Curbside check-in counters can save time, but will cost you $4 per bag + tip, and if flying an "open

Las Vegas [1] is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nevada . Nicknamed Sin City and the Entertainment Capital of the World , it is situated in the midst of the southern Nevada desert car rental places in atlanta landscape. The city features many giant mega-hotel/casino complexes decorated with lavish care and attention to detail to create a fantasy-like atmosphere. The casinos often have names and themes that evoke romance, mystery, and faraway and exotic destinations.
Las Vegas has an arid climate, with sunny, dry and hot summers/falls that often reach into the 90s and 100s during the daytime, and little car rental places in atlanta humidity. Winters and springs are much cooler, with temperatures that can be as low as 25F at night. Snow has occurred before, but is rare.
Compared with other cities in the western U.S., Las Vegas (literally, "the springs" car rental places in atlanta in Spanish) is a relatively car rental places in atlanta recent arrival. It was founded in 1905, and for many years it was merely a small settlement in the middle of the desert. However, several pivotal events would come together in less than twenty years that would help Las Vegas grow into what it is today:
Nevada legalized gambling in 1931, and downtown Las Vegas became an entertainment center for the dam workers, with casinos car rental places in atlanta and speakeasies. Business became so good that it surpassed Reno as the gambling capital of the world in less than 10 years. car rental places in atlanta During the same period in the 1930s, Los Angeles was also growing rapidly from a small town into a global center for the entertainment, aerospace, and defense industries; but because gambling was strictly banned in California at the time, Southern California workers began traveling to Las Vegas to enjoy gambling there.
In 1941, the luxurious El Rancho Vegas resort opened on what would later become the Las Vegas Strip. Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel later opened the Flamingo Hotel in 1946. The opening of these two resorts started a building boom and established a tradition of one-upmanship (with each new hotel/casino trying to outdo its predecessors) that continues today; it also initiated a long tradition of organized crime involvement in Nevada's gambling industry. By the 1990s, the enactment and enforcement of the federal car rental places in atlanta Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (the RICO Act) as well as investments by established corporations and the installment of professional management virtually eliminated any remaining organized crime involvement.
The city is laid out as follows: Main Street as well as the numbered streets run north-south, starting with Main Street in the west. The bus station car rental places in atlanta is on Main Street. Downtown has several hotel-casinos, as well as the "Fremont Street Experience", a pedestrian mall lined with casinos, car rental places in atlanta near the western end of Fremont Street. A couple miles south of downtown starts the "Strip" (Las Vegas Boulevard South), a north-south street lined with large casino-hotels, shopping car rental places in atlanta malls, and other attractions.
The northern end of the Strip is marked by the tall Stratosphere tower. The Regional Transportation Commission runs buses up and down the Strip that connect the Strip resorts to downtown. The Las Vegas monorail and the convention center sit just east of the Strip, and the University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV) is located slightly more east of the Strip on Maryland Parkway. The airport is at the southern end of the Strip.
Importantly, the City of Las Vegas only controls the Strip as far south as Sahara Avenue. All of the Strip south of Sahara, is located in the unincorporated township of Paradise, which is governed directly by the Clark County Commission. The township was created by the Commission to take advantage of a quirk of Nevada law to prevent the city government from annexing the big resorts on the Strip.
Thus, many visitors to "Las Vegas" never venture north of Sahara Avenue into the actual City of Las Vegas. Those who do will see City of Las Vegas firefighters responding to emergency calls instead of Clark County firefighters. However, both the city and the county governments share a single law enforcement agency, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, which is why the popular television show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation depicts Las Vegas police investigating crimes up and down the entire length of the Strip.
Southern Californians crowd Interstate 15 every weekend going back and forth to Vegas. Expect this drive to be crowded and frustrating, unless you can come and go at off-peak hours. However, many find the 280 mile (450 km) drive along I-15 restful and scenic. Attractions along the I-15 include the California towns of Barstow and Baker ; the Mojave Desert ; and small hotel-casinos in Nevada at Primm (at the California border) and Jean, respectively. Those who traverse the I-15 should remember that they are crossing a desert, and should carry (and drink) ample amounts of water, especially on hot summer days where temperatures can reach 110°F (43°C).
From east of Las Vegas, travelers typically drive on I-40 through Arizona , and then head north toward car rental places in atlanta Vegas on US-93 in Kingman , before car rental places in atlanta finally picking up I-15. This route will take you along the Lake Mead National Recreation Area and directly through Boulder City , near the Hoover Dam. Traffic there can be extremely congested and slow-going; although less so than in past decades since US 93 was rerouted to bypass Hoover Dam, using a new bridge. Still, this stretch is usually the slowest part of an otherwise sparsely populated desert area.
