How Much Does it Cost to go to Las Vegas?
Known for casinos, swanky hotels, big shows, and bachelor/bachelorette parties, Las Vegas is a city that is on many people’s must-see lists. Whether you come for gambling, parties, nightclubs, Fremont street, or even the nearby natural attractions, Las Vegas is a pretty cool place to visit. But, just how much does it cost to go to Las Vegas? Read on to find out.
For the purpose of this article, I’m going to suggest spending three nights in Las Vegas. Enough for a fun, long weekend away but not enough time to get bored. Here’s what the budget for a trip to Las Vegas looks like.
Las Vegas Trip Cost
Expenses Estimated cost
Airfare $375
Accommodations $825
Local transportation $35
Attractions $500
Food and drink $250
Random Spending $200
Total $2,185
The above estimate is in American dollars, so please use xe.com to find out the average costs in your home currency.
If you’re Canadian, you may want to consider applying for one of the best travel credit cards in Canada to help offset your costs by collecting points. For example, the American Express Platinum Card gives you a generous welcome bonus that’s often worth more than $900 (potentially more if you transfer your points to Aeroplan or Marriott Bonvoy). There’s also the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite card that has no foreign transaction fees, and it comes with airport lounge access.
Airfare
If you are flying to Las Vegas from North America, especially the west coast, you’ll find some pretty cheap flights. On average, you can expect to pay about $375 per person roundtrip from within North America. Flights from American cities will be much cheaper than from Canadian cities. I’ve seen prices from within the U.S. for under $250, often less if you’re flying with a budget airline.
For those flying from Canada, the price of flights to Las Vegas has gone up in recent times. It’s worth mentioning that many airlines offer Las Vegas vacation packages, where your hotel and flight are priced together. This can often give you a big discount.
Accommodations
Las Vegas has no shortage of hotel rooms. If you want the true Las Vegas experience, you should stay on or near the Strip where the entertainment and action happen. This will mean higher costs, but there are still deals to be found, especially if you book early.
If you stay off the Las Vegas strip, on the northern part of the strip, or downtown Las Vegas, the price of accommodations can drop quite a bit. It really just depends on what you’re looking for as some of the big hotels are quite extravagant and have different themes.
I recommend budgeting $275 per night for hotels, but that’s an average price. Also note that some hotels charge daily resort fees. There are often discounts and sales, so your average nightly can go down. Of course, if you’re trying to look like a superstar and want to get a room with a view or a suite, prices can go up significantly.
Looking for some recommendations? Take a look at:
Midrange hotels
Luxury Hotels
Airbnb / vacation homes
From mansions to condos, there are a lot of Airbnb and vacation homes available for rent. The prices are similar to hotels, so you wouldn’t be saving a huge amount. That said, you do get access to a kitchen and if you’re travelling in a big group, renting a house could be a better value.
If you have the right credit card, you can save a fair amount of money on hotels. Americans should strongly consider the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card since you can earn up to 95,000 Marriott Bonvoy points and $300 back at U.S. restaurants as a welcome bonus.
Canadians should consider the Marriott Bonvoy American Express, which gives you up to 75,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. That’s enough points for a few free nights at some hotels, which could easily have a value of over $500.
Local Transportation
If your Las Vegas plans are centred primarily on staying on or by The Strip, then you can easily get by with the local transit. Either the monorail or the bus. The monorail is $5 per ride for $15 for a day pass. The bus, which is known as The Deuce, is the most budget-friendly option, and 3-day tickets are $20. Unfortunately, it does not stop at the airport. However, there are airport shuttles that leave from the airport to hotels on The Strip and cost just under $10 each way.
The monorail may sound appealing, but when you look at a map, you’ll quickly realize that it’s not that convenient at all.
Alternatively, you can use taxis and Uber. However, these are much more expensive and if you plan to be out really late, may cancel on you.
Some people will walk up and down the strip, but Las Vegas is HOT! Plus, the distance between some hotels is a lot longer than it may first appear.
If you plan on doing a lot of things outside of the city, you’ll either want to rely on day trips with pick-up/drop-off services or rental cars.
Attractions
It’s now time to look at attractions in this how much does it cost to go to Las Vegas guide. Budgeting for attractions in Las Vegas can be a bit tricky. You could easily spend a couple thousand on shows, clubs, bars, gambling, and day trips. It depends on your plans for your Las Vegas weekend. I would say if, if you don’t plan on going crazy, you can get away with $500 for attractions in Las Vegas and still have a great time.
Some things to consider doing (other than gambling and partying):
- Las Vegas Helicopter Ride
- Antelope Canyon Day Tour
- Luxury car racetrack driving experience
- Grand Canyon Bus Tour
- Hoover Dam
- Grand Canyon
- Lake Mead
- Las Vegas Ferris wheel
If you want to catch one of the famous shows you need to book directly with them. Keep in mind that many of these performances sell out months in advance, so you should plan ahead if you have something specific in mind.
Don’t forget, gambling is considered an attraction too. How much you spend there is up to you, but you could come out ahead or you could lose everything.
It’s also possible to see Las Vegas without spending any money on attractions. Some free things to do include: The Freemont Street Experience, Bellagio gardens and botanical gardens, Bellagio fountains, Flamingo Wildlife Habitat, Streetmosphere at the Venetian, Mirage Volcano, and various hotel themes.
Food and drink
Las Vegas has every food for every budget. You can eat really cheap, really expensive, or somewhere in-between. To give you an idea, an all-you-can-eat buffet at the nicer hotels will cost about $30-40 per person while a nice meal out will be about $50 per person. Fine dining will cost you much more. Of course, there are also all the typical American fast food spots as well where you can grab a slice of pizza or a sub for about $5.
Chances are you will do a bit of mix of this, so I’d say $250 for food and drink is a pretty generous budget for 3 days in Las Vegas. That said, Las Vegas has a lot of celebrity and international restaurants. If you like to eat, you could easily spend a lot more. Personally, I don’t think it’s worth it to cheap out on food. Eating is part of the travel experience.
Random spending
Random spending is usually a category I suggest adding a bit of money to in case you want souvenirs or a couple of extra drinks. However, when it comes to Las Vegas, you may want to be a little more generous with your random spending money. Especially since everyone in Las Vegas expects a tip.
There are plenty of luxury stores in Las Vegas and there’s outlet shopping available too. You may even want to catch a show at the last minute that you had not originally planned for. I’d say bring a minimum $200 extra just to be safe.
Vegas cost for three nights
So, how much does it cost to go to Las Vegas? Based on my estimate you can expect to spend about $2,185 for three nights in Sin City. Las Vegas is not cheap, but if you use some of the tips above you can find places to save some money. Or, if you prefer to treat yourself, you can do that too. Las Vegas is definitely a good place to splurge.
Need some more travel inspiration? Check out my guides to Disneyland, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Croatia, Bali, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
