Los Angeles to Las Vegas is one of the most travelled drives in the West: about 270 miles of the I-15, most of it across the Mojave. On a clear road it takes roughly four hours. On a Friday afternoon, or a Sunday coming home, it can take far longer. The flight takes about 50 minutes.
The fair comparison, though, is door to door. Here is where the time goes on each.
The drive, hour by hour
The first hour is spent getting out of Los Angeles. Whether you take the 10, the 210 or the 60, everything funnels toward the I-15 and the climb over the Cajon Pass. On a Friday afternoon, that alone can take 60 to 90 minutes.
Then comes the long middle: Victorville, Barstow, Baker and the empty desert beyond. It moves well when traffic is light and stops dead when it isn't, because there are few alternative routes. The last stretch, from the state line at Primm to the Strip, is usually quick, though not on a busy weekend.
The return is the harder half. On Sunday afternoons, westbound traffic backs up for miles approaching the state line and through the desert, and a four-hour drive can stretch well beyond six.
The flight, minute by minute
Getting to Van Nuys or Burbank takes 25 to 40 minutes for most people. At the private terminal there is no airline check-in and no long queue; you arrive a short time before departure, meet the crew and board. The flight itself is about 50 minutes: a climb out of the basin, a short cruise over the desert and the descent into Las Vegas.
On landing, the private terminal is a short walk from the aircraft, and a car can usually be arranged through the terminal. The Strip is about 15 minutes away from Harry Reid.
| Stage | Driving the I-15 | Flying private |
|---|---|---|
| Leaving home | Straight into Friday traffic | 25 to 40 minutes to the airport |
| Getting going | 60 to 90 minutes to reach the Cajon Pass | About 15 minutes at the private terminal |
| The long middle | About 2 to 2.5 hours across the desert | About 50 minutes in the air |
| Arriving | 30 to 60 minutes from the state line to the Strip | About 15 minutes from terminal to hotel |
| Door to door | 4 to 6 hours or more | About 2 hours |
What the hours are worth
For one or two people, driving is far cheaper, and if you want your own car in Las Vegas, it may be the right call. The case for flying gets stronger as the group grows and the clock tightens.
Take a light jet, one-way, at an estimated $7,500 to $11,800 including the federal excise tax and the aircraft's empty return. Split six ways, that is roughly $1,250 to $1,970 each, and on a Friday afternoon it saves each person three to four hours. For a weekend that starts on Friday evening, those hours are most of the first night.
The costs people forget on the road
The drive isn't free either. There is fuel for 540 miles there and back, wear on the car, resort parking fees in Las Vegas, and one person in the group who spends the weekend's first and last hours at the wheel instead of with everyone else. For a couple, those costs are still far below a charter. For a group of six, the gap narrows more than most people expect.
Sunday, in detail
Coming home is where the road loses most heavily. By early Sunday afternoon, westbound traffic builds toward the state line and through the long climbs of the desert, and it can stay heavy into the evening. A late lunch, a 5 p.m. flight from Harry Reid and dinner in Los Angeles is an ordinary Sunday by air. By road, it would mean leaving before brunch or arriving home near midnight.
Heat, for car and aircraft alike
Summer in the Mojave regularly passes 100 degrees. Long queues in that heat are hard on cars and on passengers. Aircraft feel it too: hot air reduces performance, so on the hottest afternoons operators plan fuel, passengers and bags with a little more care. On a flight this short it rarely changes anything for you, but it is one more reason to share your headcount and luggage up front.
When driving still wins
- You need a car in Las Vegas for side trips to Red Rock or the Hoover Dam.
- The group is large and the budget tight, and nobody minds the road.
- You can leave at an easy hour, such as mid-morning on a weekday, when the drive is close to four hours.
When flying wins clearly
- Friday afternoon out, Sunday afternoon back. The two worst windows on the I-15 are exactly when most people travel.
- Same-day trips. A dinner, a show or a fight night and home again is realistic by air, and miserable by road.
- Groups of four or more, where the per-person share starts to look like a premium hotel night rather than a luxury.
The flight is 50 minutes. The real saving is the evening you get back, at both ends of the weekend.
Planning the day around the flight
Because the flight is short, it fits around the day rather than taking it over. A morning of meetings in Century City, a 2 p.m. departure from Van Nuys and check-in on the Strip before 4 p.m. is a normal Friday. The same plan by road would mean leaving before lunch, or accepting that the evening starts late.
Try your own numbers
Our drive or fly calculator shows a typical drive range for any day and time, next to the flight door to door, with an estimated price per person for your group. It uses typical bands, not live traffic, so treat it as a planning guide.
When you're ready, send the departure airport, date and headcount. An advisor will come back with aircraft and all-in prices, including any that are already positioned near you.