LuxBus between Anaheim & Las Vegas (info and pics, also serves L.A. and San Diego)

[mommaU4]

Hi everyone! I'm not sure where to post this, either here or on the Vegas section since it pertains to both, but I'll start here and the mods can always move it if they feel necessary.

I thought I'd share some info with you regarding Luxbus America, a shuttle service that runs between Anaheim and Las Vegas, in case anyone is searching for such a thing. I know some visitors to Southern CA consider adding a trip to Las Vegas once they find out it's only a short 4-5 hour drive.

I took the Luxbus this past weekend and loved it. We live in Vegas, but our van is getting too old and tired to make the trek across the desert to Anaheim anymore so I went searching for an alternative to renting a car and found Luxbus!

Typically when I think of a bus, I picture a broken down, rickety, smelly, old sardine can with a bus station in a questionable part of town. Not saying that's always the case, but that's what I personally pictured.

The Luxbus couldn't be further from that image! Here is what my experience was like:

We left Saturday afternoon for the Flamingo hotel where we were to meet the bus in the north tour lobby. I had called a week prior to make the reservations, and then you need to call again 48 hours beforehand to confirm it. Booking went smoothly and the agent was very helpful. The fare is normally $99 round trip, which I don't think is too bad, but you can sometimes find discounts.

Once at the Flamingo north tour lobby, there were signs telling us where to go, and several others waiting for the bus as well. The Flamingo is the third and final stop with pick-up time of 3:30. The two prior stops are downtown at the California Hotel and also at Harrahs.

The sign showing where to wait:

The bus was about 5 minutes late due to a block party on the Strip slowing everything down. Finally it arrived, and I was impressed with what I saw.

Upon boarding the bus, I noticed there were two seats on either side with an aisle down the middle, much like an airplane.
Picture of the seats taken while we were parked underneath the structure (that's why it's so dark) waiting for everyone to board.

The seats are a bit small, but bigger and more cushy than airline seats. And truth be told, my husband and I are both large people so I'm sure it would be even roomier for most others.

A shot of the seatback in front of me:

There are many on board amenities:
Free drinks (Coke, Diet Coke, 7-up, orange juice, Bud light, red wine, coffee in the a.m. and drinks are served twice on the trip)
Free snacks (varies, but we saw granola bars, crackers, chips, pretzels)
Free wi-fi
Reclining seats
Adjustable head rest
Foot rest
Drink holder
Fold out tray
Free headsets for movies
On board bathroom
Over head bins for carry ons


The flat screen for the movies. Going to Anaheim we saw Alice in Wonderland with Johnny Depp. Returning to Vegas we saw Last Song with Miley Cyrus. All movies are always family friendly. (you can see our bus attendant, Gabriel, in this shot)

The overhead bins:

The cushiony and adjustable head rest:

The back of the bus with the bathroom and the snack/drink storage area:

Seats filled with passengers. Going to Anaheim the seats were cloth, returning they were leather. Both very soft and comfortable. The bus was full both ways.

The leather seats:

The ride was smooth. Our bus attendant both ways was Gabriel who was funny, and friendly. The driver was great and I felt safe even as we went through some rain and fog.

The trip takes about 4.5 hours but can vary obviously based on weather and traffic. The bus stops in Barstow each way, which is about the half way point.
At Barstow station there is food (McDonalds, Panda Express, a Mexican fast food place, coffee, ice cream), restrooms and tons of delightfully tacky souvenirs.

A pic of the stop in Barstow:

We arrived in Anaheim about 20 minutes past our scheduled time due to the rain and fog we'd encountered. The main terminal is at the Anaheim Garden walk. Luxbus also offers shuttles from there to Los Angeles, so those passengers going on to L.A. got off there. (It also goes to San Diego)

For the rest of us, Luxbus offers direct drop off at a huge list of Anaheim Resort Area hotels. When making your reservation they will ask where you are staying. If your hotel for some reason is not listed, they will make arrangements to leave you at an ART stop closest to your hotel.
We stayed at the Anaheim Marriott Suites in Garden Grove, and were taken directly to the front door of our hotel, which is also where we were picked up again the day we departed.

