So now let's talk about how to pick a resort by location and convenience to the things you want to do while your there. If I have a short trip say 3 nights and it's mid week I tend to stay in the south end of the strip. This is because I want to conserve my travel budget and the taxi fares are lower from the airport. Also I stay at Nyny because its centralized and easy to walk to any of the south end casinos. It is usually moderately priced and is an adequate base for a short stay. Nyny in itself is an excellent resort. From here I can walk outside and cross to Mgm which has high end restaurants and gaming. Or cross to the Excalibur which gives me further access to the Luxor and Mandalay Bay all by walking inside through the casinos as they are all connected. If I go out the front door and turn left it's a very short walk to Monte Carlo. This gives me a large variety of options with little travel time wasted and no need for taxis. That scenario also keeps you in the Mlife group which maximizes your points on a short time frame. Now this thought process can be applied any where on the strip using your specific wants and needs. The only difference is the taxi fares to and from the airport.
Now for a longer stay. To me this means 4 nights or more. My longest stay at one resort has been 11 days. For reference the front desk clerk said "Wow that's a long time to stay" and she was right. So after about 5 days are taxi fares started affecting our spending money because we started getting restless and went on more excursions up and down the strip. We would have been better of to switch resorts to mid Strip at day 5 or 6 because that's where we were on the last 5 days. And not having the luxury if going back to the room for a break without a taxi ride affected everything about the last half of that trip. So think about switching resorts mid way through anything over 7 nights.
Things you should consider before budget are shows, events or even dining. There is no use getting a good rate at a resort and eating up that savings in taxi fare because your 'things to do' are not within close proximity to your home base. This also applies to Fremont and the Strip. If you want to spend more than one outing at Fremont stay there. The reverse is also true.
Since I mentioned Fremont let's talk about it in this context. It is a perfect walking vacation in Vegas. Everything is close. The taxi rides from the airport and back are higher than the Strip but unless you have an excursion planned somewhere else you won't spend any arbitrary money on transit. For example one of my favorite thing to do when I stay at one of the south Strip properties is as follows. I will wake up about 5 or 6 and get ready. Go get a grande at Starbucks and take of walking up the Strip. Now I don't just walk up the side walk in fact I avoid the sidewalk as much as possible. I will go in and out of casinos all the way along sitting at a table if the mood strikes or a slot if I see an opportunity to get a cocktail without to much wait. Then I'll keep moving just people watching and enjoying the Strip in the morning. There are always amusing things going on in the morning. This started on our very first trip when the wifey and I left Paris in search of Starbucks over at Bally's and ended up walking to the Stratosphere. Talk about a hike it says 3.4 miles but by the time we weaved in and out of the casinos and looked around it was more like 10. Now that is a long walk and the we walked back down the other side. As you can imagine it took too long and we were miserable when we were done. But at some point it became a challenge and we learned from it. Now my morning walk would consist of an enjoyable 1.4 mile stroll from Nyny to the Mirage stopping along the way to do things I like such as I always take 3 pictures of the conservatory at Bellagio. By the time I get to the Mirage I would guess I actually walked about 4 miles and I end up pretty smiley from the drinks I picked up for tips along the way. When I get to the Mirage I sit down at my favorite roulette table and make a go at it. Usually I have the table to myself or with 1 or 2 other people. I never put my players card down at the Mirage but if I did they would want me back. Gambler superstition I guess. So when I'm done paying off my next trip and then some hopefully I go out to valet and grab a taxi back to Nyny for a nap and prep to go out again. But I had to taxi back which I have to subtract from my budget initially. Where in if you go to Fremont and don't plan to leave you only walking short distances and have no in stay transit expenses.
So let this sink in before my next installment and think about what you want to do and like to do and how taxi fare is going to affect your budget. Also if you don't walk alot and don't want to use alot of taxis you can always put an extra show off til the next trip and stay closer to that show in the next one.
Because my whole goal of this continuing feature is to show you how to get to Vegas multiple times on what you spend on one trip now. While still doing everything you want to do. I have gone from one to two trips a year to at least 6 this year but that number seems to go up everytime I turn around. Oh yea and this years 6 trips won't cost as much as one 6 day trip we had last year. And like I said I don't sacrifice fun and comfort for budget. I just keep costs down with a few key thoughts. Just for reference I am 1800 miles from Vegas but it might as well be out my back door at this point. You'll see it will be second nature soon.
To date these posts may seem random but there is a method to my madness. Your enjoyment in Vegas should not be driven by your budget. Your budget should be formed around your enjoyment. And it's the little things that will kill your budget. Think about it. TBC...
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