Getting from the airport and around the Strip
From Harry Reid International the cheapest option is the RTC 108 or 109 bus ($2 single, $6 24-hour pass) which reaches the Strip in about 30 minutes. Rideshare is $18 to $28 depending on time. Skip the taxi flat rate — it's the worst deal. On the Strip, the Las Vegas Monorail runs from MGM Grand to the Sahara with seven stations; a single ride is $6, a 24-hour pass is $15, and it beats walking the east side of the Strip. The Deuce, RTC's double-decker bus, runs 24 hours from the south Strip to downtown for $8 for 24 hours.
Days one and two: Strip and downtown
Day one, buy a monorail pass and hop stations: Bellagio conservatory (walk from Bally's station), Venetian canals (Harrah's station), Sahara for the north Strip. Day two, take the Deuce north to Fremont Street — the ride takes about 40 minutes with traffic, versus 12 minutes by rideshare. Walk the Fremont Street canopy, hit the Mob Museum (a 10-minute walk from the Fremont & Casino Center stop), and eat in the Arts District (rideshare the last mile — the Deuce doesn’t loop there). Sleep at the Bally's/Horseshoe area for best monorail access, or Circa if you prefer downtown.
Day three: desert without a car
Red Rock Canyon has no public bus service, so book a small-group tour: ROC Nevada, Pink Adventure Tours, and Vegas Off-Road Tours all run half-day Red Rock trips for $80 to $130 including pickup. Valley of Fire tours run $130 to $180 and take a full day. For Hoover Dam, the Big Bus hop-on tour includes a dam stop for about $100. All three companies pick up at major hotels. Book one desert day and one Strip day if you have three days total — trying to fit multiple park tours car-free will eat your entire budget.
Good to know
Is the Las Vegas Monorail actually useful?+
For east-side Strip hotels, yes. It runs Bally's, Flamingo, Harrah's, LINQ, Westgate, and Sahara. It does not stop at the Bellagio, Cosmopolitan, Aria, or any west-side property, so you still walk or rideshare for those. A 24-hour pass pays for itself if you make three rides.
Can I skip Uber entirely?+
No. Chinatown, the Arts District, and any restaurant more than a block off the Strip are effectively rideshare-only. Budget $15 to $25 per off-Strip meal in transport. But you can absolutely do a car-free Vegas trip on $30 to $50 a day in transport if you plan clusters of stops rather than crisscrossing.