Over all it was so easy, and so convenient I would not hesitate to do it again. I was nervous beforehand and couldn't find much info or pics on the Luxbus, which is why I am writing this review, but I really had nothing to worry about.

The bus has schedules that run between Vegas, L.A., Anaheim and San Diego. This is their website if anyone wants to check it out: http://www.luxbusamerica.com/index.php

But if you are in Anaheim and considering a trip to Vegas and don't want to drive, I'd highly recommend this as an option. If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Not that I'm an expert after one ride, lol, but I can try. And the lady behind me on the bus commented how she'd been using Luxbus for awhile now and never had a problem.

Hope this info will be of use to someone!

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

What an awesome review! I saw on their website that LuxBus also offers transportation to popular locations in Los Angeles which is always a frequent question. I'm going to include their information and a link to your review on Airport Proximity to DLR and Ground Transportation Information Super Thread.

 

[skiingfast]

This is pretty cool since DLR and LV are both easy to see without a car and sometimes combined. Something that is in particular common to vistors from the east or another country.


Maybe i missed these, but I have a few questions.

What time does it leave Anahiem?
Does it only depart from Gardenwalk or does it do other pick ups? It sounds like you only went on the trip from LV.

 

[mommaU4]

What an awesome review! I saw on their website that LuxBus also offers transportation to popular locations in Los Angeles which is always a frequent question. I'm going to include their information and a link to your review on Airport Proximity to DLR and Ground Transportation Information Super Thread.

Thanks. Their website is very informative and includes a FAQ section. And they go to several places and offer tours and such, San Diego too for those wanting to do Sea World, but I only did the roundtrip from LV to Anaheim. What I had a hard time finding when doing my research was actual traveler bus photos, which is why I wanted to post those. There are pics on the website, but I like hearing about it firsthand and seeing actual photos since sometimes the websites post pics that are much different from what you actually get. In this case though, I was impressed and it was just as advertised.
(some of the tour shuttles are much smaller than the main bus that I went on, just an FYI)

This is pretty cool since DLR and LV are both easy to see without a car and sometimes combined. Something that is in particular common to vistors from the east or another country.


Maybe i missed these, but I have a few questions.

What time does it leave Anahiem?
Does it only depart from Gardenwalk or does it do other pick ups? It sounds like you only went on the trip from LV.

Yes, DLR and LV are very easy to see without a car. Tons of taxis here in LV along with the buses and monorail. And in Anaheim, we used the ART bus which luckily for us had a stop literally right in front of our hotel! Easy as could be.

We went roundtrip and were picked up at our hotel for the trip back to Vegas at 8:15 a.m.
From there we went to two other hotels nearby to pick up more passengers, and then to the main terminal at Garden Walk where more passengers were waiting to board. We were on the road heading to Vegas by 8:45 a.m. or so.

The Garden Walk is their main terminal so it always stops there to pick up or let off passengers. The night we arrived, we stopped in Gardenwalk first to unload some passengers who were continuing on to Los Angeles. We stayed on the bus, which then took us directly to our hotel.

If you were staying close to Garden Walk you could simply disembark there.
I didn't see Hojo on their list of hotels they drop off at, and since I know a lot of DISers stay there, I was curious and asked them about it, and they said yes, they would still drop off at that hotel. So if you don't see your hotel listed, just ask.

They were pretty accomodating, at least in my dealings with them they were.
Hope that answered your questions.

 

[mommaU4]

This page here has the bus times and routes: http://www.luxbusamerica.com/bus-schedule-pricing.php

Also forgot to mention that the driver will load and unload your luggage for you, so if you are traveling with a lot of suitcases or kids or whatever, don't worry, they make it as easy as possible for you.

