Question: I don't make a lot of money, but I want to go to Vegas for a weekend. Is there a way for someone like me to have an inexpensive weekend without it being "cheap?"
Ellen in Los Angeles
Answer: One of the most interesting things about planning a trip to Vegas is how wildly the room rates fluctuate. It is not out of the ordinary for a room at a nice hotel to go for more than $200 per night one week and then fall to $59 the next -- for the same room!
For instance, I just looked at one hotel's reservation calendar for Friday nights in January and saw rates that fluctuated between $119 and $219 depending on which weekend you go. If you have the flexibility to pick and choose your travel times, you'll save yourself a lot of dough.
Weekends, as a general rule, are more expensive than weekdays. If there is any way you can take a day or two off work and head to Vegas on a Tuesday or Wednesday, I can practically guarantee you'll save a lot of money -- provided there are no major conventions in town that week.
Even if you're stuck to the weekends, you can still have a relatively inexpensive trip as long as you are flexible on your travel dates. I recommend starting by checking online reservations systems like the one on Vegas4Visitors.com or any hotel's Web site. Plug in a few different dates and you'll start to get a quick idea of when the cheaper times are since, generally speaking, if one hotel is cheaper than normal the others probably will be as well.
Once you get to town, take advantage of all the free attractions -- the Bellagio Fountains, Fremont Street Experience, etc.), stick to the inexpensive buffets, and stay away from the slot machines and you can have a great time at a relatively low cost.
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Rick Garman is the head writer for Vegas4Visitors
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