Las Vegas- Getting Around on the Strip
When visiting Las Vegas I feel like there are 2 tracks that people take. One path takes them to the Strip and they stay there the whole time visiting casinos, taking in shows etc. The other path are the ones that fly into LAS airport and visit things in the surrounding area like the Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, and Red Rock Canyon to name a few. I’ll take a little time to focus this article about getting around the Strip and hopefully answer some questions you may have. I will start working on an article about things in the surrounding area.
GETTING AROUND ON THE STRIP-
I think most visitors will be flying into LAS for their Las Vegas adventure. The airport is very nice and I found it to be very accessible with pretty good signage of where to go to get to the exit. Ground transportation, taxis, and rideshare are all located near baggage claim. Donnie and I are team carry-on so we rarely have to pick up luggage at baggage claim but this is a sign that is prominent in pretty much every airport all over the World so if you are looking to find a ride getting near baggage claim is a good bet. Walk out of the door and find a taxi stand or follow a sign for rideshare to meet your Uber/Lyft. Taxi fares are based on zones. Here is a great page about the taxi zone system Zone Rate Taxi Fares – Mark’s Las Vegas (markslasvegas.com) Uber and Lyft is a great option too. These companies’ pricing is dynamic so depending on the time of day and what is going on will determine the cost of your ride. Sometimes it may be more than the taxi and sometimes it may be less. I recommend downloading the Uber or Lyft apps on your phone so you can get an estimate of the cost of your trip.
Once you are at your hotel you should be able to walk, ride the monorail, or take the bus everywhere. I do not recommend taking a taxi everywhere unless you want to chisel away at your budget on rides. I also do not recommend getting a rental car if you plan to stay on the Strip somewhere because traffic is ridiculous and you will have to pay for parking everywhere you go and at whatever hotel you are staying. If you are traveling on a budget this does nothing but add costs to your trip, money that you could be spending on something fun!
Getting around Vegas can be tricky. It is a very compact city so you would think that you could cover a lot of ground by walking in a little bit of time and steps but I have found that to not be realistic. We have been twice now and feel like getting anywhere is like going around your elbow to get to your you-know-what. I say this because you cannot cross the highway and some streets in Las Vegas, in order to get to the other side you must use one of the pedestrian bridges. This causes you to have to go out of your way to find one of these pedestrian bridges. My advice is to plan to:
- Stay on the side of the Strip that you think you will be hanging out. Example- If you want to visit Caesar’s Palace and the Forum Shops, Bellagio and its observatory, see a show at Bellagio etc then stay at a hotel on the same side of the street
- Break your stay up into days. Example- Spend your first day doing things on the Bellagio/Caesar’s side of the street and the next day do the things you want on the Paris/Venetian side of the street.
WALKING/ROLLING-
If you are able-bodied, Vegas is much simpler than if you have a mobility impairment or are pushing a stroller. Yes, you should be prepared to walk a lot but you don’t have to rely on the elevators to get to the pedestrian bridges that cross over the Strip as there are escalators at every crossing. If you have a mobility impairment like me you will want to know where you are going and what the path of least resistance is, rather than meandering along. If you are anything like me you only have so much energy and that needs to be used to get you to where you want to see/do and back.
I have a few frustrations with the pedestrian bridges:
- A HUGE frustration for me and I would imagine for a person with limited mobility is that the elevators that take you up to the pedestrian bridges are not always in working order!!!! The first time that we visited Vegas, during July, quite a few of the elevators were not working so Donnie took me up and down the escalator. Many people do not have that luxury and would need to go to another crossing area to attempt to cross the street.
- In the 2 areas where there are 4 bridges in a square (see pictures) you cannot go from one bridge to another. You must ride the elevator up, cross the bridge, ride the elevator down, find the elevator for the pedestrian bridge that crosses the next street, ride the elevator up, cross the bridge, then go wherever you are going.
