Need help please with budget trip to Vegas

[Tink3815]

After tossing the idea around for a while now we have deceided to visit Vegas for the first time at the end of March for a week. We do not gamble but it seems like there are enough non gambling activities to keep us happy and busy. Not to mention warm weather!!

Here's the plan:
Free flights using Southwest Rapid Rewards

Room deal from MGM Grand email Fri and Sat-$90 and $118 Sun-Thurs $48. (also includes buy 1 / 1 free buffet) Do you think this is a good deal?? Is this one of the better hotels?

Week car rental through Dollar for 203. Do we really need a car? (we do want to go to Hoover Dam ).

Possible inexpensive show (75. tops a person)- any ideas??

Any free not to miss shows.

Any suggestions for good cheap places to eat.

I could write a book about Disney on a budget but this is all new to me. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Vivianne]

For starters may I suggest cheapovegas.com?

We went a few years ago and found the wax museum on the strip interesting. Make sure to take your camera along for photo ops with as many celebrities in one day. Each hotel is a sight to behold. We don't gamble and we toured as many hotels as we could. We ate at the buffets at the Mirage and Bellagio/a bit pricey but well worth it. We saw the Mystere Cirque show. Prices vary but just sitting across the aisle at the next price level down from the pricer seats is worth it. There's a free prate show just outside the Treasure Island hotel/take note of the time we missed it. The Bellagio as a nice show outside their hotel with water fountains/sprays set to music. Take comfortable shoes along...and walk and walk.....

 

[gacompguy]

You can probably get away without having a rental car. My wife and I went to Vegas last April and we probably could have gotten away without having a car. Gray Line has a shuttle service that will take you from the airport to your hotel that isn't very expensive. Gray Line also has a bus tour that will take you to Hoover Dam. I would also recommend getting a pass for the length of your stay for the monorail. You can get to just about everything from one of the monorail stations. My wife and I found it easier to get around that way than by car.

You can probably get a cheaper room if you look somewhere like Travelocity (which is where we booked our Spring '09 trip). Personally, I try to stick to the main area of The Strip when booking a room. You can get really cheap rooms at places like Stratosphere and Circus Circus; but, those hotels are much older and at the far end of The Strip. We stayed at The Signature for about $80 a night (not including resort fees).

We went to Blue Man Group a few years back and had a really good time. Bodies at Luxor this trip was really impressive. For free, definitely hang out in front of Bellagio after dark and catch a few of the fountain shows.

Food can be as much or as little as you're willing to spend. MGM Grand along with most of the resorts have food courts. You'll find the food is a little more expensive than you're probably used to, but still cheaper than the sit down restaurants.

 

[LeslieG]

If you're at MGM, check out the discount ticket place beside it. I can't think of the exact name, but you can get some great deals for shows the same evening.

Compare rental car rates. Sometimes you can really get great deals. I thought the monorail was kind of expensive, and personally I hate bus tours. Parking everywhere is free too. So definitely compare the costs of a car vs. no car. It might not be that different. Or maybe just get a car for a portion of your trip.

 

[finz2left]

MGM is beautiful and close to the Luxor, NY NY, and easily walkable to other nice hotels like Bellagio, Wynn, etc.

Money saving: hit Buffets at late lunch and eat well --- cheaper than dinner and they'll start bringing out dinner food. Or, eat at small cafes inside NY NY, MGM, etc.

We can spend all day walking through the Caesar's palace shops -- like a walk-through Pirates of the Carribbean, complete with Mt. Olympus computerized Water/Gods show and Giant aquarium. The Mirage has tons to see and do, as does Treasure Island. I don't gamble at all --- but love celeb watching at the Palms (and they have a great cheap hotdog style place there too).

