20 Tips For Planning A Budget-Friendly Vegas Bachelorette Party

Planning a bachelorette party can be a massive task, especially when you’re trying to keep costs in check for yourself and all the attendees.

The Las Vegas Strip and the word “budget” are like two enemies that rarely see each other in the same sentence!

Luckily, having planned more than a few Vegas trips and bachelorette parties, I’ve got a ton of firsthand experience with this stuff.

In this budget-friendly bachelorette party planning guide, I’ve gathered my top tips to help you plan an unforgettable bachelorette weekend in Vegas.

From working with a bachelorette party coordinator to getting comped tables at the clubs, here’s everything you need to know to celebrate without breaking the bank.

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Book early and stay mid-week if possible.

Yes, yes, these tips are both obvious and lame, which is why we’ve grouped them into one. So we can just get ’em out of the way.

First off, you’re going to want everyone to book their flights and hotels well in advance to secure the best rates. Booking 3-6 months in advance can save up to 30% on airfare and hotel rooms.

We are earlybird planners and book stays at hotels all the time — all over the world. 8 times out of 10, the hotel rate we book 6+ months in advance is cheaper than any rate closer to the travel date.

Early bookings can mean the difference between paying $140 per night instead of $250 per night.

Secondly, room rates from Sunday night to Thursday night are going to be significantly lower than Friday and Saturday night stays. Do with that what you will — I know it’s not easy to get days off!

Avoid conference dates and festival weekends.

Yes, weekend rates can be significantly higher due to higher demand. But you know what else causes room rates to skyrocket? Conference weekends, fight nights, and festival weekends.

If possible, schedule the bachelorette party for a time when there are no major events, conferences, or festivals… unless you plan on attending them. This can significantly reduce accommodation costs.

For example, one of the most expensive times to visit is during the Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) weekend. EDC is one of the largest electronic dance music festivals in the world, held annually in Vegas in late May.

For a 3-night stay during a regular weekend, you might spend around $600-$1,000 on a room at a 3- to 4-star hotel. For a 3-night stay during EDC weekend, the same room could cost $2,000 or more.

Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is another one to avoid! This is one of the largest trade shows in the world, attracting tech professionals and enthusiasts to Las Vegas every January.

PRO TIP: To stay up to date on all the latest happenings in Vegas, you can check out our monthly guides to Vegas. Depending on when you’re looking, some of them might reflect last year’s info, but they’ll give you a decent idea of conferences and festivals happening during the month.

Can’t avoid a major weekend? Consider staying off-Strip.

Consider staying off the Strip or in nearby cities like Henderson, where rates might not be as heavily impacted by major events.

Yes, you might be paying more for Uber/Lyft rides to get to all the action on the Strip, but if staying off-Strip can save you almost $1k on lodging, that’s a pretty worthy trade-off!

Here are a few of our favorite off-Strip alternatives:

• Desert Rose Resort – free parking, no resort fee, all-suite rooms perfect for larger groups
• Durango Casino & Resort – Station Casino’s newest hotel, super hip and trendy, pool has a cute and ritzy vibe
• Palace Station Hotel & Casino – ugly exterior but renovated rooms, close enough to the Strip, free parking

Penthouse suites are going to cost you way too much money.

Penthouse suites can easily run you $1-2k per night. Which is ridiculous when you’re traveling on a budget!

Here’s what you should do instead.

If you want a central party room that’s spacious enough for everyone to gather in for pregaming, you only need to book ONE upgraded suite that’s large enough to accommodate visitors (aim for a room that’s 800+ square feet with a living area).

You can assign this room to the bride-to-be to share with her maid of honor or their close family members. From there, just get standard 2-queen rooms for a majority of the other bachelorette party guests.

Don’t forget to factor in resort fees and parking costs.

When you start doing the math for finding a hotel that fits within the budget everyone’s comfortable with, do NOT just look at the per-night rate. Get to the page with the total AFTER all the crazy resort fees have been factored in.

Resort fees can range anywhere from $28 to $50 per night, depending on how bougie/luxurious you get with the hotel. For a 3-night stay, that could mean an extra $84 to $150 per room. Need multiple rooms to fit all the girls? Now you see those annoying fees really adding up!

Traveling on a budget and don’t want to pay all the pesky resort fees? Check out these resort fee-free hotels on or near the Las Vegas Strip.

Leverage group discounts for shows, activities, and excursions.

If you’ve got a group big enough, you could actually score cheaper rates for show tickets and other things of that nature.

For example, a lot of the best shows for bachelorette parties offer group rates for groups of 21 or more people.

