Arriving and Departing
By Air The major gateway to Las Vegas is McCarran International Airport (PHONE: 702/261-5733), 5 miles south of the business district and immediately east of the southern end of the Strip. The airport code is LAS. Flying times: 5 hours from New York, 3 hours from Chicago, and 1 hour from Los Angeles. Carriers
From North America
Carriers serving Las Vegas include American Airlines (PHONE: 800/433-7300); America West (PHONE: 800/235-9292); Continental (PHONE: 800/523-3273); Delta (PHONE: 800/221-1212); Northwest (PHONE: 800/225-2525); Southwest (PHONE: 800/435-9792); TWA (PHONE: 702/385-1000 or 800/221-2000); United (PHONE: 800/241-6522); and USAir (800/428-4322).
For flights from Canada, contact Air Canada (PHONE: 800/776-3000) and Canadian International (PHONE: 800/426-7000 in Canada only).
From the U.K.
A number of routes are available. British Airways (PHONE: 020/8897-4000; 0345/222-111 outside London) flies via Phoenix; Delta (PHONE: 0800/414-767) via Atlanta or Cincinnati; American Airlines (PHONE: l. 0345/789-789) via Chicago or Dallas; United Airlines (PHONE: 0800/888-555) via San Francisco, Washington, D.C., or Chicago; and Virgin Atlantic (PHONE: 01293/747-747) via Los Angeles.
Between the Airport and Town
By Shuttle Van
A shuttle van from McCarran to your hotel, shared with other riders, costs $3-$4 per person to the Strip, $4-$5 to downtown, and $6 to outlying "locals" casinos. The vans wait for passengers outside the terminal, along with the cabs.
By Taxi
Metered taxicab service awaits your arrival at McCarran. The fare is $2.20 on the meter when you get in, plus $1.60 for every mile. The trip to most hotels on the Strip should cost less than $9-$12; the trip downtown should be about $15-$18.
Bell Trans (PHONE: 702/739-7990).
Checker, Star, and Yellow Cab (PHONE: 702/873-2000).
Gray Line (PHONE: 702/739-5700).
By Bus Greyhound/Trailways Lines (200 S. Main St., tel. 800/231-2222), one block south of the Plaza Hotel, has nationwide service.
By Car Approximately half the visitors to Las Vegas arrive by automobile. The principal highway is I-15, which connects with southern California to the southwest and Utah to the northeast. U.S. 93 (Boulder Highway and Fremont Street in Las Vegas) extends into Arizona to the southeast, where it merges with I-40. U.S. 95 brings traffic from northern California and Reno. When there's an opportunity to fill up, drivers en route to Las Vegas should keep in mind that the next gas station can be an hour away.
By Train You can't take a train to Las Vegas, but Amtrak (tel. 800/872-7245) can get you there via a Thruway bus from Los Angeles
By Bus The municipally operated Citizen Area Transit (tel. 702/228-7433) runs local buses up and down the Strip, between the Hacienda Hotel and the Downtown Transportation Center, stopping on the street in front of all the major hotels every 15 minutes (in a perfect world) 24 hours a day. The fare is $2 (exact change required). If you plan to get on and off the bus, buy a discounted commuter card from the driver. Other routes serve the Meadows and Boulevard shopping malls, and Sam's Town Hotel and Casino and the Western Emporium gift shop on Boulder Highway. The schedule for all buses other than those along the Strip is 5:30 AM-1:30 AM daily; the fare is $1.25.
From 9:30 AM to 2 AM, the Las Vegas Strip Trolley (tel. 702/382-1404) travels every 30 minutes among Strip hotels, with stops at Fashion Show Mall and Wet 'N Wild. An exact fare of $1.30 is required.
By Car Las Vegas is an easy city to navigate. The principal north-south artery is Las Vegas Boulevard (I-15 runs roughly parallel to it, less than a mile to the west). A 3½-mile stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard South is the Strip, where a majority of the city's hotels and casinos are clustered. Many of the major streets running east-west (Tropicana Avenue, Flamingo Road, Desert Inn Road, Sahara Avenue) are named for the casinos built at their intersections with the Strip. Free parking is available at virtually every hotel, although the parking area can be far from the hotel, and you may have to hunt for a space. To avoid this, make use of valet parking. You can't park anywhere on the Strip itself, and parking spaces on Fremont Street downtown are nearly always taken. Parking in the high-rise structures downtown is free, as long as you validate your parking ticket at the casino cashier.
Because the capacity of the streets of Las Vegas has not kept pace with the city's incredible growth, traffic can be heavy in the late afternoons, in the evenings, and on the weekends. At those times, you may prefer to drive the streets that parallel Las Vegas Boulevard: Paradise Road and Maryland Parkway to the east, and Industrial Road to the west. The Industrial Road shortcut (from Tropicana Avenue almost all the way to downtown) will save you an enormous amount of time. You can enter the parking lots at Caesars Palace, the Mirage, Treasure Island, the Stardust, and Circus Circus from Industrial Road (but there's no intersection with West Flamingo Avenue).
Requirements
Visitors from abroad need only a valid driver's license from their home country to drive in the United States. An International Driver's License is not necessary. If you are driving a non-rental car, third-party insurance is mandatory.
Car Rental
Rates in Las Vegas begin at $20 a day and $115 a week for an economy car with unlimited mileage. This does not include the 7% state sales tax and a 6% "license tag" fee; also, if you rent your car at the airport an additional 10% tax applies.The major car-rental companies represented in Las Vegas are Alamo (tel. 800/327-9633 or 0800/272-2000 in the U.K.); Avis (tel. 800/331-1212 or 800/879-2847 in Canada); Budget (tel. 800/527-0700 or 0800/181181 in the U.K.); Dollar (tel. 800/800-4000 or 020/8897-0811 in the U.K., where it is known as Eurodollar); Hertz (tel. 800/654-3131, 800/263-0600 in Canada, or 0345/555888 in the U.K.); and National (tel. 800/227-7368; 0845/722-2525 in the U.K.).
Local Agencies
Rent-A-Vette (PHONE: 800/372-1981). Loyd's International (PHONE: 800/654-7037).
Rules of the Road
Drive on the right in the United States. The speed limit is usually 30 mph (50 kph) on urban roads and 55 mph (90 kph) or 65 mph (105 kph) on highways. Distances are always measured in miles. Nevada requires passengers in the front seat to wear seatbelts, and children under age 4 must ride in child-safety seats.
At traffic lights, it is legal to make a right turn even when the light is red, provided no traffic is coming. This is not a universal law, and signs indicate when such a turn is prohibited. When in doubt, always wait until the light turns green to make a right turn. At four-way intersections controlled by red stop signs, it's first-come first-go; when in doubt, yield to the right.
Gas stations are open late or 24 hours. Many are self-service, meaning that you have to pump the gas yourself.
By Taxi Las Vegas is heavily covered by taxicabs. Cabs can be hailed on the street, and you'll find cabs waiting at the airport and at every hotel in town; the fare is $2.20 on the meter when you get in, plus $1.60 for every mile. If you dine at a restaurant off the Strip, the restaurant will call a taxi to take you home. Desert Cab (tel. 702/376-2687), Whittlesea Blue Cab (tel. 702/384-6111), and Yellow and Checker Cab (tel. 702/873-2000) are the principal taxi operators in Las Vegas.
Hotel Selection | Transportation | Home | Car Rental Guide | Other Resources
