Getting Around Las Vegas: By rental car

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Renting a car at McCarran International Airport is fairly cheap and popular. The opening of the new rental car facility has increased the wait time to get your car. All the rental agencies are now located under a single roof and all use the same shuttle from the airport to the facility. There have been reports of an extra 30 min increase in the time it takes to pick up and/or drop off your vehicle, so please add this to any arrival and departure times so you won't be late for anything important. Expect to pay more for your car rental due to recent tax increases.

If you mostly plan to hang around one casino and your time in Vegas is short, you might want to forego a rental car altogether and just take taxis. On the other hand, taxi fares add up quickly, and with car rental so cheap, anyone staying a few days or longer would be better suited with the flexibility of a car. Not to mention that some of the best sights are located just outside of Las Vegas and virtually require that you drive to those destinations. There are numerous car rental offices on the Strip, and therefore it is very easy to rent a car from your hotel for a day trip. Remember to rent ahead of time as it can be busy during the weekends.

Driving on Las Vegas Boulevard (the "Strip"), especially on weekends, is an exercise in frustration; gridlock takes over and you could possibly spend an hour or so just driving through the Strip. Do what the locals do and avoid driving long distances on the Strip altogether. Instead take I-15, which parallels the Strip, and get off at the exit nearest your hotel and park there. Dean Martin Drive (which turns into Industrial Road) lies just west of Las Vegas Blvd and provides another option.

Casinos have low cost self-parking (often free for guests) as well as valet parking. On Friday and Saturday nights the self-parking lots fill up fast; consider splurging on the valet to avoid cumbersome delays and endless circling around.