How To Do Vegas On A Budget

There’s something about Vegas that always pulls us back! The place is constantly buzzing and there’s so much to see and do! It’s a city known for high-rollers, big stakes, fancy restaurants and lavish hotels, but a trip here doesn’t have to break the bank and you can still enjoy some of that high-roller style if you know how! Check out our top tips for how to visit Vegas on a budget.

When To Stay

Vegas is always busy! There are yearly conventions, concerts, massive sporting events and poker tournaments so if you’re looking to miss the crowds, think again! There are however less busier times where you can take advantage of lower hotel rates and fewer crowds. When you’re visiting Vegas on a budget getting a cheaper hotel rate is the best way to save money on your overall stay.

Stay midweek

Weekends are always busier and more expensive times to stay and generally hotel rates are cheaper Sunday through to Wednesday/Thursday so if you’re on a budget try to stay midweek.

You could always stay in a less central or off strip hotel on the more expensive weekend days — for example if you’re looking to stay in a fancy, strip hotel for 7 nights and they up the rates by $100–$200 a night from Thursday to Sunday, you could transfer to a less central (and cheaper) hotel during those days.

Check for resort fees and make sure to factor this into your overall costs as they can add as much as 30% onto your hotel bill. Most of the well known strip hotels charge $35–$40 per night extra in resort fees — these are mandatory fees, added daily for facilities such as internet access, gym and phone usage.

Resort fees are added daily and not included in the initial booking cost, they are added to the bill at the end of a stay. 

Don’t be afraid to juggle your hotels — we stayed for 6 nights over the New Years period and stayed for 4 nights in a luxury hotel suite then transferred to a second, cheaper hotel for New Years Eve and New Years Day. This suited us as we were nearer to our New Years Eve entertainment, out the hotel most of the time anyway and saved over $400 which we splashed on nice meals and a night out.

Cheapest time of year to stay

Surprisingly the week leading up to Christmas and the few days after is the cheapest time of year to stay. There’s some great deals on accommodation and you could grab yourself a fancy hotel suite at a fraction of the normal cost! After Christmas prices start to creep back up again, with prices over new years being very expensive! just after the new years celebrations Las Vegas hosts the annual, CES Convention which sees many hotel selling out, there’s massive also crowds and you can expect to pay sky high prices during these times.

Big conventions undoubtedly drive up hotel rates, so if you’re thinking of planning a trip to Vegas check out the city’s convention schedule here – this will help you secure a better hotel deal.

Happy Hours

There’s a huge number of bars and restaurants in Vegas and no matter where you are, or what time or day, there’s loads of offers to be found. Here’s a list of our favourite happy hours…..

Aureole is in Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino. The bar has a happy hour from 5.30 pm till 7:00 pm. There’s spirits, wines, beers and cocktails for $6.

Beerhaus at the park has happy hours from 2:00 pm till 6:00 pm with $4 brews and bites. It also has a reverse happy hour from 10:00 pm till close with $4 snacks.

Brooklyn Bowl at the Link has daily happy hours from 5:00 pm till 7:00 pm. The reverse happy hour from 11:00 pm to 1:00 am has half the price off all drinks and appetisers.

Virgil’s Real BBQ is in the Link, it has a happy hour from Monday to Friday, 3:00 pm till 6:00 pm. There’s beers and wines for $5 and cocktails for $6.

Buddy V’s Ristorante at the Palazzo has a generous happy hour from 11:30 am till 6:30 pm. There’s drinks from $4 and small bites from $5. Grandma’s meatballs are great!

Nine Fine Irishmen, a wicked Irish bar with happy hours Monday to Friday 2:00 pm till 5:00 pm. There’s appetisers for $6 and beers and cocktails for $5.

Blue Ribbon at the Cosmopolitan has a happy hour Monday to Thursday from 5:30 pm till 7:00 pm with $7 sushi rolls and $7 Hitachino draft selection.

China Poblano is at the Cosmopolitan and has a happy hour Monday to Thursday from 3:30 pm till 6:00 pm. There’s $6 beers and wine, as well as small plates from $2 and cocktails for $10.

