Originally Posted By retlawfan Hi folks! I am attending a conference in Las Vegas in a couple of months, and thought I'd throw out the question to all of the LP community: Should I drive or fly? Here's the situation: I live in the south Bay Area, and will also need to have a car to get around while I'm there(for about 5-6 days). What do y'all think? Also, any recomendations for a hotel?
Originally Posted By retlawfan PS. Mapquest.com shows it as about 500 miles, and 8 hours driving time.
Originally Posted By peeaanuut me, I prefer to drive. But I prefer to drive anywhere. LOL. 500 miles is a very doable drive if you are a driver. Some good tunes and the open road. Thats how I like it. LOL But thats just me. Plus you will have your own car and you will be comfortable and not some stuffy rental when you get there.
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 We live in the N Bay area. The drive is OK but gets to be really long and boring in spots. DH prefers to drive everywhere (read HATES flying) so it's what we are used to. Leaving really early in the am helps. Like peeaanuut said, some good tunes and maybe a book on CD helps. That said, we have friends who swear by flying, they leave out of Oakland and are there in a snap. The LV airport if very close to the Strip and taxis are everywhere.
Originally Posted By Big Thunder I work Las Vegas frequently, I drive there from So CA, for me it's only a 250 mile drive and takes about 3 - 3 1/2 hours. Like you, I need a car once I am there and require to take along a lot of stuff that is already in my vehicle. So, for the fairly short drive time it's easier for me to drive Vegas. [drove there last week as a matter of fact] However, in talking to friends and associates who live in No CA, I probably wouldn't drive to Las Vegas from up there. There isn't a clean shot from the bay area like it is from down in So. CA, It's much faster and fairly cheap to fly. The one downfall in flying LV is that their airport check in is the worst I have ever experienced. Prepare for long waits, their security check point is a mess for the amount of travelers that go through there. If it weren't for everything I have to take along with me, I'd fly everywhere. I cover ten western states plus Hawaii. When I fly I have to pay extra for extra cargo/luggage and need a large car with plenty of trunk space, so I drive certain destinations because it's easier than flying, but takes more travel time. My rule of thumb is that if it takes more than 5 hours [No CA is 5 1/2 hrs. so that's an exception] then I fly it, less than 5 hours I drive it. my .02 ... from up there, fly and rent a car if you'll be driving outside of the strip area. Within the strip and downtown area, taxis are everywhere and if your at the convention center use the Las Vegas Monorail for $15 a day
Originally Posted By belle42 I'd suggest fly then use the monorail system they have for the strip to get around.
Originally Posted By Dave >>>>me, I prefer to drive. But I prefer to drive anywhere. LOL<<< from all we've heard yo dont drive you just fly low
Originally Posted By EdisYoda In the last 8 months I've been to Las Vegas 5 times on business. Each time I've flown (I live just north of San Diego) and rented a car. While I like to drive, I don't like putting the extra wear and tear on the car, so I fly. Of any city, I think the placement of the Las Vegas Airport is the best, however I agree that check-in is an absolute mess. If you normally arrive 2 hours early, plan on 3, but it really depends on what's in town. The first time I flew in, I almost missed my flight out, the last time same thing (there were 400 volleyball teams leaving from a tournament at the same time I was!). The other 3 times I didn't have too big a problem. As for where to stay, it pretty much depends on price and where the conference is. I've stayed at both the Hilton (on the monorail line), and the Marriott Courtyard accross the street from the Convention Center. I usually rented a car because I was servicing locations away from the Strip, but when I wanted to go to anywhere on the strip, I used the monorail and walked the rest of the way.
Originally Posted By avromark <<While I like to drive, I don't like putting the extra wear and tear on the car, so I fly.>> Any car should do at least 200,000mi. I commute and put on 80,000mi a year on average on my car, I keep them for about 3 years. My current car is a found on road dead. I tend to purchase unglamorous cars that the first owner took a hit on. The one time I tried a "vault" reliable car I ended up over paying for a car that lasted me less then 8 months and croaked with 168k on the odo. I'm happy my current car is approaching double that A 6 hour drive is nothing, of course if they raised the speed limits to what the roads were designed to handle it would be a 4 hour drive Of course I don't mind flying (esp. on company dime), the only thing is I wish the seats in economy where a little wider and a little more leg room. (But i'm also about 6 ft and husky, at least I don't have some huge molson muscle). Rental cars are fun *grin* remember it's not your car. BTW can I borrow yours? j/k
Originally Posted By Tiggirl <<me, I prefer to drive. But I prefer to drive anywhere. LOL>> LOL! I remeber my trip in your car: "Oh my god! Joe! Oh my god!" and then I'd cover my eyes so I didn't have to see us whooshing past cars at insane speeds. LOL! But I did get to the hotel safe and sound so its all good. ) ~Beth
Originally Posted By cmpaley Last time I drove to Vegas (the week between Washington and Lincoln's birthdays), I managed to get up to 95 without even knowing it...it's that desolate out there. I love doing that drive.
