Hotel Airfare Deals

Air, hotel combo packages best Vegas deals

Las Vegas offers a lot of bang for your vacation dollar, especially when you find a package deal that combines airfare and hotel.

There's lots of competition among airlines for Vegas, which keeps fares low. When those fares are bundled with hotel rates, you can save even more. For example, we checked sample rates for air-and-hotel packages for three nights, arriving on Aug. 15, and found them as low as $249 for stays at the three-star Palace Station and $289 for stays at the four-star Hilton Las Vegas or Golden Nugget, per person, based on double occupancy. The cheapest airfare-only rate for the same travel dates was $219 per person.

Along with bundling, the days of the week you travel can make a big difference in the amount you spend on your trip. The best days to depart are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday or Friday departures with Sunday returns will bring the highest fares; Friday and Saturday night stays are the most expensive. If you want to spend the weekend in Las Vegas, depart on Saturday and return on Tuesday. You can save $100 per person on your vacation.

If you can avoid the weekend altogether, you will save even more. For example, three-night packages from Dallas, with stays at Palace Station, cost $249 for departure Monday, Aug. 15, and return Thursday, Aug. 18; $280 for departure Saturday, Aug. 20, and return Tuesday, Aug. 23; and $378 for departure Thursday, Aug. 18, and return Sunday, Aug. 21.

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Avoid resort fees: When booking rooms, watch out for resort fees, which can to your bill. Quite a few hotels in Las Vegas charge a resort fee for certain amenities, and you pay whether you use those amenities or not. The Gold Coast charges a mere $3 per day, while Red Rock Resort charges $24.95. You'll definitely want to know if resort fees apply, so you can see the true cost of your vacation before you book. Some hotels, such as Harrah's properties, don't charge resort fees, so it's possible to avoid that expense.

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Tickets included: Our hottest-selling hotel package deal in Las Vegas is back for fall and winter travel. You'll get two free show tickets when you book an air/hotel package with stays at a participating MGM property for three or more nights from Nov. 6 through Feb. 2.

The show choices are "Viva Elvis," "Lion King," Terry Fator, "KA," "Jabbawockeez," "Zumanity," "Criss Angel Believe" and "Tournament of Kings."

When we priced Terry Fator's show, we found tickets cost as much as $330 per couple.

Exclusive Travel Agency Vacations | The Vietnam tours

With the flurry of online travel booking and Do-It-Yourself travel sites, many people have lost sight of the fact that a trip can easily be booked through a travel agency – and that there are benefits which can only be found through one of these agencies. It is important to think about the various deals that you can find only through a travel agency before you begin to plan your trip. Before you start to try to do it yourself, and before you spend too much money with online travel sites or Do-It-Yourself travel sites, think about using a travel agent.

The Best Deals

Many people believe that the best deals can be found by doing the booking and the arranging of their trip on their own. However, they are forgetting that this technique can lead additional fees and taxes which travel agents will not add. They also forget that travel agents are real people, which means that you can talk to him or her about your exact needs for the trip, including any special needs you have, and they can make sure that you are taken care of. Even if a particular company advertises the best deals, when it comes right down to it, the best deals are only found through travel agencies.

Package Deals

Even though many travel companies claim that they can get you package deals – such as airfare, hotel, and car rental, in reality most of these companies are just finding deals on these three things and then sticking them together in a package that looks appealing but may not be a “deal” at all. On the other hand, travel agencies really do have contracts or agreements in place where they work with corporations that are mutually beneficial. They can actually get you a better deal on car rentals if you stay in a certain hotel, or get a better deal on airfare if you are renting a car from the right company. These are not just individual purchases stuck together, like on the travel sites. They are actual connections which are made with the travel agency through various companies for flights, car rentals, and hotels. Therefore, when you do book a package deal with a travel agency, you are getting a better deal than you would get doing it yourself.

Tour Deals

Another thing that Do-It-Yourself travel does not afford you is the benefit of getting a tour deal that a travel agency could give you. If you want to travel abroad, for example, where your vacation may cross borders into several different countries, you might have considered planning your own tour. However, if you do this, you have to worry about each individual thing – travel from one place to another, lodging, and sightseeing in each area. If you do not want to worry about all of these details, you probably want to look for a good tour deal. The only place to get a good tour deal is through a travel agency. Through a travel agency, you will be able to book all of the components of your vacation. You can tell them where you would like to go, and then the travel agency can take care of all of your arrangements. They will book your flights, your travel between each place you are going, and all of the things that you will do when you are in each town or country. They will also reserve your hotels, all of the other types of accommodations you are going to need, and take care of any other things that come up.

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