When is the best time to visit Las Vegas? Sin City is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States, with over 30 million visitors each year.
That makes Vegas one of the most crowded places as well. Unlike theme parks like Disneyland, where there is typically a break from the big crowds between the Spring Break, summer, and holiday seasons, Las Vegas tends to be busy year-round.
Some months are busier than others though. Here’s some holidays and weekends you may want to try to avoid.
January
New Year’s Eve/Day – One of the busiest times of the year, Vegas is typically packed for New Year’s. Vegas.com says that room rates are sometimes doubled for the holiday, so book early.
CES – The popular Consumer Electronics Shows draws over 100,000 attendees every year, usually in the first or second week of January.
After the holiday season, New Year’s, and CES are over with, Vegas traditionally sees a dip in the number of visitors. MLK Weekend doesn’t tend to be a very busy holiday. Weekdays (Monday-Thursday) tend to be least crowded.
February
Super Bowl Weekend – The busiest weekend of the year for Vegas sports books, an influx of close to 300,000 visitors are expected every year for Super Bowl Sunday.
Presidents Day Weekend – The three-day weekend draws getaway travelers to the Strip.
March – April
NASCAR Weekend – Race fans descend on the city for the annual NASCAR weekend at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in early March.
Spring Break/Easter – The Spring Break season typically starts in mid-March and through Easter weekend.
May
Memorial Day Weekend – One of the busiest weekends of the year, Memorial Day Weekend marks the start of the summer season. Book early and be prepared for big crowds.
June
Electric Daisy Carnival – The summer season crowds are typically out in full force by June, with schools starting to get out of session and families on vacation. EDC is the largest electronic music festival in the world, attracting more than 300,000 people. It takes place in Vegas every year in June, so try to avoid this weekend if you can.
July
4th of July Weekend – Vegas is typically crowded for the Fourth, especially if the holiday falls on a weekend.
September
Labor Day Weekend – The three-day weekend draws big crowds, as the summer season comes to an end.
October
Columbus Day Weekend – Big crowds are expected again for another three-day weekend.
November
Veterans Day Weekend – Vegas gets very busy for the three-day weekend.
Thanksgiving Weekend – The four-day weekend typically draws a slew of visitors. After Thanksgiving, visitation drops as the slow season begins in early December.
December
NFR – The rodeo is in town! The National Finals Rodeo is a wildly popular event in early December. Crowds are traditionally manageable on the Strip, however, for most of December until Christmas week.
Holiday Season – Las Vegas starts to get packed for the holiday season on the week of Christmas through the end of the month (New Year’s). Book early and be prepared for big crowds.
When do you think Vegas is least crowded? Have you gone on any of these weekends or holidays? What was your experience like?
Be sure to let us know in the comments below!
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I attend CES each year and if you go, you should expect hugely inflated hotel rates, overbooked restaurants in the main hotels, and a jammed monorail from 8:30-10:00 am and 3:30-5:30 pm (45 min wait not uncommon). If you’re going to the show at LVCC, you should consider staying in one of the hotels on the monorail despite the wait times. Getting a taxi can be an ordeal. Plan in advance to minimize your movement (we like the Aria/Mall/Cosmo area so we can walk where we need to go).
Super Bowl is not the busiest weekend for sports books. First week of March Madness is! (I was a sports book administrator for over a decade)
Christmas week. Way too crowded . Has anyone been there after rodeo before christmas.
Early December and the week before Christmas is the best time to go! The weather can be a little cold, but it’s not crowded at all and the rates are cheaper.
If we go to Vegas during a busy time, we always love to go off the Strip. There’s some decent hotels geared toward locals that most of the tourists don’t even visit, like Green Valley Ranch or the M Resort (they have the BEST buffet in Vegas hands down). There’s so many things to do in the Las Vegas Valley besides gambling and the shows though. Be sure to check out Red Rock Canyon, Lake Mead, or the Hoover Dam. All of those are just minutes away. No lines and a lot less crowded than the Strip!
New years is nuts but if you dont mind temps in the 50’s and sometimes 60’s as a high then i think the first week after new year is a “dead” and affordable time. November is good if you want warmer and lesser level of crowds.
Me and my family are going to Vegas on June 17. will it be packed
I’d be prepared for it to be fairly crowded since a lot of the summer season crowds should be out by then. It should be a little better than going later on in the summer though.
EDC is in mid may now (this year May 17-20), not in June.
Found that out the hard way 🙁