Los Angeles to Las Vegas by bus
Apr 11th, 2007, 03:39 AM
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Los Angeles to Las Vegas by bus
We are older Australians arriving in LA by cruise ship on December 21st at 8am and flying home from LA at 11:55 pm on the 24th. (Our Christmas Day will be spent in the air!!)
Originally we had thought of hiring a car and driving down to San Diego but have now changed our minds in favour of some "glitz" ! We do have such beautiful coastal areas down under wheras we don't have a Las Vegas.
As we are only in the US for 3 nights/4 days,( have previously travelled widely in and lived for 18 months in your beautiful country), the thought of battling your freeways pre Christmas as well as driving on the "wrong" side of the road may undo all the good of our cruise, and we don't fancy waiting around airports for such a short trip.
Can any kind person on this forum advise us of another comfortable bus company that leaves LA for Vegas late morning? We would be so grateful. We are a little worried about Greyhound. We will also have a fair bit of luggage having been on a 20 night cruise. We may be wrong about this and if so please enlighten.
Was very impresed by a bus company luxbusamerica.com. We will definitely book them for our return Las Vegas to Las Angeles trip. Unfortunately they depart LA every day at 7am and our ship does not arrive until 8 am.
Any suggestions re the best luxury hotels would also be much appreciated.
This seems to have been a very long winded message. Thanks for your patience. Cheers.
Originally we had thought of hiring a car and driving down to San Diego but have now changed our minds in favour of some "glitz" ! We do have such beautiful coastal areas down under wheras we don't have a Las Vegas.
As we are only in the US for 3 nights/4 days,( have previously travelled widely in and lived for 18 months in your beautiful country), the thought of battling your freeways pre Christmas as well as driving on the "wrong" side of the road may undo all the good of our cruise, and we don't fancy waiting around airports for such a short trip.
Can any kind person on this forum advise us of another comfortable bus company that leaves LA for Vegas late morning? We would be so grateful. We are a little worried about Greyhound. We will also have a fair bit of luggage having been on a 20 night cruise. We may be wrong about this and if so please enlighten.
Was very impresed by a bus company luxbusamerica.com. We will definitely book them for our return Las Vegas to Las Angeles trip. Unfortunately they depart LA every day at 7am and our ship does not arrive until 8 am.
Any suggestions re the best luxury hotels would also be much appreciated.
This seems to have been a very long winded message. Thanks for your patience. Cheers.
Apr 11th, 2007, 06:47 AM
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I don't know about the bus you mentioned above, only about the Greyhound, and based on that - IMHO - I would fly - you really don't want to do the bus thing from downtown L.A. My daughter and I took the bus from Las Vegas to L.A. once and then on up to San Luis Obispo and it was not a great experience. The L.A. part of the trip was hideous. Union Station has seen better days - long ago - and I wouldn't recommend anyone go there.
A flight to Las Vegas from LAX is only an hour long and the bus ride would be several hours long - even considering arriving early to check in at LAX, you would still save time over the bus. Plus that when you arrive in Las Vegas at McCarren Airport, the fun begins the minute you step off the plane - slot machines and over-the-top ads all over the place.
Good luck with whatever you decide and have a fun time in Las Vegas. One tip to remember when you do get here - NEVER play Mega Bucks or other high jackpot slots without putting in the "max bet" - they hit often, but many times they don't have the max bet so the jackpot is a fraction of what it would have been if it was loaded.
A flight to Las Vegas from LAX is only an hour long and the bus ride would be several hours long - even considering arriving early to check in at LAX, you would still save time over the bus. Plus that when you arrive in Las Vegas at McCarren Airport, the fun begins the minute you step off the plane - slot machines and over-the-top ads all over the place.
Good luck with whatever you decide and have a fun time in Las Vegas. One tip to remember when you do get here - NEVER play Mega Bucks or other high jackpot slots without putting in the "max bet" - they hit often, but many times they don't have the max bet so the jackpot is a fraction of what it would have been if it was loaded.
Apr 11th, 2007, 08:15 AM
#4
Since the Lux Bus doesn't fit your time requirements, flying is really your only practical option. Just go to LAX and leave your bags w/ one of the Bag storage concessions. They are not on site but they pick up your bags and return them to the airport. Googling luggage storage LAX will bring up 5 or 6 different firms.
Apr 11th, 2007, 08:18 AM
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I agree that it would be wiser to fly. I doubt you would be "waiting around airports" as there are flights leaving from LAX to LV very frequently. Check Southwest Airlines. If your cruise is arriving into the Port of Long Beach, you may want to fly from the LGB airport. Jet Blue flys from LGB to Las Vegas.