Place like Buffett's Margaritaville and other chains on the strip can be great eating deals. Now many buffets are 25.00 and higher for dinner, so sit-downs can be cheaper.

skip the car unless you want to venture out on your own. Public transport is plentiful. If you have the patience and resolve to avoid timeshare pressure, you can get AWESOME show tix for sitting through a high-pressure pitch. I always do it, and have no problem saying "heck NO!" They take you to the property in style on a luxury bus or limo, and send you back on a broken down school bus, LOL. But, I get my tickets

 

[LeslieG]

Yes, the late lunch buffet is a great idea that we do also. But the last time we were in Vegas, a couple of the buffets shut down and everyone has to leave before they bring out the dinner. We went about 2ish, and they said you can come in if you want, but you'll have to eat quick, because you have to leave at 3. We were a little shocked, but I guess they've gotten wise to those who come and pay for lunch and stay for dinner.

 

[cdrn1]

Sign up for the various slot clubs at the casinos. They will often give you a coupon book at signup for good deals on meals ie BOGO buffets, etc. There are inexpensive shows at many of the casinos; we saw Mac King at Harrahs for the price of a (vastly overpriced) drink. It was actually a pretty good show and we spent about $25 on the two drinks. Bill's Gamblin Hall has an afternoon show featuring "Big Elvis", and it's free and he's pretty good. There are interesting shopping venues, such as the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace that have kitschy but entertaining shows. Pick up the freebie magazines in the hotel lobby for coupons/ideas. MGM is nicely located but huge. We never rent a car. The Deuce (bus) is inexpensive and the hotels have shuttles. Go to the downtown and watch the Fremont Street show; go out to Sam's Town and look around.

 

[ambgoph]

A very helpful site to look at is http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com. Among other things, it has a top 10 of budget things to do. If you're interested, they sell an online membership for $37 that comes with a coupon book - it may/may not be worth it - we've subscribed for our past trips and found that it was worth it.

 

[mommapea]

I think that's a good deal on the MGM Grand. We stayed there last summer, and it was more than double that, at my conference rate. Where did you get that rate? We are going this summer, for a few days before the Grand Canyon. Sorry...don't mean to hijack your thread...I'm just curious

 

[Tink3815]

Thank you for all the great advice. I can see I have alot of homework to do.

I received the offer via email. It's called the Winter Warm up offer. The rates will vary based on dates. don't see it on the regular website. The booking code is MKT359 according to the email. I made the reservations over the phone.

Could I ask you what area you stayed in? Our reservation is in the West Wing. the agent said these were reburfed room, but who knows.

 

[kkwis2]

We went to Vegas for the first time in August. We are not gamblers either and, actually, I found I was VERY bothered by all the smoke in the casinos (I guess I'm just not ever around cigarette smoke anymore), so we would walk through as fast as we could. Vegas is definitely not just for gamblers!

There was a ton of stuff to do though. First, I would check weather reports for that time of year. My brother went in Feb. of last year and it was actually pretty chilly. I would just hate for you to have your heart set on really warm only to find out it really isn't. If it is going to be warm, then get to the pool early or you may have a hard time finding a chair.

Definitely check out cheapovegas.com. I found many great tips there. If you like The Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney (one of my absolutely favorite places to eat), you will be happy to know that they recently opened one on the Strip. I believe it's in the Miracle Mile mall. We didn't do any buffets so I can't help you there. We stayed at the Mirage. In our hotel there was a New York Deli. The sandwiches were so huge we easily shared one several times. The sandwiches were about $15.00 - $18.00, so we were happy to share.

We did rent a car and went out to Hoover Dam - go early!!. We just enjoyed having a car at our disposal. When we got in, we drove to Wal-Mart and picked up supplies - a styrofoam cooler, juice, milk and cereal for breakfast, adult beverages, snacks, etc. We also stopped on the way back from the Dam for lunch.

As stated before, be prepared to walk and walk and walk. Perhaps even more than at Disney, if you can believe that! The hotels are gigantic so just getting to your room can take 10 -15 minutes (we were at the far end of the hall).

Our package included tickets to a Cirque show. So did my brother's in February. Look for deals like that. We also had a coupon for a BOGO for The Mentalist which included two drinks. There are ticket places all over that sell discounted tickets every day. We didn't find a show that we were willing to pay even the discounted price for, so we didn't buy any.

Plan to stay outside the Bellagio for an hour. The water show set to music is great. The Pirate show is further down the strip and not worth the walk nor the time in my opinion.

