I have not travled in a while.

I want to check into going to Vegas in the fall for 5-7 days. It would be my husband, adult son and me.

There are so many places to research on the web for information on costs, (we have been there previously to a wedding so I don have to research Vegas itself). When you want to research airline prices, hotel prices and packages how do you go about doing it. There are so many ways to check I don't know where to start. I have time to do it but it isn't unlimited and there seems to be so many places to research I am feeling overwhelmed. Any suggestions? Thanks.

With the internet, research can be fun!!
Try Expedia or Orbitz for a general idea of hotels and airline prices. Tripadvisor.com has lots of hotel reviews
If your budget allows, the nicest hotels are:
The Bellagio
The Venetian
Mandalay Bay (there is a 4 Seasons hotel at the top of the Man. Bay)
Have fun!

I agree with Frankie: start with a large website like Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, and then check the individual airline and hotel websites for better offers.

Personally, I start with a long trip to travelocity.com-- to gauge what airfares are going for. I do a hotel search to see relative prices, user comments (which tend to jibe nicely with my experiences), etc. Their "smiley" score system works well-- when there are user comments; I only look at properties with 4 smileys.

tripadvisor.com is good for getting travelers' ratings as well.

For Vegas specifically, you can use sites like cheapovegas.com to look at lowball rates on rooms-- although I find them a bit optimistic for the nicer properties. And bear in mind: Weekends are markedly more expensive.

I then start my legwork. For airfares, I go to the websites of the particular airlines I'm interested in. For hotel rates, I will have my short list from travelocity and tripadvisor; I will then start by going to the hotel websites and seeing what online specials they have. Then, I call the hotels and chat with the reservations agent; even with a popular destination like Vegas, you might be able to find cheaper rates than what's on the website (especially for stays longer than 4 nights). Don't forget about AAA/AARP/military affiliations.

It's a bit of work, but it really doesn't take a lot of time, and you can save quite a bit. I have saved 15% on my hotel rooms in South Beach by doing this.

When I start researching prices I check several sites. I always check Expedia for airfare, hotel and packages(although I have yet to book with them) to get an idea of prices, I check the hotels or airlines main website and often call them as some fares are only offered online. I also check some places like worryfree vacations or other discount packages. For Vegas (depending on how nice of a hotel you want) you can get some good deals with charter companies like worryfree. I usually just book directly though. If you have AAA, most hotels in Vegas offer at least a 10% off discount, call the hotel direct to see what they offer.

Note that Oct is high-season in Vegas, lots of conventions. Avoid Sat & sun to save $$$. What city will you travel from?

I usually start by checking the Sunday travel section in the paper for cheap flights and/or packages. SWA & America West usually have very good on-going deals to Vegas.

Hi dvg,

So far you have received some great advice. www.cheapovegas.com is a great site to research Las Vegas hotels.