How to Time Your Trip to Las Vegas

Las Vegas is a vacation destination that never sleeps. Almost everything is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so you can arrive literally any time and still have access to casinos, shows and theme hotels that are out of this world. Nonetheless, here are a few things you might want to consider before scheduling your trip.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Guidebooks

General Considerations

1. Purchase a Las Vegas travel guide before you go and acquaint yourself with all there is to see and do in Las Vegas. This Disneyesque city is packed with options, so getting an idea of where you want to go will help with overall planning.

2. Time your trip during the week if possible. Weekends are crowded in Las Vegas and prices tend to be steeper on things like buffets.

3. Try to avoid the big conventions. Las Vegas is a popular convention destination, but big gatherings make hotel rooms hard to find and other facilities generally crowded. Search the Web for a calendar of upcoming conventions and the number of attendees expected.

4. Visit a major search engine and type in "Las Vegas shows" for a list. This will give you a preview of what stars are performing in Las Vegas and when so you can plan your trip around your favorite headliners.

5. Consider activities away from the Strip. Rodeos, NASCAR racing, golf and shopping are just a few of the things you can do in the Las Vegas area instead of gambling. See "Have Fun in Las Vegas Without Gambling" in Related eHows for more ideas.

Attractions and Seasonal Events

6. Consider attending annual events such as the the Las Vegas Antique Show and Sale in September or the Bite of Vegas Food Festival or Las Vegas Balloon Classic in October.

7. Take the kids to the Lied Discovery Children's Museum or to the Las Vegas Natural History Museum's Dino Den, where animated dinosaurs are a favorite. You can also browse some excellent natural history exhibits.

8. Explore the Las Vegas Art Museum, housed in the $20 million Sahara West Library and Fine Arts Museum. The permanent collection - with an emphasis on contemporary art - will dazzle you, and there's a fine schedule of special exhibits.

9. Visit the Las Vegas Zoological-Botanical Park. See the plants and animals of the desert southwest along with endangered species and a really big alligator named (what else?) Elvis. This is a small, but charming facility that the whole family will enjoy.

Tips & Warnings

• Some Las Vegas conventions can attract as many as 190,000 people to the city. When attendees run into these numbers, you may want to choose another time to visit.
• Tickets for many shows can be bought online.
• If you plan to do a lot of outdoor activities, plan your trip for spring or fall. Summer temperatures over 100 degrees F can quickly lead to heatstroke if you are active under the hot sun.