From the North I-15 meets the Arizona border at the more relaxed town of Mesquite, NV and shortly goes into Utah . The junction of I-70 and I-15 is where most people driving from the east will take. Those from further north may meet I-15 from I-80 in Salt Lake City .
Those traveling from the north drive on US-95 from Reno and Tonopah . This is a two lane highway until it reaches the community of Mercury, where US-95 is a four lane highway. The route is sparsely populated and travelers should ensure that their fuel tank is full.
McCarran International Airport ( IATA : LAS ) [7] is served by many domestic and international air carriers. Southwest Airlines [8] has a hub at LAS. The cost at the airport to rent a luggage trolley/cart is $3.
Henderson Executive Airport ( ICAO : KHND ) is the corporate choice for aviation in Las Vegas. Located just minutes from the world famous Vegas strip, Henderson Airport is the ideal alternative to McCarran International Airport. Air taxi and air charter companies such as The Early Air Way [9] and Jetset Charter [10] fly a variety of private charter aircraft and jets, from charter luxury Gulfstream's down to economical piston twins for small groups and individuals.
Hotels owned by MGM Grand (MGM Grand, and New York New York) and Harrah's Entertainment (Rio, Harrah's, Bally's, Paris, Caesars Palace, and Flamingo) allow you to check in at the hotel and transfer luggage between the hotel and the airport.
Curbside check-in counters can save time, but will cost you $4 per bag + tip, and if flying an "open" ticket, you won't be allocated a seat number until boarding time—and likely to be an undesirable car rental places in atlanta seat.
Taxis cost $10-$20 car rental places in atlanta from the airport to a Strip location. The taxi line is well organized and the city taxi dispatcher will direct you to a numbered space along the curb. You need not tip the taxi dispatcher. There is some debate on whether the taxi driver should or should not be taking any Strip-destination passengers through the tunnel when exiting the airport. Most taxi drivers car rental places in atlanta prefer to take the tunnel because (surprise, car rental places in atlanta surprise) it produces a higher bill. The general consensus seems to be that taking the tunnel is 5-10 minutes shorter , but will cost you $5-$10 more; and not taking the tunnel is 5-10 minutes longer , but will cost $5-$10 less. Some people prefer car rental places in atlanta to save the money as the time savings isn't that huge. You have the right to tell the driver if you do not want to take the tunnel. And do not let them tell you they need to take the tunnel to avoid the "big accident" if that is not your preference. If you feel you have been taken advantage of by the taxi driver, take down the driver's license number and call the Nevada Taxi Cab Authority.
RTC Bus Route 108 [11] costs $2.00 each way and departs every 20-30 minutes from Ground Level Zero. Take the escalator down from the baggage car rental places in atlanta claim to "Public Transportation" car rental places in atlanta and walk towards the parking garage. Before you get to the parking garage, turn right and walk between the parking spaces marked out for large vehicles towards the covered bus stop with the large sign on the roof saying "The Bus Stops Here". The bus travels along Paradise Road to the Convention Center and the LV Hilton, taking about 20-25 minutes. At the intersection of Paradise Road and the Strip (Las Vegas Boulevard), you can transfer to the Deuce bus, traveling north to downtown or south to other hotel casinos.
RTC Bus Route 109 [12] also costs $2.00 each way and departs every 20-30 minutes from Ground Level Zero. Route 109 runs north to Downtown along Maryland Parkway, bypassing the entire Strip. And it runs south from the airport to the South Strip Transfer Center, where you can transfer to the Deuce or RDX buses.
Amtrak's Southwest Chief [13] operates daily service from Los Angeles , California car rental places in atlanta and Albuquerque , New Mexico to Needles , California car rental places in atlanta , 113 miles south of Las Vegas. From Needles, there is bus service to Las Vegas, with a stop in Laughlin.
If traveling along the Strip, walking is a reasonable option as the hotel-casinos are close to each other. In most cases, hotels are connected to each other either by bridge or underground or in the case of Excalibur, Luxor, and Mandalay Bay, by a complimentary rail shuttle. Be aware that during the summer, the oppressive car rental places in atlanta heat during the daylight hours may make walking a very uncomfortable activity.
The Las Vegas Monorail [15] , ☎ +1 702 699-8200, car rental places in atlanta runs along the east side of the Strip with stops behind several of the hotels and at the Las Vegas Convention Center [16