Any other questions, please feel free to PM me. I have received so much Disney info from others here I would love to help with the small amount of experience I have with Vegas.

 

[hockey mom]

While MGM is nice I would check out some rates at the casino's more middle of the strip.
I would skip the car.
Free things to see- Dueling piano's at Harrah's or Paris, Fountains and conservatory at Bellagio, Fat Elvis at Bills, Pirate show at Treasure Island, Toby Keiths bar has a country band at night in Harrah's, Dealtainers at Imperial Palace, and just the architecture of each casino is amazing.

There is a free shuttle from the side of bills that will take you to the Gold Coast which has a reasonbly priced buffet and from there you can walk over to the Palms or Rio for some mardi gra fun. The shuttle will then stop at the Orleans on the way back to Bills if you want to get off and check it out.

 

[traveljunkie2]

Lot's of great advice so far. Since you have never been to Vegas, know that the strip is huge and you could easily spend all day just wandering through the hotels. We have been several times and are not gamblers. I can't imagine doing it without a car, though. They have a monorail, but it only services a few hotels and is set back from the strip. Plus it costs $13 for a daily pass, and you can get a rental car cheaper than that. Maps are deceptive - the distances are very far between hotels and you will walk and walk and walk. I would keep an eye on rental car rates. In October we paid $43 (incl. taxes and fees) for 4 days (Fri-Mon) with National's last minute special and a coupon on their website. We would have paid that much just for taxis to and from the airport. Parking is free at all the hotels, and you can valet park for free plus tip.

Lots of the big hotels are owned by the same company, and if you sign up for their email notifications you will get specials for all their hotels. Some decent places (like the Orleans, which is a couple blocks behind the strip) offer super cheap weekday rates. I even saw them offer free nights last fall.

Cheapotravel.com is another sight to watch for deals.

Whether you rent a car, take taxis or the bus, know that it will take FOREVER to drive on the strip. On a Friday afternoon about 3 pm, it took us 25 minutes to get from the Mandalay Bay to the Excalibur. That's a distance of less than a mile. Traffic is horrendous on the strip, but there are streets running right behind the strip that get you into the parking structures without the wait. But if you rely on taxis, you will pay a fortune just to sit in traffic. Another reason why I vote for a rental car.

 

[Vivianne]

In October we paid $43 (incl. taxes and fees) for 4 days (Fri-Mon) with National's last minute special and a coupon on their website. We would have paid that much just for taxis to and from the airport. Parking is free at all the hotels, and you can valet park for free plus tip.

Lots of the big hotels are owned by the same company, and if you sign up for their email notifications you will get specials for all their hotels. Some decent places (like the Orleans, which is a couple blocks behind the strip) offer super cheap weekday rates. I even saw them offer free nights last fall.

Cheapotravel.com is another sight to watch for deals.

Whether you rent a car, take taxis or the bus, know that it will take FOREVER to drive on the strip. On a Friday afternoon about 3 pm, it took us 25 minutes to get from the Mandalay Bay to the Excalibur. That's a distance of less than a mile. Traffic is horrendous on the strip, but there are streets running right behind the strip that get you into the parking structures without the wait. But if you rely on taxis, you will pay a fortune just to sit in traffic. Another reason why I vote for a rental car.

That was a great rate! We had our rental for just under 2 weeks. Our main focus was to see Hoover Dam, GC, Bryce and Zion. We got the car on our 3rd day after we were done seeing Vegas. We walked so much I felt it was way more walking than Disney.

On our last day we stayed south of the strip at a brand new hotel South Pointe at the time. The car came in handy to see the Cirque show at the Mirage and DH did drive the back road to get there. So your point is well taken.

Another thing, if you fly in, make sure you get to the airport with plenty of time. Other than LAX it's one of the busiest airports I've ever been. Although, there's a method to the madness.

