Socal:driving vs flying

I've been living in Socal on and off for over 30 yrs. I use to fly to Vegas from Burbank on a regular basis until 2 years ago. I was one of those stubborn guys who would only fly for many reasons. Now days it so much easier to drive if you leave at certain times. The last time I flew I actually spent over 4+ hours door to door RT.It definitely is not worth it. With the cost to fly around 120.00 RT each, rental car and or ridiculous prices for cabs in Vegas it just became to much of a hassle. Plus the so called shuttles from McCarron to the hotels are a joke. So what am I trying to say here? For the last 2 yrs my new plan of attack is usually leave my house in Toluca Lake at around 7-8 am. Make one pit stop and pull into South Point or Caesars in under 4 hours. Plus with your car in Vegas you take full advantage of all the free valet.I know this plan may not be for everyone but it works for me.

If I will be in Vegas for more than two nights, I will drive. When traffic is neglible, I can get up there in a little more than 3.5 hours (from Arcadia, CA). I will admit that I am speeding a little bit, but usually no more than 5 to 10 mph over the limit. Most of the other traffic is doing the same speed.

It is nice to have a car up there.

We drive from Orange County. If we leave on a weekday we leave at 5am or after 7pm and go the 405/605/110/15 route so we can use the car pool lanes. We can make it in 3-1/2 to 4 hours without any traffic problems.

Even flying out of Long Beach it's a hassle. I like having my car in town. No limits then.

Coming home on a Sunday we're sure to get on the 15 by 8am or you have to wait until after 8PM.

I stopped enjoying the flight when TSA came along. Even Burbank's procedures are a hassle.

But my biggest objection to flying is that I have to go by the airline's schedule. When I drive I can leave for Vegas when I want to and I can return when I want to.

Once, I actually had to give up the dice during a hot roll so I could get to the airport for the last flight out on a Sunday night. Unbelievable. The dealers and the players looked at me like I lost my marbles. And I barely caught the flight too.

Gee Mare, throw in the 5 and the 10 and your giving OJ a run for his money.

Oh, once you get on the Antelope freeway take a look at the side of the road to see the fault lines.

There is a Southwest flight from Las Vegas to Burbank that leaves Las Vegas at 6:25am and arrives in Burbank at 7:30 am on Monday mornings. The flight is usually only half full and I've taken it several times on Monday mornings. It used to be great when Southwest had a different TSA point at Las Vegas. Anyhow, if I was on a red hot roll, I would have been tempted to see my roll through, call Southwest and give an excuse, book an extra night, and stay. You can catch a few hours of sleep before leaving for the airport and you can sleep on the flight.

I live in Los Angeles and I would rather fly. The 4.5 hour drive kills me (LOL). I'm a whimp when it comes to driving. I get burnt out making the 2 hours drive to the Indian casinos (ie., Valley View casino, Pauma casino, Spotlight 29 (formerly Trump 29), Morongo, etc.). When I fly to Vegas I always rent a car as well.

I don't know. Getting killed by idiot drivers, or by the crosswinds in the mountains. I'll take death by plane for $1000 Alex.

Driving has its own unique fun, like watching the speed increase the closer you get to Vegas. You start out doing 65 to 70, and slowly increase until utill you hit the top of the mountain doing close to 75. On the Vegas side of the mountain, the speed increases even more. I was doing close to 85 before I started backing down. I did like the giant thermometer on the Cali side.

Everyone has personal preferences but I can tell you that my tolerance for driving has increased over the last few years. Contributing to this is less supply of flights which makes getting to and from where you want, when you want, more difficult.

I think there is also the consideration of how much time you have. I think I'd be more willing to consider flying to Vegas if I was only here for a weekend as opposed to perhaps driving if I was here for 5-6 days.

Back a few years ago when I used to travel quite extensively on business, the unofficial range I self-imposed was 4-5 hours....if I could drive in this amount of time, all things being equal, I did it as flying truly didn't save any time. Now, this range has increased to perhaps 7-8 hours. Why?

1. The price of plane tickets has IMO outpaced the increase in fuel prices. Cheap flights from CA to Vegas on SWA for like $99 RT have gone the way of the dodo bird.

2. It's usually Barb and I going somewhere together so 2x plane tickets vs. fixed cost for up to 4 people if you opt to drive. If I figure a third person into the mix, flying's not even a consideration.

3. I'm in semi-retired mode....I have a bit more free time than some people with conventional jobs who have to be at a specific place at a certain time.

4. With abbreviated flight schedules, having the flexibility to go where you want, when you want has value to me.

No right or wrong answer here...just a difference of opinions based on circumstance and personal preference.

Dan

Timing it right and driving is definitely the better play.
I am curious as to your dissatisfaction with the shuttles. LV has the best and most reliable shuttle system I have seen anywhere in the world.