been in July and yes it was hot but your inside with a/c majority of the time, even when your walking in between casinos it's not that bad. If you're walking the strip, I would do that at night, besides Vegas lit up at night is beautiful.

[Exprmnt626]

I've been to Vegas many, many times, and honestly the best time of year for room rates is the week preceding Christmas. It's even better if you sign up online for specials through e-mail from the properties you're interested in. Arriving on a Sunday is also a good idea; the properties fall all over themselves for a Sunday arrival, since most visitors check out on Sunday. It's been said before but the Caesars family (Harrah's, Flamingo, Bally's, Imperial Palace, Paris Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood, Rio) tend to have good rack rates and a decent players' club program. With the opening of CityCenter the south end of the Strip has also dropped rates on certain days. The Luxor is a nice option South Strip.

[TCadillac]

Just booked Bill's Gambling Saloon for $34 bucks a night for 4th of July week. You can't beat that.... middle of the strip access to the Flamingo pool, relatively cheap food on the premise, no resort fee, cheap gambling. When it comes to meals too... look off the strip. That's where you find some of the best deals. There are a lot of tasty cheap eats off Paradise Rd., Chinatown, near the University etc.

[Koutesu]

Just booked Bill's Gambling Saloon for $34 bucks a night for 4th of July week. You can't beat that.... middle of the strip access to the Flamingo pool, relatively cheap food on the premise, no resort fee, cheap gambling. When it comes to meals too... look off the strip. That's where you find some of the best deals. There are a lot of tasty cheap eats off Paradise Rd., Chinatown, near the University etc.

Great deal!

It's true December mid-week is inexpensive. Stayed at Excalibur for about $25/night and in January I stayed in the Skyrise Tower at Circus Circus for about that price (they recently refreshed the rooms and replaced all furniture).

One of my coworkers often goes to Laughlin and Las Vegas and holds a player's card for her favorite casinos. She usually asks the casinos when booking for whatever freebies they can give her. She's gotten free rooms at Monte Carlo as well as food credits toward free food.

[Exprmnt626]

Just booked Bill's Gambling Saloon for $34 bucks a night for 4th of July week. You can't beat that.... middle of the strip access to the Flamingo pool, relatively cheap food on the premise, no resort fee, cheap gambling. When it comes to meals too... look off the strip. That's where you find some of the best deals. There are a lot of tasty cheap eats off Paradise Rd., Chinatown, near the University etc.

True, my favorite place to eat off-Strip is Lotus of Siam on E Sahara. Great prices and excellent food.

[mmeleota]

Whatever you do, please do not get sucked into any "great" deal you may find for the Stratoshpere. The location is not the best and is located on the far North end of the Strip. You will be better off with Excalibur, Luxor, Flamingo or Bally's (depending on your desired location). Excalibur and Luxor are on the South end (near MGM & City Center) of the Strip and Flamingo and Bally's are central (near Caesar's Palace & Bellagio).
On Strip is definitely the best bet if they will want to be out all the time...like another poster mentioned, the shuttles are not always well structured.
As far as food goes, I know that there are certain properties that offer the buffet passes, but I'm not sure if they can be prepaid or not. Also, there are several properties that charge resort fees...so that is also something to consider. Also keep an eye out for packages that include things such as show tickets, nightclub passes, or attraction passes as "added value".

I moved away from there about 6 months ago and there were still fabulous deals to be had, but I haven't looked recently.

Good luck with the travel hunt!

[nightro]

Whatever you do, please do not get sucked into any "great" deal you may find for the Stratoshpere. The location is not the best and is located on the far North end of the Strip. You will be better off with Excalibur, Luxor, Flamingo or Bally's (depending on your desired location). Excalibur and Luxor are on the South end (near MGM & City Center) of the Strip and Flamingo and Bally's are central (near Caesar's Palace & Bellagio).
On Strip is definitely the best bet if they will want to be out all the time...like another poster mentioned, the shuttles are not always well structured.
As far as food goes, I know that there are certain properties that offer the buffet passes, but I'm not sure if they can be prepaid or not. Also, there are several properties that charge resort fees...so that is also something to consider. Also keep an eye out for packages that include things such as show tickets, nightclub passes, or attraction passes as "added value".

I moved away from there about 6 months ago and there were still fabulous deals to be had, but I haven't looked recently.

Good luck with the travel hunt!

Sorry, but this is not good advice. Luxor has $18 per night resort fees and Excalibur has $15 per night resort fees. Those do not sound like "great" deals to me. I was very angry the last time I booked a $37 rate at Luxor and upon my aarival being told of this ridiculous fee. I will never stay there again. the rooms are also beat up and have not been remodeled in years.

To not consider the Statosphere is really just silly. I booked the Stratosphere on what was a GREAT deal advertised on this site. Weekday for $34 per night and included tower admission for my family of four. That saved me $60 right there. Sure it is on the far end of the strip, but the hotel was remodeled 1 year ago and is very nice. I just used the deuce bus to get around no problem. Stratosphere did have a $7.50 per night resort fee, but compared to the others on the strip i'd have to say it is probably one of the lowest. I checked the reviews on trip advisor before I booked and seesm that the reviews lean pretty heavily to favorable so i am not alone in thinking Stratosphere is a good value.