General PMC Info

Walking- Las Vegas is HUGE. The casinos lining The Strip may appear very close together when viewed from a distance but in fact it is the gigantic size of the individual casinos that make them appear closer than they really are. For a point of reference, taking a “stroll” from our Mandalay Bay hotel in the south all the way up to the Stratosphere Tower at the far north end of The Strip will easily consume an hour and a half, one way, at a reasonable pace. Also bear in mind that the daytime temperatures in late May are likely to top 100 degrees-F. So if you plan to take any significant daylight walk (say, from Mandalay to the Bellagio) you would be wise to wear sunscreen and TAKE ALONG A BOTTLE OF WATER. Also, if you think you may want to see anything outside of just the conference, please bring a pair of comfortable walking shoes.

• It is generally safe to walk along The Strip at night – and also significantly cooler. The glorious lighting and free light shows of the grand casinos are also best enjoyed during a nighttime stroll.
• It is highly recommended that you simply ignore those creepy-looking folks that will be thrusting advertising leaflets at you at various points during your walks along The Strip. They tend to cluster at the various “choke points” along the sidewalk so they can be annoying but they are extremely careful NOT to touch you. If you avoid eye contact and simply walk straight ahead, they simply pull back the leaflet and let you walk unmolested. Trust me; you do NOT want your wife or kids to see those leaflets. (NOTE: I have never seen these leaflet-passers on Fremont Street.)
• The walk from the Mandalay to the Luxor next door (see also Free Trams below) is less than a relaxed seven minutes via the enclosed “Mandalay Place” shopping strip. When you get to the Luxor, you will be on their “Mezzanine Level” so just take an escalator to the casino level and walk straight through to the other side to find the enclosed walkway to the Excalibur. That walkway has two people-mover conveyer belts that further speed your trip. As you get to the Excalibur, you will be greeted by a 24-hour KRISPY KREME Donut Bakery!!!!!!! Walking through the Excalibur to get outside to the corner of Tropicana & Las Vegas Blvd (The Strip) is a bit tricky. The best approach is to stay on that upper (Krispy Kreme) level and walk through the shops to the far end by the food court. When you take the escalator down at that end, just turn left and then left again to walk past the Excalibur hotel registration area. You’ll see the descending walkway labeled “To Las Vegas Blvd” right behind the small bar there. There are people-mover conveyor belts here again to speed you to the outside where you can head to either of the two convenient pedestrian overpasses that take you either over Las Vegas Blvd to the Tropicana or over Tropicana Ave. to New York-New York.
• Convenient pedestrian overpasses are also in place all four ways at the next intersection to the north, Las Vegas Blvd. & Flamingo, and also across The Strip between Treasure Island and The Venetian. If you’re walking at night, take a minute or two to drink in all the sparkly lights from a vantage point in the middle of an overpass.
• Walking between casinos is easiest Downtown (Fremont Street). Five “major” casinos (Plaza, Golden Nugget, Binion’s, Four Queens, and Fitzgerald’s) are linked by a wide, almost-continuous, outdoor pedestrian mall that is constantly and visibly patrolled by police. This pedestrian Fremont Street is also the site of the nightly “Fremont Street Experience” light shows (see below). CAUTION: I advise you not to stray off Fremont Street (except to The Deuce Bus Transportation Center) at any time, but particularly not at night.
• Except for Fremont Street itself, walking at night further north than the Sahara on The Strip is not recommended for safety purposes. This places the Stratosphere slightly beyond walking range after sunset.
• It’s crowded everywhere in Vegas. As in any crowded environment anywhere, please exercise prudent caution against pickpockets. This should include leaving “excess money” and un-needed valuables in the free in-room safe in your Mandalay room before going for a stroll. The crowds also make pushing baby strollers quite challenging at times. I find the crowds on Fremont Street to be generally more pleasant and easy-going than those on The Strip, except when the get drunk late Saturday night.

Rental Cars - I used to be in the habit of automatically renting a car while at any travel destination. I found this to be generally unnecessary in Las Vegas because taxis are plentiful and cheap (see Taxis below) and even public transit (see Bus, Monorail, and Free Trams below) was surprisingly attractive and available. Besides, if you’re in reasonable shape and have a good pair of walking shoes, walking (see Walking above) will get you to most places you want to go AND gives you the best viewpoint for enjoying the sights along The Strip, including taking your keepsake photos.

