Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the only place in America where a fake Eiffel Tower, a real NFL stadium, and a 580-ton spherical screen all sit within walking distance of each other, and calling that walk “close” is where a lot of first-timers get into trouble. The Strip runs about 4.2 miles end to end, and casino floors are built like mazes on purpose, so a trip that looks like ten minutes on a map can eat forty minutes and half your water bottle in July heat.

Landing and getting your bearings

You’ll fly into Harry Reid International Airport, not McCarran, whatever your uncle told you last time he went. The name changed in 2021. Rideshares don’t do curbside pickup here anymore either: from Terminal 1 you head to the parking garage via the Level 2 bridge at Door 2, and from Terminal 3 it’s near Doors 52, 54, or 56. Every Uber and Lyft also tacks on a flat $4.50 airport surcharge before surge pricing even enters the picture, so budget $20 to $35 plus fees to reach mid-Strip. Taxis queue outside baggage claim and run on the meter, which sounds safer until a driver takes the I-215 tunnel to pad the fare, a trick locals call long-hauling. Ask for Swenson Street or Paradise Road, or just book rideshare upfront pricing before you get in a cab.

Once you’re on the ground, the Strip itself splits into personalities. The south end (Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, New York-New York, MGM Grand) is quieter, closer to the airport, and leans family-friendly. The center (Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Cosmopolitan, Aria, Paris, Planet Hollywood) is the densest and most walkable stretch, and also the priciest real estate on the boulevard. The north end (Wynn, Encore, the Venetian, Palazzo, Fontainebleau, the SAHARA, and the Sphere next door) is more upscale and noticeably calmer, at the cost of a longer hike to the middle. Then there’s Downtown and Fremont Street, grittier, cheaper, neon-soaked, and honestly closer to what people picture when they think “old Vegas.” If you want a slot machine that doesn’t feel rigged against you, the odds downtown tend to be better too.

Moving between all of it

The Deuce, a double-decker bus that runs the length of the Strip and into downtown, costs $4 for a two-hour pass or $8 for 24 hours, and it runs around the clock even if it crawls in traffic. The monorail is faster but only covers the east side of the Strip, from MGM Grand up to the SAHARA, seven stops, $5.50 online or $6 at the kiosk, $13.45 for a day pass. It will not get you to Bellagio, Caesars, or Wynn, so don’t plan your whole trip around it. Free casino trams connect Mandalay Bay to Excalibur to Luxor, and separately Bellagio to CityCenter to Park MGM, which is genuinely useful and costs nothing. On event weekends, a Lyft across the street can take longer than just walking, so don’t assume a car is always the fast option.

The sights worth your money, and the ones that are free

The Sphere’s “Postcard from Earth” is the newest marquee attraction, about 50 minutes with haptic seating, and tickets realistically run $114 to $191 once fees of roughly $22 are added, even though face value starts lower. It’s genuinely something to see once. Just don’t mistake it for a Broadway show; it’s a spectacle film, not a narrative production, and concert residencies in the same venue often cost more. The Bellagio fountains are still free and still worth timing your evening around, running every 15 to 30 minutes. The High Roller observation wheel at the LINQ has historically landed in the $25 to $35 range, so check current pricing before you commit. Fremont Street Experience downtown is a free nightly light canopy show, though the SlotZilla zip-line above it is a paid add-on.

The buffet situation has changed, and not for the better

If your mental image of Vegas dining involves a $20 all-you-can-eat spread, update it. Buffets have been closing steadily: MGM Grand’s buffet shut down, Luxor’s is gone, and Paris’s is closed too. What’s still standing as of mid-2026 includes Bacchanal at Caesars (the best of what’s left, and priced like it at $55 to $90-plus), Wynn’s buffet, Bellagio’s, Circus Circus for the budget option, Excalibur, and Wicked Spoon at the Cosmopolitan, though that one’s now brunch-only from 8am to 2pm. At those prices, a good sit-down dinner often beats the buffet on both cost and quality. For something cheaper and better, skip the Strip entirely for a meal and head to Lotus of Siam for Thai food, or grab In-N-Out, which has multiple locations near the Strip for $8 to $12 a combo.

Money you didn’t budget for

Nearly every Strip hotel charges a mandatory resort fee on top of your room rate, typically $45 to $60-plus per night before tax, and it is not optional no matter how surprised you are at checkout. Parking has also stopped being the free perk it once was almost everywhere: expect $15 to $25 for 24-hour self-park and $40 to $50 a day for valet, though MGM properties often still waive self-parking for hotel guests. Casino floor ATMs charge $5 to $8 or more per withdrawal, so find a bank ATM off the gaming floor instead. And if a stranger on the sidewalk offers you a “free” show ticket or nightclub entry, assume there’s a commission-based catch, because there almost always is; book through the venue’s own website instead.

Getting out of town for a day

Grand Canyon West, with its glass Skywalk on Hualapai land, is about two to two and a half hours away and is the only version of the canyon that works as an actual day trip. The South Rim, the one everyone pictures from postcards, is 4.5 to 5 hours one way, which makes it an overnight trip, not an afternoon jaunt, so don’t let anyone talk you into doing it in a day. Hoover Dam is the easy one at about 45 minutes, and pairs naturally with a stop at Lake Mead. Valley of Fire, with its red sandstone formations, is 50 to 60 minutes northeast and works well as a half-day trip. Death Valley is a longer haul at two to two and a half hours and genuinely dangerous in summer heat, so save it for October through April.

If you’re only doing the Strip, skip the rental car; parking and traffic will eat any time you save. If Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire, or Hoover Dam are on your list, rent one just for those days.