I’ve just returned from my second Las Vegas vacation and it was – as its iconic sign promises – fabulous. My original reason for going was to attend the Toastmasters International convention (the Olympics for people who would rather give speeches than do anything athletic). But in addition to the convention, I shopped, took in shows and a concert, ate at great restaurants, and had nearly every square inch of my body massaged. Ahhh...

If you’re brave enough to stand the heat, here are some of my tips:

1) Don’t book too much ahead of time. Upon arrival, I was given a coupon book that allowed me to purchase show tickets at 30% - 50% off, so I would have been pretty upset, had I paid full price over the internet. Vegas is in a bit of an economic slump these days, so there really isn’t much chance that your show will sell out.

2) Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant at MGM. I had one of my best meals there, and the prices were very reasonable. Try the caprese salad (on par with the ones I’ve eaten in Italy) and any of the pasta dishes. I’m a committed vegetarian, but my travelling companion had wonderful things to say about the kobe beef with asparagus and fried potatoes.

3) “Sold Out” doesn’t mean a thing. Imagine my surprise when my hotel was able to find last minute tickets for the Adele concert! All I had to do, evidently, was ask. Hotels are able to contact all sorts of ticket vendors on your behalf, and they’ll even courier tickets to the box office of wherever you’re staying. Adele performed at the Chelsea Room to only about a few hundred people – and I was lucky enough to be one of them.

4) Vegetarian? Rethink the buffets. If you’re hankering for prime rib or roast beef, a buffet might be worth the price, but if you’re not a carnivore, they’re simply too expensive. You’d have to eat a whole lot of bread, salad and mediocre quesadillas, to make the $20 or $25 price tag worthwhile. Opt for an inexpensive café, instead.

If you’re planning a vacation, be sure to check out the resources at your local library. We’ve got maps, guidebooks, phrasebooks and dictionaries, and more! Happy travels!

To read about Katherine's first visit to Vegas, select the tag 'las vegas'.