There’s
hardly a bad time to go to Las Vegas – if you wanted
to avoid crowds, well, you’d have planned your vacation
with a different destination in mind. Luckily, the city
offers so many options that even immense crowds can congregate
in Sin City and it won’t feel all that claustrophobic.
You’ll find fewer tourists on the casino floor during
the weekdays, assuming a convention
isn’t in town, than you will the weekends. If you
want to immerse yourself in the raucous Vegas nightlife,
like spending a night at the Ghost
Bar or Pure, well, you’ll
just have to pony up the extra cash for a weekend stay,
rubbing elbows with the thousands of Los Angelinos and
other visitors that descend on the city during the weekend.
The cheapest time to Visit Las Vegas is during its (relatively small) off season. Hotel prices drop as thermometers rise, making the months of July and August ripe for better deals. The same goes for January and February – since Christmas and New Year’s are two of the city’s biggest draws, there is a tendency for there to be a slight drop off in business after the holidays pass. It is also no coincidence that the cheapest time to visit Las Vegas is concurrent with its poorest climate changes.
Regardless of the popularity of Las Vegas, urban sprawl
and giant glassy towers are not the best way to beat the
desert heat. And if you think the best time to go to Las
Vegas is when it hits sweltering triple digit temperatures,
you are in the minority. The opposite goes for the early
months – just because it’s surrounded by rock
and dust doesn’t mean that it can’t get cold
in Sin City. In January you might just be forced to wear
a jacket when venturing outdoors. To be fair, the weather
is unlikely to shift your itineraries too much –
unless you think that hanging out by the Hard
Rock Hotel pool is going to be the highlight of your
trip. In that case, you’d be best served to purchase
tickets for the spring or early fall.
Most of the shows
you’ll find in Vegas run nearly year-round, so you
don’t have to worry too much in this respect. The
only things that disappear are the seasonal shows –
these often disappear after the conclusion of Christmas
and New Year’s in Las Vegas.
For gamblers, the best time to visit Las Vegas is during
the Super Bowl, or the opening weekend of March Madness.
If you are a sports fan who is even vaguely interested
in wagering on football or basketball, these Las
Vegas events are hard not to be swept up in. You will
see a small increase in price for these occasions, but
since the Super Bowl occurs during the tourist offseason
and March Madness is just as the prices are starting to
ratchet up, there are still values to be had, especially
in some of the smaller casinos on or just off the strip.
Just because you are staying at Circus
Circus instead of Mandalay
Bay, the scores on the large screen sportsbook televisions
won’t change. Every play elicits a huge crowd reaction
– it truly can be the best time to go to Las Vegas,
no matter how your team does.
