Bus or Monorail?

We are staying at the MGM..5 nights in May.. I know there is a Monorail station there in the back.. I saw the $35 -10 trip price... We will walk quite a bit anyway.. the question is.. is the bus cheaper overall and how much longer is the trip around the strip?

 

The best choice depends on where you are going.
Remember the monorail is really the train to nowhere. If ur at MGM and what to save some shoe leather to see Caesars or other center strip properties, it may be worth a trip. If your going down to Wynn or Pallazzo, you're out of luck, then u need to take the monorail and the still walk half the way.
Any downtown visits are better off done with a cab, unless time is no obstacle. The duece bus is an hour trip or more from the MGM.

 

The monorail probably should have been built in the median strip of LV Blvd. It is on the east side, often quite a hike from the Strip and serves a few hotels linking them to the Las Vegas Convention Center. MGM to the LVCC it would be a little inconvenient but handy. It doesn't go downtown or to the airport, the two places that might make it somewhat useful. I think it is fit for someone's list of things to do if they have never ridden on a monorail.

I now prefer to stay downtown and bus to the LV Convention Center or other places on and off the Strip. Especially with a reduced fare card (for old people) it is economical and I enjoy the buses. The double decker bus that goes north and south on the Strip is called the DEUCE and can during busy times take 45 minutes to and hour to make it all the way downtown (6 miles). If you get on at the Trop, you can probably get a front seat up top for a nice view of the Strip especially at night. There is the SDX, which goes downtown but has just a few stops and is much faster. I think the bus is not only cheap, but part of my big city experience while in LV, and often fun (some of the bus drivers are funnier than the comics at shows).

Cabs are pricy, though not as bad if there are several riders; I am usually solo in LV. Enjoy your stay!

Jimbo338

 

Thanks for the info.. One thing I've always thought was odd and probably why the Monorail never produced the $$ they were looking for is having located so far off the strip itself.. in the back.. now if it was in the front...

 

For summer trips I like the monorail, but not because it saves a lot of walking (unless you are going to convention center or beyond), but because it saves walking "outside". The bus is more conveniently located, but you'll also do more waiting.

 

Yeah I think there is too much to this question than just "what is cheapest" or "which one is best"

Like if you are at Planet Hollywood: there is a bus stop right out front, but the nearest monorail stop is at Bally's.

Or if you are going to Harrah's: there is a monorail stop in back of Harrah's, but there isn't a bus stop out front.

The monorail is $5 per person to ride... The Deuce is $3 per person. So the savings are mostly insignificant (if they have a 10 ride pass for $35 then the price is comparable).

The Deuce can be painfully slow. If traffic is any kind of heavy the bus runs very slow and then at each stop it can sit there for upwards of 10 minutes for passengers to load and unload.