In order to keep my string of travel posts on Wednesday I’m writing about an aspect of a trip I took last year. I think it will be interesting to some people.
Last year while on a Vegas vacation I decided to walk from the Strip to the airport to catch my returning flight. Walking rather than taking a cab can save you a fair bit of money, especially since many cab drivers like to long-haul passengers by taking the tunnel to the airport. If you’re just interested in saving money though a better option would be to take the bus to the airport. The bus fare is only a few dollars. Your motivation for walking from the Vegas Strip to the airport should be for the enjoyment of the walk itself rather than saving money.
I was staying at the Excalibur hotel which is located at the corner of Tropicana and Las Vegas Boulevard (aka the Strip) which is one of the closest hotels on the Strip to the airport. A search on Google Maps showed that the walk was only 1.8 miles and would take about 35 minutes. This gave me plenty of time since it was 11am and my flight didn’t leave until 2pm. My gambling budget had already been spent and I had some time to kill so a pleasant stroll to the airport seemed like a good use of my time.
The walk starts by crossing over the Strip and walking past the Tropicana, Hooters, and MGM. The hotels and all the people walking to and from them provide plenty of scenery to keep this part of the walk interesting. After passing the Hooters hotel there are a couple of budget hotels and then when you cross Koval you mostly have the airport on one side and desert on the other side. This part of the walk is less interesting and the scenery is marred by lots and lots of trash.
Although this was only a 35 minute walk I took a break in the middle of it. There is a shopping center about halfway between Koval and Paradise and I had lunch at the Subway there. This added a little distance to my walk since the shopping center was on the opposite side of the street and set back a couple hundred yards from the street. I had plenty of time and didn’t want to pay the inflated airport prices for food so I chose to have lunch then. There is also a convenience store at the corner of Paradise and Tropicana where I could have bought some snacks if I had them instead of or in addition to having a meal.
Once I resumed my walk after lunch it didn’t take long to reach Paradise and turn southbound on the walk. The sidewalk follows Paradise and the bustling traffic for a little bit and then veers off into a somewhat park-like setting. There were plants and sculptures to provide some pleasant scenery. This is where I took the picture of the cactus that is at the top of this post.
It wasn’t much longer until I was at the airport terminal. I did get to see one more interesting thing. A shuttle bus driver apparently decided to enter a parking area that wasn’t accessible by his shuttle bus. The shuttle driver and the passengers probably had a much less pleasant trip to the airport then I did.
The walk from the Strip to the airport is easy because it is very flat. I did this walk in November when it was about 65 degrees. I also only had a small backpack for luggage. The walk would not be pleasant in the summer with the usual 100 degree temperatures or with a lot of luggage. My last trip to Vegas was in late March and even then it would have been almost too hot to walk. I was with my GF on that trip and I don’t think should would have been up for the idea of walking to the airport so we just took the bus on that trip. The next time you are in Vegas you might consider walking to the airport or from the airport to your hotel. It might be a pleasant addition to your trip.
Thank you very much for this post. I’m an avid city walker and this was the only reasonable post I could find which explained or implied that the walk is doable and not “blocked for peds” if you will. Some other sites were laced with really dumb replies from people who obviously never walk just to walk.
Carl – I’m glad you found the post helpful. I figured I couldn’t be the only one interested in walking to the airport.
Hi Andy,
Thanks for the post, it gave me the confidence to give it a try, which I did just yesterday. I would add that for departing passengers, everyone should go into the first terminal (terminal 1) and access terminal 3 from there via the tram. My flight was from terminal 3 so I was a bit confused, assuming incorrectly that one could walk between terminals (there might be a way but it sure wasn’t obvious where to go when the sidewalk ends), until I realized that the trams are inside security and you can get your boarding pass and go through security for either terminal in terminal 1.
Anyway it was a fun walk, as urban walks go. As noted, it wouldn’t be the thing to do when things heat up, but the weather was fine for it yesterday. Thanks again.
Steve – I’m glad the post was helpful. I’m not sure if there is a way to walk between terminals. There probably is, but it might not be practical. Entering terminal 1 and taking the tram is the best option.