Best/cheapest time to go to Vegas?

S. C.

The mitten state
Joined
Nov 17, 2002
Read somewhere that October is cheapest is that true? We've never been hopefully will go this year sometime. Need all the experts here help. I've been watching youtube videos on walking in Vegas and on different casino's and resorts. Just husband and myself both retired and don't want to go in the hot hot summer.

ETA: We are coming from Michigan and thinking of taking Amtrak train (sleeper car) to Las Vegas. Always wanted to travel by train. Mainly need best months for prices for hotels/resorts.

Thank you in advance for any and all help
 
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Uhm right now. AK is doing RT flights from Seattle for $150 which is pretty unheard of. Their tourism has been hit hard by the weak CAD $ and hotels are also going for super cheap as well.
 
The pools just re opened since they close for winter as its too cold. Not sure if pool is in your plans.
 


I don't think the train goes all the way to vegas, but you pick up the bus in Bakersfield

There's talk about a high-speed rail link from Victorville. That would then need to hook up to a proposed extension of LA's MetroLink. Amtrak used to have service to Las Vegas through the Desert Wind from LA to Salt Lake City.

The Amtrak bus service would depend on the connecting train. It looks like one can even directly book the bus (without a train) from Los Angeles, although it may just be a Greyhound bus. From the midwest it would be a different service. I'm getting from (for example) Detroit on the Wolverine to Chicago, California Zephyr to Salt Lake City, then a bus to Las Vegas. There's a warning about a "self-timed transfer" in SLC, but that's really across the same intermodal station. It's just a few hundred feet walk from the train platform to the bus depot portion of the station.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Sal...802be7ea3!2m2!1d-111.9084818!2d40.7616958!3e2
 


I had another look at the schedule for the train/bus. While they say stuff like the passenger is responsible for all transportation between the train and the bus station, it's only a few hundred feet. What is a bigger concern is that there's a 9-1/2 hour transfer window. A more important warning would be that the passenger is on the hook for any hotel stay or would likely need to sleep somewhere. Probably not an ideal solution for someone who was hoping to have sleeper accommodations all the way to Las Vegas.

I also checked the bus schedule. Amtrak bus 8453 has an 8:30 AM to 3:40 PM schedule that exactly matches Greyhound 6053. Coincidence? I checked the Amtrak California Zephyr schedule, and it does in fact say that the bus to Las Vegas is on Greyhound.

https://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/836/828/California-Zephyr-Schedule-011116.pdf
 
Thank you for the info everyone and for looking into the train and bus info. :)
 
Thank you for the info everyone and for looking into the train and bus info. :)

I take it that it probably wasn't what you were hoping for? The Wolverine is a relatively short-haul train from Pontiac to Chicago, and has no sleeper accommodations, although I'm not sure how important that would be to you. The California Zephyr does of course have sleepers. The tricky part would be the bus ride. It's not a dedicated Amtrak bus. Those wait for the train to arrive and will stay there if the train is late, although an 8+ hour transfer time probably doesn't come with much risk of being that late. It does come with the problem of what to do with those 8+ hours. I'm not sure how keen you are on an 8 hour Greyhound ride to Las Vegas, especially since it would drop you off in a seedy part of downtown and not the Strip.

If you were taking the California Zephyr all the way to San Francisco (really a short bus trip from Emeryville to San Francisco) it might be the romantic ideal of train travel through the mountains with great views. Unfortunately Las Vegas is no longer served by passenger trains.

I'd recommend flying in. That would probably be cheaper than Amtrak sleeper too, if it existed to Las Vegas.
 
It's too bad there isn't a train to Las Vegas. We love taking the train. LOVE the sleeper. We've done the
Chicago to LA (Southwest Chief) and Chicago to Seattle (Empire Builder) but never the Zephyr.

Mainly need best months for prices for hotels/resorts.
November/December after Thanksgiving/before Christmas.
 
It's too bad there isn't a train to Las Vegas. We love taking the train. LOVE the sleeper. We've done the
Chicago to LA (Southwest Chief) and Chicago to Seattle (Empire Builder) but never the Zephyr.


November/December after Thanksgiving/before Christmas.
Southwest Chief Is the one that comes up for me when i check prices from Chicago. I looked on youtube videos of both Southwest Chief and Zephyr. Zephyr seems to have the better scenery but does put you further from Vegas. Thinking of maybe taking one route there and the other back. Not crazy about getting to Kingman AZ at 11:50 pm (Southwest Chief) and not liking the thought of an 8 hr greyhound bus trip (Zephyr). We live north of Chelsea Michigan so Jackson Mi would be the closest for us to leave from, it would be 3 hrs 39 min to Chicago on the Wolverine.
 
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Read somewhere that October is cheapest is that true? We've never been hopefully will go this year sometime. Need all the experts here help. I've been watching youtube videos on walking in Vegas and on different casino's and resorts. Just husband and myself both retired and don't want to go in the hot hot summer.

ETA: We are coming from Michigan and thinking of taking Amtrak train (sleeper car) to Las Vegas. Always wanted to travel by train. Mainly need best months for prices for hotels/resorts.

Thank you in advance for any and all help
um best and cheapest are two totally different things? so huh
 
Just thinking. Los Angeles isn't that far from Las Vegas and has the best transportation options. If the train ride is a important part of the trip, you can take the Southwest Chief all the way to Los Angeles and the find a way to Las Vegas. You wouldn't need a hotel room. Megabus goes LA to Vegas at 11:15 AM, but if the Southwest Chief is late the bus isn't going to wait. The Amtrak booked ride from Kingman is some sort of commuter service, although I'm not sure it's synchronized with Amtrak Service. Amtrak has dedicated buses on many routes, and the wait for the train if it's late.
 
I have been in hot, hot summer (July) and in February twice. February was much better for walking around outside on the Strip, but it was too warm inside for me and my husband. Conversely, July was crazy hot outside, but we were never out there for very long before we could duck in somewhere with AC.

Honestly, via Hotwire, I got a good deal on my February trip last year. $500pp including taxes and resort fee for 4 nights at the Venetian with round trip airfare included. Maybe one could do better, I don't know. I really wanted to stay there (it was our vow renewal trip). I could have stayed for $200 less total at the Bellagio or Caesar's around that time as well.
 
It's been said that there are no longer any high/low seasons in Vegas. What happens are peak weeks, such as when there's a big fight, a major convention like CES, etc. So you'll really need to figure out a time and see what the rates are like for that time. I remember what it was like around COMDEX, where all the major hotels were sold out and required a full week at rack rate. The card dealers said they didn't like it since "nerds don't gamble much" and they relied on tips. The shows and restaurants were doing brisk business though with lots of people on expense accounts.
 

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