DuckyD
DuckyD
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February 7th, 2011 at 9:54:03 AM permalink
Is there a better way for 2 people to get from LAS to downtown and back again? I've always stayed strip-side and have always cabbed it. Hey, work paid for the cab fares.

Now that we're travelling on our own dime and I'm a big fan of communal transportation, I have to imagine there's a way of getting from LAS to downtown other than privately hired cab.

Any regular travelers through LAS have a good suggestion/recommendation?
OneAngryDwarf
OneAngryDwarf
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February 7th, 2011 at 10:06:36 AM permalink
As long as you don't have a lot of luggage, there's always the public bus. Both the 108 and 109 runs from the airport to the downtown Transit Center. If you take the 109, make sure it says "109 North," NOT south.

The airport bus stop is kinda hard to find and not marked very well--it's on level 0, on the opposite side of the baggage claim from the taxi stand.
"I believe I've passed the age/of consciousness and righteous rage/I've found that just surviving was a noble fight... I once believed in causes too/I had my pointless point of view/And life went on no matter who was wrong or right..." --Billy Joel
DJTeddyBear
DJTeddyBear
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February 7th, 2011 at 10:30:14 AM permalink
There's also a new service, the Westcliff Airport Express, which runs from McCarrin to Freemont via Route 15, then on to Suncoast via Summerlin Pky. This service began this past December.
I invented a few casino games. Info: http://www.DaveMillerGaming.com/ ————————————————————————————————————— Superstitions are silly, childish, irrational rituals, born out of fear of the unknown. But how much does it cost to knock on wood? 😁
PaulEWog
PaulEWog
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February 7th, 2011 at 10:48:56 AM permalink
There are a number of shuttles available, I think its up to $8.50 for downtown now. The problem with them is they hold quite a few people and downtown is usually the last stop. CLS, the shuttle operator that is farthest from the runways, used to run a "north strip/downtown" shuttle that might drop off a few people at Circus Circus or the Sahara before heading downtown, while most of the others put everyone on the same bus regardless of where they were going. But if it is slow when you arrive even CLS might run you all over.

You can get a round trip ticket or you can call and schedule a return trip, but heading back on a shuttle you are dependent on when THEY tell you they are going to pick you up, and it can be quite a while before your flight.
pacomartin
pacomartin
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February 7th, 2011 at 6:33:43 PM permalink
Quote: DJTeddyBear

There's also a new service, the Westcliff Airport Express, which runs from McCarrin to Freemont via Route 15, then on to Suncoast via Summerlin Pky. This service began this past December.



I recommend the Westcliff Express if you want cheap (only $2 per person). The only drawback is that it the headway is poor (only one per hour for much of the day). But it is considerably more comfortable than the $108 bus and is much better set up for luggage.
Wizard
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Wizard
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February 7th, 2011 at 7:08:47 PM permalink
When staying downtown it often makes sense to just rent a car at the airport. The cab fare between the airport and downtown will run about $40, including tip, each way.
"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow." -- Ecclesiastes 1:18 (NIV)
sunrise089
sunrise089
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February 7th, 2011 at 10:41:51 PM permalink
Quote: Wizard

When staying downtown it often makes sense to just rent a car at the airport. The cab fare between the airport and downtown will run about $40, including tip, each way.

QFT. If you aren't drinking then renting a car in Vegas is amazing. Traffic is lite, directions are easy, and vallets are free.
Wavy70
Wavy70
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February 7th, 2011 at 11:37:41 PM permalink
Quote: Wizard

When staying downtown it often makes sense to just rent a car at the airport. The cab fare between the airport and downtown will run about $40, including tip, each way.



I can't imagine LV w/o a car. Far, far too much too see in the non casino world. A hour drive out of Vegas is a vastly different world.
I have a bewitched egg that I use to play VP with and I have net over 900k with it.
FleaStiff
FleaStiff
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February 8th, 2011 at 3:26:57 AM permalink
Quote: Wavy70

I can't imagine LV w/o a car.


My fears would be DUI, Speed Traps, Insurance hassles, getting lost.
The tradeoffs of course are mobility and non-gaming activities.

Many people go to Las Vegas on vacations and consider it a time to not eat at McDonalds or go grocery shopping or cook. So its hotel rooms, restaurants, free booze or cheap booze at casino bars. Some people go to Las Vegas but stay at various ExtendedStay suites equipped with kitchens, microwaves. Its a shop for groceries, cook, wash dishes type visit.

Some go to casinos on the strip and gawk at ceilings. Some go to plain vanilla boxes far off strip and gamble. Most visitors seem to fall somewhere in between. If I were staying at SamsTown maybe, just maybe, I'd venture the two blocks to Aces-and-Ales, but I actually think I'd probably just stay at Sams Town and do my ale quaffing. So what would I need a rental car for? Some people actually buy a coffee maker at Walmart and take it to their hotel room. Amortizing the cost of the coffee maker over several days ... its sort of like having a two dollar a day Coffee Fee but avoiding a Resort Fee. I would love to have a coffee maker in the room but when that is not the situation, I'd prefer to go to the high priced Starbucks-type place in the lobby rather than do some sort of a trip to Walmart on a bus or in a car or anything.

I do not go to Vegas to see parks, go rock climbing, ride horses, go shopping or any of the other things that local merchants love visitors to do. I go to Vegas to gamble, eat, drink, etc. No buses, no discount malls, no big box retailers, no trips to a museum of crime or of ancient slot machines or neon signs.

So its no rental cars for me. I usually just shuttle from the airport once each way and thats it. For those staying at the Venetian, if you arrive by Airport Shuttle, you arrive at the Siberia Entrance Door. Limousines and rental cars go to the Main Entrance. The most I'll do is wander to a nearby casino but I would rarely trek from one area of town to another. If going to a Downtown Casino I'd get to Downtown once and stay there. I see no need of a rental car in downtown traffic or downtown parking. I don't really care for public transportation ever, much less on a vacation.
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