Las Vegas

Las Vegas is a city in Clark County, Nevada, and its airport, Harry Reid International, handled more than 4.1 million passengers in August 2026. For a visitor from abroad heading for the parks, it is the arrival airport, the rental car and the first night.

Zion is 170 miles from the airport, Death Valley about 120 miles and the Grand Canyon's South Rim 278 miles, by the Park Service's figures. We checked the figures below on 27 October 2026 on the airport's, the Monorail's, Clark County's and the City of Las Vegas's own pages.

For the day trips we read the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Reclamation. The site of RTC, which runs the buses, could not be reached from where we checked.

What is free to see in Las Vegas?

The Fountains of Bellagio are the best-known free show in Las Vegas, and they run every day. From Monday to Friday they perform every 30 minutes from 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., then every 15 minutes from 8 p.m. to midnight. On weekends and holidays the half-hourly shows start at noon. Bellagio warns that the schedule may vary.

Fremont Street Experience downtown is open 24 hours and costs nothing to walk. Its canopy, 1,375 feet long, shows films at the top of each hour from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., and three stages have free concerts every night. The garage at 4th and Carson streets charges $4 an hour from Monday to Thursday, up to $20, and $5 an hour from Friday to Sunday, up to $25.

The Flamingo Wildlife Habitat on the Strip needs no ticket or reservation, and a keeper talks there daily at 10 a.m. Downtown Container Park advertises free concerts and films on its main stage, and it is adults only after 10 p.m. It has no parking of its own.

Bellagio's Conservatory changes its display with the seasons. The Holiday display runs from 14 November 2026 to 2 January 2027, and the garden is dark from 8 to 13 November and from 3 to 8 January.

What do the paid sights on the Strip and Downtown cost?

The High Roller, the Neon Museum, the Mob Museum and Shark Reef publish their prices, and we read them on 5 November 2026. The Sphere and the STRAT tower did not show a price we could read. Treat every figure as a starting price, because taxes and fees are added and most operators change prices by date.

Discounts on these sights mostly go to Nevada residents with Nevada ID, and we found none for visitors from abroad apart from the Mob Museum's. The High Roller also takes $5 off for anyone 65 or over with ID, from Sunday to Thursday between noon and 5 p.m.

How do you get from Harry Reid airport to the Strip?

Harry Reid International has two terminals, 1 and 3, and they are not linked on foot. A free shuttle runs between them every 20 to 30 minutes and takes about 10 minutes. Every foreign airline uses Terminal 3, as do Alaska, Frontier, JetBlue and United, while American, Delta and Southwest use Terminal 1.

Uber and Lyft pick up on Level 2 of the Terminal 1 garage and on the Valet level of the Terminal 3 garage. Taxis wait outside baggage claim at doors 1 to 4 in Terminal 1, and on Level Zero near door 52 in Terminal 3. Zoox robotaxis run to selected Strip destinations from Level Zero of both garages. Since 21 October 2026 Waymo has served the airport for its existing riders only.

The public bus stops at Terminal 1, on Level Zero, served by Route 108 and the Red Line; from Terminal 3, take the inter-terminal shuttle first. The Monorail does not serve the airport. The airport names Aer Lingus to Dublin, Copa to Panama City and a daily Korean Air flight to Seoul among its nonstops. It publishes no full list of routes. For an international departure, arrive at least three hours early.

How slow is the shuttle to Harry Reid's Rent-A-Car Center?

The shuttle from Harry Reid International to its Rent-A-Car Center is slower than usual until the end of December 2026, because the airport connector tunnels are being repaved. Since 10 August both tunnels have been down to two lanes from 5 a.m. to midnight and one lane overnight. The airport's rental page warns of delays and asks drivers returning a car to allow extra time.

The Rent-A-Car Center is at 7135 Gilespie Street, three miles south of the airport, and free shuttles run there from both terminals. At Terminal 1 the stop is outside doors 10 and 11 on Level 1; at Terminal 3 it is at both ends of the terminal on Level Zero. Ten companies have desks there, among them Alamo, Avis, Enterprise, Hertz, National and SIXT.

A rental in Clark County carries Nevada's 10% governmental services fee on the lease charges, plus a 2% county fee on rentals of 31 days or less. Our guide to renting a car in the USA covers the rest of the paperwork.

How do you get around the Strip and Downtown without a car?

