Finding The Best Time To Travel To Las Vegas

There is a lot of debate over what time of year is best for a trip to Las Vegas, and truth is, everyone is right! No, that doesn't mean you should just pick any random date, it means that every person has different needs. In the end, there are three big factors to consider when deciding when you should go to Vegas: How's the weather? When is it cheapest to travel? And when is Las Vegas the busiest? Read on while we go through all of the different factors to find the best time for you to go to Vegas.

Picking The Season

Las Vegas is in the American South West, and more specifically, in a dry, desert basin. This information alone should be enough to let you know that Vegas can get very hot in the summer months. In fact, most people will not be able to stand the outdoor temperature of Las Vegas in July or August. Unless you want to stay indoors for your whole trip, you may want to schedule things in the more mild seasons. Really anytime between mid October and late in May would probably work out just fine.

If you plan on going to Las Vegas in the winter months, be aware that it will likely be cool during the days and cold at night. In fact, winter nights in Las Vegas sometimes drop below the freezing point! To get an idea of the average temperatures, check out the table below.

*All temperatures given in °F (°C) format.

Cutting Costs / Avoiding Crowds

Hotel rates and airfare are your two biggest expenses. They also are the two expenses that are the most likely to change throughout the year. Because airfare is dependent on so many different factors, it is hard to judge exactly when it will be best to fly. Hotels, on the other hand, relate very directly to specific times, and when demand is high, the prices can skyrocket. So how can you plan your trip to save some money at the hotel?

Basically, hotels are the cheapest when the fewest number of tourists are visiting. This means you should avoid traveling to Vegas during major events like holidays. Pretty much every holiday attracts a bit of crowd to Las Vegas because people can more easily get away from work. Also, major sporting events and conventions can easily double or triple hotel rates.

Although you should do some research to find the absolute best rates possible, generally the hottest months of the year (July and August) are also the cheapest months. If you don't want to sweat it out, you should try to plan your trips in the first half of December when few tourists are around. Also, the day of the week can make a huge difference in price. Since the weekends are usually the busiest times in Las Vegas, you can save a few bucks by arriving on Sunday and leaving no later than Thursday. Everything is available during the week, there just are not as many people around.

If you want to see Las Vegas when it is bustling with activity, then you'll probably have to pay top dollar. Tourists are most common on weekends in the fall and spring, but if you don't mind paying more, you can get in on all of the action. Luckily, these busy periods generally fall directly in the most comfortable and convenient times of the year. You can even try to schedule your visit during a major convention to get a more action-packed vacation, but again, it will not be cheap!

To learn more about visiting Las Vegas and playing craps there, check out our guide to craps casinos in Las Vegas.