Need Vegas budget ideas....

[Carrie Ellis]

Hello to all!

My mother in law asked my husband if I knew of any Las Vegas saving tips. I guess they thought I was good at Disney budget stuff. Anyway, does anyone have any great saving ideas for Vegas. Any ideas or suggestions would be wonderful. I believe they are planning on going soon (may be in the next couple of months). MIL and boyfriend will be leaving from San Antonio, TX.

I do not vacation there with my family. Before I was married...when I was 12 my family stopped in Vegas on the way to Disney Land! So I have no ideas!

Thanks in advance!

 

[bookgirl]

Check out the following websites:

www.lvtalk.com

www.cheapovegas.com

www.lasvegasadvisor.com


These are the best places to find the price breaks, best buys and where to go and avoid.

We've been a ton and I always use these.

 

[bookgirl]

For my own savings,

Stay downtown or on the boulder highway these are more reminecent of "old" vegas and you can easily find nice rooms for less than 100 dollars a night. There are shuttles running back and forth to the popular areas. Take the bus downtown to the strip for two dollars. And downtown has the lighted canapoy for entertainment and over half a dozen casinos all with the lowest table limits in town.

If you want a strip stay go mid strip, Harrars, Mirage, and Barbary Coast. The prices are the best and walking (or taxis) up or down the strip from here are midrange. Plus there are a whole bunch within a five minute walk from here.

Go to Ellis Island for dinner they have a 4.95 steak dinner that is so popular that it has been rated the best bargin in Vegas for like 5 years staight.

Go to the free shows outside of the Mirage, Treasure Island, and the Belagio. Take the Harrahs shuttle to the Rio and see the Carnival in the Sky a free show with floats that run on tracks above the casino floor.


Anyway that's all for now but really check out those sites.

 

[MOMTOMOOTOO]

We are headed out that way for spring break, haven't been in 15 years or so and to be honest we are not finding many bargains I planned the trip thinking we would get some good bargains, and no such luck.

 

[bookgirl]

Most of the biggest bargins are to those who have been and gotten players cards at the casinos. They want you to come back so they give you great offers, but for first timers and people who don't go often it's a lot harder, plus the industry has really cut down on the big deals because they don't have to give away stuff anymore since it's become the number 1 destination people will go with out any incentives. Go over the sites and you'll find out how to get 2for1 tickets to shows and where the cheap entertainment is but even those of us who have been are finding our comps cut down from the last few years.

 

[shortbun]

Best money saving advice I could give anyone about Vegas is "don't go."
Seriously(I know it's bad form to pan someone else's vacation plans), I really don't like Vegas. sorry to be a downer!

 

[La2kw]

Visit Sunday-Thursday for cheapest rates. Stay on the strip- it's worth the convenience and you can walk everywhere. The Orleans resort has a great buffet and is pretty cheap. It's also about 2 miles from the strip and an easy bus ride down Tropicana Blvd. if you don't have a car. Get a players club card.

 

[bearzabout]

I've always relied on Lasvegasadvisor.com. It costs to join, but if you are planning on going to any shows or restaurants they have coupons for, you can save a lot of money. They have had a list of top ten values that is updated each month.

We rent a car and eat off the strip a lot. I rent a condo off Ebay (Fairfield Grand Desert) for less than I can pay for any strip hotel during the weekend.

A book called the American Casino Guide has great coupons. It costs less than $15. We saw the Mac King Show (great) for less than $20 for 2.

Do a search on las vegas for free. It will take days to see the free attractions. Don't miss the garden at Bellagio or lions at MGM.

 

[pearlieq]

There are plenty of free attractions in LV, definitely enough to stay busy on a first trip.

I recommend the Flamingo as an excellent hotel value. Perfect location, great pool, but older and so flashy, and therefore cheaper.

A car isn't necessary and if the weather is decent almost anything is walkable.

I second www.cheapovegas.com as a great (and irreverant!) resource for Vegas planning.

 

[mrsstats]

Get the American Casino Guide. Plenty of 2 for 1 buffet coupons but you will need a car as most of them are off the strip.

 

[eeyoregon]

For super cheap accomodations smack dab in the middle of the strip, try Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino (they have a website). I use their players card so my room is usually free but the nightly rate is usually under $60 a night and it's located right across the street from Caesar's Palace and next to the Flamingo. It is also a stop for the monorail and each room has a small balcony. I was there a few weeks ago and our room faced the strip with AMAZING views of the action! Great food and EXCELLENT comps even for the small gamblers like me.

 

[bookgirl]

I've always relied on Lasvegasadvisor.com. It costs to join, but if you are planning on going to any shows or restaurants they have coupons for, you can save a lot of money. They have had a list of top ten values that is updated each month.

We rent a car and eat off the strip a lot. I rent a condo off Ebay (Fairfield Grand Desert) for less than I can pay for any strip hotel during the weekend.

A book called the American Casino Guide has great coupons. It costs less than $15. We saw the Mac King Show (great) for less than $20 for 2.

Do a search on las vegas for free. It will take days to see the free attractions. Don't miss the garden at Bellagio or lions at MGM.

You can see a lot of the site without joining, look at the links for lists and attractions. I wouln't join unless you're going more than once.