- Lastly, and I don’t want to be seen as heartless but Las Vegas has a pretty decent homeless population. They hang out where the elevators on the street are (versus the ones in the casino) because it is a covered and protected area. This can make that area a bit smelly because they will relieve themselves right there. Also, sometimes inside the elevators will smell as well so it’s easy to get a bit grossed out when that happens. As for safety, there are cameras and I have never been harassed but I also always had Donnie with me.
Here are the 3 major areas where you can cross the Strip. When you get further down the Strip near the Venetian you can cross the street without a pedestrian bridge. In the pictures I have noted the elevators and the escalators are usually directly across the platform from the elevators. (Click the pictures to make them larger)
MOBILITY MOMENT-
I found the sidewalks to be pretty flat. There is the occasional small hole here and there so just be aware. There are curb cuts at every crossing. The majority of these curb cuts are very smooth and without major issue. There are lots of ramps and I never found a place that I was not able to enter. All of the casinos and hotels were easy to access without barriers.
RIDING THE MONORAILS-
Please take note that there are TWO different monorail systems. There is one that costs money to ride and then there are a series of 3 monorails offered by casinos that are completely free to ride.
The one that costs money is by far the more convenient one for covering the whole Strip. Check out the picture to see where in the city you can get. One-time tickets are $5 but you can also get unlimited rides by purchasing a day pass or multiple day pass. Their website is pretty informative Las Vegas Monorail | Alternative to Shuttles, Taxis & Trams (lvmonorail.com) We have not ridden this monorail so I cannot speak to the ride or ease of use but the website says it is fully accessible and the pictures look like the train car is even with the platforms.
The FREE monorails consists of three different lines:
- Mandalay Bay-Luxor-Excalibur
- Park MGM-Aria-Bellagio
- Mirage-Treasure Island
Donnie and I rode 2 of the 3 of these lines and while very nice to be able to hop from hotel to hotel while staying inside, out of the hot summer Las Vegas sun, be forewarned that you will do your fair share of walking and sleuthing to get to/find some of the platforms. For more info on the FREE monorails visit 3 Free Monorails on the Strip – Las Vegas Tram Hours, Routes & Maps (vegasunzipped.com) because they go much more in depth with their explanations.
MOBILITY MOMENT-
We were able to access all of the trains and platforms. The trains were even with the platforms and I could easily push onto the train car without bumping over the threshold. As I said just above, there was a good bit of walking/rolling to get to the train platforms. Much of this travel was over carpeted floors which you know if you push often that carpet can be exhausting.
RIDING THE BUS-
Donnie and I rode the bus from just in front of the Flamingo down to the Freemont Street Experience, then from Freemont Street all the way to the other end to the Welcome to Las Vegas sign, and then to a stop near Paris. The ride was comfortable and the air conditioning felt great while it was boiling outside. I like the heat but Donnie does not enjoy it so much so it was a nice reprieve for him lol. The bus is never the fastest option but it is often the cheapest. If you have to be somewhere at a certain time, I recommend giving yourself plenty of time or taking another mode of transport. We took the bus to Freemont because after The Wynn there are areas that look pretty sketchy. That may or may not be the case but we aired on the side of caution and took the bus to hop over that area vs walking through. Plus, it is also somewhere around 5 miles from the area around the Flamingo to Freemont St. We purchased day passes so we could squeeze every bit of value out of the bus. You can ride the Strip route map as well as ticket machines here: deuce.pdf (rtcsnv.com) and for more info in general on the bus system this is their website: RTC Southern Nevada – Home (rtcsnv.com)
MOBILITY MOMENT-
All of the city busses are equipped with lifts and have spaces for wheelchairs. All three of the drivers we had were very kind while strapping my chair down.
I hope my article is of use to you and provided you with an idea of getting around in Las Vegas. If you have any questions or if you need advice regarding this article leave a comment or message me on my Hello From facebook page and I would be happy to help you.
