do I need a rental car in las vegas, can I go there without car?

Question

I live in NY. I want to save money. I wonder if rental car is necessary

Answer 1

Absolutly not. You really only need one if you plan to see a lot of places outside of the strip or downtown. If you plan to see Lake Mead, Hoover Dam, Death Valley, and some museums, then you would want to get a car. If not, there is no need.

You can walk from one end of the strip to the other in about an hour. And you can walk around downtown in about 15 minutes. You can take a taxi to different parts of the strip for $8-$10. Between the strip and downtown will cost you $15-$20. Their is a bus line that will take you between strip and downtown too for about $4 round trip (or $5 for a 24-hour pass). There are free shuttles that will take you to the off-strip casinos (Hard Rock, Rio) and to the outlet malls (visit their websites for info).

A cab from the airport will cost you $15 if you stay on the strip and $20 if you are staying downtown.

The last time my wife and I were out there, we paid for a cab ride to and from the airport, and a bus ride to and from downtown. It all cost about $60 for two people over a 4 day trip. Compare that with the price to rent a car for a day. Renting is probably a waste of money.

One thing you should invest in; however, is a comfortable pair of walking shoes. And don't waste your money going to a health club, you can get lots of exercise walking.

Visit the Imperial Palace website (www.IP.com). They have 3 webcams right outside their property (one inside and one of their pool). It is one section of the strip, but you can see how pedestrian friendly the tourist areas are. And if you don't walk the strip at night, you are missing.

Answer 2

Cab fare to Excalibur is around $15. All car rental agencies in Nevada charge a 4% "reimbursement of registration and license fee", a 6% "Nevada rental service fee" and 7.5% state sales tax. That's 17.5 percent. If your rental is $100 your charge will be $117.50. The airport also charges a $3 per day "consumer facility fee" plus a 10% airport concession fee. That would make your $100 rental for $117.50 from a non-airport car rental lot become $136.50 (assuming a three day rental period.) BUT, you're saving cab fare to and from the airport, which would be $30 plus tip. So if you get a rental care for 3 days at a rate of $33 per day... renting from the airport will cost $136 vs. taking a cab to the strip and renting a car there, then returning it at the airport ... $117;50 plus $15 cab fare = $132.50. Plus tip to the cabbie. No difference. There's a free shuttle that runs every 5 minutes from the airport to the car rental center. The only bottleneck is the dummies who spend 20 minutes renting their car. You should sign up for Thrifty Blue Chip or Hertz Gold etc. so they'll have your rental contract already printed and you can bypass the long wait at the counter. You go straight to the parking lot and get your car instead of standing at the counter letting the clerk try to sell you Loss Damage Waiver and Theft Protection and all that nonsense. I've rented cars in Las Vegas about 10 times. They're going to take a $500 authorization on your credit card as a deposit. Having a car to tour the Las Vegas strip is more of a hassle than a benefit. The best way to use the rental car is to park it at Mandalay Bay one day and Venetian the next day, and walk from there to the center strip and back. Self parking is free and there's no time limit. You don't have to be a guest at a resort to park there either.

Answer 3

No a car is not necessery. I went to LV without one and used the excellent taxi services along with the automated train lines. One tip is to make up the strip in sector. Then take a cab ride to the first atraction you like to go to. Then walk around. When you like to get back take a cab home. Since the huge car park areas are in the back of a huge hotel area someone said that you dont save any time using a car in LV.

The only time where a car is usefull (instead of going by plane) is the trip to grand canyon. Johan

Answer 4

It is only good if you want to go to the grand canyon or hoover dam or something like that. If you are there for just the strip or downtown and wont be going outside vegas, I would save money. Cabs are abundant and if you stay in a good location, you shouldnt need a car. Plus drivers are crazy in Vegas. I am a great driver, but wouldnt drive in Vegas unless I had to. Cabs, walking, and the "monorail" are the ways to go in Vegas if you ask me. It costs about $10 for a cab ride in Vegas if you arent going too far....

Answer 5

No, its not necessary unless you want to explore the city beyond the infamous strip. Most casinos have shuttle buses to Fremont Street, Hoover Dam, etc. With that being said if you go to Avis you can rent a car for about $18 a day. Not a bad price to pay if you want to see more of Nevada.

Answer 6

NO you won't need a car in Vegas. Use the public transportation system...last time I was in Vegas it cost about $2.00 to us it. It took about an hour to get from Paris on the strip to Farmount Street (Golden Nugget).

Traffic is really bad in Vegas. Walk every ware or take the bus (public Transportation) if you need to go some place.

Answer 7

No, you don't need to rent a car in Las Vegas unless you plan to travel outside of the area. You can get around on foot or taxi. Lots of traffic in Vegas.

Have a great trip.

Answer 8

No. Multiple ways of getting around, a cab, a bus, even a
mono-rail train. Besides, traffic is always heavy, parking
costs money and you probably won't be going more than
a few miles anyway. Save the money for the games.

Answer 9

If you're staying on the strip, the answer is NO. It takes less than 5 minutes to get from the airport to the strip and once you are there, you won't use it. The strip is always busy traffic wise, so it's usually quicker to walk from hotel to hotel than drive.

If you are going to go to Fremont street or to the outlets you can always cab it; in the end you'll spend less $$.

Answer 10

No car man, no car.