 

[KKB]

I think I am a bit of an "expert" here!
Sounds like a fairly good deal at MGM. I like MGM, but am a bigger fan of midstrip. Check out expedia. Also check out www.fatwallet.com (go to forums...travel discussion...Las Vegas hotels...LAST page of that thread). They post many deals.
I do NOT usually recommend a car, but if you really want to go to Hoover Dam, definitely get a car. (MUCH preferable over the tours...YOU will be able to set your timeline that way) And you could venture downtown one day. I highly recommend a day. Quite a throw back--and everything is cheaper downtown!
I do not recommend the monorail. If you are comfortable walking, we found it to be just as fast to walk. The monorail is clear on the back of the resorts, far from the strip. If you should walk far from the MGM, just cab it back.
Shows...Cirque shows are the biggest rage.
You will be there a nice amount of time...you will be able to see it all. The strip casinos all have things to see, mostly for free.
Have fun!
PS a great resource is the Las Vegas forum on tripadvisor.com--I am here & there daily!

 

[KKB]

fatwallet came up empty.
That is a pretty good deal; the only thing you might consider is Ballys for about $5/nt/avg. MGM is a better property, but Ballys has a better central strip location. Nice to go north one day on the strip, south the next...
Late March may well be warm enough for the pool. MGM pool is far superior.
Vegas buffets are very overpriced for very average food, at best.
Some of my fav cheap meals:
La Salsa in PH mall for $3.99 breakfast (2 eggs, meat, potatoes, tortillas--but watch the drinks--$2.50 each!)
Ellis Island behind Ballys--$6.99 steak, potato, veggie, salad & microbrew beer. Not on menu, ask for special. I was amazed how good this was! This is a locals casino--divey--but we waited an hour to get in at 9PM on Monday in July!
On the strip we often eat at chains for well-priced reliable food w/ huge portions, often splitting. Our favs include Earl of Sandwich, PF Changs, Cheesecake Factory, CA Pizza Kitchen
Isla in TI for MX food is a must do--great ambiance, great food, reasonable prices; and the BEST mojito I have ever had (NOT cheap--$10)
If you drink, Bills, OSheas & Casino Royale have some of the best drink prices on the strip if you aren't gambling. Otherwise drinks tend to be $5-10 each.
You are better off popping $5 into a video poker machine at the bar & getting free drinks. Play SLOWLY. Some properties claim you need to play max credits (usually 3). Never seen it enforced other than a verbal comment.
Downtown: Main Street Station buffet; get BOGO coupon off fremontstreetexperience.com. $6.99 for breakfast--quite good!
Golden Gate: Great shrimp cocktail for .99. Sign up for free players card to get this price.
LOTS of cheap food & drinks downtown.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Okay, first, the DIS has its own Las Vegas-dedicated forum http://disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=175

I vote 'yes' on the car, but I spend a lot of time off the Strip. Valet parking is free, just tip a couple/few dollars when you pick up your car.

Cheapovegas.com is an excellent site. For Las Vegas forums (voted "best" several years in a row) see www.everythinglv.com

Weekends are always more expensive, so I guess the rate you got at MGM isn't bad. If the West Wing is the original section though - eh. Okay, not great.

The half-price ticket agency is Tix4Tonight, with eight locations on the Strip, including two within walking distance of MGM. It has its own website - surround the company name with www. and .com

Get a recent copy of The Unofficial Guide to Las Vegas. It describes, among other things, back roads to avoid driving on the Strip (although it only takes fifteen minutes from Main Street Station to the MGM Grand at 9:05 on a Sunday morning).

NEVER GAMBLE MORE THAN YOU CAN AFFORD.

 

[KKB]

Spring for the American Casino Guide. It is around $15 (surf the web...be sure it is the 2010 one). The listing of Vegas coupons is on their site www.americancasinoguide.com.
Lasvegasadvisor has a coupon book for $37 also.

 

[battricia]

we've gone to vegas 2x with no rental car, and honestly I think it's better, I would not want to drive on the strip with all its traffic. We took the 'deuce' buses when we wanted to go to fremont st. and they go other places as well, they are pretty cheap (MUCH cheaper than renting a car).

 

[Kat77]

I agree with KKB that you do not need a car on the strip. You can walk where you want pretty easily.
Word of Warning: The people on the street are not passing out buffet coupons! I repeat, not coupons!