Where should I stay in Las Vegas?

Las vegas and the grand canyon...... where should we stay there & on the way there & back driving from iowa?

• my friends and i our booking our trip THIS WEEK and were trying to decide where we should stay in vegas and for how many days cause we would also like but don't have to swing by the grand canyon for a day and its okay if we take a different way there and back.... we can leave iowa as early as the afternoon of March 14 but dont really want weekend hotel fares in vegas so the 15th is more practical maybe staying somewhere past Denver? and then the 16-18 or 19th in Vegas (on the strip) and then road trip to the grand canyon night somewhere in Arizona.... then road trip home with a night some where in oklahoma or kansas... or should we forget the grand canyon and just do vegas? any good reccomendations....we've done some research and some of them have stayed there before but we just wanted a little extra imput..we'd like to be back in iowa on the 22 so we are home for easter.... we would also like to stay under 300 each for rooms and gas and food.... drinks and extras not included

• Answer:

  First you need to look at your budget. It is about 3000 miles RT from Des Moines to Las Vegas. With a car that gets 30mpg, that's 100 gals. of fuel. At $3/gal. that's $300 just for gas. Add more if you take side trips while you're there. Depending on the size of your group, you may have trouble covering meals & lodging for a week. If there are 3 of you, that gives you only $85/day. If there are 4, it's a little better at $128/day and maybe possible if you all stay in one room and look for cheaper lodging but still tight if you ask me. Second, you may be underestimating how long the trip will take. Driving time from Des Moines to Vegas is about 28 hrs. so you may spend 4 of your allotted 7 days driving there and driving home. However the Grand Canyon is great if you have the time. Go to the north rim if you can.