If you choose the bus, you might well be waiting around bus stations, which are usually located in the unsavory parts of town.
If you choose the bus, you might well be waiting around bus stations, which are usually located in the unsavory parts of town.
Apr 11th, 2007, 08:28 AM
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Amtrak is a train company. They also have buses which are safe and comfortable compare to Greyhound.
If for any reason you prefer to take a bus over a plane, Amtrak has 3 buses a day from LA to Vegas (be careful making reservations, don't pick Vegas New Mexico, you need Vegas Nevada
)
It takes 6 hours by bus, even longer than to go to an airport and through security. Honestly, I would fly.
If for any reason you prefer to take a bus over a plane, Amtrak has 3 buses a day from LA to Vegas (be careful making reservations, don't pick Vegas New Mexico, you need Vegas Nevada
)It takes 6 hours by bus, even longer than to go to an airport and through security. Honestly, I would fly.
Apr 11th, 2007, 02:55 PM
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Add my vote to the flying option!
I did a quick search on AA.com and you can fly from LAX to Las Vegas and back for $170 a person. For that price, skip the bus altogether!
LA traffic is brutal and this way you won't have to deal with it. Your only concern will be getting from one terminal to another.
As for your luggage, suggest you check with your airlines to see if they can hold it for you (a very slim possibility). Another suggestion would be to try to take less and do laundry on the ship.
For a luxury hotel in Vegas, I'd recommend the Bellagio or the Wynn.
I did a quick search on AA.com and you can fly from LAX to Las Vegas and back for $170 a person. For that price, skip the bus altogether!
LA traffic is brutal and this way you won't have to deal with it. Your only concern will be getting from one terminal to another.
As for your luggage, suggest you check with your airlines to see if they can hold it for you (a very slim possibility). Another suggestion would be to try to take less and do laundry on the ship.
For a luxury hotel in Vegas, I'd recommend the Bellagio or the Wynn.
Apr 11th, 2007, 06:01 PM
#8
Battling LAX airport congestion pre Christmas sounds even worse than driving to me. While the flight may be an hour, you can add 2 to 3 hours on each end for travel to the airport and check=in time. However the idea of using Long Beach airport is appealing, if there is a flight that fits with your schedule.
And actually, Union Station is looking quite nice these days, thank you.
And actually, Union Station is looking quite nice these days, thank you.
Apr 11th, 2007, 11:00 PM
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It has been a long time since we flew out of it, but we did like the Burbank Airport. I noticed Southwest had flights almost hourly to Las Vegas, and the flights take about an hour.
It is a much smaller airport than LAX, probably to your benefit.
Also wanted to point out that the scenery was not enjoyable on that drive.
It is a much smaller airport than LAX, probably to your benefit.
Also wanted to point out that the scenery was not enjoyable on that drive.
Apr 11th, 2007, 11:53 PM
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Thanks to all you kind folks for the time taken to give us advice.
It will definitely be a return flight now if we can solve the luggage problem.
janisi - have emailed a storage company. Appreciate the suggestion.
Pomme949 - Think we will stay at Bellagio.
5alive - Your comments re scenery finally did it for us.
Thanks again to you all.
It will definitely be a return flight now if we can solve the luggage problem.
janisi - have emailed a storage company. Appreciate the suggestion.
Pomme949 - Think we will stay at Bellagio.
5alive - Your comments re scenery finally did it for us.
Thanks again to you all.
Apr 12th, 2007, 05:14 AM
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"Oh, I'm betting (LOL!) that Southwest won't be running any specials in that holiday time frame."
I don't know. They seem to offer a number of seats at the special internet rate when they are first offered. I'm sure they go fast, but I'm not so sure that they don't offer them for all flights. One would just have to make sure you checked and booked as soon as December flights were available.
But admittedly I could be wrong about that.
I don't know. They seem to offer a number of seats at the special internet rate when they are first offered. I'm sure they go fast, but I'm not so sure that they don't offer them for all flights. One would just have to make sure you checked and booked as soon as December flights were available.
But admittedly I could be wrong about that.
Apr 12th, 2007, 06:30 AM
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SNA airport would be a breeze compared to LAX for a flight to Las Vegas. What port are you coming into?
The evening of the 24th is not bad for flying, you should easily be able to find a 6 or 7pm out of Las Vegas for arrival into LAX at 8pm. Enjoy Christmas Eve dinner at the airport restaurant and have a good flight afterwards.
The evening of the 24th is not bad for flying, you should easily be able to find a 6 or 7pm out of Las Vegas for arrival into LAX at 8pm. Enjoy Christmas Eve dinner at the airport restaurant and have a good flight afterwards.
