hey everyone so i just landed at harry reid and its my first time really navigating this place properly you know and honestly i wanted to share some thoughts cause its kinda a beast if you arent prepared and you know i dont want anyone else making the same little mistakes i almost made so im basically here to give you the lowdown like a friend would cause its a whole different animal than like lax or jfk and its got its own quirks but you can totally survive and even thrive if you know what youre doing and where to go and just whats up with the place in general you know its just one of those airports where a little heads up goes a long way so here are my initial thoughts and some advice for anyone landing here for the first time or even if its your second or third and you just wanna make it smoother cause time is money in vegas am i right.
Getting your bearings
okay so first things first you basically have two main terminals right t1 and t3 and you dont really pick which one you land in so just be aware and check your flight info but honestly it doesnt matter too much until you need to connect or figure out where to go but a lot of the major carriers are in t1 like southwest and then some of the international flights and others are in t3 but theyre connected and its pretty easy to figure out once youre there and know what youre doing like you just gotta get on the right people mover and its mostly okay but the biggest thing is knowing that the gates are split into concourses like a, b, c, d, and e and d is literally the biggest one and its where a lot of the action happens and its a totally seperate building you get to by tram so dont get it twisted and think its a quick walk.
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warning about long walks: look if youre in t1 and your gate is in concourse d or e you are in for a literally loooong walk and then a tram ride and then another walk so give yourself plenty of time especially for departures cause its not like some airports where its just a quick stroll and youre there its like a whole olympic sport getting to some of those d gates or e gates from security its really quite a hike and you will feel it in your legs so wear comfy shoes seriously like i cant stress that enough your feet will thank you trust me.
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hidden shortcuts: honestly its more about strategy than hidden doors but for security if youre at t1 sometimes the far security lines on either end like near baggage claim one or baggage claim five can be shorter than the main central ones people naturally gravitate to and for t3 its just a crap shoot but still check both sides cause one might just be magically shorter and also know which tram to take cause if you need d gates make sure you get on the d gate tram and dont accidentally end up at the c gates which happens easily if youre not paying attention cause they look similar on the signs its just about being aware basically and not being in a rush.
The peak hour survival guide
this airport gets absolutely slammed especially like early mornings between 6 am and 9 am when everyone is trying to get out after their vegas trip and then again in the late afternoon like 4 pm to 7 pm when people are flying in for the weekend and then sundays are just a literal nightmare so if you can avoid those times youre golden but if you cant heres what i recomended just plan plan plan extra time like seriously add an extra hour to whatever you think you need especially if youre checking bags or going through security cause those lines get crazy long and can literally wrap around corners and its not fun and for food grab something before you get to your gate cause the options in the concourses are limited and the lines are also super long and expensive and if youre picking someone up just use the cell phone lot its easy and way less stressful than trying to circle the terminals like a vulture and then for uber or lyft pickups know exactly where to go for your terminal cause they have specific spots and its much smoother if you already know rather than wandering around like a lost puppy and just remember its vegas so everyone is either super happy or super tired and sometimes a little bit of both so just be patient and dont let it stress you out too much its all part of the vegas experience in a weird way you know.