Commonwealth is a place North of the strip. The happy hour is Wednesday to Friday 6:00 pm till 9:00 pm with beers and cocktails from $3–$5.

Double Barrel Roadhouse at the Monte Carlo has a happy hour from Monday to Thursday from 4:00 pm till 6:00 pm with cheap bar drinks and $5 vodka and draft beers.

Foundation Room at the Mandalay Bay has a happy hour from 5:00 pm till 8:00 pm with $5 drinks and small food plates from $10.

Skyfall Lounge at the Delano has fantastic views and a happy hour from 5:00 pm till 7:00 pm daily. There’s bar bites starting from $6 and speciality cocktails for $12.

House of Blues at Mandalay Bay has a happy hour seven days a week from 2:00 pm till 5:00 pm. There’s food and beers from $5 as well as other drink specials.

Holsteins shakes and buns at the Cosmopolitan has amazing shakes, it has a happy hour from Sunday to Thursday, 3:30 pm till 5:30 pm. There’s food bites for $10, cocktails for $8 and beers for $6.

Davidoff Cigar Lounge is located in the Fashion Show Mall has a daily happy hour from 5:00 pm till 7:00 pm. There’s 50% off a whole selection of drinks including wines, beers and spirits on top of this ladies get two free glasses of champagne.

Park on Fremont has a happy hour Mondays to Fridays from 4:00 pm till 7:00 pm with small plates and fries for $6 and cocktails for $3. Draft and craft beers range from $4 to $5.

Chayo Mexican Kitchen is located towards the LINQ’s Las Vegas Boulevard entrance has a daily happy hour from 2:00 pm till 6:00 pm. There’s Coronitas for $1 and other cocktails for $5 as well as small plates and sides for $5.

Cool And Quirky Happy Hours

The High Roller Observation Wheel has a happy hour, well a happy 30 minutes which is how long a ride lasts. By paying an extra $10 during the day or $15 at night you get to experience the stunning views with the addition of an open bar inside your cabin.

Head on over to the Mob Museum which has a daily happy hour from 5:00 pm till 9:00 pm offering half price on drinks as well as $5 off regular admission. Guests are free to walk around the museum with their drinks and on top of this there is the added evening artifact presentations which are shown nightly from 5:00 pm till 7:00 pm.

Free Things To Do In Vegas

There’s plenty of free things to do in Las Vegas, well if you can drag yourself away from the blackjack table! You could spend time exploring some of the many themed hotels, there’s free shows and street performers, as well as all sorts of cool stuff going on outside, along the strip.

Bellagio Fountains – spend some time enjoying the spectacular fountain show. The fountains feature over 1,200 jets firing water as high as 460 feet and are choreographed to more than 30 different songs. The fountains are situated in an 8.5 acre lake right outside the front of the Bellagio Hotel & Casino.

The fountain operating times are……

Monday to Friday – Every half an hour from 3:00 pm till 8:00 pm and every 15 minutes from 8:00 pm till midnight.

Saturdays and holidays – The fountains operate every half an hour from noon till 8:00 pm and every 15 minutes from 8:00 pm till midnight.

Sundays – The fountains start at 11:00 am and run every half an hour until 7:00 pm and every 15 minutes from 7:00 pm till midnight.

Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens – Visit this amazing 14,000 square ft conservatory set in the Bellagio Resort, you can access the conservatory from the hotels lobby. The stunning garden wonderland has different themes and is changed from top to bottom, five times a year.

Fremont Street Experience – Head on over to Fremont street where the worlds largest video screen puts on a dazzling display using state of the art imagery and high quality sound. There’s a variety of light shows each lasting around 5 minutes, they run daily, every hour from 6:00 pm. While you’re waiting for the shows there’s a variety of street performers to keep you entertained and don’t forget to check out the worlds largest golden nugget on display at the Golden Nugget Hotel.

Get a picture at the iconic Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas Sign – No trip would be complete without having a mug shot next to the iconic sign, everybody loves it, there’s nearly always queues but it is free.

