What is the best option for getting from the airport to downtown (mainstreet station). I will only have a back pack for luggage I think.
Thanks in advance.
What is the best option for getting from the airport to downtown (mainstreet station). I will only have a back pack for luggage I think.
Thanks in advance.
> What is the best option for getting from the airport
> to downtown (mainstreet station). I will only have a
> back pack for luggage I think.
> Thanks in advance.
Your options:
1. CAT bus route 109. This is the cheapest at $1.25 each way. Of course, you must handle your own bag, it makes numerous stops (total trip is about 45 min), and you must walk from the DTS (Downtown Transit Center) to MSS (about 2 blocks).
2. Airport shuttle busses. These cost $5-$7 each way, and you get a buck or two off if you buy a round trip ticket. They drop you off right in front of your hotel and the driver will help you with your bags (and expect a small tip). Time varies, as they take a busload and stop at several hotels. If you get lucky, there will be a lot of people going downtown and you may be the first one off. If you're not lucky, the bus may stop at hotels at the north end of the strip first (Circus Circus, Sahara, Stratosphere), and the ride may take nearly as long as the bus.
3. Cab. This is the quickest way, but will cost you $15-$20 each way, plus tip. Tell the driver not to take the tunnel.
4. Limo. If you want luxury, a non-stretch limo will cost about $40-$50 each way, and you won't have to share it with anyone. You'll also have the prestige factor of having a guy in a black suit standing in the baggage area holding up a placard with your name on it. He'll carry your bag for you (and of course, expect a tip).
5. Rent a car. Do some web-surfing and you can usually find an intermediate size rental car for not much over $20 per day.
What is the best? That, of course, is a matter of opinion. I usually rent a car unless I'm planning on spending all of my time downtown. If that is the case, I take one of the airport shuttles.
Thanks Parker:
One of our party is renting the car but I arrive earlier
so I can either wait around or get to the Hotel. I guess
I'll take the 109 or 108 bus. Its around noon so will probably indeed take extra long. But after traveling for 5 hours whats
another 45 mins. On the other hand I could have been
playing poker or blackjack for 30 mins and make $10, so I guess the shuttle would be a push. Roundtrip is not an option because its 3.5 days at MSS and then 3.5 days at The Orleans.
BTW I mostly play poker now and have not kept up with low
limit BJ. How are the conditions? Any downtown suggestions?
Cheers, C.P.
> Thanks Parker:
> One of our party is renting the car but I arrive
> earlier
> so I can either wait around or get to the Hotel. I
> guess
> I'll take the 109 or 108 bus. Its around noon so will
> probably indeed take extra long. But after traveling
> for 5 hours whats
> another 45 mins. On the other hand I could have been
> playing poker or blackjack for 30 mins and make $10,
> so I guess the shuttle would be a push. Roundtrip is
> not an option because its 3.5 days at MSS and then 3.5
> days at The Orleans.
Sure it is. You have to call them 24 hours before departure and tell them when (and where) to pick you up. It does not have to be at the same hotel as where you were dropped off. Just tell them this when you buy the ticket.
I guess it just depends on how much baggage you are carrying. There is no place to store your bags on the CAT bus, and the driver is not inclined to help you. :-) Then there is the walk from the transit center to MSS.
I would also have some security concerns taking the bus, especially if arriving late at night. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that someone arriving in Las Vegas carrying luggage just might have a considerable amount of cash on his person.
> BTW I mostly play poker now and have not kept up with
> low
> limit BJ. How are the conditions? Any downtown
> suggestions?
Things seem to have deteriorated lately, but check the Plaza, Vegas Club and Binion's. Of course, you can always find sweaty low-roller single deck games (and squalid surroundings) at the El Cortez and Western. The game at MSS is worth a quick look, if you can find a dealer giving any sort of pen. They don't use a cut card, so it can be hard to tell.
Thans for all the info.
I arrive just befor noon. So I am not as concerned
about security, but I do apreciate your concern
and might just take that shuttle or even a Taxi. Don't know why I am worring about one or two bets anyway. I will have only
one small bag that can ride on my lap. So thats not an issue. Is there a risk walking from DTC to MSS???
Also how is the walk from MSS to the Gambler's General Store. I need to buy some copag and Kem Cards.
> Is there a risk walking from DTC to MSS???
Just be aware of what's (who's) around you. I wouldn't do the walk myself as a young woman, but walking during the day shouldn't be a problem.
> Also how is the walk from MSS to the Gambler's General
> Store. I need to buy some copag and Kem Cards.
MSS is at 200 N Main St and GGS is at 800 S Main St, a little less than a mile's walk one way (a 3.2-mph stride is a 20-minute mile according to my treadmill). You pass some seedy places, bail bonds and the like, so go during the day. It gets dark about 5 right now, fyi.
Bettie
I completely agree with everything Bettie posted, but won't let that stop me from blathering on a bit more.
The walk from DTC to MSS is completely safe, at least in the daytime. It is exactly two blocks down Stewart St., with the MSS parking lot on one side and the California on the other.
Bettie is being paranoid - she'd be perfectly safe on this walk. Even at night, it is well-lit and I would assume that the casinos involved have these areas under surveillance. Unless you are a 90-year-old lady using a walker, or staggering drunk with $100 bills hanging out of your pockets, you should be perfectly safe.
The walk to Gambler's General store is longer (roughly a mile), and I'd be a little uncomfortable doing this one after dark, but during the day should be fine. You walk past some sleazy hotels, apartments, bail bondsmen's offices, and an adult bookstore or two. Main St. is heavily traveled, and frequently patrolled by Metro PD.
> Bettie is being paranoid - she'd be perfectly safe on
> this walk. Even at night, it is well-lit and I would
> assume that the casinos involved have these areas
> under surveillance.
Maybe so ? I was once grabbed at by a mentally ill person who thought she knew me on a crowded Totonto bus, so I tend to get a little skittish around the bums laying all over the sidewalks on the walk to downtown. There have been some shootings in that area, too, and it's mostly a matter of the money I'm carrying on that walk. Not that I'm at the bus station much, but I tend to park at the Plaza lot while I'm downtown, so I've done it a lot. Still, for downtown info, I bow to Parker's knowledge.
Bettie
"Even a paranoid has some real enemies." ?Kissinger
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