The Las Vegas Monorail runs along the Strip's east side, behind the resorts rather than on Las Vegas Boulevard. Its 3.9 miles of elevated track follow Koval Lane and Paradise Road from MGM Grand in the south to SAHARA in the north. The seven stations are MGM Grand, Horseshoe/Paris, Flamingo/Caesars Palace, Harrah's/The LINQ, the Convention Center, Westgate and SAHARA.

Trains run every four to eight minutes, and the whole route takes about 15 minutes. The Monorail opens at 7 a.m. and closes at midnight on Mondays, 2 a.m. from Tuesday to Thursday and 3 a.m. from Friday to Sunday. It closes at midnight on 29 November to 2 December, 6 to 10 December and 13 to 15 December 2026, and at 1 a.m. on 3 December. Its pages name Formula One race weekend as Thursday 19 to Saturday 21 November.

Passes run in 24-hour periods from first use, and children aged five and under ride free. The machines sell full-price paper tickets and take cards without a fee.

The Monorail does not go downtown. Its operator suggests riding to SAHARA and changing to the Deuce bus or the Downtown Loop. The Monorail's site says the Deuce runs around the clock, which we could not confirm with RTC, nor its fares.

Downtown, the city's free Downtown Loop shuttle runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Sunday to Thursday, and from 3 to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. It stops at the Fremont Street Experience, a pedestrian mall, the Arts District and the Mob Museum.

On the Strip itself, Clark County has built pedestrian bridges over the Boulevard, each with a lift and escalators.

Do Strip hotel prices have to include the resort fee?

A Las Vegas hotel's advertised price must include every mandatory fee, which covers resort fees, under the Federal Trade Commission's rule on unfair or deceptive fees. The rule took effect on 12 May 2025 and names hotels and short-term rentals. Taxes are the exception: they may be left out of the advertised price, as long as they and the final amount are shown before you pay.

Room tax in the City of Las Vegas is 13.38% inside the Primary Gaming Corridor and 13% outside it. The city's guide says a property close to the Strip may be in the corridor. The city also taxes mandatory fees, resort fees included, as part of the room rate. Clark County's own listing of 2021 gives Bellagio, on the Strip, the same 13.38%.

Shops and restaurants add Clark County's sales tax of 8.375%, so a $20 meal comes to $21.68 before the tip. Our guide to sales tax in the USA explains how these appear on a bill.

What are the rules for drinking on the Strip?

The drinking age in Las Vegas is 21: Clark County Code 12.12.050 makes it unlawful for anyone younger to buy, possess or drink alcohol outside their home. We could not read the state's gambling statute, but the Nevada Gaming Commission's regulations assume 21 throughout.

Clark County Code 12.43.025 bans carrying an unsealed glass drinks container at any time on Las Vegas Boulevard from Russell Road to Sahara Avenue. The ban extends to stretches of the main cross streets and to within 200 feet of the Boulevard on any of them. On New Year's Eve, on 4 July and during special events on closed streets, no glass at all is allowed. The fine is up to $250, and a warning must come first.

The same code bans drinking, or holding an open container, within 1,000 feet of the shop where packaged alcohol was bought, and in any car park. The county code does not ban open containers on the Strip's pavements in general, only unsealed glass. We did not read the city's own rules for Fremont Street. In a car, no open container may sit in the passenger area, though taxis, limousines and buses are exempt.

Families should know the county's curfew for under-18s. From 9 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and public holidays until 5 a.m., they may not be on the Boulevard between Sahara Avenue and Sunset Road. A parent, or an adult over 21 approved by a parent, lifts the rule.

Which parks can you reach from Las Vegas in a day?

Red Rock Canyon, Hoover Dam, Valley of Fire, Death Valley and Grand Canyon West are all day trips from Las Vegas, between 17 and about 130 miles away. Zion is a long day, and the Grand Canyon's South Rim and Page are better with a night away.

Zion and the Grand Canyon are on the 2026 list of parks that charge the $100 surcharge, and Death Valley is not. Our guide to national park fees for international visitors shows when the $250 non-resident pass pays off.

Death Valley is about 120 miles and two hours away by the fastest route, through Pahrump, according to the Park Service. The park's lodging page gives about two and a half hours from the city to the Furnace Creek Visitor Center.

Zion's visitor centre in Springdale is about three and a quarter hours from the Strip on our own routing. It lies across the Utah line, where clocks are an hour ahead. Our Southwest national parks loop links these into one trip.

How do you book Red Rock Canyon's Scenic Drive?

Red Rock Canyon's 13-mile Scenic Drive needs a timed-entry reservation from 1 October to 31 May for any car entering between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Book it on Recreation.gov, or by phone on (877) 444-6777. The Bureau of Land Management area is 17 miles west of the Strip on Charleston Boulevard, about 30 minutes by car.