Watch The Mirage Volcano Show – The show only happens two or three times a day but it’s definitely worth a look. There’s a massive pyrotechnics display choreographed with music on a state of the art sound system.

The operating hours are…..

Sunday to Thursday – 7:00 pm to 7:10 pm and 8:00 pm to 8:10 pm.

Friday & Saturday – 7:00 pm to 7:10 pm, 8:00 pm to 8:10 pm, 9:00 pm to 9:10 pm.

Flamingo Wildlife Habitat – Escape from the hustle and bustle of the strip and head on over to the Flamingo Hotel to check out these colourful birds. The habitat is situated in the Flamingo Hotel’s lush 15-acre grounds, it’s serenely peaceful, there’s waterfalls, streams and other species of birds as well as koi fish and turtles. The habitat is open daily and is free to the public.

Fall Of Atlantis At Caesars Palace Forum Shops – Enjoy this free show inside the Forum Shops at the Caesars Palace Resort. The small show happens just outside the shops and depicts a classic sibling rivalry ending in the destruction of Atlantis by the Gods, it features some fountains and small pyrotechnics. The show starts every hour on the hour from 10:00 am.

The Park – The Park is a nice outdoor space and offers a good break from the strip, there’s shaded areas, drought tolerant trees and plants and some interesting sculptures. There’s free WiFi in the park, a number of eateries as well as free entertainment in the form of musicians, bands and performance artists. The Park is located on Park Avenue, adjacent to the Monte Carlo Hotel And Casino.

Free Circus Show – There’s a free circus show daily, every half an hour, from 11:00 am till midnight at the Circus Circus Hotel. The show features clowns, jugglers, uni-cyclists and acrobats and last around 5–10 minutes. Personally we wouldn’t go out our way to see the free show but if your around that area anyway or going on some of the rides there and have kids it may be worth a look.

Use The Hotel Spa – Many of the big hotels have spa facilities and while spa treatments are pricey most have indoor pools, saunas and steam rooms which are free for hotel guests, so why not relax and detox away last nights hangover.

Free Live Music In Bars And Outside

The Bar at Times Square is located on the lower level casino floor inside the New York, New York Hotel. There’s free live music daily and the duelling pianos. There’s also a happy hour from 3:00 pm till 7:00 pm Monday to Friday with Heineken Draft, house wine and select shooters for $5.

Carnaval Court is an outside bar area which is part of Harrah’s Hotel and Casino. The bar has Flair bartenders, blackjack tables as well as live bands and DJ’s. Carnaval Court also has a daily special with $4 Miller/Coors from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.

Harrah’s also has the piano bar, this is a duelling piano bar where you can watch live pianists battling it out daily from 9:00 pm.

The Rush Lounge at The Golden Nugget has live bands and a small dance area. There’s couches, TV’s and it’s a good place to chill out and listen to some live music into the early hours.

Bellagio has a laid back piano bar called the Petrossian Lounge where pianists perform daily from 10:00 am to 12:45 am.

Nine Fine Irishman has to be one of the best Irish bars in Las Vegas, there’s a great variety of drinks and beers and there’s live entertainment daily from 9:00 pm. The band plays a mix of traditional Irish music and classic songs, there’s even some traditional Irish dancing.

Fremont Street is a great place to hang, have a drink and listen to some live music. There’s outdoor bars, street performers and three stages hosting a good variety of bands. You can check out the CALENDAR HERE. 

 Reverse Happy Hours

Reverse happy hours happen a little later than the regular happy hours — originally aimed at people working late and wanting to grab a bite to eat or drink after work. There’s many of these late night deals around the strip and they’re a good way to feast on cut price bar food after a night out.

Beerhaus has a daily reverse happy hour from 10:00 pm till close where snacks are on offer for $4.

Brooklyn Bowl at the Linq has a daily reverse happy hour from 11:00 pm to 1:00 am which features half price on all appetisers and drinks.

Pub 365 at the Tuscany Suites & Hotel has a reverse happy which runs seven days a week from 11:00 pm to 4:00 am with a choice of special sliders for $6.

