Frommer's Las Vegas 2004

Getting to Know Las Vegas
4
Located in the southernmost precincts
of a wide, pancake-flat valley, Las Vegas
is the biggest city in the state of Nevada.
Treeless mountains form a scenic
backdrop to hotels awash in neon glitter.
Although it is one of the fastestgrowing
cities in America, for tourism
purposes, the city is quite compact.
1 Orientation
ARRIVING AT THE LAS VEGAS AIRPORT
Las Vegas is served by McCarran International Airport, 5757 Wayne Newton
Blvd. (& 702/261-5211, TDD 702/261-3111; www.mccarran.com), just a few
minutes’ drive from the southern end of the Strip, where the bulk of casinos and
hotels are concentrated. This big, modern airport—with a relatively new $500
million expansion—is rather unique in that it includes several casino areas with
more than 1,000 slot machines. Although these are reputed to offer lower paybacks
than hotel casinos (the airport has a captive audience and doesn’t need to
lure repeat customers), it’s hard to resist throwing in a few quarters while waiting
for the luggage to arrive. We actually know someone who hit a $250 jackpot
there on his way out of town, thereby recouping most of his gambling losses
at the last possible moment. (He was surprised, too.)
Getting to your hotel from the airport is a cinch. Bell Trans (& 702/
739-7990; www.bell-trans.com) runs 20-passenger minibuses daily between the
airport and all major Las Vegas hotels and motels all day (7:45am–midnight).
There are several other companies that run similar ventures—just stand outside
on the curb and one will be flagged down for you. Buses from the airport leave
about every 10 minutes. When you want to check out of your hotel and head
back to the airport, call at least 2 hours in advance to be safe (though often you
can just flag down one of the buses outside any major hotel). The cost is $4.25
per person each way to Strip- and Convention Center–area hotels, $5.50 to
Downtown or other Off-Strip properties (anyplace north of the Sahara Hotel
and west of I-15). Other similarly priced shuttles run 24 hours and can be found
in the same place.
Even less expensive are Citizen’s Area Transit (CAT) buses (& 702/CAT-
RIDE). The no. 108 bus departs from the airport and will take you to the
Stratosphere, where you can transfer to the 301, which stops close to most Stripand
Convention Center–area hotels. The no. 109 bus goes from the airport to
the Downtown Transportation Center at Casino Center Boulevard and Stewart
Avenue. The fares for buses on Strip routes are $2 for adults, 60¢ for seniors and
children. Note: If you have heavy luggage, you should know that you might have
a long walk from the bus stop to the hotel entrance (even if the bus stop is right
in front of your hotel). Vans are able to get right up to the entrance, so choose
a van if you’re lugging lots of baggage.