So, is the consensus most drive in vegas or not?

I try to stay center Strip, as that is where I mostly hang out at night. No driver licence, so no car. I mostly walk, which I enjoy. For longer distances:

I use the Monorail to visit all CET properties on the east side (with myVegas BOGO).

I use the free tram from Bellagio to Aria and Monte Carlo, and another free tram from Excalibur to Luxor and Mandalay Bay to visit the MGM properties on the west side.

I use the free shuttle from Harrah's to Rio or Sam's Town.

I use the bus or Uber/Lyft to go Downtown or to properties further up and off Strip.

 

My friends and I tend to stay at hotels around Center Strip and tend to spend most of our times at a few casinos that are within walking distance of each other so no need.

Plus we enjoy the !

 

We stopped renting years ago, even when we stay at M-Bay. We have no problem walking a few hotels to where we might be going. Getting a cab or Uber is no problem, or walking back to work off dinner/drinks.

Why we do not drive?
- pain to take shuttle to rental place
- either park too far from front desk, or if valet, often a wait to get car
- cab or uber is quick from airport - see no reason to spend $75 for limo
- we do not drive to other casinos as we are not always sure where we will end up and have to get back to our car
- same with dinner
- Too much drinking!

 

I rent every trip.
I drive everywhere.
I valet always.
I do not drink.

 

100+ trips, I've been in Vegas without a car once, and actually the car arrived later in that trip. Of course, we drive in. Having said that we could not do Vegas w/o a car. We don't grind in the casino for hours and hours, we sightsee, play golf, hit the outliers, shop. We don't go to Vegas to get wasted, but if more than a drink or glass of wine is in the dinner repertoire, we walk or taxi. Been on a bus once. We've had how many hundreds of trips in/out of valet? Never had a problem.

As with attire, "good" steak, hotel choice and so forth, there is no right or wrong in this, only what works for each of us.

 

We never rent a car anymore either, but each person's situation is different.

Hey FullBoat, your trip sounds a lot like ours. We are DT people or, we stay at Sam's Town, which we get to via the RTC bus system. I might suggest, if you haven't already, that you look into the CX (Centennial Express) and the WAX (Westcliff Ave Express) to get to and from the Strip. The CX will drop you at the TI/Wynn corner and the WAX will drop you at the Trop/NYNY corner. They are residential routes so $2 ($1 for senior) and they are faster than the SDX. If you are going to those locations, you might give them a look--they pick up at the SDX stop DT. If those Strip locations are not a good drop off location, we often get a 24hr pass ($5, $2.50) when boarding and get off at those corners and then get on the Deuce, since those passes work on it as well. The only down side to the express busses is that they only go about once every 45-60 minutes, so you have to check the schedule.

Just something to consider. But with the RTC busses and the free shuttles (Sam's; Coasts--GC, Orleans; and, Harrah's-Rio) most locations are accessible without a car.

 

Drove once but that was for a mid-trip visit to Bryce Canyon, never drive actually in Vegas as I like a drink, drive a lot for my job so enjoy the rest, monorail is simple and I love a good walk anyway so most places are within reach, usually a cab downtown from SLS is reasonable but may try Uber/lyft this time, wifi allowing. Mainly it's due to

 

Have never had a car in Vegas but we're usually just there for 4-5 days have no interest in off strip sightseeing. Mostly play where we stay and if we do need to go down the strip for something we'll just take Lyft.

 

Nope...no car... part of the appeal of Las Vegas is the freedom-from-responsibilities. Being able to drink, care-free, is one of those freedoms.
I've used all of the standard alternatives - bus, Lyft, Uber, Cabs & Limos. Since I have a 'single budget' when I go to Vegas, (food-transportation-gambling-tips-cigarettes-etc), whatever I spend getting around is included in what I consider a "winning" or "losing" trip.
I show up with my money... I pretty much do what I want... I get back on the plane with whatever I have... and then I determine if I "won" or "lost".
Sure, there have been some trips when my spending on transportation alone made the difference between a winning & losing trip... I don't care. I'm not going to get behind the wheel when I know full well that I'll be drinking regularly, wherever I am.

 

I stay on the strip and walk all around the strip. One night we go downtown and we uber there and back. I have never monkeyed with renting a car. No one in my party would ever be sober enough to drive and it would always be a hassle.. But then again I do not venture too far from the strip either..

 

We rent a car for part of our trip. The rest we use the bus or Uber/Lyft. We also have friends that are kind enough to pick us up and take us sightseeing with them.

 

I used to rent all the time but pretty much stopped when the strip became less and less amenable to players like me, I stay downtown and found myself driving to the strip, parking and walking around for several hours but barely playing because of the limits or rules(6/5). The new trend of paid parking makes the option even less appealing.

 

Ditto that!!!!

 

As to the original question :

So, is the consensus most drive in vegas or not?

Pretty sure there is no real good answer or consensus. If you look at all the people getting on the rental car shuttle buses, you might think everyone rents a car. If you look at the lines for cabs, you might think everyone takes a cab. If you read the posts here, you get mixed reviews both ways. And of course, the population here is far from scientific anyways. LOL!

 

I'm sure the CVA has stats.

 

Like wise... I don't drink and I bring a group of 5 family members..

 

+1

 

Yep, drive the Strip? Umm, exactly, no thanks. Feet and tram/monorail. Drive to and from a Strip hotel as we're doing stuff out and about? Yes. Or if we're out at one of the outliers we'll back route to a spot and then hoof around. The north valet at Mirage was a godsend over the years. Or the back way to MB/Delano.

 

We prefer to stay off strip and have always rented a car. But the trend toward paying for parking, in September we paid at Excal and Mirage, and the new sky-high rates for rental cars have us re-thinking our strategy. Maybe the answer is to rent on a daily basis.