SkyLounge has a reverse happy hour everyday from 10:30 pm till 1:00 am with half price appetisers.

Ra Sushi Bar, located at the fashion show mall has late night happy hours Monday to Saturday 10:00 pm till close and Sunday 3:00 pm till close with half price sushi and appetisers as well as $2 Buds.

Gordon Ramsay’s at Caesars Palace has a late night happy hour Friday and Saturday 10:00 pm till midnight with $7 cocktails and half price wine and beer.

Sugarcane at the Venetian has late night specials from 4:00 pm till 7:00 pm and 11:00 pm till close at the bar with $7 cocktails, $6 draft beers and $6 wines. There’s also some food deals and oysters for $1.50 each with a minimum order of 6.

Michael Mina’s Pub at the MGM has a late happy hour on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday. The happy hour’s at the bar 9:00 pm till close with cocktails for $7.

Table 10 at the Palazzo has a daily happy hour 9:00 pm till close, there’s discounts on small plates, sangria and cocktails.

Tequila Taqueria at Bally’s has a happy hour Sunday to Thursday, 10:00 pm till midnight. There’s tacos for $2, pitchers of margarita for $20 and Mexican beer buckets with 5 bottles for £20.

Drink While You Play

Every time we visit Vegas we put together a small fund, say $50 a night to gamble with, it allows us to have a bit of fun without the risk of loosing too much money.

You can easily play some of the casino’s cheaper games whilst benefiting from free drinks on the house. There’s games such as the Wheel of Fortune which is $1 a spin and you could easily drink $50 worth of drinks by the time you’ve spent $30 gambling. At the very least if you were going to spend that money on drinks anyway, by playing you can have a bit of fun and maybe win some money back in the process. Just be careful not to exceed the money you’re playing with on what it would cost in drinks. Also, don’t forget to have some small bills to tip the waitress, this way you’ll never go thirsty!

Another great tip when you’re visiting Vegas on a budget is to buy drinks at the shops outside the casino bars — you can walk around while enjoying a much cheaper drink.

Free Or Cheap Club Entry

It’s easy for women to save money on club entry as most the big clubs prefer a higher girl to guy ratio usually 2:1.

Groups of girls will usually have no problem getting free entry to Las Vegas clubs by getting on the guest list and possibly even enjoying an open-bar once they’re in there. It is unlikely there will be quite the same offer for the guys, but if there is a mixed group of guys and girls with at least the same number of women and men, or more women in the group, then the guys may also get in a club for free or at a discounted price. It will only be the girls that get access to an open-bar or free drinks tickets though.

When you are put on the guest list, ensure to stick to the clubs dress code and arrive early (before 11:00 pm and earlier if possible) to have the best chance of getting into the club. Guest lists will close as the club starts to get full and possibly before a pre-advertised time.

One way to try to get on the guest list is to try to find out who the host or promoter is for the club you want to go to and ask if they have any guest list spaces and/or free drinks tickets for the night you want to go. A quick search on the internet for the promoter of the club you want to go to will usually show their contact details are on some form of social media (i.e. Twitter or Instagram)

There are also various different websites that you can sign up to that state they can arrange VIP or guest list entry for you, although we haven’t used any of these ourselves, some of them have very good reviews.

Tip – You can sometimes get a discount if you’re staying at the hotel and there’s usually a separate line at the club for the hotel guests.

Cut Price Shows

There’s some amazing shows to see to see in Las Vegas but why pay full price if you don’t have to!

Tix4Tonight booths have various locations around Vegas and offer up to 50% off full ticket price. The only drawback is that they only sell tickets for shows the same night and you have to get there early to beat the queues. The booths open at 10:00 am and you can pay by card or cash — we recommend getting there a little before 10:00 am to avoid big queues.

Tix4Tonight has booths all along the strip, here’s some of the popular locations – Four Queens, Fashion Show Mall, Casino Royale, Planet Hollywood, Hawaiian Market Place, Showcase Mall and Town Square Mall.

