Kylie4

Hi! My friend is planning to pick me up from the Las Vegas airport, but he has never driven to the airport (we took a cab the last time).

We are not really familiar with the layout of the airport. I would appreciate help with the following:

1. Directions from downtown Vegas (using the freeway) to the airport;

2. After picking up my luggage, where is the best place to wait for my friend?

Thank you!

vegaslocal

Follow these directions exactly:

The passenger pickup area is located inside the short term parking garage. After you pick up your luggage (if you checked bags) locate the Avis rental car counter. Walk out the door next to the Avis counter and walk across the street. (There will be a crossing guard there to help you cross.) AFter you cross the street you will see a moving walkway that takes you into a parking garage. Follow the moving walkway to into the parking garage. At the end of the moving walkway is the passenger pickup area. To help your friend, move a few hundred feet to your left and remove yourself from the rest of the crowd at the curb so your friend can find you easily.

As for directions, your friend should drive on I-15 south, once passing Mandalay Bay, move to the right hand lane. Exit I-215 East (be sure not to go west). Merge into traffic, but stay to the right. Take the airport exit (1 mile after merging onto the 215). This will take your friend into the airport tunnel. When entering the tunnel, move to the far left lane. When exiting the tunnel slow down and continue merging left two more times. Follow the signs to 'Short Term Parking/Passenger Pick Up'. There are yellow triangles on the pavement to help. Follow the ramp into the garage and the passenger pick up area. You will be standing on the right side as your friend enters the parking garage.

When leaving the garage, merge to your right and turn right at the first traffic light. This will take you back into the airport tunnel. Stay to your right. Follow the signs to I-15 north. Merge onto I-15 north and keep going until you get past the strip back to downtown.

Kylie4

Vegaslocal,

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!! Your detailed directions are more than we could hope for. I appreciate that you even took the time to include which lane to stay in. My friend and I will follow them to the letter and I'm sure we'll find each other with no problem.

Your tips will make things much easier for us. Thanks again!

Colette

Dear vegaslocal........this is why I like this forum......just for people like you!!! I just booked a flight and hotel to LV (not a pkg) and as I read this post, I realized I don't have any transp. to and from my hotel. Can I just get a shuttle/taxi fairly easily when I arrive? (Sat. a.m. in Aug.) Or should I be reserving something now? I also remember reading something on this forum about NOT letting the taxi driver take you through some "tunnel" 'cus it costs more? And if you don't feel like responding to this, dear vegaslocal....I'll be OK.....you did MORE than your share in helping out our fellow traveler, Kylie4....and I'm pretty confident I'll be able to figure something out.

Fairhope

Vegaslocal--you are the best!!
Now about the airport in Rome---

tracys2cents

Colette - The taxis and shuttles are numerous, but for a shuttle you exit baggage claim on the opposite side of the building as the above instructions. We usually check to see if there is a shuttle bus ready to leave directly to our hotel (some do stop at other hotels along the way)....if nothing convenient is ready to depart then we opt for a taxi.

Colette

Thank you Tracy for your 2-cents.

vegaslocal

I haven't read the forums lately - sorry. Helping each other is what makes these forums so great. Without my fellow Fodorites, my recent trip to Germany would not have been so wonderful. Glad to do my part when I can.

As for the tunnel, the whole argument is silly. Regardless of which way you go, there isn't bound to be much difference in the fare, unless you are literally being driven in circles by an unscrupulous taxi driver. 99% of the taxi drivers here are honest folks who spend all day on these streets. The taxi drivers know the fastest way to get you where you are going.

In my opinion, you should NOT take the tunnel if you are staying at a STRIP hotel between Mandalay Bay to the south, and Caesars Palace (west side) or Harrah's (east side) to the north.

All others should take the tunnel to I-215, I-215 to I-15 north, exit at the nearest exit to your hotel.

But for those of you who enjoy watching the meter tick while you sit at the traffic lights on the strip, be my guest.

And hey, thanks for paying my taxes!

Colette

Thank you vegaslocal!! I should have known that a vegas local would know the score.
We're staying at the Mirage and at the point that we entered a tunnel, I probably would have been whispering to my DH, "this cabbie's 'taking us for a RIDE".......but thanks to your post, I will have no qualms with that infamous tunnel! Thx again!

Colette

Re: THE LV TUNNEL One of these days I'll post a Vegas trip report.....but in the meantime, I need to address this infamous tunnel. Last week my hubby and I arrived in LV at 8 a.m., got our cab around 8:45 a.m., our very friendly cab driver said he would get us to the Mirage in 10 minutes, which he did,(through the tunnel)and the fare was $22. I had read someplace that the fare should only be about $15 - $17, so $22 seemed high, but c'est la vie, "we're here! we're here! who cares about the price!!". Five days later, time to head home, so at 8 a.m., our cab picked us up at the Mirage, we got stuck for a bit behind a parked truck, our cabdriver did NOT take us through the tunnel, it was about a 15-min. drive to the airport, and the fare was $15!!!!????!!! After reading vegaslocal's summation on the tunnel,(see above) I looked at a map, and that advice really seemed to make sense. But the $7.00 fare difference doesn't! Then when we arrived at the airport, there was an article in the local paper that very day (including many anecdotes)about cabbies overcharging tourists by taking them through the tunnel!! Timely! So I guess my recommendation is, if you want to get to the Mirage in 10 min, pay the extra $7 and go through the tunnel. And if you can handle waiting 5 more minutes, tell the driver "no tunnel",(which is what the newspaper article recommended) and save yourself a few bucks!!

Stephie

I just had to comment on vegaslocal's directions! I am so impressed with the detail to which you gave the directions and your concern in understanding that each detail will make such a difference to someone completely unfamiliar with Vegas airport.

I commend you for your generosity and the effort you went to in giving these directions. We can make so much difference with our own experiences and advice, how cool that we can share that here regarding travel.

Let's keep this kind of help coming!

Enjoy, Kylie4

mrwunrfl

It is much better to take the taxi the "back way" on Paradise Road for any hotel as far north as the Sahara. Going through the tunnel adds about 4 miles which is about 8 bucks.

The taxi drivers go down Paradise Road, which can be busy but not like the strip. Then they turn west towards the strip. There are several streets and alleys that they can use to get around the traffic.

El_Swainer

here is something I cut and pasted...

If a taxi ride originates at McCarran International Airport, an additional airport surcharge of $1.20 per trip is added to the taximeter. After the initial “drop”, the taximeter will assess a fare of $2.00 per mile ($.25 for each 1/8th of a mile traveled). If the taximeter senses that the taxicab is moving less than 8-12 MPH, the taximeter will assess a charge of $.25 (twenty-five cents) every 41 seconds ($22.00 per hour waiting time). That is why the taximeter continues to accumulate charges even when the taxicab is not moving. Once the taximeter senses that the taxicab is moving at a speed greater than 8-12 MPH the fare calculates on the actual distance traveled.

mrwunrfl

I commented that the long way was about $8 more in distance, at $2 per mile. I didn't account for wait time: about three minutes, total, at a couple of lights. So you give up a buck in wait time. The route might be a minute or two slower at the reduced speed (above 12mph). You don't spend any more time on the strip (probably less, or none in the case of the Flamingo) than going up I15 (which does get it's share of traffic).

mrwunrfl

So you pay an extra $1 for the wait time and the travel time is different. So the difference in fare is about $7, which is what Colette experience. So, it's your choice about what you want to spend: $7 or 5 minutes.

Colette

and you know what??? As I'm reading all of this, I know I've spent $7.00 in worse ways. We were safe, it was quick, and it was definitely better than walking!!