 

[IDoDis]

If you are taking kids along, stay at the Circus Circus. The kids will love the indoor amusement park! At the end of May and into June you can stay there for $45-$47 a night (Mon through Thurs). It's right on the strip! This was my favorite place to stay when I was a kid.

http://www.circuscircus.com/ If you stay at least 2 nights, you also get a free $25 gas card.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Note that Imperial Palace and Barbary Coast are now owned by Harrah's (so prices may not be as low as people think any more.

Staying on the Strip is advisable for first-time visitors; while somewhat north of Center Strip, the Riviera, Stratosphere, and Sahara generally have good prices. Another option of course is properties that have free shuttles to the Strip - Station casinos, Coast casinos, may be others.

Visit www.everythinglv.com and (if you want) register for their message boards.

All-day passes for the CAT bus system can be purchases for about $5 each if they don't want to rent a car; if they do choose to rent, valet parking is free at pretty much all the hotels - plus tip, of course.

The Strip Trolley runs three loops - South Strip, "Main" Strip, and to Downtown.

Tickets2Nite, in the Coke bottle building near the MGM Hotel, has half-price, day of show tickets to many shows (not the headliners like the Cirque shows, or Celine Dion, or Penn & Teller, but still GOOD shows/deals). Last time I was there, the owner told me they were working on making tickets available online through your hotel's Concierge - I don't know if that's in effect yet.

http://www.reviewjournal.com/dining/buffets.html
http://www.visitlasvegas.com
http://www.goingtovegas.com/kpv-ttd.htm
http://www.bigempire.com/vegas
http://www.lasvegasfunbook.com
http://www.americancasinoguide.com

 

[TeenaS]

Stay at Sam's Town on Boulder Highway!!
(1) Nice room and very inexpensive.
(2) Free buses to and from Sam's Town to the Strip and Downtown (Fremont Street).
(3) Loads of restaurants (Billy Bob's - fantastic steak house; Fellini's - fantastic Italian restaurant; Firelight Buffet - breakfast, lunch and dinner; Willy's - mexican restaurant; Fresh Harvest - great coffee shop that has steak, eggs, hash browns, toast $4.99 all day and the specials are very very inexpensive and the quality is great; plus loads of quick bites like McDonald's, a pizza place, and chinese in a food court setting; Subway; Auntie Anne's; etc.
(4) Huge movie theatre and bowling alley if you are having a losing streak with the gambling.
(5) Loads of penny slot machines with fun bonuses!!!
(6) Super friendly dealers and pit bosses and while playing table games, we always get comps for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Check it out at www.samstownlv.com

 

[keishashadow]

Great info Not to hijack the site, but couple questions= never been that far west. Trying to plan a combo DL/Vegas/GC trip next summer to keep everyone happy (imagine that, the desert in the summer ; only time we can go due to school schedules).

Can't find the following in the guidebook I read...

True/False?:

*Drive time from Anaheim is 4 hours (leaving around 10:00 am on a Sunday morning)?

*Drive time to Indian res on West. rim/new glass walkway is 2 hours?

*A hotel on the southern part of strip would be best get to airport & highway to avoid traffic on both drive in & side trips?

Lastly, whereabouts is hoover dam (have no idea where it's located or how long of a drive?)

Experts, any 'real-life' answers/insite?

 

[IDoDis]

From Las Vegas to Anaheim plan on about 5 hours driving, not including traffic. I would try to do the LA traffic at night, or at all costs, avoid hitting the LA freeway system from 2:00 - 7:00pm. Once you cross over into California, the speed limit drops to 70 or 65mph, but is 75mph before that (and most people go 80-85mph).

Drive time from LV to the GC west rim is about 2 1/2 hours. What slows you down is a dirt road that you have to travel on for about 30 miles. We are planning a similar journey this year (not sure about going to LV though). We want to walk above the canyon on the new glass bridge at the west rim and then drive to Anaheim.

Hoover Dam is about 30 miles from Las Vegas, just outside of Henderson. I've always passed it when driving to LV, but have never stopped to do the tour. From Las Vegas go southeast on I-515. I-515 turns into US-93. Continue on US-93 and you can't miss it.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Just FYI - it costs $74.95 to use the glass walkway (according to a friend in Arizona).

 

[La2kw]

Just FYI - it costs $74.95 to use the glass walkway (according to a friend in Arizona).

According to the Arizona Republic, it's only $25/person:

"Glass skywalk to offer 'Grand' view of Canyon

Erica Sagon
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 23, 2005 12:00 AM

The Grand Canyon's coming attraction is not for the easily queasy: Beginning next year, tourists are expected to be able to glimpse the Canyon's floor through a glass-bottomed walkway jutting 70 feet from the Rim.

The horseshoe-shaped skywalk, which is planned to open in January, is part of the Hualapai Tribe's efforts to turn 1,000 acres of reservation land into tourist operations that someday could include a high-end resort, golf course and campgrounds.

The destination, known as Grand Canyon West, also will feature an Indian village and Western-themed town, which are scheduled to open Sept. 1. advertisement

The $40 million project in northwestern Arizona could create competition for the touristy South Rim.

Visitors to the skywalk will pay $25 for a bird's-eye view of the Canyon. By comparison, the entrance to the national park's South Rim, about 200 miles by road to the east, is $20 per car."