As soon as you flip the calendar from April to May in the U.S., you’re charmed by the sight of a three-day weekend on the horizon. It may not seem like much, but sometimes all it takes is a weekend travel deal to make everything right with the world again.
If you’re looking for a nearby spot to spend a few days outside L.A., don’t overlook Las Vegas. Even if you’ve got plenty of sun in your neck of the woods, Vegas offers all kinds of fun stuff to fill a three-day weekend and it’s actually do-able as a road trip from L.A., too.
For those who aren’t familiar with the geography of the region, it’s easy to make the mistake that driving from Los Angeles to Las Vegas wouldn’t be the best way to get from city to city. It’s also easy to assume that since Reno and Vegas are both in Nevada that it would take longer to get from L.A. to Vegas than it would to get from Reno to Las Vegas. Both of these assumptions, however, are wrong.
Reno-Vegas is more than 450 miles one-way, whereas L.A.-Vegas is only 270 miles. Yes, there are plenty of flights connecting Angelinos to Sin City, but if you like to drive and you’ve got a good road trip crew then that’s an excellent option – when everyone chips in on gas money, it’s much cheaper than paying for several plane tickets.
And speaking of saving money, one great way to do that is to stay in off Strip hotels in Vegas. The flashing lights and spectacular outdoor shows at the big casino hotels on the Strip are enticing, but there’s no reason to pay the high prices for rooms in those hotels if you can stay nearby in an off-Strip hotel for a fraction of the cost. Spend all your time in the fancy hotel casinos, restaurants, lounges, theatres, and bars if you like – but sleep cheap off the Strip.
Road trips don’t take nearly as much planning as a trip involving flights, so you’ve still got a little time to figure out a trip to Vegas for Memorial Day. Remember, however, that you aren’t the only one planning a Memorial Day trip, so don’t wait too long or all the Memorial Day travel deals will be gone.
photo by jdnx