• Virtually every Strip hotel, including the Mandalay, offers a huge FREE parking garage. If driving Downtown, park at either the Plaza or Binion’s; get your parking stub stamped at the respective casino Cashier’s cage.
• Avoid driving on the congested Strip (Las Vegas Blvd.) itself whenever possible. To drive north-and-south, use either Paradise Road that parallels The Strip on the east or Industrial Blvd that parallels it on the western side.
• Many Strip hotels, including the Mandalay, offer rental car offices on-site. So you could just taxi to and from the airport and then just rent a car at the hotel for any special one-day excursion you may be planning. For example, Dollar Rent-a-Car has rental desks at Mandalay, Bellagio, Circus Circus, Excalibur, Hilton, New York New York, Sahara, Luxor, MGM-Grand, Mirage, Monte Carlo, and Treasure Island.

Taxis – Cabs are easily available and relatively cheap in Vegas. Every significant hotel on The Strip and Downtown has an active taxi stand. I have never had trouble getting a cab in Vegas.

• The Mandalay is literally right next to the airport (although airport noise has never seeped into any room I’ve ever stayed in there). If there were sufficient sidewalks, it would be about a 15 minute walk. A taxi should run you $10-15 depending on how you tip and depending on whether the driver takes you direct or via a “scenic route”. The cheap taxi fare makes taking any “discount airport shuttle” of dubious value.
• Unfortunately, the biggest taxi-related aggravation in Vegas will be experienced when you catch your cab FROM the airport TO the hotel. I find the taxi waiting lines at the airport to be truly awesome in length. Luckily, the huge stream of cabs keeps the line moving steadily so at worst you may be waiting 20-30 minutes – still less than the delay getting a rental car these days.
• Another reference point: Taking a taxi from Mandalay to Fremont Street will set you back about $20 but you must insist that the cab uses Industrial Blvd to get north (and south on return). If the cab tries to take the freeway, that will add another $10.
• Mini-van sized taxis are surprisingly plentiful. I’ve had no difficulty taxiing around Vegas with 3 companions and all our luggage (for week-long stays) .

The Vegas Monorail – Up until about 5 years ago, there was a FREE monorail that ran between the MGM Grand and Bally’s (which happens to be the former “MGM Grand” before they had a bad fire there). Anyway, a free monorail was too good to last so the city fathers decided to extend that limited line all the way north up the Strip to the Sahara hotel. Of course they also decided to CHARGE you for it. See www.lvmonorail.com

• One trip on the monorail costs you $5. It’s almost always wiser to buy the $15 one-day pass so you can use it multiple times during a one-day excursion. (Note: The one-day pass was on “special” for only $9 in Feb 08 and perhaps that special price can be seen also in May. Check the website.)
• The Monorail does not run to the airport (that would be too convenient – and would also hurt the taxis).
• The Monorail is most convenient for the casino-hotels on the eastern side of The Strip, but even there it does not stop at every hotel. It stops at MGM-Grand, Bally’s, Flamingo, Harrah’s, the Convention Center, Hilton (Star Trek Experience), and Sahara.
• The Monorail stations run BEHIND the hotels (except the Hilton) which, for a huge hotel such as MGM-Grand, means a significant walk to the rear just to find the station.
• The good part about its being pricey and somewhat inconvenient is that the Monorail is seldom crowded. (You can always find a silver lining.)
• It operates 7am – 2am, Sun-Thurs, and 7am – 3am, Fri & Sat.

The Bus – I’m generally not a huge fan of public buses but the situation in Vegas casts that in a different light. Much of what you want to see and visit in Vegas is located along Las Vegas Blvd. The public bus that serves The Strip is called “The Deuce.” It is spectacular. To begin with, it costs only two bucks per ride. So two bucks will take you all the way from the Mandalay to the Downtown Transportation Center just two blocks from Fremont Street !!!!! AND The Deuce is a modern DOUBLE-DECKER air conditioned bus that can give you great views of the Strip during your trip. http://www.rtcsouthernnevada.com/deuce/

• You’ll need exact change – although two dollar-bills will do fine.
• There may be significant crowds waiting to board the bus.
• These buses run only 10 minutes apart.

Free Trams – The demise of the free Bally’s-MGM-Grand Monorail (see Monorail above) left only two free trams available on The Strip. For us, the free Mandalay-Luxor- Excalibur (M-L-E) tram (actually another overhead monorail) is by far the most important. The other free tram is a surface train that connects the front of the Mirage to the rear of its neighbor, Treasure Island (TI).

• Taking the free tram from Mandalay to Excalibur not only avoids the 20-minute walk but also leaves you right on the pedestrian overpass structure OUTSIDE Excalibur – so you avoid the confusion of having to find your way through Excalibur – but you also miss the Krispy Kreme shop (see Walking above).
• The free tram stops at the Luxor only when going FROM Excalibur to Mandalay; not the other way around.