Seating is first come, first served. Your reservation gets you a seat, but not an assigned seat. So just be aware you are not guaranteed a certain part of the bus (for example, the front) and while my husband and I had no problems sitting together each way, I did see one late arriving couple who had to sit across the aisle from each other.

 

[ozdisfan]

omg! this is an awesome review!! thank you sooooo much. i was considering taking this form of transport for my next trip to vegas from anaheim and i think i will now

 

[mommaU4]

omg! this is an awesome review!! thank you sooooo much. i was considering taking this form of transport for my next trip to vegas from anaheim and i think i will now

You're welcome. I was hoping it would be helpful to someone. Based on the experience I had, I'd recommend it to anyone.

 

[mommaU4]

I just wanted to say that I took the LuxBus again at the end of February for another trip to Disneyland from Las Vegas.

Once again, it was another great trip. I was glad to see our first good experience wasn't just a fluke. lol
There was a female attendant this time, but she was just as good as Gabriel who we had the first time. Snacks were passed twice same as before. Stop over in Barstow. The movies played were "The Smurfs" and "Moneyball".
And this time with no bad weather to deal with, we actually arrived much earlier. Left Las Vegas at 3:30, and arrived at Anaheim's Gardenwalk around 7:20.

I was staying at the Grand Californian, and they dropped me off literally right in front of the lobby doors.

So, we are two for two with Luxbus! Hope it continues. Just wanted to update this for anyone looking for an alternative to driving or flying.

 

[bumbershoot]

That sounds so cool, Beth! Thanks for the update!

 

[aussietravellers]

Thanks for this awesome report!

We have never been to Las Vegas before and we are coming to Anaheim for two weeks (doing day tours to LA and SD from there). But after reading your report, I am looking at adding three nights to Las Vegas during the two week trip. I would not have thought of that, pickup and drop off back at the hotel in Anaheim is a big plus. Travelling on my own with a child, taking a cab or bus to the airport, waiting around, flying there, waiting for luggage, finding transport to the hotel, then the whole thing again on the way back was just a bit hard (not really but seemed that way). Having a bus collect us from the hotel, then we just have to get from the stop in Vegas to our hotel (whereever that will be) and the same on the way back.

I love the idea of travelling on the bus and seeing the countryside (or the desert), seeing the stop along the way. I didn't realise it was so easy.

Thanks You have just talked a couple of Aussies into visiting Las Vegas for the first time I'm so excited!

 

[Vanessa and Emma]

Just to let everyone know that I booked a return shuttle from Anaheim to Hollywood through allanaheimtours and when i printed out the coupon it states the transport is with Luxbus. Very happy with the price
(US$28.99 return) and my 8 year old travels for free.

 

[nancy drew]

Thanks so much for posting this! I've been looking for a way to do a San Diego/Anaheim trip without renting a car and this is exactly what I've been looking for!

 

[bumbershoot]

Thanks so much for posting this! I've been looking for a way to do a San Diego/Anaheim trip without renting a car and this is exactly what I've been looking for!

FWIW, there's also Amtrak's Surfliner train, but that will require taxis unless you use ART and then are staying closeby the station downtown. Since CA just changed their carseat rules, that means two boosters for the kidlets for the taxis. Goes from Angels Stadium and drops off right downtown.

 

[mommaU4]

Thanks You have just talked a couple of Aussies into visiting Las Vegas for the first time I'm so excited!

Oh, good!


I had hoped this would help out some others on these boards.

Flying is such a hassle these days. Plus, truth be told, I just hate to fly. lol The bus ride just works for me and seems to be more hassle-free. Although, I suppose a bus could break down the same way a plane could be delayed, but overall, I'd still rather travel this way.



Good luck to all those who use this company. I hope your experience goes as smoothly as ours did.

 

[dancin'bec]

Just did a search for travel between Vegas and DL and found this thread! Thanks so much for the info! I'm very excited about this option of travel for my Feb/March trip!!!