Booking the Vegas Vacation

I do a lot of research before I spend my hard-earned money on a trip to Vegas. I figure that once I get there, I don't want to have to worry about penny-pinching. Since I'm not a millionaire, I'd better get the most out of my money before I go.

The easiest and cheapest way to book your trip to Sin City is to go to trusted internet sites and compare, compare, compare. Here are my tips:

• If you are only booking a hotel, download Travelaxe (http://www.travelaxe.com/Download_Instructions.asp - free download) and compare hotels. This software searches multiple sites to find you the best deal on a hotel. Very cool, very easy to use, and again, it's free!! Note that now some hotels are guaranteeing the best price if you book directly from them, which will save some money if you take the time to find a price that beats theirs.
  
  
  


• If you are going to fly to Vegas, you will save money by going to one of the airline sites and getting a package deal. Compare the airlines that fly out of your airport (or a nearby one if you don't mind traveling), and you will get the best deal.
  
  


• I have found that booking sites (vegas.com, travelocity, orbitz, hotwire, etc.) are usually a little more expensive than the airline sites, but sometimes you can get a better deal. You have to be a bit vigilant and keep checking back online to see which site gives you the best deal for what you want.

• Some booking sites, like hotwire, won't let you see the details of your trip until you confirm it. Call me a control freak, but I like to know everything from what time my flight leaves to the number of bathrooms on the plane before I book a flight. Maybe it's just me.
  
  


• If your dates are not set in stone, try searching for a lower price based on different dates. I always like to look at "last minute" deals and then compare that with the site's prices for dates that are weeks or months in advance. That way, if the price is cheaper with a last minute deal, I may wait to save some money. Yes, it's a bit risky since you may not get exactly what you want. And for me, an admitted control freak (see above bullet item) the last minute deals usually don't have the options I need and do not save enough $$ to be worth it, but your mileage may vary.
  
  
  


• Check the Las Vegas convention calendar (http://www.lvcva.com/meetings/convention-calendar.jsp) to make sure that you aren't going when there are 8 bajillion people attending the latest convention at your hotel.

I have compared buying items a la carte (hotel, car, air) from different sites, from the same site, by calling the hotels, and with travel agents. Still, the best prices I have found have been package deals from the airlines. For me, that is probably because I live in a city where I have to connect to get to McCarran airport (no direct flights). If you can fly directly to Las Vegas, you may get a better deal if you book your flight and hotel separately... but then again maybe not. Here's why.

The airlines buy up blocks of rooms and then dole them out with flights as incentives for people to save their oh-so-bankrupt behinds, and the competition makes it somewhat of a buyer's market. I've seen where a vacation package from an airline costs $100 less than just buying a flight from the same airline for the same days! It doesn't really make sense to me, but them's the facts, folks.

I live way over on the East coast, so getting to Vegas is somewhat expensive. Lately, the best package deals to Vegas I've found have been on US Air Vacations (http://www.usairwaysvacations.com/) and Southwest Vacations (http://www.swavacations.com/), but depending on where you live, you may find better prices elsewhere. If you do, please share with everyone so travelers can find a great price on a Vegas vacation.

Happy hunting!
Mike