A bunch of friend are planning on going to Las Vegas sometime in July or August to celebrate a 30th birthday. The number of people going depends on how much the flight/hotel costs, so it could be anywhere from 4-10 people (flying from either Toronto or Buffalo).
I don't think any of are really into gambling...it's more just experience Vegas and party for a weekend (or a few nights).
I personally, want to go to the Grand Canyon while I'm there (even if it's just for a day)...I realize that only the west rim might be possible if that's the case.
This is a long way off but because the number of people and amount of planning, I wanted to get a head start.
Should I be looking into get a package deal? What can we expect to pay for accomodations around this time of year?
Is it better to rent a car/van to go see the Grand Canyon or is taking a coach better? I'm guessing if there's 3+ people wanting to go to the Canyon it's better to rent, but if it ends up being just me or one other person, maybe a coach?
Any other suggestions, help/advice will be greatly appreciated.
The length of time is also unknown but I think I myself would be going for at least 5 days...I think everyone else would be going for 3 days (long weekend).
Help needed planning group trip to Vegas
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What you can start doing now - sign up with all possible websites like Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity for fare watchers.
The sign up with individual airlines, if possible, for "dings" or such.
Sign up with all hotels for e-mail notifications for specials. The room prices usually go down 3 months in advance.
Their July fares aren't up yet, but I see Buffalo to Vegas at $69 one way in June....looks like watching for July sale fares might be the way to go instead of a package. Wow, that's cheap! Usually their discounts aren't available for Fri and Sun however so the wkd travelers will pay more.
Southwest gives full credit for a year if you cancel your flight, always good when dealing with a group as you never know who might need to drop out. I'm not sure what the cancel policies are if you book a package with southwestvacations.com
Another idea would be fly Buffalo to Phoenix, rent a car, drive to Flagstaff or Williams to spend the night, see the Grand Canyon on day two and then head onward to Vegas that night. Phoenix to Vegas is about a 5.5 hour drive...(if you do Vegas to Canyon and back it's about 9 hours of driving.) And you'd see more of the canyon this way. You'd get an early start, maybe even sunrise!
Thanks for great tips. Wow $69!!! That's good to be true! But I'm sure it'll be closer to $400CAD with the taxes...lo.. What airline/website did you see that on?
I'm guessing from the rest of her post and the way they do prices, she meant she saw that fare on Southwest.