Discussions

We are planning our first trip to Vegas in November for 5 or 7 days. We were told that it is cheap getting there with the right deals but once you get there it is expensive to do things like tours, eat & drink & taking in concerts etc. Is this true and if it is any suggestions or tips would be awesome.....how much money should a person take should we take....we won't be eating at any extravagant restaurants either....thanks

We bought a few things from there to help with food costs, found out its cheaper to buy show tickets at the kiosks on the Strip  
We don't gamble and stayed at a location with a kitchen so we saved by eating breakfast there  
We also bought the 3 day bus passes to get around

We have gone three times, but only for 3 or 4 days each time. We stayed at the Stratosphere, which was quite reasonably priced even for the 'upgraded' room. We also got the three-day bus pass, which lets you ride unlimited - you can get on and off anywhere on the strip, and with one transfer we got to both the north and the south outlet malls, as well as to Freemont. Shows are expensive, we did get deals at the 'Tickets for Tonight' kiosk for one of the shows we wanted, but paid almost full price for the other. Shopping anywhere on strip is expensive. There are coupons available online for some things like Madame Toussaud's, the CSI experience, etc.

It can be a very expensive trip if you're not careful. But there are definitely ways to save. Like others said buy show tickets at kiosks on the strip. If you don't care about fancy restaurants there are food courts in a lot of the hotels or happy hour deals. As for drinks, avoid going up to the bar if you can. If you're playing a slot machine, even the nickel ones, you can drink for free. So can play for a few minutes, grab a drink and carry on your way. Or as you're walking, the corner stores have beer, coolers, etc. cheap and you can walk the streets with it. So we did that more often. Ducked into a store to grab a beer and then walked the strip.

When looking at hotels and stuff make sure the prices are shown in CDN $ if you are searching online. The exchange rate right now is horrible. We were looking at a trip down to the Grand Canyon/Arches/Vegas area and decided to put it off until the dollar is a little better.

Depends what you're looking to do (gamble, drink, adrenaline rides, zip line, shows/concerts, window shopping). It is cheaper to buy any show tickets when you get there from the kiosk or red box. Every hour you can watch the Bellagio Hotel fountain show, and the Treasure Island show you can watch just by walking the strip. The Luxor has the Titanic Exhibit and the Body's Exhibit if you go to both tickets are discounted. It is worth the money to buy a three day pass for the Deuce bus: this will take you from the South to the North end of the strip (outlet malls, Old Vegas etc.) If you're looking to buy a few snacks/groceries just buy off the Strip it's much cheaper. We found it was worth going to the cheaper buffets for brunch or later afternoon/early supper: this filled us up so we could spend the rest of the day/evening touring in the Hotels on the Strip, checking out the Outlet Malls, spent most of the evenings in Old Vegas (fantastic light show display, zip line, music entertainment).  
 
Enjoy Vegas and have fun!

On what you want to do. It's as pricey or cheap as you want to make it. All the tips above are bang on. Search the internet for coupons www.vegas4locals.com is one. Another thing to do is to play the MyVegas slot games. They are free to play and you can earn comps at the MGM group of hotels from a free beer to free nights depending on how many points you accumulate. You have enough time you should be able to get some built up.

If you are on Facebook, there is a game called my Vegas slots, it's free to play, but you can earn rewards to get into some shows, 2 for the price of 1, free buffets, etc.

I always budget $100 a day for gambling and $100 a day for food and drinks. I rarely hit my $200/day but I take the cash just in case, it is more convenient than hitting an atm.

Thinking about taking in a Cirque du soleil show but having a hard time deciding....which one would be the best one to see?

If you are on Facebook there is a slots game called MyVegas. You earn gold coins and you can trade those coins in for a nights stay or a ride on the skytrain and food deals... just an FYI

We saw the original one, Mystere, when we were in Vegas. It was really great!

Hey! Here are a few pointers/suggestions to save a bit of cash in Vegas!  
1. Airport transportation - Take the WAX bus, leaves from terminal 1 and 3, and will cost each member of your party $2.00 to ride. It makes stops @ MGM Grand, New York new york, and FRemont Street. Great option if you are staying @ south end of Strip or Downtown  
2. Hotels - Watch out for resort fees! Every hotel on the strip has them now, and they can range between 25 to 38 dollars per night on top of your room charge! There are still a couple hotels downtown that don't charge them (Four Queens, California, Main Street Station, Fremont Hotel). We always stay downtown on Fremont Street for this reason, and it is a pretty fun atmosphere down there at night.  
3. Meals- check online for coupons, and get a player's card for your hotel, they are free, and can sometimes offer discounts.  
4. Gambling - once again, get a players card for your hotel, and play where you stay! If you do a fair amount of gambling, talk to a casino host before you head home, they will sometimes comp certain items based on your play.  
5. Shows - Tix for tonight is an alright option, do your homework however, sometimes it's not as good of a deal as they say it is....  
6. Nothing comes for free in this city, if you are going as a couple, be prepared to be approached by people offering you free shows, meals, etc. These are generally timeshare people, and they are really really good at their job so just kindly tell them no thank you, or that you are on your way home.  
 
Hope this helps a bit!

HAVE A BALL. You dont get here very often so make it the most fun you can. I have been there 3 times so far and it is more fun each time.. Makes you feel like a grown up kid.

To everyone for you tips....I will continue to look for deals & flight deals as well....any suggestions as to travel websites to find travel deals...hotel + flight deals etc.?

We flew out of Grand Forks the last time and saved over $100 per person. It's an hour further drive but same hotel, same fight time and we went for a week and took the kids so saved close to $600 that way. Buy beer/coolers at Walgreens as they are cheap. And you just buy it and walk. It's awesome. Buffets on Fremont are the cheapest and are awesome! Have fun!

Hi. One piece of advice an airline worker told me was, when checking in to your hotel fold up a $50 USD bill with your credit card and hand it to the person handling your check in. Ask politely if there is any way you could have your room upgraded? We stayed at NewYork/New York and we upgraded to 2 HUGE suites! There was 5 of us so we needed 2 rooms but after the upgrade we easily all fit into the one room, I called a buddy told him and his son to hop a cheap flight and come down as we had an extra room! How much you tip depends where you are staying..I always do this and have never been disappointed