Ok, I have travelled a lot so I have a lot of experience with the actual travel, but I have never planned a trip on my own.
This summer, my aunts want me and the guy to fly to Colorado to see them. Okey-dokey. Well, my boyfriend got to go to Vegas some time ago (the STINKER) and I have never been, and he always talks about it wistfully, so I’d like us to go there on the way back. You know, make a whole trip out of it.
So is this feasible? Is this silly? We don’t have a lot of money, but goldurn it I’m willing to scrimp and save if I have to. I’m dying to see Vegas. I’ve never been further west than Michigan, but I’ve seen India. Go figure.
Any advice you can give me would be great. Like are airline tickets really best on Priceline.com, or is there another way? Do I need an agent? Are they expensive? How about hotels in Vegas (I don’t need a hotel in Co.) Rental cars? I really have no idea how to do this stuff.
Look as many different places for plane tickets as you can- and don’t always count on the Internet having the best prices…often you can get better prices directly though the airline over the phone. Try checking what happens if you leave from different airports, on different days, and at different times of day. You can save a few hundred dollars by driving an extra half-hour to a different airport or leaving on a Tuesday instead of a Monday. A round-trip will always be cheaper than a couple one-way tickets.
You might also look in to Amtrak for the Colorado-Vegas portion. It usually isn’t much cheaper unless you get lucky, but I bet the scenery on that trip is awesome.
Annamika , where in Colorado are you going? There is an Airline called Allegiant that flies from Loveland (up near Fort Collins) to Vegas for like, $70. Which I am sure would be cheaper than Amtrak even. I’m sure there are other airlines with similar deals as well.
I went to Vegas about a year ago, and we didn’t rent a car. We were fine. We stayed at the Luxor on the far end of the strip. They have shuttle busses and the like, so it’s pretty easy and cheap to get around.
You might try looking for flights on www.lowestfare.com (Priceline’s sister site), www.smarterliving.com, or of course Orbitz and Travelocity. All of those sites post package deals and Vegas is usually one of the cities with lots of specials.
Well, just be sure you know why you are leaving scratch, before you decide where to go, or you will just end up with the same problems there that you have in scratch.
If you live east of Michigan and are traveling to Colorado there is no way that you can get to Vegas on the way back from there. You might think I’m nitpicking but the first thing to do is look at a map. Go to Vegas and stop in Colorado on the way back. That’ll work just fine.
Depending when you purchase tickets, there are some good deals to be found. Keep in mind that I’m pricing in Canadian funds and converting to US at the current rate, so you might find some differences. Also, I’m basing the flights out of the New York area, elswhere in the state will change pricing. I also did this for February, because there are no real dates thrown out here so far.
Anyhoo, this is all with United:
Depart NY Laguardia Friday Feb 11th 0745 arrive Denver 1009
Depart Denver 1118 arrive Vegas 1211
