My Number 1 Vegas travel tip

For most of our 3 day trips, renting a car for the entire stay on arrival costs about the same as one day rental at the hotels. If we make one trip away from the main hotel that is a non-drinking trip (for me...), then it can be very worthwhile to have the car.

Even with a car, though, we'll still be cabbing most places we go...once the gambling and drinking starts, no more driving!!

I always rent a car in Vegas (usually 2-3 trips a year, flying in from the east coast with my wife.) I find a car to be much more convenient for getting around than other transportation, and I know that we visit a heck of a lot more places than we would if I didn't have use of a car.

There is one other consideration for me: I love the strip and a lot of other things in Vegas. But after about 3 or 4 days of neon, crowds, and noise from the slots (which I don't play myself, just the tables for me), I have to get away and decompress. Since I am too cheap to pay for plane tickets for just a weekend visit, the solution is to get away for a while and then come back to the strip. A couple of days at the Grand Canyon or Palm Springs -- or maybe even spending the day at Red Rock Canyon, Death Valley, or Valley of Fire -- has me rejuvenated for another few days at the strip.

The only problem I have with this issue is the original post that said $10/day for a car. Where do you get that, what kind of clunker to they provide, and what does it include? I have a reservation I just made for an eight-night trip. A car from National was quoted at $261 and change to the company plus an outrageous 46% add-on in government fees and taxes for a total of $382, i.e., $47.75/day including everything but fuel. What does a $10/day car really cost when it's all paid for? My rate includes unlimited miles and the insurance.

And another factor: if you sign up with one of the rental car companies' clubs (National's Emerald Club for me, and probably Hertz #1 and others) and make a reservation on line, then you don't have to deal with lines at the airport -- just walk from the shuttle into the facility, get into a car you like, and show them your driver's license at the exit. No problem.

I almost always get cars via Priceline or Hotwire. Unless there is a huge even in the city I am headed to, I usually score a deal between $10-$20 a day. Even in Key West--and especially in places like Vegas. I bid over several days and start pretty low (50% or less).

to avoid parking and paying for the car while it sits, i like to cab it from the airport to hotel, then cab it back to the airport facility to rent the car for a quick getaway from the strip. Last year we got up to St. George Utah for a bit, absolutely beautiful and perfect for a recharge.

You avoid some fees and taxes by renting off-airport and a lower base rate. And normally you don't pay extra for dropping off a car within a zone (like the airport).

For example, a four day rental at LAS for Avis costs $309.87 with $93.91 in fees: $3.25/day Customer Facility Charge, 10% Government Services Fee, 2.9% Reimbursement of Registration/License fee and a 10.1% Concession recovery fee (which is on top of the total cost). The same car at the Palazzo has a lower base rate and doesn't have the $3.25/day charge for a total of $245.95 with only $45.99 in fees.

Two good reasons not to rent a car in Vegas that I didn't anticipate: Not knowing the traffic laws and being drunk 24/7. Good call on both.

I neglected to mention the best part of having a rental car here -- avoiding the round-trip taxi fare from the airport. I think it's about a $50 tab, so even if your car languishes in the garage over a three-day trip, you're still getting value from the rental. One thing to keep in mind is that the cabbies here are known for long-hauling from McCarran to run up the meter.

And the figures in the last post don't match my experience. In fact, I just went to Hotwire and immediately found a 4-day rental (weekend too) for 13.95/day -- a total of $88.95 with taxes and fees. Also, the best rates are ALWAYS at the McCarran rental center, though it may be true that you avoid some fees by renting off-site. But it's still cheaper to rent there. If I had done some comparison shopping and bid on Priceline I could have got that rate close to $10/day.

Before I moved here sometimes I rented, sometimes I didn't. It depended on how much driving I planned other than between the hotel and airport. If you plan to stay within walking distance of your hotel, I would go with the convenience of cab.

Agreed, rental cars here are cheap. I usually rent from Avis, because they tend to be efficient and keep their lines short. An exception is the Avis branch in Miami, which is terrible.

Quote: nyuhoosier

I neglected to mention the best part of having a rental car here -- avoiding the round-trip taxi fare from the airport. I think it's about a $50 tab, so even if your car languishes in the garage over a three-day trip, you're still getting value from the rental.

If you're going alone or with one companion, there's no reason to get a cab at the airport. The shuttles available at LAS are cheap, about $12 to $15 round trip to the Strip per passenger, plus whatever you tip the driver. For a larger group it might make sense.

Starting March 28 you can ride a public bus straight to the (north end of the) Strip for $2, as the 108-Paradise is now rerouted to turn off Paradise on Riviera and hits the Riviera, Circus Circus, and the Sahara on the north end. (Currently it goes north on Paradise from the airport.) You could always take either the 108 or the 109 to get to Downtown, since the last stop was the transit center downtown.

On-Strip, the most common complaint about the Deuce is the inordinate amount of time it takes to board and alight the vehicles, with the bus holding at a stop for 3-5 minutes at a time as people take their time paying their fares and scampering up and down those stairs. However, with the introduction of the ACE Gold Line, the wannabe train on the Strip, this should alleviate a lot of those waits, and should be almost as fast as driving. Passengers will need to have paid their fare prior to boarding and there are multiple doors and no steps. The disadvantage is the ACE only makes stops about every half mile to one mile. The Deuce will continue to make more frequent stops and take the same tourist crowd.

Although a taxi ride may be cheaper for a group of three or four, for the couple or solo traveler who doesn't mind taking public transit, the $7 day pass and $15 three day pass is a good deal. And arguably the wait for a bus is much shorter at peak hours than the wait for a taxi.