Flyers with anxiety, rejoice, there will soon be a way to get to Vegas by train!
The Brightline West is in development, the first route of its kind since Amtrak’s Desert Wind was discontinued in 1977 due to budget cuts. In 2024, the recent trend has seen a train revival in the United States. Old routes have restoration plans, but none are further along in their creation than Brightline’s route through the desert.
People can take the Brightline from Rancho Cucamonga into Las Vegas, and they’ve just announced how much tickets cost.
Train tickets will cost more than $400, prompting some anger from people who argue that driving or flying is way cheaper, but is that really true? We want to uncover the price, pros, and cons of each way to get to Vegas to help you decide.
Flying
Southwest Airlines’ cheapest fare for a flight from Ontario Airport, which is nearby to Rancho, to Las Vegas is $225 if you depart Friday, April 5, and return Sunday, April 7. Flying out from LAX on those same dates is even cheaper at $195.
Pros:
- The flight out of LAX is only an hour, making it the fastest out of the three ways to get to Vegas from Los Angeles.
- Flying is the safest way to get to a destination
- Tickets are quite cheap, making it feel like the best option
- It’s an easy, fast, and hands-off way to get there
- Airports are, in our opinion, fun ways to get to know the culture of a city so they could be fun to explore
Cons:
- You have to arrive at the airport 2 hours early, making it a longer day than if you took the train
- These tickets were for the earliest time slot at 6 am so if you’re planning to party on Saturday, that’ll mean taking a flight hungover on Sunday really early in the morning (Remember, we don’t know the timetable for Brightline so $400 tickets, if they’re the cheapest, could also be early in the morning)
- Airport security is a hassle and we all hate it
- You might have flight anxiety and you hate turbulence, take-off, or landing
Driving
Driving gives you the ultimate freedom when you want to make the trip from Las Angeles to Vegas. You just hop in your car and go, driving to your playlist with the stretch of desert before you. You only have to make a stop to get gas or some snacks, and you can make good time if there’s no traffic…but often there is. Plus, out of all the trips taken from LA to Vegas, 85% of them are by car. Here are some pros and cons to driving you might not have considered.
Pros:
- Arrive and leave whenever you like
- Depending on how much mileage your car gets, this will probably be the cheapest way to get there
- Road trips are fun! Some people enjoy driving so this could be a relaxing way to get to Vegas
- Driving into Vegas and along the Strip is always an exciting experience
- If your car gets good mileage, you could get there without spending much on gas
Cons:
- The biggest con is TRAFFIC. We don’t think we need to say much else
- Driving 4 hours through the desert highways wears and tears on your car
- You’re adding miles to your car and the trip could be harder on older cars
- Depending on how much gas is at the moment, prices could add up quickly
Taking the train
Taking the train
Brightline West tickets are estimated to be over $400, the most expensive of the three.
Pros:
- You don’t have to arrive hours early to board
- It’s an easy, fast, and hands-off way to get there
- It’s faster than a plane, taking only 2 hours because there’s a direct route
- You don’t have to deal with congested freeways
- Trains are often pretty comfortable
Cons
- The price may feel a bit expensive, especially for those who want to drive there
- The train might feel more crowded and loud than a place since people can stand, talk, and overall have more freedom to move than in a plane
With all that being said, we can’t tell you which is the best way to get to Vegas from Los Angeles, but soon there will at least be 3 options. Do you think you’ll be taking the Brightline West once it’s up and running? Here’s more information on the project if you want to do some additional reading.
It’s set to begin operation by 2028. Fingers crossed the project will stay on track.