Hey guys, I'd like some tips on the best ways to play as a vampire.

Get the Necromage perk.

Don't forget to feed, getting chased out of town sounds more fun then it really is.

Stay out of the sun.

Become a werewolf instead =) just playn

In all seriousness though, Illusion perk tree is great for vampires, as vampirism complements both illusion and sneak.

Check out these Resto perks i've marked:
http://skyrimcalculator.com/#60706

Necromage- Since you are undead, you are affected by this spell, including any buffs from potions, spells, and enchantments.
Respite- Helps with your stamina regen.
Recovery- Helps with your magicka regen.

I'd say take enchantment and you can negate any further disadvantages, and being a Breton/Dark Elf can help with their racials.
Also, since you get a plus to illusion and sneak, magic thief/assassin type characters are a great build.

Use cold water to remove blood stains before they set. Got to keep your shirt neat and tidy.

Lucky Lycans, they can get all the blood on their fur because it goes away over time, wish teh same could be said for Stage 4 Vampirism

Khajiit caravans are awesome because they're open all hours (plus they're Khajiit.) Windhelm seems to be the only town that closes up shop at 7pm, everywhere else stays open until 8pm, allowing vampires to do their shopping between 7pm (when the sun goes down) and 8pm. Not that it really matters, if you're in a town you're not going to be attacked so the daylight debuffs don't matter much (I just hate that "stepped into the sunlight" audio and visual effect.)

Have a follower, you can tell them to lay down in a bed so you can feed.

Never feed. Play the entire game as a Stage 4 full blown Vampire. 90% of the game is hostile towards you anyway. It will force you to be cunning, strategic, stealthy and force you to utilize your Calm and Pacify spells. Once you charm someone into doing their personal quest or charm a group into joining their faction they will no longer be hostile.

I will never feed again. Except for the feeding perk that comes with the completion of a certain quest. That allows me to continue the RP of a Vamp and it helps to offset the Health regain in the sunlight.

Plus I like to keep a few warm bottles of True Blood, O Positive, on me.

EDIT : Playing as an Imperial is a plus. The Voice of the Emp power is VERY useful starting out as well as later. It works on people to level 99.