What should I avoid in Las Vegas?

The taxi line at Harry Reid International looks orderly, but it's the most reliable way to overpay for your first ride. Some drivers still take the I-215 tunnel route to the Strip. The detour adds 3 miles and $15-20 to what should be an $18-22 fare. The Nevada Taxicab Authority has fined drivers for this practice since 2013, but it persists. Lyft pickup is at Level 2 of the parking garage, about a 4-minute walk from baggage claim. The RTC Route 108 bus runs to the South Strip Transit Terminal for $2 exact change, every 15 minutes until midnight. Worth noting, the Las Vegas Monorail runs the east side of the Strip but doesn't connect to the airport at all. A taxi to downtown Fremont Street costs $30-35 by the legal route. Roughly the same as the rideshare.

Resort fees are the Strip's most predictable frustration, and they catch first-timers every time. Wynn charges $55 per night. Bellagio, $50. Even budget-tier properties like Excalibur and Circus Circus add $35-40. These fees won't show in the per-night rate on Booking.com or Expedia, and they cover Wi-Fi and pool access you'd assume were included anyway. Nevada law requires disclosure before you finalize the reservation, but the disclosure tends to be one line of grey text at the bottom of the confirmation page. The Venetian gondola ride costs $34 per person for roughly 10 minutes on a shallow indoor canal beneath a painted ceiling. The High Roller observation wheel, opened in 2014, charges $25-35 depending on time of day. That said, if you want a view, the Eiffel Tower viewing deck at Paris Las Vegas runs $22 and the sightline down the Strip at sunset is better than anything from the 550-foot wheel.

The costumed characters outside the Flamingo and near the Bellagio fountains will pose for photos and then demand $10-20 per shot. Some get aggressive near the Flamingo entrance if you walk away without paying. The CD hustlers work the same stretch. They hand you a disc, ask your name, scribble it on the sleeve in Sharpie so you 'can't return it,' then insist on $20. Walk past without stopping. The helicopter tours sold by kiosk vendors on the Strip run $150-250 more than booking the same flight directly through Maverick or Papillon's websites. A Grand Canyon West helicopter tour from Maverick's terminal costs about $300-350 booked direct. The Strip kiosk price for the same seat tends to be $450-500. The 'free show tickets' offered near Planet Hollywood are 90-minute timeshare presentations. You'll sit through a hard sell for a Hilton Grand Vacations or Wyndham property before receiving tickets to a C-tier afternoon show.

The restaurants inside the casino floor at most mid-Strip hotels charge 30-40% more than equivalent food a block east. Luxor's food court, the Excalibur's fast-food row, the LINQ Promenade chains. They all taste like airport terminals smell. For the same $22 you'd spend on an unremarkable Gordon Ramsay Burger at Planet Hollywood, walk 10 minutes east to Herbs & Rye on West Sahara Avenue for a $16 steak during their half-price happy hour, 5pm to 8pm Monday through Saturday. The sizzle and sear from the open grill hits you before you sit down. Chinatown on Spring Mountain Road, a $7 Lyft from mid-Strip, has better pho than any Strip hotel at a third of the price. Kung Fu Thai & Chinese at 3505 South Valley View serves a dry-fried green bean dish for $14 that's worth the detour. The scent of star anise and chili oil from the kitchen fills the room.

Summer heat in Las Vegas is not an inconvenience. It's a medical risk. The daily high from June through September regularly reaches 40-43°C (104-110°F). The concrete sidewalks on the Strip absorb heat all day and radiate it back at ankle level well past sunset. Pool decks at the MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay will burn bare feet after 11am. Carry water. The current 14% humidity means sweat evaporates before you feel wet, which lets dehydration sneak up fast. Monsoon season runs mid-July through mid-September and brings flash floods that turn the underpasses on Flamingo Road and Tropicana Avenue into wading pools within minutes. Downtown around Fremont Street east of Las Vegas Boulevard toward Maryland Parkway gets rougher after midnight. The blocks south of Sahara Avenue along Industrial Road are best avoided on foot after dark.