Las Vegas

Every city has a gap between what it promises and what it charges you for, and in Las Vegas that gap has a name: the resort fee. It shows up at checkout, it’s mandatory, it’s typically $45 to $60 or more per night, and it exists whether or not you touch the pool or the gym it supposedly pays for. Nothing in this guide matters more than knowing that number exists before you book, so let’s get the money stuff out of the way first and save the fun for after.

Landing, and the fee nobody warns you about first

You’ll arrive at Harry Reid International Airport, the renamed McCarran, a change that’s now five years old but somehow still news to a lot of travel sites. Skip the curb: rideshares pick up inside the parking garages, Terminal 1 via the Level 2 bridge at Door 2, Terminal 3 near Doors 52, 54, or 56, and every trip adds a flat $4.50 airport surcharge before the fare even starts. Plan on $20 to $35 to mid-Strip. Taxis queue at baggage claim on the meter, and a subset of drivers will run you through the I-215 tunnel to inflate that meter, a move called long-hauling. Naming Swenson Street or Paradise Road as your route kills the scam before it starts.

Where to actually stay

The Strip itself has personalities, not just addresses. South Strip, home to Mandalay Bay, Excalibur, and MGM Grand, sits closest to the airport and is the calmer, more value-oriented end. Center Strip, where Bellagio, Caesars Palace, and the Cosmopolitan sit, is the densest and most walkable stretch, and it charges accordingly. North Strip properties like Wynn, the Venetian, and the newer Fontainebleau are quieter and near the Sphere, but plan on a longer walk to reach the middle of the action. Downtown Las Vegas is the wild card: grittier, cheaper, dripping in vintage neon, and reportedly friendlier odds at the tables than the corporate Strip offers. If you want one night that feels like the old Vegas rather than a themed shopping mall, spend it there.

Getting between all of it without losing an afternoon

The Strip runs about 4.2 miles top to bottom, and resort interiors are so large that “next door” can mean a 20-minute walk in desert heat. The monorail covers only the east side, MGM Grand to the SAHARA, seven stops, $5.50 online or $13.45 for the day, and it flatly does not reach Bellagio, Caesars, or Wynn. The Deuce bus runs the full Strip plus downtown for $4 (two hours) or $8 (24 hours), all day and all night, just slower than you’d like. Free trams connect Mandalay Bay, Excalibur, and Luxor on one route, and Bellagio, CityCenter, and Park MGM on another. On a big fight weekend or during a residency finale, a rideshare across the street can genuinely take longer than walking.

Shows and sights worth the ticket

Cirque du Soleil still runs multiple productions across the Strip, and Le Rêve at Wynn remains the aquatic option for anyone chasing spectacle over comedy. The Sphere’s “Postcard from Earth” is the newer big-ticket item, about 50 minutes with haptic seating, typically $114 to $191 once roughly $22 in fees lands on top. Go once, but treat it as a visual experience rather than theater; when a concert residency takes over the same venue, prices climb further. The High Roller wheel at the LINQ has historically run $25 to $35, worth checking against current listings. The Bellagio fountains remain the best free thing in town, choreographed and running every 15 to 30 minutes.

Food, and the death of the cheap buffet

Buffets used to be the budget move here. That era is closing, literally: MGM Grand’s buffet is gone, so is Luxor’s, so is Paris’s. Still open as of mid-2026: Bacchanal at Caesars (the standard-bearer, priced at $55 to $90-plus), Wynn’s, Bellagio’s, Circus Circus for a cheaper option, Excalibur, and the Cosmopolitan’s Wicked Spoon, though that’s brunch-only now, 8am to 2pm. At those prices, a well-chosen sit-down meal often wins on both cost and quality. For genuinely good value, skip the Strip and head to Lotus of Siam for Thai food, or grab In-N-Out near the Strip for $8 to $12 a combo.

The costs that don’t make the brochure

Beyond the resort fee, parking has mostly stopped being free: expect $15 to $25 for 24-hour self-parking, $40 to $50 a day for valet, with MGM properties among the few still waiving self-park for hotel guests. Casino floor ATMs charge $5 to $8 or more per withdrawal, so use a bank ATM instead. Tipping runs 15 to 20 percent for servers and bartenders, same as most of the country. And if a promoter on the sidewalk offers a “free” nightclub pass, assume there’s a bottle-minimum catch waiting once you’re inside; book through the club’s own site instead.

If you’ve got a day to spare

Grand Canyon West, with its glass Skywalk, is about two to two and a half hours away and is the only version that fits into a single day. The South Rim is the classic postcard canyon, but it’s 4.5 to 5 hours one way, an overnight trip in practice, not a day excursion no matter what a tour flyer promises. Hoover Dam is the quick one at roughly 45 minutes, easily paired with Lake Mead. Valley of Fire, an hour northeast, delivers red rock scenery in half a day. Death Valley is a longer haul and genuinely dangerous in summer heat, so save it for cooler months.

Skip the rental car if you’re staying on the Strip the whole trip. The moment Red Rock Canyon, Hoover Dam, or Valley of Fire enters the plan, that’s when a car actually earns its parking fee.