Las Vegas is designed to separate visitors from their money as smoothly as possible. That does not mean a weekend there has to be expensive. With a little planning, the city is one of the best-value trips in the country.
Sleep smart
- Go midweek. Room prices on a Tuesday can be a fraction of a Saturday.
- Read the resort fee. Most Strip hotels add a nightly resort fee on top of the room rate. Compare total prices, not headline prices.
- Consider downtown. The older Fremont Street area usually has cheaper rooms, lower table minimums and a livelier, less polished atmosphere.
The best free shows
- The Bellagio fountains dance to music on a regular schedule from the afternoon into the night.
- The Fremont Street Experience puts on light-and-music shows on a giant screen canopy above the street every evening.
- Hotel lobbies and conservatories change their displays with the seasons and cost nothing to walk through.
- The Strip itself after dark is a show. Wear comfortable shoes; the distances are longer than they look.
Getting around
Walking works for neighbouring resorts. For longer hops, the Strip's public buses run day and night, and the monorail links a string of resorts on the east side. Rideshares are convenient but add up fast in traffic.
A gaming budget that lasts
If you plan to play, decide the total before you land and divide it by the number of sessions, not the number of days. Pick games with a lower house edge, such as blackjack played with basic strategy or the pass line at craps, and look for lower table minimums off the Strip and earlier in the day. Join the free players' club at the casino you use most; even small amounts of play can earn meal discounts. When a session's money is gone, that session is over, and the fountains are still free.
Many visitors find the best part of the trip is the people-watching. If you want to know what all those ceiling domes are watching, read what heist movies get wrong about casino security.
