How do I get to Las Vegas?

Harry Reid International Airport (LAS), renamed from McCarran in 2021, sits 8 km south of the center of the Strip. That proximity matters. You can see the gold glass of Mandalay Bay from the terminal windows, and the first sound you'll hear past security is the faint electronic chime of slot machines near the gates. LAS handled nearly 58 million passengers in 2023, the 7th-highest total in the US. Terminal 1 covers gates A through D; Terminal 3 handles most international arrivals and carriers like Delta and United. The taxi ride to most Strip hotels runs 10-15 minutes and $15-25. In July's dry 40°C heat, the 5-minute walk to the Level 2 ride-share pickup at the parking garage feels twice as long.

Southwest Airlines runs the most daily departures from LAS, with over 200 flights to cities across the US. Spirit and Frontier compete on price with $50-90 one-way fares from LAX, SFO, and Denver, though the tight 71-cm seat pitch on those carriers will test you on anything longer than 2 hours. From JFK, nonstop options include Delta and JetBlue at $180-350 round-trip for the 5-hour flight. From Chicago O'Hare, United and American offer the 3.5-hour route at $200-400 round-trip. The cheapest window tends to be mid-January through early March, excluding Super Bowl weekend and Presidents' Day. Summer fares climb 30-50% even as the thermometer pushes past 43°C, because convention season and pool parties fill every hotel room on the Strip.

Direct transatlantic service is more limited than you might expect for a city this size. British Airways flies nonstop from Heathrow (LHR) at £500-900 round-trip for the 10.5-hour westbound leg. Virgin Atlantic runs the same route and tends to price £50-100 lower. From continental Europe, Condor connects Frankfurt (FRA) seasonally. Most arrivals from Asia and Australia connect through LAX or SFO. Air Canada and WestJet offer nonstops from Toronto (YYZ) and Vancouver (YVR) at CAD $300-600. From Mexico, Volaris and VivaAerobus fly from Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Monterrey at $150-300 round-trip.

The I-15 from Los Angeles is the other main artery, 430 km of desert highway that takes about 4 hours without traffic. On Friday afternoons, that number doubles. The road past Barstow and through Baker is flat, sun-bleached, and so quiet you'll hear the wind buffeting the car. Fill up before Primm, the last fuel stop before the Nevada state line. Greyhound and FlixBus run daily LA-to-Vegas routes for $20-45 one-way from LA Union Station. Brightline West, a private high-speed rail project, broke ground in April 2024 with plans to run 300 km/h trains from Rancho Cucamonga to Las Vegas by 2028.