Las Vegas Flights and Travel Guide

Las Vegas used to be all about the gambling, but while the blackjack tables and gaming are still a huge part of the action on the infamous Strip - the 6km stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard between Russell Road and Sahara Avenue - it is now partly about the luxury. The shopping, high-end spa treatments, celebrity-chef eateries, and headliner shows are what travellers increasingly buy cheap flights to Las Vegas for.

A world-class city, Las Vegas is the only place on earth where you can view a dazzling light show that takes in an entire street, take a ride in a gondola or see a volcano erupt, all in the same day. It's also the place to see an Eiffel Tower and Sphinx without hopping on a plane.

Beyond the glitz and the neon lights, there is plenty of nature to explore. Many travellers pencil in a visit to the Red Rock National Conservation area, Lake Mead National Recreation area and Mount Charleston, all a quick drive from the hotels and casinos.

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Las Vegas Climate

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When to Fly to Las Vegas

Peak Season:
Peak times are during holiday weekends, spring break, whenever there are conventions taking place and around Super Bowl or March Madness (for gamblers).

Off Season:
In a year-round destination there are small off-peak windows. These are during July and August when temperatures shoot up to their highest levels. January and February, once the Christmas and New Year's festivities are over, are also good times to book cheap flights to Las Vegas and visit.

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Getting Downtown Las Vegas

The airport - McCarran International Airport (LAS) - is just 3km south of the business district and east of the southern end of the Strip. For travellers disembarking their cheap flights to Las Vegas there are several options for getting downtown.

The major car rental companies include Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Dollar, Hertz, Alamo / National and Payless. Bell Trans operates limousines, sedans and buses from the airport to all major Las Vegas hotels and motels (24/7). Trips to Strip hotels cost from $6.50 one-way per person. An even cheaper option is Citizen's Area Transit (CAT) buses. There are stops at McCarran Airport for routes 108 and 109. Tickets cost from $1.25.

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Getting Around Las Vegas

Walking the 6km Las Vegas Strip is an option. It's mostly safe but be careful at nighttime. There are free trams that run between hotels such as from the Bellagio to the Monte Carlo and the Excalibur to Mandalay Bay. Free shuttles - Harrah's to The Rio and Barbary Coast, Gold Coast and Orleans - run between casinos too.

The Las Vegas monorail runs from the MGM Grand Hotel to Sahara Avenue, between 7am and 2am Monday to Thursday and until 3am Friday to Sunday. One ride passes cost $5. The trolley bus runs between The Stratosphere and the South Strip area (not Fremont Street). Fares are $1.50. The CAT (citizens area transit) is the public transit system. The #301 and #302 both run the Strip from the south to Fremont street.

Car rental is recommended if you plan on making some side trips. After disembarking cheap flights to Las Vegas, there are several car rental companies with desks at the airport.

Taxis and limousines are readily available.

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Las Vegas Insider Information

• Helicopter tours of the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, and Las Vegas Strip depart every few minutes. Some are luxury affairs, with free limo upgrade and champagne picnic lunches.
• Flyaway is one of the very few places in the world where you can skydive indoors. A book of five flights costs a couple of hundred dollars.
• A boat tour of Lake Mead will take you from the Hoover Dam to the entrance to the Grand Canyon and back.
• Las Vegas has a wealth of museums such as the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, the Boulder City/Hoover Dam Museum and Liberace Museum. The museum boasts a rare piano collection, antiques, jewellery, customised automobiles and elaborate costumes.
• The Stratosphere Tower is the tallest observation tower in the U.S. There are thrilling rides such as the Big Shot, that shoots passengers straight up 48 metres at more than 4 Gs until they are 330 metres above the Las Vegas Strip and the X-Scream, an enormous teeter-totter that propels you 8 metres over the edge of the Tower, 263 metres above the ground. The Observation Deck is the tallest free-standing observation tower in the U.S.
• To improve your chances at the roulette wheel or craps table, take a gaming class once you've settled in after your cheap flights to Las Vegas. Several hotels offer them free.

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Las Vegas Airports

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