The Cheapest Way To Get Around On Your Vegas Vacation

Whether you're in Las Vegas to get married by an officiant who kind of looks like Elvis, spend all night at the blackjack table, eat at one of the most mouth-watering buffets, watch a magic show, or be dazzled by the lights on the Strip, if you plan to leave your hotel at all on your trip, you will need a way to get around. While you have a lot of options, the best one if you're on a budget is to take public transportation.

From stretch limos to taxis, there's no shortage of ways to get picked up by a car in Vegas. While getting a limo in Las Vegas may not be the unnecessary luxury many travelers think, you can expect to pay a premium for any vehicle on the Strip. If you need a car to take you from your hotel to a casino, then another to a restaurant, another to a nightclub, and then home again, those fares add up pretty quickly.

To try to save money on cabs, some travelers rent their own car instead, but between the rental fee and paying for parking at every casino on the Strip, that can drain your travel budget pretty quickly, too. While it might not make you feel like a high roller, taking a free shuttle or inexpensive public bus is a much better choice.

Take a look at your itinerary and figure out where you'll need to go — there may be cheap or even free ways to get around using public transportation like a bus or the Monorail. If you're walking around on the Strip, you'll probably spot the Deuce driving by. This dark gold double-decker bus is designed for tourists to get between the Strip and the Downtown, stopping at all the major hotels and casinos before heading to Old Vegas spots like the Fremont Street Experience. Rides on this bus cost just a few dollars, but if you want to hop on and off, you can save even more money by purchasing a 24-hour or even a three-day pass so you can ride it as much as you want.

The Las Vegas Monorail may also be a good fit, depending on your Sin City bucket list. A much quicker way to get around than a bus, these elevated trains will pick you up at seven of the major hotels on the Strip every four to eight minutes. You may also want to get a pass for the Monorail if you plan to take it back and forth between different destinations all day. If you're heading to Downtown, try the Downtown Loop, a shuttle that will take you around the biggest downtown attractions — such as the Arts District and the Mob Museum — for free. If you just need to get from the Bellagio to The Shops at Crystals and a few other quick stops, the complementary ARIA Express Tram might be for you.

Walking is always the cheapest way to get anywhere, but unfortunately, people often make the mistake of trying to walk around everywhere on their first trip to Las Vegas. Vegas isn't considered a walkable city in general because the attractions are much farther apart than out-of-towners may realize.

You can definitely enjoy strolling around on the Strip, but actually walking the entire 4.2-mile route can take up to two hours, depending on how much stopping and sightseeing you're doing along the way. If you walk straight from the Strip to Downtown without exploring at all, you'll be trekking for almost two hours there, too.

You should also know that on summer days, temperatures can soar over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, which means that even short distances can be a grueling experience. You may not be able to save time by running across the street wherever you want to, either. In addition to being dangerous in Vegas traffic, jaywalking laws are strictly enforced and can come with heavy fines.