How To Go To Las Vegas for Cheap

Cheap Las Vegas Travel Guide.

Add some comments to the bottom if you have cool stuff to do!

I’ve done the Toronto – Las Vegas trip about 17 or 18 times in the past 2 years. So I figured I’d share what I know

Cost:
Cheapest Vegas Vacation:
Flying from Toronto to Vegas, you can almost always find round trip flights and 3 nights hotel for less than $600 on Expedia. I’ve seen deals for as low as $420 including taxes. Since it’s usually way more expensive to fly across the border, I’m going to go out on a limb, and say you can probably find a trip for less than $500 total from any major airport in the states. The Flight will probably have a quick stopover somewhere, and you’ll be at one of the cheaper (they’re still nice) hotels.

What I usually do:
Typically I’ve found the best prices when booking about 3 weeks in advance.
I enjoy Aeroplan miles, so I book directly off of the airlines website. My dates are usually pretty liquid and I’m looking to fly out in a +/- 3 days range. Flying from Toronto to Vegas, I usually find flights between $150 – $214 each way off of Air Canada’s website. Plus I enjoy their in flight entertainment system. They tend to have lots of episodes of 30 Rock. Direct round trip flights usually cost about $500 – 600 with taxes.

I then head over to Expedia, and index hotels by Price, and located on the Strip. There are a lot of hotels that are good, and I’m looking for a good price on one of the following usually:

• Aria
• Vdara
• Wynn
• Mirage
• Encore
• Venetian
• Palazzo
• Caesar’s Palace
• Treasure Island
• Planet Hollywood
• Bellagio
• Paris

Prices are usually in the $70 – 175 a night range through the week for a basic room. I like cool things though, and I’m usually looking for an upgraded suite for around $150 a night in any of these hotels.
They’re all located in great locations. I like Mandalay Bay and the MGM as well, but they’re so far down the Strip that I usually pick something in a better location – unless I’m attending a conference at one of their convention centres.

Treasure Island has the best view of the Strip if you get a Strip facing room.

If you’re on a budget, here are the places that I 100% recommend. You can usually find $30 – $55 a night rooms that are just as nice as any basic Holiday Inn you could stay at:

• Bally’s
• New York New York

and I don’t hate Excaliber and Luxor. Instead of elevators, the Luxor has ‘inclinators’ that go up on like 65* angles on the edges of the pyramid. It confuses your body.
STAY AWAY FROM CIRCUS CIRCUS. I haven’t heard anything good about the Stratosphere hotel either. I’ve never stayed at Tropicana and the Flamingo, but from their casino decor, I wouldn’t recommend staying there. Same goes for Hooters. Harrah’s is ok from what I hear too (and in a good location) but my only direct experience with a hotel room at Harrah’s involved a non-working toilet for 2 days.

Bally’s is in the nicest location for the cheapest price.

Also, if you sign up for the MGM Mirage Players Club (free) rewards card at the casino, they’ll send you deals in the future. I usually see a lot of $22 rooms at New York New York in my email inbox.

I think that covers hotel stuff. When picking, just make sure it’s in a good spot of the strip. I feel that it really adds to the experience.

Taxi from the airport:
The airport is basically part of the strip, but the meters run up quick and it will cost between $18 and $30 to get to your hotel.

Bribe Your Way to a Room Upgrade.
I think this has been deemed the $20 Bill Trick by other people that use it – and it works best in my experience at Mid Range and lower hotels.
I also find that it works best if you’re checking in earlier in the day when more upgrades are available. If you show up on an 11pm flight, chances are the hotel is going to be pretty booked up.
Step 1. Put a $20 in your hand.
Step 2. Casually raise it up and place your hand on the counter while asking if they have any free upgrades available. If they can’t upgrade your room, they’ll usually be able to give you a higher floor with a better view at least. That in itself is worth the $20 in my opinion.

Free Drinks!
If you’re sitting at a table, or slot machine, drinks are free (well, tip your waitress). Oh, and by free, I mean you’ll probably lose way more than it would have cost to buy the drink in the first place while waiting for the waitress to come back with your drink.
Some casino bars have video poker built into the bar. If you’re playing even 25cents a hand (very slowly) – the bartender will comp your drinks. This is the cheapest, fastest and most effective way I’ve found to be rewarded with your donation to the casino.

