I found a Las Vegas travel hack that's a game-changer for tired feet

Ah, Las Vegas. A city that can be fun, frightening – and hot. But you can navigate the Strip without breaking into a sweat.

Vegas can get above 40C in summer, and while it’s dry desert heat, no one needs to deal with that. I’ve been to Vegas many times, and let me tell you, if I can avoid it, I don’t walk down the Las Vegas Strip.

That doesn’t mean I won’t – sometimes it’s fun to get in with the crowds and amble to the Bellagio, stopping to watch some tourists get their photos taken with showgirls. Or perhaps grabbing a flyer for a comedy show, heading into Walgreens for some amazing American drugstore finds and buying something sweet at Cinnabon – amiright?

But you know what? I don’t have to. There are ways and means to get from pretty much one end of the Strip to the other without walking into the inferno, and without even breaking a sweat.

Cue the Las Vegas monorail. Running between the Sahara station and the MGM Grand – around 6.3km – the monorail means you can stay cool as you ride up or down the Strip. It runs every five or six minutes and takes around 15 minutes to get from one end to the other – I’d say even on a good day it can take more than an hour to manoeuvre your way through the crowds and walk that.

Another good thing about the monorail is that it runs until 3am on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Heading out in heels to dance the night away or see a show? No problem – take the monorail.

Heading home a little worse for wear after the aforementioned dancing and/or that show? No sweat (literally) – take the monorail.

The monorail passing the Las Vegas Convention Center.

This miraculous mode of transport runs a block behind the hotels on the eastern side of Las Vegas Boulevard, so there’s a bit of walking to be done to find it – indeed, while there are signposts (and directions on the monorail’s website) it can take a while to find escalators or walkways in the casinos that will get you to the stations, but – kinda like riding a bike – once you’ve learnt, you’ll never forget.

And although it’s not free (or even that cheap, if I’m honest) it’s a godsend if you have whingy children/sore feet/lots of shopping/time restrictions/whatever. To book tickets, you can head to the website – lvmonorail.com – and even download them to your phone.

If you’re not willing to pay for the monorail, though, a couple of free trams also run on sections of the Strip. I mean, who knew? A tram, for example, runs between the Mandalay Bay, Luxor and Excalibur, while the Park MGM to Bellagio tram also stops at Aria.

Here’s a tip – one of these may come in handy if you’re already planning a trip next year for the NRL season opener at Vegas’s Allegiant Stadium. The stadium is around 15 minutes’ walk from the Mandalay Bay. Note, though, that the trams only run until midnight so wear flats in case. Amiright?

Originally published as I found a Las Vegas travel hack that's a game-changer for tired feet