Tahoe to Vegas, how would you get there?

Thinking of a first Tahoe trip in March, eventually ending in Vegas, how would you get to Vegas or is it that close where you can just drive or bus or other?

Mahalo,
Literally living on a rock, Maui

 

The only way to drive it would be 395 southbound. Ive never driven it, but im told that it 8-10 hoursand a lot of it is two lane roads.

 

Here is google maps so you have a better idea of the distance.

Pretty sure there are lots of flights from Reno. Check Southwest.com for starters.

 

I’ve driven the route a few times, it’s not all that bad for being mostly two lanes. Kind of scenic if you’ve never gone that route before.

 

I've driven (well, traded off driving) Las Vegas to Reno/Tahoe several times now and it's easily doable in a day with plenty of time to play in the evening, assuming you leave in the morning and drive more or less straight through.

IIRC the only real towns on the route are Tonopah and Beatty, as in those which will have real restaurants and such. There is gas fairly often, however.

It's really a nice drive. Very scenic in parts. I don't know about bus schedules, but I would place such a bus trip on my must-do list somewhere between getting a root canal without novocaine and donating my 401K to the Moonies,.

It's almost all two-lane (or was the last time I saw it) but it turns four lane right around the Clark County line, shortly after the turn-off to Pahrump.

As was said, it's very scenic, but the times I've been there and done it the intent was to get there and get the drive over with, so there was not much time or desire to stop and enjoy any of it.

 

Early morning and later evening RNO/LAS flights are around $70-90 one way on Southwest. The rest of the day they are about $120-150 one way.

 

It’s 450 miles of nothing. If you can sit in a vehicle for 7-8 hours of that, get out and enjoy the evening... knock yourself out. I can’t and it would ruin a precious vacation day for me.

I’m about the “destination”. My parents were about the “journey” and they’d love it, but they’d also be in bed early.

 

It's a gorgeous drive down the 395 -- there are other ways to go -- and then cut over through Death Valley.

 

I’ve driven from Vegas to Reno once using US-95. It wasn’t that bad of a drive but the only way I would do it again would be on 395

 

It is almost exactly 500 miles from Reno to LV. Had the 'pleasure' of making that drive ONCE, but never again. Drive to Reno, and fly. Unless you like 8 hours of nothing but sagebrush, a few brothels, and a couple of speed traps (I'm looking at you Goldfield), skip it.

 

My buddy (admittedly not the sharpest Crayola in the deck) got a ticket on US95 for throwing a cigarette butt out the moving car window. Cost like $250.

 

I have always taken a quick cheap flight. In winter, not sure I would choose to drive it.

 

@hard6 you can take a plane, bus or train as suggested on this website:

https://www.rome2rio.com/s/Lake-Tahoe/Las-Vegas

or you can rent a car and drive. But one-way rental car rental fees could be pretty steep. Also since you live in Hawaii, beware of driving during March, Tahoe mountains can still be snowy or ice caked.

If I were you, I would take an airport bus from Tahoe to Reno then fly but maybe since you live in Maui, you would appreciate seeing the wide open albeit pretty desolate spaces.

Aloha!

FAB

 

Yep, the 395 could be "interesting."

 

If you're more interested in getting from point A to B the quickest, I would fly. It's only about a 1 hr flight from RNO to LAS vs. 6-8 hrs drive depending on how many stops you make along the way and how much over the speed limit you're willing to go. LOL Whenever I've combined a Vegas/Reno trip, I've alway flown to save time.

Since you mentioned your trip is in March, you also need to take the weather into consideration in northern Nevada, if Mother Nature decides to extend winter into spring, the road conditions might get bad too.

 

I just checked WN - they have 11 nonstop flights a day from Reno. Pretty sure you can find a seat.

 

Thanks for all the responses!! Well, looks like flying in it is! After a 6 to 7 hr flight just to get to Tahoe, I don’t want to waste another 8 hrs to get to Vegas. For some reason I thought it would only be a short drive from Tahoe! Again, thanks for all the responses!!

 

Meh. I've done both the Vegas straight to Tahoe and Vegas straight to Reno. Honestly, the landscape is pretty for a few hours and then the boredom sets in. I wouldn't have ever made this drive alone - I'm sure I would've fallen asleep. Also, too many animals died on the stretch of highway for my taste. Annnddd...both times we encountered a wrong-way driver!

Lawd knows I adore a road trip, but there are definitely better ones to be had. Skip it and jump on SWA!

 

We have done the drive both ways many times, often stopping for the night in Bishop, CA. Rt 395 is a beautiful drive with lots to see along the way if you have the time to stop. When we're planning a Reno/Tahoe trip, though, we're usually in LV for two weeks so we can take our time and enjoy the drive. Rt 95, however, is boring. If you don't have the time, flying is the best way to go and, as mentioned, one way car rentals are expensive and the weather in the higher elevations on 395 in March can be tricky. We've hit snowstorms a few times and it was harrowing over Dead Man's pass.