Some venues offer 10-20% discounts for groups, so with these group discounts, you can save anywhere from $10-$30 per person per show.

Don’t make important plans on the same night as your pool party.

Heed my warning, don’t waste money buying everyone tickets to a show if you’re going to schedule it for the same day as your visit to the dayclub.

Don’t book or plan ANYTHING big / non-refundable that night.

You have no idea how some people may get. Some will know how to handle themselves, others will get so drunk that they’ll end up sleeping through the whole night.

There have been many times (in our 20s of course) when we’ve returned to the hotel from the dayclub at around 4pm… and slept until 10:30pm. Had we scheduled dinner or a show for that night, we would have missed it all.

Take advantage of happy hours.

Las Vegas is the land of happy hours!

If you’re not planning to dine at a high-end restaurant each and every night, why not try to plan a few meals during happy hour to enjoy discounted food and drinks?

Many restaurants and bars on the Strip offer 50% off food/drink during happy hours, which typically run anywhere from 2-6pm.

This could be a really budget-friendly way to enjoy a meal (and perhaps pregame for your early evening showing of Cirque du Soleil)!

We love Happy Hours for their money-saving potential — you can easily reduce meal costs from $50 to $25 per person.

Skip the cocktail bars and get Fat Tuesdays instead.

Save money on pricey cocktails by getting yardstick-sized drinks at Fat Tuesday, where you can enjoy delicious frozen drinks at a fraction of the cost. You can even increase the overall alcohol content by adding little test tube shots at the top of your Fat Tuesday!

With locations conveniently located all over the Strip, Fat Tuesday offers large, refreshing drinks that are perfect for keeping the party going without emptying your wallet.

Have one celebratory meal, then go casual for the rest of the trip.

To make your Vegas bachelorette party special without breaking the bank, plan for just one or two celebratory meals at your top restaurant choice. Maybe one brunch and one dinner. Enjoy casual dining for the rest of the trip!

This approach allows you to experience the best of Las Vegas dining without overspending.

At the very beginning –or very end– of the trip, treat yourselves to a memorable meal and live it up for the night, then explore the many affordable (and delicious!) casual food options available at Las Vegas’ many food halls, for example.

Honestly, there’s a lot to love when it comes to casual food in Vegas. And most of them are local restaurants off the Strip!

We love Sushi Neko (all-you-can-eat made-to-order sushi), Tacos El Gordo, The Taco Stand, Tang Tang Tang (mom-and-pop Korean restaurant), Island Flavor (Hawaiian), Herbs & Rye, and lots more.

Bottomless mimosas at the buffet are an affordable option.

For a budget-friendly yet indulgent brunch experience, hit up a buffet with bottomless mimosas. Many Las Vegas buffets offer this option, allowing you to enjoy unlimited mimosas for about $30-35 alongside a wide variety of dishes for a fixed price.

This is a great way to start your day with a festive vibe without spending a fortune at high-end brunch spots! Plus, the all-you-can-eat buffet ensures that everyone in your party finds something they enjoy munching on.

Skip the cocktail bars and pre-game in the room.

A handle of vodka/tequila can cost $25 to $80 in a store versus $300+ in a restaurant/bar.

Buy alcohol from a liquor store and pre-game in your hotel room before heading out. Buying in bulk from stores like Lee’s Discount Liquor (a local institution for cheap alcohol!) saves significantly compared to bar/club prices.

Have someone bring a speaker for music and have your own dance party in the room!

Bring your own balloons instead of going through the hotel for decorations.

Bringing your own balloons for a Vegas bachelorette party will save you money, as hotels often charge a massive premium for decorations. Plus, you can customize your decorations without paying the marked-up prices!

“Bride To Be”, wedding ring-shaped, champagne-shaped, and other bachelorette party-themed balloons will cost you no more than $20 per set on Amazon, so it’s definitely the more budget-friendly option.

Dedicate 1-2 hours to set up the room before the bride arrives into the room (you can send her off to get welcome drinks with some of the other girls).

Let promoters know you’re in town for a bachelorette party.

Hit up promoters in Las Vegas and let them know that you’re going to be in town for a bachelorette party. Promoters and clubs LOVE big groups of women and are often eager to roll out the red carpet to make your Vegas trip unforgettable.

By reaching out to promoters in advance, you can score some epic perks like comped tables, free bottles of alcohol, and complimentary entry into top clubs (often with drink tickets included / open bar until a certain time).

Additionally, some promoters can arrange for free (or heavily discounted) brunch or dinner meals at popular restaurants. This approach will help your group save a significant amount of money while enjoying VIP treatment all weekend long!

