I'm thinking of staying at the Hard Rock over New Years Eve - got a good deal in the mail. I wanted to be on the strip for NYE, though. I can be on the strip in the afternoon before they shut down traffic, but I'm not sure how I would get back.

I was thinking that an hour or so after the fireworks, I could take the monorail to the Las Vegas Hilton, and from there take a taxi or the 108 bus down Paradise. I could also rent a car and park it at the Hilton or convention center.

Anybody have any experience taking the monorail on NYE? Is it completely packed? How about catching a cab at the Hilton? Or, even the bus?

Any other ideas?

Thanks for your answers.

(1) Taxis are hard to get due to the Las Vegas Blvd closure (which may last until 4 am or later), and the ones that do arrive come infrequently, and there will be (at some casinos) 100's of people waiting for a cab.
(2) The distance from Paradise to the strip is NOT that great, walking to HR (unless it is very cold) should not take more than 20 minutes.
(3) The crosstown buses which run on Flamingo, Tropicana etc. I think run in two sections, one east and the other west of the strip, until it reopens.
(4) A few years ago I rode the MR at about 11 pm, and it was not very crowded.

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Unless your mobility is impaired in a major way, walking, as noted by nrr is the best way.

I have a minor foot problem (a small accident seven years ago) but I decided to do the walk from The Strip back to the Hard Rock as an experiment. I had no problems at all. My pace was more of a stroll than a brisk trot, but I still made it from Planet Hollywood back to the Hard Rock in under 30 minutes. Sidewalks are wide and present all the way.

My only concern with walking would be the crowds. One NYE, I left from the Bellagio, where I watched the fireworks, to my hotel, the Westin. Normally, that shouldn't take very long, but it took forever to navigate the crowds and dodge the detritus on the streets. Another year, I went from the Monte Carlo to the Bellagio and back on NYE, and that took far longer than normal.

I imagine that once I get off the strip, things should be fine, but that will depend on where I start. I was considering attending a performance of Love at the Mirage. It looks like Flamingo to Paradise would be the way to go if I walked.

I looked at the transit re-routing they did for the Las Vegas Marathon, and if it's similar for NYE, I may be able to catch a bus on Flamingo to Paradise - public transit is free on NYE, so this may be an option.

Having walked from the strip to the Hard Rock before, I would certainly rather be on the street walking than caged on a bus with partiers!

You mentioned possibly renting a car - if true, you could probably park in the TI parking garage behind TI, go to Mirage and see Love, then exit the TI parking garage via Spring Mountain Rd, west to I-15 and around the carnage that way.

Assuming Spring Mountain Road isn't also closed, of course.