Getting to Las Vegas: Car - Air - Bus - Train - Limo

BY CAR:
You might want to rent a car before you go to save mileage and wear on your car (you will be driving through the desert). If you're going on a weekend, know that there will almost always be traffic. However, even with traffic, one can drive to Las Vegas from Los Angeles in about 5 hours. It is about the same drive time from San Diego. Most visitors leave L.A. between Friday morning and very late Friday night, but everyone heads back to L.A. between noon and 8 p.m. on Sunday. The trip to L.A. is almost always slower than the trip to Vegas. If you can take Monday off and travel then, you'll be traffic free. It is advisable to take some breaks every hour or so during the drive to make the trip easier. There are places to visit, such as a stop in Baker (try the Mad Greek for some of their strawberry and date shakes) or stop by the Calico silver mining town in Barstow. There are also some outlet shopping malls on the way to Las Vegas.
 

Maps and Driving Directions to Las Vegas From:

Las Vegas Strip Hotel Map

BY AIR:
McCarran International Airport is the primary airport serving Vegas. See our Air Travel page for a list of airlines flying into Las Vegas. If you live near an airport serviced by Southwest Air, we recommend them for their very competitive pricing and excellent service, but there are many other good airlines you can choose with flights from your city. Some people choose to fly into Los Angeles International (LAX), rent a car, and drive the five hours to Las Vegas. You can also have a great time visiting Los Angeles.
Sample flying times to Las Vegas are: from New York, 5 hours; from Dallas, 2 hours; from Chicago, 4 hours; from Los Angeles, 1 hour; from San Francisco, 1½ hours; from London, 11 hours; from Sydney, 18 hours.

 

BY BUS:
 Greyhound (200 S. Main St., Las Vegas. PHONE: 800/231-2222, www.greyhound.com) runs bus service in and out of Las Vegas; the bus terminal is downtown. Reservations are not accepted on Greyhound. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. The most frequently plowed route out of Las Vegas is the one to Los Angeles, with departures approximately every two hours around the clock. Arriving at the bus station 30 to 45 minutes before your bus departs to purchase tickets nearly always ensures you a seat. On Sunday evening and Monday morning, arriving an hour or more before departure is recommended as buses fill up quickly on those days.
 

BY TRAIN
Amtrak is currently planning to operate a new Los Angeles - Las Vegas train in the near future. For now, you can't take a train to Las Vegas, but Amtrak (PHONE: 800/872-7245, www.amtrak.com) can get you there via a Thruway bus from Los Angeles. You can pick up a timetable at any Amtrak station or request one by mail. Amtrak accepts all major credit cards and personal checks. You can purchase tickets aboard trains; however, an additional charge applies if the ticket office is open at your time of departure. :

 

BY LIMO
If you want to really live it up and can afford it, one can arrange to have limo pick you up at your house and drive you to your hotel in Las Vegas. See our limo guide for details. If you go with a large group and share the cost of the limo ride, the cost may not be as much as you think and can be be comparable to going by air on a per-person basis.