When it comes to shopping, just about every high-end casino resort, including the Bellagio and Wynn Las Vegas, has a luxurious shopping arcade. The biggest shopping malls on the Strip are the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood and the Fashion Show, north of TI, but the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace and the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian are more better places to stroll while being entertained and doing some window shopping. The discerning Shoppes at Palazzo are anchored by Barneys New York department store. If outlet shopping is more your bag, head west of downtown to the Las Vegas Premium Outlets, the city's best budget-saving shopping pick.

For natural escapes from the urban jungle, Red Rock Canyon is just a 30-minute drive from the trip. It should be on everyone's must-see list, but fortunately isn't. The startling contrast between the Strip's artificial neon glow and the awesome natural forces of the canyon can't be exaggerated. A 13-mile, one-way scenic driving and cycling loop passes by panoramic viewpoints, while rugged hiking trails leading to seasonal waterfalls.

Even more popular for first-time visitors is the art-deco Hoover Dam, once the tallest in the world, and still an engineering marvel. Bus tours from Las Vegas are a good deal and guarantee a ticket for the tour, which lets you ride an elevator 50 stories down to see the massive power generators, then zoom back up to view the exhibit halls, outdoor spillways and the Winged Figures of the Republic memorial.

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North Vancouver, B.C.: Are there still buffets in Vegas that are a good value?

Sara Benson: Definitely. The days of $5 steak-and-eggs buffets after midnight are gone, though. You'll pay through the nose for a top-class buffet at the Wynn Las Vegas or Bellagio resorts, which charge around $15 for breakfast, $20 for lunch and $35 or more for dinner. For solid-gold value on the Strip, my personal favorites are Le Village Buffet for breakfast or brunch at Paris Las Vegas or the Spice Market Buffet for lunch or dinner at Planet Hollywood. If you're going to gorge on seafood, hit Asian-flavored Todai seafood and sushi buffet at the Miracle Mile Shops, next door to Planet Hollywood, or the Village Seafood Buffet over at the Rio casino hotel, west of the Strip—the latter is pricey, but worth it.

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Port Richey, Fla.: My husband and I (50ish) will be staying in Vegas on September 11 and 12th. What is the best low-cost hotel (3 or more on strip or downtown) for a week and weekend day? I'm looking at Harrah's and Hooters at this time. Thanks!

Sara Benson: Wherever you stay in Las Vegas, weekend rates are going to be significantly higher than on weekdays. Weekends often required a two-night minimum stay (i.e., no Saturday check-ins). While it might be tempting to mix and match hotels by staying somewhere different each night to score the cheapest rates, I wouldn't recommend that strategy. Honestly, the hassle of changing hotels twice is not worth the cost savings.

Because you are leaving less than a month from now, you may find that the cheapest rooms are already gone at casino hotels. However, some of these rooms might be released again a few days before your departure date, if the casino hotel has many cancellations. That said, you probably don't want to wait until the last minute to book your hotel room and take a chance on having nowhere good to stay. Right?

Hooters has an inconvenient off-Strip location and a hurly-burly crowd. Harrah's is a reliable standby with a location smack dab in the middle of the Strip. You may be able to find cheaper rates almost next door at the Imperial Palace, although the quality of the rooms doesn't compare. Conveniently, these casino hotels—and many more—are owned by Harrah's, which means you can quickly compare rates for over a half dozen casino hotels, both on and off the Strip, with just one click of the mouse on Harrahs.com.

If all that matters to you is paying rock-bottom prices, try the Orleans, located west of I-15 but offering free guest shuttles to the Strip, and the Sahara, on the far northern Strip, but with its own monorail station. If you are willing to pay a little more to stay on the Strip, the Monte Carlo, which suffered a fire in early 2008 but has completely re-opened for business as usual, has been offering some good deals these days.