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.
Walking, and why the Strip is bigger than it looks
The Las Vegas Strip (Las Vegas Boulevard South) is walkable in stretches and connected by elevated pedestrian bridges at the major intersections, which keep you off the road but add stairs, escalators, and distance. Neighbouring resorts can still be a fifteen- to twenty-minute walk apart once you account for the walk out through a casino floor.
Plan walking around the heat: from late spring through early fall, midday temperatures regularly reach the high 90s to low 110s Fahrenheit, so long outdoor walks are more comfortable in the early morning or after sunset. Carry water and use the air-conditioned interior routes through the resorts when you can.
Buses and the monorail
RTC Southern Nevada runs the public transit network. The Deuce is a double-decker bus that runs 24 hours along the Strip and continues to downtown and the Fremont Street area, using RTC passes sold as time-based fares through the rideRTC app or on-street vending machines. The RTC's old limited-stop Strip & Downtown Express (SDX) has been suspended and no longer runs, so the Deuce is the workhorse Strip route; in downtown, the City of Las Vegas separately runs the free Downtown Loop shuttle around the Fremont Street area.
The Las Vegas Monorail is a separate, privately operated line running along the east side of the Strip with seven stations from SAHARA Las Vegas to MGM Grand, passing the Las Vegas Convention Center — useful for convention-goers and east-side hotels, but it does not cross to the west-side resorts and does not serve the airport.
Rideshare, taxis, and renting a car
Uber, Lyft, and metered taxis are widely available; rideshare pickup at large resorts is often routed to a specific garage level or valet-adjacent zone, so follow the app's pickup point rather than waiting at the front doors. Surge pricing after big shows, concerts, and sporting events is common.
You do not need a car to enjoy the Strip and downtown, and parking at some resorts carries a fee. A rental car makes sense mainly for off-Strip neighborhoods like Chinatown along Spring Mountain Road and for day trips to Red Rock Canyon, Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, and Mount Charleston, where transit does not reach and timing matters.
Sources
Reviewed source trail
- RTC Southern Nevada — the Deuce and Strip transit — checked 2026-07-12
- Las Vegas Monorail — route and stations — checked 2026-07-12
- Visit Las Vegas (LVCVA) — getting around — checked 2026-07-12