Las Vegas essentials

The practical answers a Las Vegas trip actually needs — getting in through Harry Reid International, getting around the Strip and downtown by bus, monorail, rideshare, and car, when to visit around the desert heat, resort fees and real costs, and staying safe on the Strip and on desert day trips.

Arrival

Arrival Getting to Las Vegas Almost every visitor arrives through Harry Reid International Airport (LAS), which sits about two miles east of the south end of the Strip, or drives in on I-15 from Southern California and Utah. The airport is unusually close to the resorts, so the last mile from the terminal to your hotel is often the part worth planning.

Getting around

Getting around Getting around Las Vegas The Strip looks compact on a map and is not: it runs roughly four miles, resorts are enormous, and summer heat makes long walks harder than they look. Most visitors mix walking with the Deuce bus and the free downtown Loop shuttle, the Las Vegas Monorail on the east side of the Strip, rideshare, and — for day trips and off-Strip neighborhoods — a rental car.

Planning

Planning When to visit Las Vegas Las Vegas is a year-round destination, but the desert climate makes the season matter. Spring and fall are the most comfortable for walking the Strip and for desert day trips; summer is very hot; winter is mild by day and cool at night. Room rates track conventions, holidays, and big events more than the weather. Planning Money and costs in Las Vegas The advertised room rate is rarely the whole price in Las Vegas. Most Strip resorts add a mandatory daily resort fee, many charge for self-parking, and gratuities and taxes stack on top. Budgeting well here is mostly about reading the fees before you book and separating the room price from the real nightly total.

On the ground

On the ground Staying safe in Las Vegas Las Vegas is a major tourist city, and most trips are trouble-free with ordinary big-city awareness. The two things visitors most often underestimate are the desert environment — heat, sun, and dehydration in and out of the city — and the ordinary pickpocket-and-distraction risks of a crowded, late-night resort corridor.