Originally Posted By Mort2 We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the music began to take hold. . . For those with iTunes on their computer: <a href="http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPublishedPlaylist?id=386327&s=143441" target="_blank">http://phobos.apple.com/WebObj ects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPublishedPlaylist?id=386327&s=143441</a>
Originally Posted By peeaanuut <<"Oh my god! Joe! Oh my god!" and then I'd cover my eyes so I didn't have to see us whooshing past cars at insane speeds. LOL! But I did get to the hotel safe and sound so its all good. )>> was that the integra or my moms old car? lol
Originally Posted By gadzuux As has already been pointed out, LV is not an easy drive from the bay area. Essentially it's driving to LA, then hanging a left at the 10 to the 15 - it's a looong way. Needless to say, the drive home again is even less fun. Once you're in las vegas, driving in that town is definitely not easy. I consider myself to be an excellent driver, and that town confounds me at every turn - at least around the strip/resorts area. Southwest Air out of oakland is a quick, easy (and usually cheap) hop. Cabs are more than plentiful.
Originally Posted By cmpaley >>As has already been pointed out, LV is not an easy drive from the bay area. Essentially it's driving to LA, then hanging a left at the 10 to the 15 -<< Huh!? You can drive to Vegas from the Bay Area without even seeing LA County. Take the 580 to the 5 to the 58 (through Bakersfield) to the 15 (in Barstow) and you're there. >>Once you're in las vegas, driving in that town is definitely not easy. I consider myself to be an excellent driver, and that town confounds me at every turn - at least around the strip/resorts area.<< That's true. For some reason, the paint they use on the roadways isn't very visible on the shiny asphalt they use. It's one of the things I don't like about driving there. Nevada could learn a lot from California when it comes to concrete/asphalt treatment and highway striping.
Originally Posted By gadzuux My problem is accessing buildings and parking lots. Once I was trying to get into an IHOP on flamingo, near the strip. I made two passes and never did find a curb cut to get into the parking lot that I could clearly see. Another time I was trying to reach the parking structure for caesars palace - I never did find the entrance after twenty minutes of trying. I don't know '58 through bakersfield to barstow'. Maybe it's a fine road, but then again maybe it's not.
Originally Posted By cmpaley The 58 is part country highway, part freeway. As far as I know, from the 5 to just west of the 99, it's country highway, then it becomes a freeway/expressway. The climb from Bakersfield to Tehachapi is interesting but not hard to drive (I could be wrong but the climb over the Grapevine is harder on your car). Somewhere between Mojave and Barstow it becomes a country highway for about 20 miles or so. There is one stoplight along the entire stretch at Kramer Junction (CA-58 and US 395). It's a pretty pleasant drive. I recommend it.
Originally Posted By wonderingalice In defense of our airport... If you're flying on a weekend, yes, security can be an issue. However, during the week - especially early in the day, it's not bad at all - maybe a 15 minute wait to get to the "C" (Southwest Airlines) gates. San Diego and Orange County airports are MUCH worse... Last time Mr. Alice and I returned home from Disneyland, they OC had just two checkpoints open and they were manned by idiots. *LOL* There weren't even that many people in line, but it took us three times as long as the wait in Vegas when we headed out. I'd fly from SF... That Bakersfield run is a drag, in my opinion. Seemed to take forever to get to I-15.
Originally Posted By wonderingalice Oh... If you're visiting during COMDEX, CES or the two times a year of the big furniture conventions - all bets are off for the airport. ;-) Never hurts to check out the LVCVA web site to see what's going on in town. You can usually tell by room rates, too... They skyrocket during the huge events.
