LuxBus Review

[redietz]

I signed up for the LuxBus and took it from Anaheim to Las Vegas for the first time this week. LuxBus America runs a daily route from LA to Anaheim to Las Vegas. Pickup in Anaheim is at the Anaheim Gardenwalk on Disney Way, in the parking garage under the Gardenwalk. LuxBus has a suite on that first floor. The bus leaves Anaheim at approximately 8:30 AM and arrives about 1:15 PM in Las Vegas. It picks up 3 PM daily at Harrah's for the return to Anaheim.

The bus has an attendant who hands out snacks and beverages and explains where you are in the trip and the timetable. Seats are the same size as normal bus seats, but are very comfortable with tray tables. Two movies are shown during the trip, and the bus makes a 20 minute halfway stop in Barstow. If you buy food during the stop, you can bring it onto the bus.

On my trip, the passengers included many international visitors, and there were quite a few children. Cost of a roundtrip is listed as $108 from Anaheim. One-way is $73. Add $20 for roundtrip from LA. If you sign up for their points club, you'll get a discount.

Drop-offs/pickups in Las Vegas are at Harrah's and downtown at the California.

The trip is comfortable and they keep on schedule, even on a Friday. You can relax and work for the duration if you want, with the exception of the stop in Barstow, when everyone must leave the bus.

The only negative on my particular trip was the lack of advertised Wifi. The attendant said it had been up and down all week. To me, this is an important component, as I work en route. I have similar issues when airlines advertise planes with wifi, and it's either down or they switch planes.

Another caveat is the Gardenwalk first floor location, which is not easy to locate on first visit. In fact, we waited a few minutes for a cabdriver en route who had gotten lost trying to locate the pickup point.

All in all, it's a stress free, relaxing way to travel. It has the added advantage that, if time is of the essence, one can work on what you're going to be doing in LV during the trip. It eliminates the in and out of airports and the time involved.

[Alan Mendelson]

It's a good idea but not for people in LA if you have to go to Anaheim before going to Vegas.

[jbjb]

$108 to spend a whopping 1 hour 45 minutes in Vegas??? Would it not be cheaper to drive and leave when you want or is there something missing?

[redietz]

I assume you're being facetious, but maybe not. You schedule to return whatever day you want. The international travelers who are visiting Disney also want to see LV, so there's a natural demographic of people visiting Anaheim who want to spend a couple of days (or weeks -- the internationals get longer vacations than Americans) in Las Vegas.

[jbjb]

It was a serious question. Since it wasn't described that way, I didn't realize it worked like an airline. It makes sense now though.

[alpax]

Thank you very much redietz for writing up a through report about your experiences with the LuxBus.

I am familiar with the Anaheim area since I used to live/work there in the past before I lost my job during the recession. Now they've completed building the ARTIC in late 2014 and the Megabus/Greyhound are now stationed there to make more than one trips to Vegas. Both the ARTIC and Gardenwalk are on Katella Ave about 3 miles apart.

The Megabus and Greyhound ranges from $15-$40 depending on how early you book your trip. I did balk at the 6 1/2 hour travel itinerary they've provided.
The LuxBus does cost $54 each way, but the big pluses I got from your review is the much higher level of comfort and the time it takes to make the trip. You save about 2 hours which is big, the Megabus/Greyhound makes detours while the LuxBus is more direct.

I would prefer to travel the Vegas in a relaxing atmosphere but I've always balked at the prices of getting to Vegas by air. The Santa Ana/Orange County's John Wayne Airport charges over $300 for a round trip to Vegas while at LAX you can get it about over $100 on a special occasion.