Many tourists make really dumb decisions in terms of their transportation ideas for getting from hotel to hotel. That said, getting around Vegas, especially during weekend/ peak periods can be extremely difficult. With so many visitors all having a place to go, one needs to have plenty of patience for crowds and traffic. But, there are a few things that a tourist can keep in mind which should help save a bit of time – and more importantly, sanity.
The first thing to remember is walking may be your best option. Assuming you are staying on the Strip, going from one Strip hotel to another really is never that far. In fact, the furthest trip you can make, from Stratosphere to Mandalay Bay, will at most take you a leisurely hour and one-half to walk – and can go a lot faster if you walk faster than a leisurely stroll and take the free monorail from Excalibur to Mandalay Bay . In addition to the great exercise, the Strip is relatively safe at all times since it is well lit and full of people, and is beautiful on nights when cabs are the hardest to come by. If you're staying Downtown in the Fremont Street area, everything is within walking distance (approximately a 4-6 block area).
Although cabs are sometimes hard to get, renting a car is NOT recommended. There are a few reasons for this. First, if you’re not familiar with Vegas traffic patterns, you’re going to spend a lot of time behind the wheel. The Strip is constantly packed, and in order to avoid the traffic you’re going to have to understand back routes like Frank Sinatra Blvd/Industrial Hwy on one side and Koval/Paradise on the other. Second, most casinos aren’t that far from one another, so a cab ride or two will probably cost you less you’re your rental car bill for the day (not to mention being more convenient since parking is not always easy and Valets can take a long time), and you can easily walk or jump on and off The Deuce bus. At $5 for a 24-hour pass, the Deuce will NOT break the bank, and the wait is much less than that for a cab. And finally, drinking and driving in Vegas is enforced very strictly, and you don’t want to have a DUI on your record with all that free alcohol you’re going to want to take advantage of.
So you’re probably now asking, “Ok, if I don’t want to walk, and don’t have a rental car, how do I deal with those insane cab lines I see on almost every Saturday night?” Well, here are a few tips.
1) Avoid at all costs the following these three cab lines (in order from worst to slightly less bad) – Caesar’s Palace, Venetian, and Bellagio. If you are at one of these hotels and need a cab, walk to another hotel – near all of them are Harrah’s and the Imperial Palace, which tend to be decent places to catch a cab. Despite the 5-10 minute walk you may have to endure to get to these other lines, you’ll easily save an hour plus in waiting around.
2) If you’re in a major rush and don’t want to walk to another hotel, take a town car or limo. In general, a town car (seats 4) will cost you a minimum of $46 and a limo (seats 6+) will cost a minimum of $60 – all not including gratuity. That said, you can ask any doorman, at any hotel, for either of these options and have no wait at all, but you'll have to tip the doorman.
3) Tips. Vegas is built on people shaking hands with $20’s – so if you want to cut a cab line, find a bellman and do the same. But at this point, you’re going to be venturing into the price of a town car, so think twice before you do this.
And once again, really think about if you need that cab or not. For example, why wait in long lines to take a cab from Paris to Caesar’s. For this trip, we’re literally talking about not even a 5 minute walk. Frankly, just that cab ride alone will take longer than walking – not even including the line to get the cab. So be smart, walk a lot, and if you really need a ride, get it from a hotel with less of a line.
