Las Vegas Nevada

Nobody warned me about the resort fee the first time I checked into a Strip hotel, and I’m still a little mad about it, so let’s fix that for you right now, plus everything else the postcards leave out.

Landing and Getting Around

You’ll fly into Harry Reid International, not the old “McCarran” name that’s still floating around outdated guides; that changed in 2021. Rideshares don’t do curbside pickup anymore either: you’ll walk into the parking garage (Terminal 1, Level 2, Door 2 bridge; Terminal 3 near Doors 52/54/56), and a flat $4.50 airport fee gets tacked onto your Uber or Lyft no matter what. Figure $20-35 to mid-Strip. Taxis are metered and queue at baggage claim; if your driver heads for the I-215 tunnel, that’s a long-haul scam, so just say you want Swenson Street or Paradise Road instead.

The Strip itself is 4.2 miles of pure sensory overload, and it’s deceptively huge; walking between neighboring casinos in summer heat can take 15-20 minutes because the resorts themselves are massive. The Monorail only runs the east side, MGM Grand to SAHARA, so don’t count on it for Bellagio, Caesars, or Wynn. The Deuce bus covers the whole Strip and downtown for $4.

Where to Visit

The Strip is still the main event: Bellagio, Caesars Palace, and MGM Grand anchor a four-mile run of the most concentrated spectacle on the planet, and the fountain shows and light displays at night are exactly as good as everyone says. Down at Fremont Street Experience, the LED canopy lights up every night for free, and I’d argue Fremont has more genuine Vegas character left in it than the corporatized modern Strip. Red Rock Canyon, 17 miles west, needs a $2 timed-entry reservation (February through November) plus a roughly $20 per-vehicle fee, so plan that ahead. The Neon Museum and the Mob Museum are both worth the ticket price for anyone who wants Vegas history beyond the casino floor.

Where to Eat

Eataly at Park MGM is a genuine crowd-pleaser if your group can’t agree on cuisine; multiple counters mean pasta for one person and pizza for another. Carson Kitchen downtown does creative American plates and a brunch worth rearranging your morning for. Lotus of Siam remains the off-Strip Thai spot that food critics won’t shut up about, and they’re right. Skip the big buffets unless you check first: MGM Grand’s closed in May 2026, Luxor’s shut back in 2025, and Paris is gone too. Bacchanal at Caesars is still running strong if you want the full spread, and honestly at $55-90+ a person, I think a good sit-down dinner beats the buffet math these days anyway.

Where to Stay

The Cosmopolitan, Palms Casino Resort, and The LINQ all deliver on the Strip-stay fantasy, but read your bill before you check out: mandatory resort fees run $45-65 a night on top of the room rate, and that’s on you no matter where you book. Parking is not the free perk it used to be, either, self-park runs $15-25 for 24 hours and valet climbs to $40-50 a day, though some MGM properties still waive self-park for guests.

Activities and Tips

Cirque du Soleil, Le Reve, and Blue Man Group are worth the ticket every time, and a helicopter tour over the Strip is genuinely spectacular at night. Hoover Dam is 45 minutes out and the easiest day trip on the list. Skip the sidewalk promoters offering “free” club entry; the covers and bottle minimums that follow are how they make their money back. Chinatown and the Arts District are real neighborhoods worth a detour once you’ve had your fill of the casino floor.

Bring cash for tips and use a bank ATM off the gaming floor; casino ATMs charge $5-8 a pop and there’s no reason to hand that over.