Will I Need a Rental Car?


Opinions are mixed on this question. I'll give you my take on it. I have been to Las Vegas without a car one time. It was our second trip to Las Vegas and I doubt I would do it again. I enjoy the freedom of being able to get anywhere I want, when I want.

Don't get me wrong, we got around town just fine. We used the CAT busses, taxi cabs and free shuttles to get around and didn't feel trapped anywhere in town. However, we had to wait in 105-degree temperatures for the shuttle at the Hard Rock that was 15 minutes late. Fifteen minutes in 105-degrees feels like a VERY long time.

The CAT bus system in Las Vegas is wonderful. It's $2.00 for each rider and runs up and down the strip frequently. We never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a bus to arrive. However, often when they would arrive, they would be full of people. I don't mean that there wasn't a seat. I mean that the driver couldn't put more people into the bus with a plunger! At one stop I saw people unable to get off the bus at their stop because it was so jam packed!

The taxi service is also pretty good. You cannot hail a cab on the street, but there is usually a line of them at each hotel/casino valet area waiting to take you where you want to go. In my opinion though, the cabs get rather expensive. Each ride is probably about $10, depending of course on how far you travel, and just 10 rides would cover the cost of a car rental for a week.

I suppose that you have to make the decision for yourself. Where are your priorities? If that $100 for a car rental is going to make a big difference in your trip budget, I have some tips and hints on how to get around town for next to nothing. If the convenience and ease of having a car is important, I'll give you ideas on how to get the most car rental for your buck and save you some time in the process.

First, let's address the car rentals:

CAR RENTALS

My personal preference is Alamo Rent A Car. I almost always find them to be the least expensive, reliable rental angency in town and they have good cars in their fleet. Now before you email me your horror story about the lines at Alamo, I'll tell you my secret.

The first time I rented a car from Alamo in Las Vegas, I was shocked to see a line that went outside the building when we arrived. We waited in line for over an hour to get our car. Apparently this is normal for peak arrival times in Las Vegas. I called Alamo to complain after we got home and they suggested we sign up for their Quicksilver program. I went to Alamo's website and signed up for the program. We filled out an application and picked all of our preferences for insurance, car size, etc. About 5 weeks later we got a plastic Quicksliver card in the mail.

On our next trip to Las Vegas, we made our car reservation online. Upon arrival, we gathered our bags, headed out to the bus stop where the shuttle was waiting. We arrived at Alamo to find that long line, but we made a quick right turn inside the door to the Quicksilver "room". Dan slid the card through the machine, punched a couple of buttons and a piece of paper came out the bottom of the machine.

The paper had a parking space number on it. We walked out to the spot and found a mid-sized car. We'd been automatically upgraded from a compact. The keys were in the car and within 3 minutes of arrival we were at the gate. We gave the security guy the paper from the Quicksilver machine and we were on our way to our hotel.

If you have an aversion to Alamo, or are unable to find a car available for the dates you will be traveling, there are a number of other good rental agencies in town. Here are some links to their websites:

 

OTHER TRANSPORTATION

Local Busses:

CAT Busses are a decent way to get around town if you're on a tight budget. Rides on routes 301 and 302 (the Strip) are $2.00 per person. Or, you can buy 40 tokens for $20 and the ride is 3 tokens. Another option is the $30, 30-day pass. Click the link at the start of this paragraph for more information on routes, fares and how to buy tokens and passes.

Free Hotel Shuttle Busses:

If you really want to save some money you can use the free shuttle busses and trams to get around town. I couldn't begin to list them all here and I don't have to. The folks at Big Empire and CheapoVegas have released "Free Ride: The Ridiculously Compete Guide to Las Vegas Free Transportation".

This book has all you could ever need to know about the free shuttle busses. The book covers every free shuttle or monorail in the Las Vegas area, the pick up and drop off locations, the schedules, the condition of the buses or monorails, length of trips, anything to see on the trip, how reliable the service is, whether there are benches or weather protection at pick up and drop off locations, which shuttles and monorails are crowded and which aren't, when to tip drivers and when not to, where to go to get the most recent shuttle info, and any requirements (such as showing a hotel room key) made by the service providers. In total, they say they have identified over 30 different pick up and drop off locations, and have found over 100 unique start-end combinations. For more information, visit their website at: http://www.cheapovegas.com/freeride.html

Taxi Service:

If you're not interested in busses and haven't got the patience to wait for a shuttle, then this page has a great table for you. At the bottom of this page, you'll find a table that will give you the Taxi Rates from hotel to hotel, or from the airport to hotel. Which brings me to something else I wanted to mention...

 

Getting from the Airport to your hotel

If you aren't interested in renting a car, you'll need to figure out a way to get to your hotel from the airport. You can catch a transit bus from the airport to the MGM (line 108 I believe). But I don't think many people want to haul their luggage around on the transit bus. There are other alternatives.

Once you leave the baggage claim, you will see signs that are either pointing you to the rental cars, or to taxi/shuttle stands. Check out the Taxi Rates chart for costs from the airport to your hotel. Unless there are several of you, it's probably cheaper to take a shuttle. The shuttles cost about $3.50-$4.00 per person. Once you go outside the doors at baggage claim, you'll see a line of booths set up against the wall. Each one is a different shuttle company. There are several good ones, but I've had the best luck with Gray Line. Pay for your one way or round trip at the booth and they will tell you what bus to get on.

There's also the Las Vegas Limousine service that will take you to your hotel in a limo for $4.00 per person too. Another frugal and classy alternative.

Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have other tips for getting around town!