You've decided on your first trip to Vegas, now you have to sort through the array of decisions governing your trip. You're got three major things to settle on first. They are:

• What time of year to visit?
• Where to stay, the Strip, Downtown or Off-Strip?
• Which hotel is the bet fit?

What time of year to visit?

There's no bad time of year to make your Vegas run but there are times when the city is much more crowded that usual, meaning hotels and gambling tables get more expensive. In general you can count on giant crowds and higher costs around:

• New Year's
• The Consumer Electronics Show (held each January)
• Super Bowl weekend
• The March NCAA basketball tournament
• The National Association of Broadcasters convention (held each April)
• Major boxing or UFC matches

Summer holidays that extend the weekend — Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day — also boost the number of Vegas visitors, but not as much as the events listed above.

While it's more difficult to find a really good room rate during these peak times, you can find exceptional bargains if you go during slow periods. If you visit around Christmas, for example, even very nice hotels usually have rooms dirt cheap. You can also save money by taking your trip in the middle of the week instead of over a weekend. Room rates are generally about 25 percent to 50 percent less expensive Sundays through Thursdays.

The Strip, Downtown or Off-Strip?

The part of town in which you stay will almost entirely determine what kind of trip you'll have, so it's important to figure out what you really want before choosing your hotel.

When to choose the Strip

If you're looking for the "Full Vegas Experience" — flashy places, over-the-top attractions, fine dining, big-time shows, hot nightlife and world-class shopping — then you'll definitely want to stay on the Strip. The downsides are that it's more expensive and, because the hotels are so huge, it's more difficult going to many different places. If you want to visit multiple Strip casinos you're in for a lot of walking.

When to choose Downtown

If gambling is your thing — REALLY your thing, as in that's pretty much the entire reason you want to go to Las Vegas — Downtown may be the best fit. It's an older part of town, the casinos are smaller and the places are less expensive. There's not much going on in the way of shows or nightlife, things revolve around slot machines and table games. You can walk into a half-dozen Downtown spots looking for a cheap blackjack table in the time it would take to get from one Strip casino to the next.

When to choose an Off-Strip hotel

When we talk about Off-Strip on FirstTimeLasVegas.com, we're really referring to four places: the Stratosphere, the Hard Rock, the Rio and the Palms. Of those, the last three are fantastic party spots. They tend to draw a young, attractive, lively crowd willing to spend a fair amount of cash to have a great time. The poolside social scene and the nightlife are the major lures, with gambling falling into the "we can do that, too" category. If you're in your 20s hoping to score, and don't mind splurging on expenses, any of those three would be an excellent choice. Just be aware you're not going to be able to walk to another casino if things don't work out the way you hope at your home base. The Strip and Downtown are both a short cab ride away.

The fourth major Off-Strip casino, the Stratosphere, almost belongs in a category to itself. Many sources actually list the Strat as being on the Strip, which a case could be made that it actually is. After all, it does have a Las Vegas Boulevard address. But it's so far to the north of other far-end hotels like Circus Circus and the Sahara that we can't call it a Strip casino. Especially since it's surrounded by a fairly bad neighborhood. Walking to the Strat at night would not be a wise thing. It's a really nice place with the misfortune of being located in kind of a No-Man's Land. Because of it's isolation it's hard to recommend anyone stay at the Strat — with the exception of families traveling with children, as this is one of the few Vegas spots where the kids will be able to enjoy themselves — but it's a place everyone should visit. The tower-top observation deck gives the best view of the town at night. It's worth cab fare and the cost of deck admission.

Which hotel to book?

Here's what it comes down to: Is the hotel going to be simply a place to hang your clothes and go to sleep, or do you want to bask in total luxury? Or, like most visitors, do you want something in the middle?

Finding bare-bones accommodations on the cheap isn't hard — almost anywhere downtown or Casino Royale, Excalibur or the Sahara on the Strip would fit the bill — and it's easy to find spots for ultra-luxury — the Wynn, Encore, the Venetian, the Palazzo, the Bellagio and Caesar's Palace would all make the short list — it's the mid-range hotels where it becomes harder to decide. Finding the best hotel is usually a matter of figuring out what you want from your trip. If you're a young single person looking for nightlong parties, one of the Off-Strip properties like the Hard Rock or the Palms may be best. If you want to explore lots of casinos, then a mid-Strip location would be where to start looking.

Once you've settled on which part of town you want to try, start your search for the right hotel by visiting our area pages. There you'll find more specific recommendations.