Philly to Vegas (NV), which shuttle?

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Scruggsfan

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Hello all,

I'm a long-time east coast train traveler, but haven't done the west. Fearful flyer, if that's important. But I am also a little anxious about bus drivers and am always staring at them wondering if they are coronary risks or sleepy. So, now that I've established myself as a little bit neurotic :) , I'd appreciate help with my decision.

I'm planning to take Amtrak from Philadelphia to Las Vegas, NV in February, for a conference. I need to get there by Monday, Feb. 18th in time to settle into a hotel for a busy meeting starting Tuesday Feb. 19th through Friday, when I leave.

My choices are the Calif Zephyr or the SWC from Chicago. I'm planning to do coach to Chicago, then a sleeper, both ways. It looks like I can either take a van from Kingsman, AZ after midnight and get to LV after 3 am or I can go on to LA and take a longer bus ride during the day. I can handle the times of day and the duration, but I am wondering about safety, both with drivers and with route and weather (elevation, snow risk etc). I don't want to end up on icy roads with a sleepy, out of shape driver.

What is your opinion/experience - should I do the van from Kingsman or the bus from LA? (Salt Lake City is out, because I'd have to wait overnight for the connection).

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or experiences -

Scruggsfan in Philly
 
If you take the SWC, why not try both bus rides. I'm going on the Chief tomorrow. Going out to LAX for the daytime bus ride and leaving Vegas for the Kingman connection. It leaves Vegas at 9 in the evening, essentially giving you a 'free' day in Vegas and a roomette bed waiting for you at 2am in Kingman.

The real upside to this schedule... you can have breakfast (even if it's dinnertime) at Lou Mitchell's on your Chicago layover and you can have a French dip sandwich (even if it's breakfast time) at Philippe's on your LAX layover. By the time you get back home you can join AU as a member in good standing of the 'ride to eat' crew !
 
Assuming that the van works timewise (you get in at around 3:10 AM to the airport), based on just looking at the schedules I'd rather do that. Less time on a van/bus, and the van is specifically set up for the train. (The bus, on the other hand, is simply a code-share with Greyhound, much like you might buy a Delta ticket but be on a KLM flight.)

Here are my, as an outsider, advantages to that idea:

1. There's less time waiting for the bus. The van, as I stated earlier, is tied to the train, so it won't leave if the train is late, nor will it have to wait long after the train has arrived...everyone gets on, the luggage gets on, and you're off.

2. The trip is shorter, and the bus ride is shorter. This means less time spent traveling, and less time stuck on a bus sitting without being able to move all that much.

3. Clientele. The van, as being part of Amtrak service, will serve essentially the same people that you already have on the train. Bus travel, especially with Greyhound, tends to attract a bit lower-income (and sometimes smellier, etc.) travelers than Amtrak.

Another option, if you're up for it, is the new Megabus service out west. They have a departure at 11:30 AM from Union Station, arriving at 5:00 PM in Las Vegas. Again, there's still the fact that it's not tied to the Amtrak schedule, but I've found myself preferring the Megabus experience over the Greyhound experience (though there are others on this forum that think that I'm crazy for thinking so. ;) )

Depends on what you want to do. If you leave a day earlier, you could take the Empire Builder and Coast Starlight from Chicago to LAX. There's a 12:15 AM Megabus (leaving a 3 hr 15 min layover), and I'm guessing Greyhound would also have service.
 
The vans from Kingman are actually 10 (or so) passenger vans with a trailer for the luggage. (When I took it, there were 3 vans. There may be more or less based on the load.) They go to/from the LV airport, giving you plenty of choices for axis and rental cars.

The bus from LA is a regular Greyhound bus run that stops at Union Station. It only goes downtown in LV to the bus station.
 
Scruggsfan said:
I am wondering about safety, both with drivers and with route and weather (elevation, snow risk etc). I don't want to end up on icy roads with a sleepy, out of shape driver.
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I can't speculate on the skills/condtion of your drivers, but the road (I-15) from LA to Vegas crosses over Cajon Pass, which has a possibilty of ice or snow that time of year but that is rare.

As far as the much shorter ride (about 1 1/2 hrs) from Kingman, that road (US 93) is divided highway is straight as an arrow for the most of the trip until it reaches the Colorado River valley and crosses the new Hoover Dam bypass into Boulder City and then to Vegas. As for seeing measurable snowfall or ice on the route, you'd have a better chance of winning a Vegas mega-jackpot!
 
Off Topic: Scruggsfan, we are on the same page with music. Do you play "the five"?
 
There was a recent thread about the availability of rental cars off hours in Flagstaff. You can get a car delivered to the Flagstaff station whenever the train arrives. It is your choice if you want to sleep in Flagstaff, Kingman or at the Hacienda which is just across the bridge above Hoover Dam. Having the chance to see Hoover Dam in the morning might be something you want to see. You do realize that Monday 2/18/13 is President's Day.
 
Thanks so much for this information. I'll print out your responses and look again at my options. I just wish it weren't so expensive (compared to air travel) but, it is what it is, and I love train travel. I had a meeting in Denver a few years ago and drove there/back and loved that as well, so anything that keeps me on the ground is irresistible :) .

Tomfuller, yes I know it's President's Day. I guess that's a popular time for conventions!

Maine Rider, I do play the 5 string, but not very well! Do you go to Thomas Point?