Alternatively for Cirque Du Soleil shows book direct on the website as they offer hefty discounts during non-peak show periods and you can pick your seats.

Pre Theatre Dinners At Five Star Restaurants

Most shows have evening performances that start at 7:00 pm and finish around 9:30 pm which is also around the busiest times in many restaurants. To keep tables full early in the evening the restaurants have introduced pre-theatre or fix price menus that offer a selection of the menu for a fraction of the usual price. These menus are usually offered from 4:00 pm till 7:00 pm and by taking advantage of these deals you can sample some of the finest cuisine at a more wallet-friendly price.

Many of the five star restaurants will cost you 100’s of dollars for a meal but by dining a little earlier you can have a fancy meal for as little as 50–100 dollars. Each restaurant varies with details of their pre-theatre menus and most will have a smaller selection to choose from off the main menu but it’s still well worth the money saved — We had a meal at Aureole a couple of years back and the pre-theatre menu was 3 courses for 60 dollars – the same 3 courses usually would have cost us 110 dollars each!

Here’s a list of some restaurants with excellent pre-theatre menus……

L’ Atelier de Joel Robuchon

Estiatorio Milos

Michael Mina

Costa Di Mare

Le Cirque

Eiffel Tower Paris

Carnevino Pallazo

Milos Cosmopolitan

Eat Posh Nosh For Cheap At Buffets

Las Vegas does everything big and the buffets are no exception, you can feast on all manner of sea food, there’s juicy prime steaks, gourmet burgers and pretty much anything else you can handle!

The buffets are a good way of enjoying high quality, delicious food at a reasonable price! Most of the high end buffets will charge around $40–$50 an adult which includes soft drinks and juices, many also offer unlimited alcoholic drinks such as beer, wine or champagne at a small extra cost. It’s worth noting that breakfast is usually the cheapest sitting followed by lunch, then dinner. There are many times we’ve skipped lunch and had a slightly later buffet breakfast and just snacked in-between, you could do the same with a late lunch and just snack for dinner as most serve a buffet lunch till 3:00 pm.

Many of these buffet restaurants put the prices up during holidays and around Christmas and New Year, when we ate at the Mandalay Bay buffet during the festive season it was an extra $18 dollars each but that did included Champagne and mimosas.

TIP – Most of the buffets have pretty big queues so if you’re on your own or in a group of two you could ask for seating at the bar area. We skipped an hour long queue at the Bellagio Buffet and got seated at the bar area instead — we still had plenty of room, were nearer to the buffet and the bartender kept our drinks full!

TIP –Try and get seated during the transition period, for example the Bellagio buffet for lunch is $27.99 which finishes at 3:00 pm and dinner is $38.99 which starts at 3:00 pm so try and get seated around 2:30 pm and you can pay the brunch prices for the dinner buffet as they are usually swapping the food out from 2:45 pm – 3:00 pm.

Walk And Use The Monorail

The first time we visited Vegas we stayed right at the very bottom of the strip at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. Although this hotel was not as central as some of the others on the strip, we were staying over New Year and it was a good hotel to escape the crowds when we felt the need. Whilst staying there we found that the cheapest and easiest option for getting around was by combining a small amount of walking and using the monorail.

Free monorails

The Mandalay Bay Hotel — The Luxor Hotel — The Excalibur Hotel

There are two options for this tram, if you start at the Excalibur it takes you straight to The Mandalay Bay via a 3 minute trip, this express tram runs daily 9:00 am till 10:30 pm. If you start at Mandalay Bay it runs every 3–7 minutes from 11:00 am till 10:30 pm and stops at the Luxor Hotel also.

The Monte Carlo Hotel — The Crystals Mall (access to Aria Hotel & Cosmopolitan Hotel) — The Bellagio Hotel (access to Vdara Hotel)

The tram runs every 15 minutes from 8:00 am till 4:00 am with a journey taking 2–6 minutes.

 The Mirage — The Treasure Island Hotel

This tram runs every 15 minutes from 7:00 am till 2:00 am daily. The ride takes around 4 minutes.

