Can you take luggage on the WAX?

And is it the best way to get from the airport to Excalibur???

I'm flying southwest, I have no idea which terminal we will land in.
Where do we get the WAX from? Is it clearly marked??

How do we get back/where do we catch the WAX back to the airport????

 

Yes, you can carry luggage on WAX (not Deuce on the Strip). It's $2 for one ride. You should get a $5 all-day pass starting from the airport (ask for it on the bus) though because once you get on the strip, the all-day pass is $8.

Ask someone at the airport once you land where the city buses are....this will save you a lot of time.

When you get to the buses, look for a small WAX sign near the small bus stop.

The best way to Excalibur is the WAX if you want to save money. Get off at NYNY, cross the bridge and walk into Excalibur. If you want to save time, take shuttle or taxi. The line for the taxis are so long that I often just wait while sitting in a shuttle to take off. Sure the shuttle takes the scenic route but hey I find it a more comfortable ride into town...and no long-haul worries.

 

When you get your luggage at the SWA carousel, ask someone how to get to Ground Zero...this is the level just below you where you meet the bus. you will head back the way you came for a bit and take the elevator or escalator down one flight and walk out the door. Stay to your right ahd the bus stop for WAX is the last one and has benches and machines. It is posted where the buses stop but not well in the airport. The WAX is a residential bus and the residential pass is not supposed to be used on the Strip unless you have a local ID and that is why it is cheaper. However, most of us do and have never been bothered. Incidently, if you are 60 or older, tickets are half price but not at the machines. Tell bus driver or show your medicare card.

The WAX is seldom crowded and luggage is expected and about half the buses have luggage racks. It makes a stop at NYNY, get off here and go up on the overhead sidewalk to get to the Excaliaber. On athe way to the airport you can board the bus at the bus stop by the Trop on Tropicana 'ave. If you are nervous, just ask someone, people are generally nice. Once you've done it, it's a breeze.

Jimbo338

 

Agree 110%!
Don't fuck around with the ticket machine or anything like that..just carry two $1 bills (per person). It's quick and easy and done.
Get on there at Ground Zero @ McCarran (it's the last bus slot, right by the kiosk) and ride it to NYNY (10 minutes TOPS) and just cross the skybridge to ExCal.
Wife and I ride it everytime we fly to Vegas...best $2 you'll ever spend.

 

Thanks, 3 more questions, you guys are great!!

1. about how long does it take to get your bags and then get outside to the buses? Looks like on Sunday it only runs once an hour.

2. On the way back, how much time should I leave to be at the airport? 3 hrs before? 2 hrs before??

3. What terminal is SWA out of? Is it always terminal 1?

Looks like weekdays the bus runs every 30 mins?

 

It's a crapshoot as to how long it will take for your luggage. Depends somewhat on what time of day and the airline. I've taken Southwest the past few trips and the luggage has always started coming out within 5 minutes of us getting to BC. Once you get your bags you'll be to the busses quickly.

Southwest has always been T1 for us.

When are you flying back? Prime time (a Sunday for instance) you'll want to give yourself plenty of time. At night it's not as congested.

 

We are flying Sun - Thurs ... so return is on a Thurs morning

 

I have always arrived at Terminal 1 on SWA, and I walk from the C Gates to the carousels and the bags start shortly or already are running. How fast it takes to get your bags is athe big question. It is maybe 10 minutes to the bus stop. Get the times from RTC cause they changed as of 3-2-14. I always like to be at the airport at least 2 hours prior to departure time. Most times that's more than enough time so I eat, grab a snack for the flight or watch a DVD. I flew back in May last year, arrived about 5 am for a 7 am flight and had like 2 people ahead of me going through security.

Buses have run about once an hour but they run about every thirty minutes during morning and afternoon commute. The new schedule has buses pick up from both terminals an I think added a bus so check. Dewey had a discussion about this last week I think. Check out his blog. Just about the time we get things figured out they always change the schedule!!

Jimbo338

 

So glad this question was posted, this is very helpful information for me as I have never taken public transportation EVER. I was really wanting to ride the WAX from the airport on my upcoming trip, but my flight gets into Vegas at 5:30 pm on a Saturday and I am uneasy about hauling luggage down the strip at that time of day to the Luxor so I think we are going to take a shuttle instead. Sure would be nice to get there for $2 though..as we are staying 7 days so trying to save as much as possible on transportation :-/

 

TYPEo,
Perhaps you have another option. You can take the WAX, get off the bus at NYNY and go over the sidewalk overpass to Excalibur. You can go through Excalibur to LUXUR all inside much of it a moving sidewalk. I did this a couple of times last month. There is a tram but it was not working and I don't know if it is being worked on, discontinued or what.
So there is something new for you to think about.

Jimbo338

 

Sure you have! The airlines may not be "public" transportation" per se, but they might as well be. Face it - flying for past 20-plus years isn't much different in exclusivity and comfort than taking the bus! You wait forever to get on and off, taking luggage is often a bitch, and you pay through the nose. I just wish buses could fly!

(I included some of that diatribe in a post last August, but it seemed like a good time to repeat it. )

Kidding aside, I use the WAX and other buses in Vegas all the time. (I won't drive when drinking, which is all the time in Vegas, and don't want to be be ripped off by cabs.) Try it - you'll like it!

 

We rode the WAX from T3 to Downtown yesterday. It's a very painless way to travel. $3 for both of us to get to El Cortez and no hassle with cab drivers "taking care of us because we are British and must be very tired after a long flight." Trying to rip us off.

 

Did you board a bus that has just come from T1?
Or did you board a bus that had sat around for a while?

 

Dewey, it was sat at the stop when we arrived and waited another five minutes or so. Then we stopped to pick up at T1 before leaving the airport.

 

Thanks for the suggestion jimbo, we may end up trying that.

 

Turtleman, you make a good point lol. But this will only be my 4th time to fly. My brother, who is traveling with me, it will be his first time to fly and he's a vegas virgin, so this should be an interesting trip!! I haven't rode a bus since school bus in junior high. So thankful for this board, you guys make everything sound so easy ;-) we live in a rural area where there isn't any public transportation, I think we only have one cab company here, which I've never used, so all this cab and bus stuff is new to me.

 

TypeOfan: I see your point. I've always lived in or around big cities, but still hadn't ridden "public" buses until probably four dozen Vegas trips! It's great not being ripped off by cabs and it's a good feeling getting from A to B for $1 instead of maybe $25 or more. (I get the "old fart" discount.)

I remember the last time I took a shuttle to the Orleans, as it would have been nearly an hour before the next WAX to NYNY, and from there the 201. After waiting for the shuttle to depart the airport and a half dozen drop offs on the way to Luxor, I saw the WAX at the NYNY stop! I'm sure I didn't arrive at the Orleans any sooner than had I taken the buses. I won't make that mistake again.

Depending upon where you're going, the bus may not even take much longer than a cab, such as the WAX between the airport and downtown. Other routes may take a lot longer. Spending a little time reading bus related posts and checking out www.rtcsnv.com should help a lot and you'll be a public transportation veteran in no time!

 

If I'm going downtown, can I take the WAX or the CX? I will be at Terminal 3 on a weekend.

 

Both the CX and WAX leave from T3 to downtown but the CX takes a little longer.

 

Thanks for the info turtleman, I think we are going to give it a try!