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Las Vegas on a Budget

When people think of Las Vegas, they think of glitz, glamour, luxury hotels and money. Las Vegas is all those things, but you do not have to have a lot of money to enjoy a vacation there. The first time my husband and I went to Las Vegas was a few weeks before our senior year of college.

Believe me, back then we had very little money to spend, but we were able to go on vacation and have a great time! With a little thought and planning, you can have a great time on a little budget!


Flights or Travel
Getting to Las Vegas will always be one of the most expensive parts of your vacation. Flights are expensive, but make sure to check out some of the smaller airlines, like Southwest, Frontier or Allegiant. They are smaller and cut back some of the “extras” but it does take some of the cost out. 

Airline credit cards will sometimes offer deals if you spend “x” amount of money you will earn so many flyer credits. We actually used the Frontier Airlines credit card to get two free flights last time! Just make sure if you do a credit card deal that you pay your monthly balance off each month. It does no good to save money and get a good deal if you accumulate debt.

Hotels
There are so many great hotels in Las Vegas. Each hotel is themed differently and has something unique to offer. 

Word of advice, do your research before you just book a hotel. You can check travel websites to get pricing, but also go to the website for the hotel. Sometimes the hotels run promotions on their websites for their hotel rooms. 

Downtown Las Vegas hotels will be less expensive than hotels on the Strip because of the popularity of being in the middle of all the action. 

Look at going on vacation during the week. People from all over the would come to Las Vegas to party on the weekends, so hotels raise the weekend room rates. To get the best deals check for Monday-Thursday! Also the summer months are cheaper, because you are in the desert and it is hot. We went in July one year and it was 110. If you want to save money, book in their off season!

Entertainment
Entertainment is available on every corner of Las Vegas. This is where you can get a lot of free fun. Each hotel usually offers something unique about it. 

The Bellagio has its famous fountain show, it’s free and a must see for Las Vegas. You can also view the Bellagio Conservatory. It is a beautiful green house with flowers, butterflies and flower sculptures. 

Don’t forget to check out the pyramid at the Luxor, the lions at MGM, statues at Caesars Palace, pirate show at TI, the volcano at the Mirage and more! All those are free and that is not even admiring each hotels architecture, décor and casino designs.

Food and Drinks
Las Vegas is huge and there is a different restaurant, bar or café at every turn. If you plan accordingly you can eat like a king or queen. 

I can’t say this enough about eating in Vegas, coupons, coupons, coupons! Don’t eat without one. There are so many places that put out coupons to bring you in to eat. 

Alcohol can be expensive, don’t buy the $12 rum and Coke’s at the bar. When you are walking through the casinos keep an eye out for cocktail waitresses. If you see one taking drink orders sit down in that area and wave her over. Put in a $5.00 bill in the machine and take your time. You can sit down play a few spins and get a drink for a simple $1 tip. 

The first time we went to Vegas, we did this a lot. It was August, so it was hot outside. We would walk to each hotel find a waitress, order a drink or two, rest in the AC for a few and move on.

Coupons
We have come a long way from being those poor college students, however, that doesn’t mean we don’t still use coupons. This is how we still do our vacations to Las Vegas cheap. 

Some good places to look for coupons would be the American Casino Guide, the Las Vegas advisor, Groupon, MYVEGAS, and online websites. 

If you have never been before I recommend the American Casino Guide. It provides a lot of coupon deals for first time players at the casinos. You may get a free gift, free slot play or maybe even a free meal. You will also find coupons for places to eat, match plays, free slots play or free drinks. 

Groupon has discount show tickets, tours, and spa deals. 

The Las Vegas Advisor is more expensive than the ACG but it does offer different coupons and casino offers. 

MYVEGAS is an app for your mobile phone and Facebook. You play the slot machine or blackjack games and earn loyalty coins. You can spend these coins on rewards in Las Vegas. It’s completely free and we are seeing two Cirque du Soleil shows for FREE on our upcoming Vegas trip.


With any vacation you choose to make it or break it. If you want to have fun you could go out to Vegas with just a little money and make it fun, you just have to choose to. 

With a few of my tips, you might be able to save a little more money here and there and use it for your next trip!

Until next time,

Kara

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