If you’re traveling internationally, pick up some duty free alcohol before you get here. Small bottles of hard liquor will cost you $15 at the hotel gift shop. It’s worth a small walk off the Strip if you want to pick up a few beers.

Time of the Year to Go.
It’s usually well above 100 degrees from June to September 1st. Last year in August it was a real treat to be walking outside to 130*F temperatures, never a cloud in the sky, and no wind. It’s hot. I’m not a fan of extreme heat – but if you like to lay by a pool, it’s probably a good idea to do-so instead of attempting to walk around.
It never rains. I think I’ve seen one rain day here ever – and it was just a little drizzle. You’re in the desert.
I personally like it here during the winter the best. The pools aren’t always open, and you might have to wear a sweater at night – but, well I like wearing sweaters.

Best Dealers in Vegas/Casino Vibe
The best dealers I’ve found are all at Planet Hollywood. Actually, the best vibe of any casino on the Strip is at Planet Hollywood, I think. (And no, I’m not talking about the models/dealers they have at the ‘Pleasure Pit’
It’s a younger crowd there that just seems to have more fun. If I’m there losing money, at least I should be having fun doing so.
I always seem to have a good time at the Mirage as well. The people you’re playing the game with really make or break the experience, so if you’re in good company, you’ll have fun anywhere. Except Circus Circus.

Walking Around.
This is my #1 pastime in Vegas. The Casinos are so large that I’m still finding new stuff in them. Not to mention that the city scape is almost always changing, so there’s always something new and cool to go see.
If you’re just walking around on the sidewalks, random dudes(and females) will hand out hooker cards. They are exactly what they sound like – trading card’s with prostitutes and phone numbers on them (that’s legal here)

So if you’re walking around and you see a sketchy older dude holding hands with a bombshell 21 year old…it’s probably a paid arrangement.

Food/Dining
Everything is pretty transparent in my experience. If it looks like it’s going to be a good place to eat – chances are it is. If it looks greasy – it probably is.
The two standout experiences that I’ve come across have been here:

Battista’s Hole In The Wall Italian Restaurant
All you can drink wine, and awesome food for reasonable prices. It’s located less than a block off the strip, in a strip mall haha. Behind Bill’s Gambling Hall, and across the street from Bally’s. You’ll see a place called We Have 22 Years Left on Our Lease, and it’s your next left.

Diablo’s at the Monte Carlo
Go here at an oddball time, and snag one of the tables that looks over the strip. I honestly was expecting typical Americanized Mexican food, but I was actually blown away by everything I had there. Maybe it will ruin the experience for you by actually setting some form of expectations, but it was surprisingly good for what looks like a typical mediocre bar.

If you want something more upscale, check out the Wynn/Encore. They have some fantastic restaurants in there.

If you want something quick – Earl of Sandwich at Planet Hollywood is a great choice. It’s right inside the doors to the Miracle Mile Mall.

Random Other Things to See and Do
Freemont Street
THE GOLDEN NUGGET HAS A WATER SLIDE THAT GOES THROUGH A SHARK TANK. Clearly, this is the most important thing to see on Freemont street. Get a day pass on The Deuce (double decker bus) and go there for an evening. It’s old Las Vegas. It’s a covered street, and after dark they play some random video shows on the ceiling. There are also a lot of crazy people here.

Random Landscape Photographer
Alright – I totally cannot remember this guys name. I should be able to. Anyways, he has 2 stores in the Forum Shops of Caesar’s Palace. The easiest on to get to go in the main entrance to the shops opposite of Harrah’s(pictured below) and go straight to the top floor – you get to ride on spiral staircase escalators! You’ll see it when you get to the top.
He takes great shots, but the real thing I’m impressed with is how the photos are printed. They’re all printed on a museum grade paper that catches light so well that it looks like it’s a backlit super high definition LCD TV.

International Cell Phone
I have an iPhone. I enjoy my iPhone. To continue to enjoy this phone, I picked up a $10 international data pack from Rogers. I’m sure other providers offer similar things. It pushes my cell bill up about $40 total to come here for a few days usually.

Alright – I think that’s it. Just walk around, and discover cool stuff. There’s a ton of it around. Oh, and take a helicopter ride to the grand canyon if you can. I keep trying, but people keep bailing. Eventually it’ll happen.
If you’ve never seen the west coast, rent a car and drive out to L.A. for a night while you’re in the area. It’s around 4 – 5 hours from Vegas to the coast.

That is all! Drop some comments if you have any other tips of cool stuff to do.

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