Thanks again to all of you - on with my research, and I'll post again to let you know when I take the plunge. I can use phrases like that now that I'm not flying. (wait - there's always Cajon pass....) :eek:
 
Scruggsfan,

Your account was approved the other day, but I notice that you're still posting as a guest. Are you having problems accessing your new account?

Please don't hesitate to email me at alanb at the forum address above, drop the discuss part and only use the next two parts through com.
 
As far as renting a car in Flagstaff and driving to LV, I personally would not recommend that! :excl:

  1. It is a 2-3 hour drive from Flagstaff to Kingman on I-40 in good weather.
  2. Flagstaff is over 6,000 feet in elevation, meaning snow in winter.
  3. During major snow storms, they sometimes close I-40 from just east of Kingman to past Flagstaff.
  4. Amtrak does not drive on I-40, so it will get thru.

This information is from a former resident (me!) who lived in that area for 6 years! :excl:
 
Almost 2 years ago during a week of storms in Flagstaff, i40 and the airport were closed, but the train ran on time to Los Angeles, where I arrived in comfort rather than frazzled nerves. The air service from FLG leaves much to be desired. Everything goes through Phoenix at a usually high fare. I would rather drive myself to Phoenix Airport.
 
greatcats said:
Almost 2 years ago during a week of storms in Flagstaff, i40 and the airport were closed, but the train ran on time to Los Angeles, where I arrived in comfort rather than frazzled nerves. The air service from FLG leaves much to be desired. Everything goes through Phoenix at a usually high fare. I would rather drive myself to Phoenix Airport.
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So you would drive yourself to Phoenix then take a flight to Las Vegas? Seriously, if the road was closed I would just wait or go on ID-15 with the other bus. Assuming Cajon Pass isn't closed.
 
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Swadian Hardcore said:
greatcats said:
Almost 2 years ago during a week of storms in Flagstaff, i40 and the airport were closed, but the train ran on time to Los Angeles, where I arrived in comfort rather than frazzled nerves. The air service from FLG leaves much to be desired. Everything goes through Phoenix at a usually high fare. I would rather drive myself to Phoenix Airport.
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So you would drive yourself to Phoenix then take a flight to Las Vegas? Seriously, if the road was closed I would just wait or go on ID-15 with the other bus. Assuming Cajon Pass isn't closed.
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I think s/he's referring to "in general." Not specifically to go to Las Vegas, but if he needs to fly, he'll go to Phoenix and fly from there.
 
Scruggsfan said:
Maine Rider, I do play the 5 string, but not very well! Do you go to Thomas Point?
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I have been a few times but not the last couple of years.

Please take Alan's suggestion and post as a member, and I will pm you so we can discuss music without annoying people who want to talk about trains!
 
Per my comments about flying out of Flagstaff or Phoenix, I generally prefe rto go to Phoenix, where I can park in a reasonable lot at usually good airfares. The train from Flagstaff, while it of course takes much longer, gives pretty convenient direct service to Los Angeles and Chicago. The night of the heavy snow when the train ran and nothing else did, I recall the agents were only able to plow a portion of the platform, resulting in a triple stop, for baggage, sleepers, and coaches.
 
greatcats said:
Per my comments about flying out of Flagstaff or Phoenix, I generally prefe rto go to Phoenix, where I can park in a reasonable lot at usually good airfares. The train from Flagstaff, while it of course takes much longer, gives pretty convenient direct service to Los Angeles and Chicago. The night of the heavy snow when the train ran and nothing else did, I recall the agents were only able to plow a portion of the platform, resulting in a triple stop, for baggage, sleepers, and coaches.
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All right, thanks for explaining. Amtrak could use the ridership out of Phoenix, but alas, UP blocked it.
 
If you could leave a day earlier, another way to get to Las Vegas (bus service) would be to take the CA Zephyr all the way to Sacramento and spend the night. In the morning you take the CA Amtrak bus to Stockton and the San Joaquin all the way to Bakersfield followed by a daytime Amtrak bus to Las Vegas via the Tehachipi Pass, Barstow and Primm.

My favorite HI Hostel is in Sacramento within walking distance of the station. The California Railroad Museum and Old town Sacramento are also within walking distance.

The LV bus service takes you up near the Fremont St. Experience, not to the airport.

I do remember getting on a bus to Barstow from Bakersfield. We got word that the Tehacipi Pass was closed so the bus turned around and we went up over the Grapevine and then east through Palmdale.
 
Thanks again to everyone, and this time I'm signed in :) . I finally got my tickets and will be going on the SWC. So I'll be going:

Philadelphia --> DC

DC --> Chicago (Capitol Limited)

Chicago --> Kingsman, AZ (SWC)

Bus to LV

Get to my hotel at 4:00 am - whee. Actually, I'm going to hang out until I can get early check in at 10 am.

Then the same in reverse. I hope the bus to Kingsman to catch the SWC is on time! I have a sleeper for the SWC trips but lowly coach for the Capitol Ltd. Looking forward to it! Thank you again for all the great information.
 
Sounds like a good plan. Since your bus goes to the airport, get the shuttle ride to the car rental center and rent a car for 24 hours. Put the luggage n the trunk and head back on US 93 after sunup to Hoover Dam. Another thing to see after Hoover Dam would be to go up the west side of Lake Meade to see Valley of Fire State Park before heading to your hotel.

Rental cars are pretty cheap in LV.
 
Tomfuller -

What a great idea! Thanks for the suggestion - I'll look into it. I think it sounds like a perfect plan.

Thanks
 
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