LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Even though Christmas is in our rearview mirror, we're still smack dab in the middle of one of the biggest travel periods of the year, with America's Party — New Year's Eve here in Las Vegas — right around the corner.
Whether they're just getting into town or heading back to California, drivers who spoke to Channel 13 on Saturday afternoon say they're trying to time their trips to avoid the rush.
Breaking down holiday travel tips for the remainder of 2025:
Rylie Ibison lives in Los Angeles and visited Las Vegas for Christmas, and says he's no stranger to the trip to Las Vegas.
"I love Vegas," Ibison said. "My best friend's from here, so I come out here all the time."
Ibison says he's been stuck in traffic on I-15 on the way to Las Vegas many times before, which is why he tries to plan his trips around peak travel times.
This go around? So far so good.
"There wasn't traffic on the way up," Ibison said. "On the way back probably we'll catch some around our hometown, but right now it's not bad."
Michael Stein and his kids Jacob and Mia are just getting into town from Southern California, and say traffic on Saturday was pretty good.
"Absolutely easy, pretty much smooth sailing all the way up from Los Angeles," Michael Stein said. "There was one big rig that turned over [on I-15], we kinda caught that — it added maybe an extra 20 minutes to get here — but, easy."
Watching the weather and the traffic forecast helped them on their drive, too.
"We just got lucky because it was raining pretty heavily in Los Angeles," Michael Stein said. "Then I checked the weather station and we had like a four or five day gap where it should be sunny, so we'll make it a great trip."
"I'm just excited for everything, the hotel's really cool," Jacob Stein said.
"I'm really excited to spend time with my family while we're on vacation, so that should be fun," Mia Stein said.
While Christmas may grab holiday travel headlines nationwide — and still certainly brings crowds to Las Vegas — the main event in the valley might just be New Year's Eve.
"We're going to have 340,000 visitors from around the globe here in Las Vegas to America's Party," Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority President Steve Hill said.
The Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) put out a holiday travel forecast to help locals plan their trips, which shows the southbound I-15 to California should be avoided between noon and 2 p.m. this weekend following Christmas, and avoided between 3 and 9 p.m. the weekend following the turn of the year if you don't want to deal with heavy traffic.
You should also expect big time crowds on the northbound I-15 between LA and Southern Nevada in the days leading up to New Year's Eve as revelers get ready to ring in 2026 Las Vegas style.
"You get to be here with the energy that is unlike any place else in the world," Steve Hill said. "It's the epicenter of New Year's Eve – you want to be a part of it."
Harry Reid International Airport put out a holiday travel parking forecast, which shows fliers should expect packed parking garages at Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 through this weekend.
So as we wrap up 2025 over the next few days, if you're taking to the skies, be sure to get to the airport early, and if you're hitting the road, try to leave during those non-peak times if you can to make your trips as smooth as possible.
