Plan Your Las Vegas Holiday

If you are thinking about a taking a holiday trip, consider Las Vegas. I did a little comparison shopping, and here's what I found on southwest.com:

• The week before Thanksgiving (M-F), a flight from my hometown of Charleston, SC to Las Vegas is about $700 (well, this is what happens when you wait to the last minute)
• The week of Thanksgiving, it goes up to $394
• The week after Thanksgiving, the cost goes up to $545

With hotels, it's a little different story for times around Turkey Day. I looked at Treasure Island, a decent hotel in the middle of the Strip, to see what their rack rates are for the same time period (checking in Monday, checking out Friday)

• The week before Thanksgiving, the total rate is $157
• The week of Thanksgiving, it goes up to $205
• The week after Thanksgiving, it goes down to $185

Thanksgiving is not far away, so you may not have time to plan a trip that soon. However, if you are thinking about a vacation around Christmas, Las Vegas can be a bargain. Here are some of my findings, again on southwest.com:

• The week before Christmas, a flight from Charleston, SC to Las Vegas is about $472 (M-F)
• The week of Christmas, it goes up to $697
• The week after Christmas, the cost is over double at $1078 (New Year's is crowded and expensive)

For hotels, the best rates are also always the week before Christmas. These are some of the best room rates you will get any time of year in Las Vegas. Again, here are some findings from TI:

• The week before Christmas, the total rate is $154
• The week of Christmas, it goes up a little bit to $184
• The week after Christmas, it's a whopping $679

Now this was a quick search. When I plan a trip to Las Vegas, I look at a lot of package deals, several websites, and research costs as much as I can. For detailed information about how to save a ton of money on your trip, consider buying Simplifying Las Vegas online.

Can't make it for the holidays? Plan ahead - way ahead. If you can book your trip 6-8 months in advance, you will save a lot of money. I know that's hard to do, but when it comes to vacations, the better you plan, the more you'll save.

Happy Holiday Shopping!
Viva,
Mike