Pomme949

Has anyone driven between the LA area and Las Vegas recently?

I'm going to be making the drive on Friday and though I plan on leaving fairly early to miss the after-work traffic, I'm a bit concerned about construction.

Does anyone know how long i should expect it to take?

Thanks!

RBCal

TRAFFIC IS SUBJECT TO LANE REDUCTIONS IN EACH DIRECTION FROM MAIN ST
/IN BARSTOW/ TO 12.5 MI SOUTH OF BAKER /AT RASOR RD/ (SAN BERNARDINO CO)
24 HRS A DAY FROM 0800 HRS MONDAY TO 0800 HRS FRIDAY THRU 5/31/07 - DUE TO
CONSTRUCTION - MOTORISTS ARE SUBJECT TO DELAYS OF UP TO 45 MINUTES

http://www.dot.ca.gov/

The time the drive takes depends on where in LA you are leaving from, about 5 hours (or more).

Lord_Mesron

I have to ask this. With flights from LAX to LAS so cheap, and the flight less than an hour, why drive?

I will be in Anaheim in December for half the week and then Las Vegas for the other half, and plan to fly between them. The flight is only $69 one-way on US Airways. With the price of gas these days, flying has got to be cheaper.

Just curious.

RBCal

The flight may be an hour but you have to be there over an hour ahead of time. It takes at least another half hour to go through security and another half hour to get your luggage if you check it. Also, you can't bring on your carryon any liquids over 3 ounces. Then if you don't want to be stuck on the strip and pay exorbitant prices for restaurants you need to rent a car which takes another half hour to hour. For short distances it is less hassle to drive, particularly if there is more than one person going.

Dukey

I never realized the distance between these two cities is that "short."

Can't you take a cab to get around to restaurants in Vegas? Do you really need to rent a car?????????

Is parking at those casino hotels free?

TheWeasel

Every time the question of drive vs. fly from LA to LV comes up, the general consensus is fly because traffic sucks and the drive is boring.

It does always amaze me when people bring up the length of the flight (under an hour) but ignore the time it takes to drive to the airport, check in ahead of time, and then collect bags and take a cab or rent a car at the destination. Add in all that time as RBCal did, and flying isn't a whole lot faster and probably not cheaper unless gas is $5/gallon.

Dukey, parking is always free at the casinos. Without a rental car in LV, taking cabs everywhere probably is more expensive than renting a car.

Pomme949

Thanks everyone. I'm driving because the trip is a last minute thing - wasn't sure i was going until the other day.

Thanks again for the road condition update!

Lord_Mesron

Being a Pennsylvanian, I have never done the drive from LA to Vegas. I have also never rented a car on any of my many trips to Vegas.

That said, I prefer to use public transportation, taxi's or walk where possible on any trip I take to a fair size city. It is just easier when renting a car means you have to worry about parking, which usually isn't free in my experience, and traffic in places you aren't familiar with.

I mean, have you seen the traffic on LV Blvd or I-15, any time of the day or night? You can walk quicker than it would take you to drive and find parking. Now grant you, I tend to stay on The Strip and when I want to go somewhere outside of Vegas, like to the Hoover Dam or the Grand Caynon, I take a tour.

RBCal

One block of LV Blvd there is no traffic. Restaurants off strip cost half what they do on strip (and some are better).

rjw_lgb_ca

Sorry, but flying does price out much cheaper than driving once you factor in the wear and tear on your car.

Besides, with nonstops from all five LA area airports, it's too easy an option. JetBlue's LGB-LAS service rules, as far as I'm concerned.

If you're staying off-Strip in Vegas, I would recommend renting a car if you want to explore at all. Otherwise, if you're just doing Strip stuff, skip it.