Distance from Mandalay Bay to Bellagio – Can you Walk It?
By Steve Beauregard
The distance from Mandalay Bay to the Bellagio is 1.4 miles to the fountains. The Bellagio’s southern boundary is just a few long blocks to the north of Mandalay Bay along the Las Vegas Strip, or Las Vegas Boulevard as it’s officially known.
However it’s much shorter if you take the two free Las Vegas trams that run between resorts along the way. More on that in a second.
Can You Walk from Mandalay Bay to the Bellagio?
Sure. First we’ll cover the non-tram route:
Walking from Mandalay Bay to the Bellagio
It’s not a bad stroll (so long as it’s not 109 degrees out). The walk is 1.7 miles.
Not taking the aforementioned free trams makes the 1.7 mile walk take a little over 1/2 hour, assuming you don’t stop and play or drink or gawk. This distance is from inside the Mandalay Bay to the front door of the Bellagio.
To walk it the entire way to the fountains, you’ll simply just want to stay on the sidewalk and walkways on the west side of the strip, (both Mandalay Bay and the Bellagio are the west side of the strip).
When you get to the giant white castle, the Excalibur, the sidewalk will go a little further west, and lead you up an escalator to the pedestrian overpass over Tropicana Avenue. However the strip sidewalk is very clear and well marked and well-traveled, so there’s pretty much zero chance of you getting lost on it – unless you have the directional sense of my wife.
The sidewalk also meanders a tad west at City Center, with more pedestrian bridges, but again, it’s very well-laid out.
(Here’s the walking route map from Mandalay Bay on the bottom of the map up to the Bellagio)
(Go here for the distance from Mandalay Bay to the Aria.)
In doing this ½ hour, straightforward walk, you’ll pass many Las Vegas landmarks, such as (in order from south to north) the Luxor, Excalibur, New York New York, Park MGM, the enormous City Center Complex (Waldorf Astoria, Aria, etc.), The Cosmopolitan, then finally The Bellagio.
Trams From Mandalay Bay to Bellagio
Now let’s talk about the shorter, faster way to walk from Mandalay Bay to the Bellagio.
On this route, you’ll be taking two different trams that are provided as a courtesy to visitors by Las Vegas casinos. It would be very courteous of you in turn, to drop $300 or so in the slot machines to help pay for them. Thank you.
You’ll still have to walk some, but the combination of these two free trams sure makes the journey a lot easier (and faster). The first one is the tram from Mandalay Bay to Excalibur.
From Mandalay Bay, the monorail will first stop at the Luxor, but stay on it, as it will take you to the Excalibur.
The final stop is not inside the Excalibur Hotel and Casino, but rather, in the large white turret castle thing (a technical term) directly in front of the resort, almost right on the busy corner of Tropicana and the Strip.
From there, you’ll want to follow the clearly-marked pathway to the pedestrian bridge going to the New York New York Hotel and Casino. Unless you want to go exploring there, just stay on the Strip sidewalk going north, until you get to the Park MGM Hotel and Casino.
Go inside there, and look for the signs on how to get to the free tram. These trams run into the night seven days a week. They arrive every ten minutes or so, meaning you won’t have to wait very long for the next ride.
The tram from Park MGM heads north, stopping at the Aria, the Crystals shopping plaza, and then finally at the Bellagio, where it stops at the far south west part of the resort.
You’ll walk the long hallways past the convention center rooms and some nice restaurants before getting to the beautiful conservatory (a must see) and the Bellagio’s gorgeous front lobby. The fountains are right outside of that.
Taxi and Uber/Lyft From Mandalay Bay to Bellagio
Although I haven’t done it personally, (I prefer the trams), the various estimates I’ve researched put the cost of a taxi from Mandalay Bay to the Bellagio in the $10-$12 range.
A driver who takes the longer route (mileage wise) would go on I-15. This 3.2 mile drive would take roughly 6 minutes. Going the shorter route direct route on the Strip (about 2 1/4 miles), actually takes more time, due to stoplights and busy Strip traffic, but this isn’t really practical for getting a cab, as the layout of the Mandalay has the taxis exiting the resort by going south on Las Vegas Boulevard, rather than north towards the Bellagio.
Bus (or the Deuce) From Mandalay Bay to Bellagio
If you don’t hardly want to walk at all, and want to save taxi fare, this may be your best bet. The Deuce is the bus route that goes up and down the strip, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
There will still be a little bit of walking, as you’ll have to cross the street (Las Vegas Boulevard) to get to a Deuce bus stop. There’s a stop south of the Four Seasons part of the Mandalay Bay (quite a walk, unless you’re staying at the Four Seasons), or a somewhat closer stop at the south end of the Luxor. It’s on the east side of the Strip, north of Mandalay Bay.
(Go here to find the distance from Mandalay Bay to the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign)
From there, the Deuce, (which runs about every 15 minutes most times), will take you north on the Strip. You can get off at either the Planet Hollywood stop and cross the pedestrian bridge to get to the Bellagio, or at the stop at the Paris Hotel and Casino. This one puts you directly across the street from the cool fountains. The ride will take about 10 to 15 minutes.
A 24 hour unlimited pass on the Deuce costs $8 a person. If you’re going to be there for a few days, try the 3 day unlimited ride pass for just $20, or roughly the cost of one round trip to the Bellagio and back via taxi.
Photo courtesy of Holiday Point via Flickr.