Las Vegas Monorail

From the Excalibur Hotel you can walk to the MGM Hotel where you can access the Las Vegas Monorail, although you need to pay for this tram it is still a cost effective way of getting along the strip. The tram stops are…..

MGM — Bally’s/Paris — Flamingo/Caesars Palace — Harrah’s/The LINQ — Las Vegas Convention Centre — Westgate Las Vegas — SLS Las Vegas/Sahara Ave.

A one-ride ticket is $5, a one day pass is $13 and a 7 day pass is $56 — there are 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 day passes available also.

Cheap Transport Tips

Taxis can be very pricey in Las Vegas so why not use Uber and Lyft. You can save pretty much half the price of a normal taxi around the strip. Both these companies nearly always have discounts for signing up and referring somebody as well as many promotional codes/offers, so if your smart you can end up bagging a couple of free taxi trips.

Tip – Many of the hotels have a separate pick-up/drop-off location for Uber and Lyft from the normal taxi pickup points.

When transferring from the Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport use an airport shuttle minibus instead of a taxi. A taxi from the airport can be pricey due to heavy traffic around the strip, there are however several minibus companies that leave from outside the baggage reclaim and charge as little as $10 each way.

Looks can be deceiving and many distances along the strip are a lot further than they look, why not combine walking with some bus journeys to give your legs a break. The Deuce Buses offer a hop-on, hop-off service which stops at most of the hotels/casinos as well as the Town Square Mall, Discount Mall and up to Fremont Street. The buses are all double-decker and run 24 hours a day, around every 15 minutes. You can purchase a 24-hour pass for $8 and a three day pass will set you back $20.

Use Rewards Scheme Points For Hotel Stays/Room Upgrades

You could use SPG Member rewards points to book your hotel stay or bag a discounted room.

Here’s a list of hotels you can use your SPG points to book:

• Element Las Vegas Summerlin
• W Las Vegas
• The Westin Las Vegas Hotel & Spa
• Four Points by Sheraton Las Vegas East Flamingo
• SLS Las Vegas, a Tribute Portfolio Resort
• The Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort & Spa (Henderson)

Other hotel reward programmes

• Marriot points can be used at the Cosmopolitan
• IHG can be used at the Venetian and Pallazo
• Hyatt Gold Passport can be used fro MGM Properties

Many of the above mentioned hotels let you use points to book rooms or you could combine cash and a lower number of points to save on the overall cost of your hotel.

Sign Up For Gaming Reward Programmes 

Nearly all the hotels and resorts in Vegas offer gaming reward programmes, they’re designed to keep you playing and spending money in specific resorts. These programmes have a whole host of benefits such as being able to jump buffet line queues to discounts in shops and restaurants and cheaper room rates. Just by signing up for many of these rewards programmes, you gain instant access to discounted room rates and promotional deals.

These are all of the programmes you can sign up for:

• M Life (MGM Properties)
• Total Rewards (Caesars Properties)
• Identity Club (The Cosmopolitan)
• Wynn Insider (or Red Card) for Wynn properties (you get 15% off room rates)
• Trump Card (Trump Properties)
• Grazie Loyalty Programme (The Venetian & Palazzo)

Other Discounts To Consider

AAA Member Discounts – AAA Members can save 10% on MGM Mirage Properties.

Students Discounts – Students can save 10% on room rates at any of the Caesars Properties.

Military Discounts – many hotels offer discounts to military personnel.

Purchase A Las Vegas Explorer Pass

Although you can purchase tickets to many attractions at a discounted price, by purchasing a Las Vegas Explorer Pass you can bundle together attractions or shows to save even more money. The pass features some top attractions and tours and can be bought online. You can choose from 3, 4, 5 or 7 attractions out of 34 and you don’t have to cram them all into one day either as the pass is valid for 30 days after the date of your first attraction visit.

Check Out Sites Like Groupon And Living Social

Everything from tours, restaurants, attractions and even hotels can be found discounted through these websites. The Eiffel Tower Experience, Linq High Roller, Big Bus Tours and Market Buffet regularly advertise deals through these websites.

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