A car pays $20 and a motorcycle $10, plus a $2 reservation fee per ticket that is not refunded. Holders of the America the Beautiful pass pay only the $2 and must show the physical card. Slots open 30 days ahead at 7 a.m. Pacific Time, with a second release two days ahead. Each booking gives a one-hour entry window, and leaving the drive means booking again to come back.

The drive takes about 40 minutes without stops, and mobile coverage is limited, so have the ticket ready before you arrive. The Scenic Drive opens at 6 a.m. and closes at 7 p.m. in October and at 5 p.m. from November to February. The Red Rock Overlook on SR-159 and the Red Spring picnic area need no reservation or fee.

Is the Hoover Dam tour running?

The Guided Dam Tour at Hoover Dam is shown three ways by the Bureau of Reclamation. On 5 November 2026 its directions page still carried a notice dated 19 August that the tour was unavailable until further notice, because of elevator repairs. Its home page's ticket button read "not currently available", and its tours page, updated on 30 October, listed the tour at $40 with no notice. The Powerplant Tour and the Visitor Center exhibits were running normally.

The Powerplant Tour costs $25 for adults and $15 for ages 4 to 16, and the Visitor Center alone $15 per person. Both are sold online, and cards and cash are accepted. The America the Beautiful pass is not accepted. The Visitor Center and tours run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except Thanksgiving and Christmas, with the last tour at 4:10 p.m.

The dam is 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas on the Arizona border, and parking in the Nevada-side garage costs $10. Every car may be inspected at the Nevada security checkpoint, and nobody may stop on top of the dam. On Friday 30 October traffic over the dam pauses from 7:45 to 8:15 a.m. for an event.

When is Valley of Fire open for hiking?

Valley of Fire State Park is closed to all visitors, walkers included, from 1 to 14 December every year. Its main trails, from White Domes to the Fire Wave and Pinnacles, close every year from 15 May to 30 September. That leaves October to mid-May for the hikes, outside the December closure.

Entry costs $10 per vehicle, or $15 for a vehicle not registered in Nevada, and the park opens from sunrise to sunset. Its petroglyphs are more than 2,000 years old, and drones are banned. The park warns that in heat its trails often feel much longer than listed. The visitor centre is about 57 miles from the Strip, around an hour and 20 minutes on our own routing, through the West Entrance. That entrance is closed from Monday to Thursday until the end of 2026, and the way round by Overton is about 82 miles. Our guide to Nevada covers the park's entrance works and campgrounds.

Should you see the Grand Canyon's South Rim or West from Las Vegas?

The Grand Canyon's South Rim is the national park, 278 miles away through Kingman and Williams. The drive takes about five and a half hours each way on our own routing. Grand Canyon West, with the Skywalk, belongs to the Hualapai Tribe, outside the national park, and is 122 miles away by the Park Service's figure. The Park Service gives no official drive time to the South Rim.

The South Rim charges $35 a car plus the $100 surcharge per visitor from abroad aged 16 or over. At Grand Canyon West the tribe collects its own fees. Its All-Access Pass costs $99 and includes the Skywalk, a 70-foot glass bridge the tribe puts 4,000 feet above the canyon floor. The Sunset Pass, for entry after 3 p.m., costs $59 and lists the Skywalk too, while General Admission at $67 does not.

The tribe's own site puts Grand Canyon West about 130 miles and two and a half hours from the city, and the Park Service about 2 hours 15 minutes. The tribe suggests at least three hours there, and its own pages give different last-entry times, so arrive early.

Grand Canyon West keeps Arizona time, and so does the South Rim. Arizona does not change its clocks, so from 1 November 2026 to 14 March 2027 both are an hour ahead of Las Vegas. Hoover Dam prints its hours in Pacific Standard Time, though it sits on the Arizona line.

When is Las Vegas too hot for the parks?

Las Vegas is at its hottest from June to September. On NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals it averages 78 days a year at or above 100°F, 67 of them in June, July and August. June's average high is 99°F, just under the line, and July's is 105°F.

The airport station, at 2,131 feet, gets only 4.18 inches of rain a year and averages about ten nights at or below freezing. The National Weather Service issues an Extreme Heat Watch as a signal to prepare and an Extreme Heat Warning as a signal to act. Its Las Vegas office also publishes an experimental HeatRisk forecast.

The Weather Service warns that a child left in a car can die in 10 minutes. It counted 31 children who died in hot cars in 2025. From October to April, the average high in the city stays below 82°F.