At the very least, you’ll get on a guestlist so you can get free entry into the club for everyone in your party.

Skip the limos, use those rideshare apps instead.

Some promoters will try to sell you on party buses or limo rides to places like nightclubs for a per person cost anywhere from $30-$50 per person.

This is absolutely insane when you consider that a rideshare car will cost you that much in total!

By opting for rideshare services, you can save a significant amount of money while still enjoying convenient and comfortable transportation. If anything, just upgrade to the nicest car they have on the app.

Use the savings to enhance other aspects of your trip, like watching another show, going out for brunch, or putting the money towards tipping for that comped table at the club.

Use rideshare apps over taxis, unless surge pricing is in effect.

For the most part, rideshare apps offer predictable pricing and are usually cheaper than traditional taxis. Sure, you’ll have to wait a bit longer for your car (as opposed to jumping into a taxi at the hotel lobby), but you’ll be saving money in the end!

As an example, an Uber ride from the airport to the Strip costs around $15-$20 compared to a taxi’s $25-$30.

There is one caveat though. When “surge pricing” is in effect for services like Uber and Lyft, it may actually cost you MORE to ride with them. During surge hours, we like to weigh our options. We’ve definitely opted for a taxi instead of Uber/Lyft during these popular travel times!

Don’t underestimate travel times and costs.

The Strip may just seem like one long street, but don’t be fooled into thinking you can get from one end to the other with just a 5-minute drive.

Traffic is usually pretty darn bad on the Strip, so don’t be surprised if your driver swerves all kinds of ways on the backstreets of Vegas to get you where you need to go.

Make sure you’re aware before hopping into a taxi. Increased travel times will make that meter tick upwards.

Also keep this in mind when you’re planning out your itinerary! The more you try to bounce around different hotels to do things, you might just find yourself paying more for transit than you’d like.

Try to center your itinerary around one hotel.

This kinda goes hand in hand with the last point we made. If you bounce from one hotel to the next, you’re going to be spending a lot of time and money getting around the Strip.

By centering yourself around one resort (or at least one main area of the Strip), everything will be so much easier.

Let’s say your group settles on The Venetian/Palazzo as your bachelorette party home base. Instead of going to WET Republic’s pool party (which is on the other end of the Strip at MGM Grand), go to TAO Beach Club (located at The Venetian). Enjoy party brunch at LAVO and dinner at Bouchon — both of which are also conveniently located at The Venetian.

This way, anyone can easily head back to the rooms should they need a break from the festivities. No need to walk miles upon miles or spend money on Uber rides!

Once you pick a resort, check if they have a bachelorette coordinator.

If you try to do this in other parts of the world, people may look at you crazy. But this is totally a thing in Vegas!

These coordinators can help you arrange group reservations and also provide fun extras for your group (discounted show tickets, decor in the rooms, limo rides, special prix fixe menus at restaurants, etc.). Yet another reason to center yourself around one specific property!

Budget for tips.

As a group of ladies, you may get a lot of stuff comped during your trip. However, “comped” does not mean “free”. Not entirely.

Tips are still expected at the end of the day. It’s essential to budget for tips, especially in service-heavy environments like casinos, dayclubs, and nightclubs.

This is especially true if your group gets a comped table at the dayclub or nightclub! Tipping at the end of the event is expected.

Don’t forget to tip for valet, taxi rides, housekeeping, and at restaurants and bars!

Be ready to spend loads of money on coffee. Or bring your own.

Most hotel rooms on the Las Vegas Strip don’t come with coffee makers, which means you’ll often have to head downstairs to a lobby Starbucks or another overpriced coffee shop.

And when we say overpriced, we mean it: drinks are typically 30-40% more expensive than at a regular coffee shop.

To avoid these steep prices, consider bringing your own instant coffee. When others go to get their morning fix, simply ask for a cup of hot water, which usually costs around $0.50. This small adjustment can save you money over the course of your trip.

General Etiquette and Tips For Large Groups

• Anything that requires payment should be handled by a few designated people. Someone needs to be in charge so you’re not trying to split a meal bill 12 ways at dinner. You can divvy up the costs and collect payment from everyone once the trip ends.
• Make reservations for any nice lunches and dinners you’re planning. Nice restaurants in Vegas are not very walk-in friendly, unless you’re showing up as a small group of 2-3 at non-peak hours.
• Don’t make participation mandatory for every single part of the trip. That might be way too smothering, especially if people are hungover, not interested in the activity, want some alone time, etc. One way to do it is to make dinners mandatory, and daytime/nightlife activities optional.

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