I always thought Vegas was an easy city to get around. But once I got there I realized that I wanted to find something better than walking in the 109 degree heat or spending ridiculous amounts of money on taxi rides! We took a taxi from Caesar's Palace to Fremont Street, which was less than 6 miles, and it cost us $30 one way. Now I don't live in a major city so I don't use taxis on a normal basis, only when I travel. So this wasn't exactly an exciting moment for us. Before we left for the trip I did a little bit of online research for other options. So here is the breakdown of how you can get around town!
Rental Cars
| We happened to rent a car one day because my mom and I took a day trip out to Grand Canyon West. Of all the cars in the lot, they gave us the one with the Florida plate, woo hoo! We had a full 24 hours before it needed to go back, so we ventured out that evening to eat off the strip, somewhere more reasonably priced. We got lost on our way to Circus Circus and never actually made it there that evening, BUT we found Count's Kustoms when I made a wrong turn. That made hubby happy! We also dropped by Gold & Silver Pawn from the show Pawn Stars. I even found some back roads that were not nearly as crowded. A rental car can add up, but it can come in handy if you are leaving the immediate strip area. One nice thing is that the hotels have self-parking for free. Unlike many big cities, you can park for free! Some hotels have car rental agencies inside, or just out front. Caesar's Hertz desk was just off to the side of the food court and directly next to the parking garage entrance. Avis: Bellagio, Venetian/Palazzo, Circus Circus, Mirage Hertz: Caesars, Paris, Wynn/Encore, Flamingo, Hard Rock, Harrah's, Planet Hollywood, Rio, Cosmopolitan, Palms Dollar: Treasure Island Budget: Stratosphere |  Fiat 500 is such a cute car!  Driving through the desert, back to Las Vegas! |
The Deuce
The Deuce Bus runs the entire length of the Las Vegas strip- as well as up to Fremont Street. Had we looked in to this sooner, it would have been our best option for getting to Fremont Street, instead of the $60 taxi ride! It would have been handy for our trip to Circus Circus as well. This double-decker bus operates 24/7. You can get to anything along the main-tourist areas on this bus. It arrives every 15-20 minutes. We missed a bus one time by 100 feet, but luckily another one showed up 1 minute after! A two-hour pass is $6, 24-hour pass is $8, and 3-day pass is $20. It is well worth it if you're looking to save a few bucks. We rode it around 7:30 one night and there were only 2 other people on the bus. When we rode it back later that night, around midnight, the bus was packed. "Standing room only" doesn't even explain it! This is definitely a great asset.
The Monorail
The monorail was somewhat of a disappointment. I researched our options for getting to Circus Circus and it looked like we'd be in for another expensive cab ride. Beofre coming on this trip I had printed a few papers that had different options for transportation and entertainment. When I stumbled on papers in my backpack about the monorail I figured this would be a great option! The monorail is located on the East side of the strip, behind the hotels. It's not directly on the strip. We decided to use it for two trips on our final day in town. First up was returning to Caesars from the M&M Store. We had to walk all the way to the back of MGM, in to the underground area, and up some stairs just to get to the Monorail. Not terrible, because we were inside the a/c. We rode the Monorail to the Flamingo/Caesars stop. Now, once we got off, we had another 15 minutes to walk across a large platform, through the Flamingo, up an escalator, across LV Blvd pedestrian bridge, and in to Caesars! The second time we used it was to get to Circus Circus. This was a big mistake. The "Westgate" stop indicates that it is near Circus Circus and Stratosphere. After exiting the monorail station we found out that CC is over 1/2 mile away. Not terrible on a normal basis, but in the Vegas heat it wasn't pleasant. I am pretty sure my mom and hubby were fuming with me. We had along walk through an empty road, where the Riviera used to be). Needless to say, research how far the walk is before you hop on the monorail!
Pedestrian Bridges
One nice thing about Vegas is that you rarely have to cross a street through traffic. Most major intersections have pedestrian bridges. Some are connected to the second level of the hotels, others are easily accessible by escalator or elevator. The bridge between Bally's and Bellagio is a great place to watch the Bellagio fountain show ;)
Trams
There are two free trams on the Las Vegas Strip.
The City Center Aria Express Tram runs between the Monte Carlo and Bellagio Hotels. There are three stops along the route: Monte Carlo, Crystals (shopping) closest to the Aria, and Bellagio (also serves the Vdara). The full transit is 6 minutes, a much faster trip than walking between the two end hotels! A tram arrives at each station every 3 minutes, on average. The tram operates from 8am to 4am daily!
The Mandalay Bay- Excalibur Tram runs slightly differently. The Southbound tram runs from Excalibur to Mandalay Bay without stopping in between. The Northbound train runs from Mandalay Bay, stops at Luxor, then ends at Excalibur. This one runs from 9am to 12:30am daily.
The City Center Aria Express Tram runs between the Monte Carlo and Bellagio Hotels. There are three stops along the route: Monte Carlo, Crystals (shopping) closest to the Aria, and Bellagio (also serves the Vdara). The full transit is 6 minutes, a much faster trip than walking between the two end hotels! A tram arrives at each station every 3 minutes, on average. The tram operates from 8am to 4am daily!
The Mandalay Bay- Excalibur Tram runs slightly differently. The Southbound tram runs from Excalibur to Mandalay Bay without stopping in between. The Northbound train runs from Mandalay Bay, stops at Luxor, then ends at Excalibur. This one runs from 9am to 12:30am daily.
The Tram station at Mandalay Bay.
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