I remember there was a thread called "How not to get ripped off in Las Vegas" on here a long time ago (can't find it now?) and it basically talks about how taxi drivers always tries to rip tourists off by driving the longer route to get to hotels and expecting a huge tip by not saying they dont have any change for big bills. I am going down there tomorrow for the fight and I don't want to sound like a tourist when I get a taxi. Is there a specific route I should ask for to make me sound like I know my way around the strip?

If you are going to the strip, they often ask if you want to go throught the city or highway. Kind of a trick question since highway is longer/more expensive. I've been to Vegas a few dozen times in the last few years and I haven't had a cabbie do anything I thought was shady.

Good:



Bad:





Decision Time:



it is illegal for them to take you through the tunnel without permission

If you're actually staying on the Strip, ask them to take "Paradise" [Road]. That is the "Good" route that soah has highlighted.

The "Bad" route is Interstate 15.

I don't know if cabbies would actually do this to you, but taking Paradise Rd would technically mean that you go through the tunnel. The North-bound counterpart to Paradise is Swenson.

Thank you guys. So I just tell them to go North on Paradise?

"Where to?"

"Wynn/Mirage/TI/Caesars/Etc. Don't take the tunnel."

Is there a shuttle service thats better than a regular cab to get from the airport to say Bellagio?

Is Koval a reasonable route to center strip?

It's the only reasonable route to center strip.

No.

i just went to vegas for first time and got ripped off by the cabbie, so tell them you want to go through the strip, if its more than 20 bucks, get the cabbies info off of the front windshield and report to taxi authority

RTC

NO NO NO NO NO...

All you say is "no tunnel." When the cabbie then starts blathering about traffic and what not you say "no tunnel" again. Do NOT tell them to take the strip unless you love sitting in traffic. And there will be trips that cost more than $20 legitimately.

Good Lord, posts like this are why everyone thinks they get ripped off.

(1) Fewer than 10% of people who claim they've been ripped off actually have been. Alternatively, 2+2ers look like a bunch of dumb marks and get ripped off at a rate that's 10x higher than the industry average.

(2) By and large, saying nothing but your destination will get you there by the route which is shortest, cheapest and fastest. My last Vegas trip I said one word to the cabbie: "Bellagio." No chit chat, no stupid questions about whether it was my first time in Vegas, no stupid solicitations to go to a great strip club he knows, etc. 10 minutes and $15 later, I'm in the main lobby rolling my eyes at all the effort people go through not to get "ripped off".

As a matter of fact, most of the ****ups that people post about are entirely self-inflicted, such as the first-timer in Vegas demanding the cabbie go "through the Strip". Dammit, if you don't know what to say, just don't say anything at all.

(3) If there is a legitimate choice between the fastest, cheapest, and shortest routes (which admittedly are not always the same), you will be presented with a choice. Protip: say what you want. Do not demand the fastest route and then get pissed off when you are not taken on the cheapest route.

(4) People need to stop posting **** in LVL along the lines of "oh here's the magic phrase that you say to get **** done", e.g., "Here's the procedure for the $20 trick" or "Just say this to the cabbie."

Just ****ing ask if you're unsure. It's not a massive conspiracy against you.

Something to potentially consider is that the tunnel can be the fastest route if you are staying on the northern part of the strip like the Wynn. It won't be cheaper but it can be faster during certain parts of the day.

Probably not the Wynn because there's no good exit and you have to cross LVB the other way, but for Bellagio to TI and Rio/Palms/Gold Coast, absolutely, and for downtown, absolutely.

Given enough traffic on the LVB cross-streets (which often happens when there's a backup of people waiting to turn onto the LVB parking lot), it can potentially be the cheapest route too. Waiting in traffic costs you $0.50 per minute, so if you end up waiting for three traffic light cycles @ 2 minutes each, that wait just cost you $3.00, or the equivalent of a 1.2 mile detour.

Most of the time you take the freeway, though, you will be paying a premium for faster arrival. Decide how much your time is worth and make the calculation if you want. LV cab rates are $3.30 flat fee plus $2.40 per mile plus $0.50 per minute waiting, plus an additional $1.80 flat fee when you get picked up at LAS (airport surcharge).

Two years ago this is more true than it is today. Since the economy went to **** I've had cabbies attempt to tunnel me EVERY F'ING TIME. It rarely happened before (I've been going to Vegas 8-10 times a year for 14 years), but I've definitely noticed a significant uptick in the last couple of years. So to just utter the words "no tunnel" solves all problems, assuming you don't want to pay the extra money.

Fair enough, but I'm personally 0-7-1 on attempted longhauling in the past 18 months, including LAS->Bellagio and LAS->Caesars.

The questionable one is a trip from THEhotel to Bellagio where the cab made some weird U-turn on Tropicana and then took the freeway instead of Frank Sinatra. I didn't challenge it because he volunteered, "Side entrance OK?" as we got off the freeway, and I gave him the benefit of the doubt since side entrance saved more money than Sinatra would have.

He actually did OK there, because you can't turn from Sinatra onto Flamingo. Only way to hit the north entrance would be via Koval, strip or freeway. It's a longer trip than going straight up the strip, but that of course has it's own problems.

I didn't realize that since this is the first time I've ever cabbed from THEhotel to Bellagio. I've ended up on Sinatra several times heading southward (going to THEhotel or Mandalay Bay) but I've walked back or cabbed elsewhere in the past so I've never taken Sinatra heading north.

That means I've been 0-8 on longhauling attempts, cool.

yes you can, hotel rio drive obv. highway prob still better tho.

before I knew better, I just used to tell the cab to take "whatever was faster" and I took the tunnel at least 2-3 times

At least part of this is getting in a cab for a return trip and the cabbie takes a different route and bashes the 'previous' cabbie for long-hauling you. I had a guy do this from Rio to Venetian...he went some back route that ended up going through Mirage (with all 178 speed bumps) saying it was the fastest and cheapest. I think the only reason it wasn't the exact same rate is because he turned off the time charge halfway through (just to get the rate a tiny bit below the 'to Rio' rate I paid). It was within $1 of the 'to Rio' trip.

Anymore I just tell them where I want to go and if I feel I'm getting shafted they get no tip. So they can long-haul me for a little higher fare but with no tip...or they can do it right and have a smaller fare but get a tip. The choice is theirs, I'm paying about the same either way.

recently, took a cab from the airport to downtown. cost mid $30's. i felt the guy could have gone a quicker route, but it didnt seem that much more. but looking at that map, i think the guy took us the long way around, but i dont recall the tunnel.