Among many things you need to know before moving to Las Vegas. If you don’t already live or work in or around one of the Las Vegas neighborhoods, you will likely rely on your car to get around town and the surrounding Las Vegas area on a daily basis. And that’s the most common answer you’ll get on the question: do you need a car in Las Vegas. No matter if you asked someone who moved to Vegas, or those who were born in The Strip. Without a car, you’ll be quite handicapped in Vegas. Read on and find out why it is essential to be motorized in Vegas.
The discussion: Do you need a car in Las Vegas?
There’s No Way around It: You Need a Car in Las Vegas
Getting Around Las Vegas
Owning a set of wheels definitely makes it easier to get around in any given city or town. In Las Vegas, particularly downtown and the Strip are pretty navigable without a car; then again, driving in Vegas is no worse than driving in any other big city. Traffic in the Strip can be crowded, but you can usually avoid this area by using the back and side roads. Parking is in most cases free, especially at hotels where you can tip for valet parking, and you might be pleasantly surprised to find that parking isn’t actually all that hard to find in Vegas.
It’s Not Very Difficult to Find a Parking Spot around Vegas
SPECIAL TIP: All newcomers to Nevada must obtain their driver license and vehicle registration within 30 days.
How to Get Around Las Vegas Without your own Car?
There are always exceptions from the rule. Hence, there are those answering no, if you ask them do you need a car in Las Vegas. People might not use a car for financial or environmental reasons. Even though Vegas is generally very much a driving city (which some claim was one of the reasons to move to Las Vegas). The truth is you won’t need it to get around the Strip and Downtown. There are those wishing to add a little excitement into their lives without negatively impacting the earth. They’ll appreciate the information that ‘’Downtown Project’’ signed a deal with Tesla back in 2013 to offer 100 rentable Tesla Model S vehicles. As part of an initiative called Project 100. Under this project, locals are able to enjoy the ultimate in collaborative consumption. Namely, more than a hundred on-demand drivers, shared cars, shared bikes and shared shuttle bus stops are readily available under one single monthly membership.
Once you move to Las Vegas you might need time to adjust.
And it might be a mess to navigate around especially if you are new in town. But the public transportation is pretty awesome for getting around the city. Wait, when you asked: do you need a car in Las Vegas, I said yes! Sure, but as I said, there are always the exceptions to the rule. If you’re relying on public transport, as a way to get from A to B, hopping on a bus is the cheapest way to go wherever you want within the city of Las Vegas. The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada provides detailed information about routes, fees and more on its website. Including maps, schedules, and detours.
As for the Strip, to help you figure out the best way aside from cabs, buses or good old-fashioned walking, a series of monorails are available via unlimited-ride. Single day passes or multi-day passes to shuttle you and those visiting Las Vegas. In particular, the Las Vegas monorail (one of the several options) takes passengers back and forth between seven popular hotels.
If you don’t have your own ride in Las Vegas – of course, cab are always an option. For door-to-door service, you just need to call up any of the dozens or so cab companies around town to grab a ride.
Take the wheel
If you do, indeed, have your own car or end up renting one from time to time, you should remember these few tips when it comes to avoiding tourist traffic:
- Stay away from Koval Lane near the Strip during the day. It’s almost always crammed full of commercial traffic.
- Frank Sinatra Boulevard offers a nice alternative to Las Vegas Boulevard. When you’re driving near the airport and/or the Strip. Just know that it’s impossible to get off it south of Industrial Road or north of Russell Road. Unless you want to end up in a hotel parking garage.
- Parallel to the Strip and I-15, Dean Martin Drive is a great connector road. Since it’s primarily used by locals.
Do you need a car in Las Vegas for driving around the neighborhoods?
Everyone thinks that Vegas is just a patch in a great desert area. Well, to be honest, it is. But for a fact Sin City is gigantic. It’s not just the Strip. There are different neighborhoods of Las Vegas. Like Summerlin, Henderson, and NorthVegas. So while you have that awesome public transportation and plenty of cabs, if you’re going to live here you should have a car with air conditioning. Make sure that the area you choose to live in is well connected to the Strip and has good access to freeways.
Driving Supercars in Las Vegas
Las Vegas is a motorsport destination! You can enjoy the biggest driving experience in Las Vegas. There is a large fleet of exotics cars, which you can drive on a race track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and outstanding supercars to drive that can deliver enough excitement to last a lifetime.
Driving a Ferrari F430 GT around the Las Vegas track: