Want to Get Off the Beaten Path? Follow the Neon Signs.

Okay, so we all know that in contemporary usage that expression is all about resisting the herd instinct. You go where others aren’t going, or in this case when they aren’t going. And folks just don’t flock to Las Vegas during the Christmas holidays. Who knows if that’s a bit of the Puritan gene pool poking through, but in any case, it makes for good deals. Several airlines have fares from New Orleans to Vegas starting under $200 on select dates in December, including Southwest, which is once again flying there nonstop. The trick to getting these fares is to leave the week before Christmas and return on Christmas Day.

The somewhat disturbingly named website, www.travelworm.com, has lots of Vegas hotel deals that often include extra perks, like a buffet or show ticket. (Not the Wayne Newton kind of show ticket, but one of the lesser known but very entertaining shows that seem to be everywhere.)

The castle-themed Excalibur hotel on “The Strip” has midweek rooms from $41. Off the strip deals at places like Arizona Charlie’s, include a breakfast buffet with midweek rates of $28.

Then over the weekend, when the rates go up, you hop in your rental car and head over to beautiful Zion National Park, two and a half hours away, and enjoy it without the summertime mobs.

I’ve not been to Vegas at Christmas, but I did attend Easter Mass there once. Yes there are churches, in what is actually quite a pleasant, very normal feeling community once you get a few blocks from The Strip. And since the cantor for the mass we attended was obviously someone who also sang in one of the city’s stage productions, we were treated to a series of particularly interesting showtune style renditions of our favorite hymns.

To find the best dates for cheap airfares, try www.kayak.com using its flexible search feature. Except for Southwest, which you’ll have to research at its site www.southwest.com.