It was a last minute trip decision. My husband has not taken a break since he started on his new job a year ago and he has always wanted to go to Las Vegas. We were initially thinking of waiting till later part of the summer but when I checked the temperature in Las Vegas in July and August, I was shocked to see that temperatures are in the 40s! (or 100s in Degree F!)
We talked about going to Las Vegas on 19 Jun 2013, booked the air tickets, car rental and accommodation and left for Las Vegas on 22 Jun 2013.
Our initial plan is to DRIVE to Las Vegas since the cheapest direct flight we could find was on Westjet and each ticket would set us back by C$440 + tax! That would be C$900 + just to get there by plane. Why not drive there from Vancouver? Great idea? NO!!!! We checked on google maps and realized that it would take us at least 19.5 hours (NON stop) to drive to Las Vegas from Vancouver. And that is just one way. So, if we drive non-stop there and non stop back, we would have wasted 2 days on driving, not to mention we would be exhausted by the end of the drive.
Next alternative, make 1 stop on the way there and 1 stop on the way back? Still along drive. 10 hours per day, non stop. 2 stops? We started scratching our head on where we could make 2 interesting and meaningful stops along the way but changed our mind since we would have to waste 4 days to get there and back. 4 more nights of accommodation would prob set us back by C$400, not to mention the gas, food and car rental expenses (we didn't want to put all those extra mileage on our own car) and 4 extra days from work.
Our conclusion is that unless you are driving your own car, you are not working and you really love road trips , it is really not worth the extra time and effort to drive to all the way from Vancouver to Las Vegas!
The next alternative is to how about flying from Blaine to Las Vegas instead of Vancouver to Las Vegas since flights within the US are more competitively priced. We checked and the difference in price is about C$100 per pax. Not a bad option if there are 4 of us. Since it is just 2 of us, the savings is only C$200. It is prob not worth crossing the border (since we did not apply for NEXUS) just to save C$200 and leaving our car at the Blaine airport parking for 5 days (prob set us back by another C$100 @ C$20/day).
Among the airlines, Westjet was the cheapest and the timing is the best. The flight leaves @ 10 am from Vancouver and arrives at 12:30 pm in Las Vegas. Our return flight leaves Las Vegas @ 10 pm and arrives in Vancouver @ 12:30 am.
One additional note though, if you are not carrying a Canadian Passport and are from one of the visa-waiver countries like Singapore, you will need have a valid ESTA to fly into the US. It can be done online and for me the approval was immediate and cost $14. $10 will be refunded if the application is rejected. The ESTA is valid for 2 years from the approval date. The US immigration will have it on its system but it is advisable to bring a copy of the receipt in case the airlines. I highly recommend that you apply for ETSA if it is required before you proceed with the booking the rest of the tour. You do not need to put in flight details for the application.
If you are planning a trip from Vancouver to Las Vegas, I highly recommend WestJet. The flight was pleasant, timing was great and you arrive fresh in Las Vegas to start your fun right away!
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