
Travel time from Burning Man to Reno's airport Friday
Travel time from Burning Man to Reno's airport Friday
I know this sounds like a stupid question, but how much time would it take for me to arrive at Reno airport on Friday the 30th? I originally scheduled a round trip bus ride to the event, but I ended up cancelling it because they refused to leave earlier than 12 noon. I need to be at the airport 6pm the latest. Is traffic heavy?
How much time would you allot? Was I stupid to cancel my bus trip? BTW, Im currently looking into a rental car. Any and all help would be appreciated.

Keep away from small people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. - Mark Twain
- theCryptofishist
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Re: Travel time from Burning Man to Reno's airport Friday
That's a hard call to make. The exodus of crusty old burners who hate the weekend crowd starts thursday, and peaks maybe Saturday before the burn... The issue is that it's a two-lane highway, and one nasty accident can shut it down.
The Lady with a Lamprey
"The powerful are exploiting people, art and ideas, and this leads to us plebes debating how to best ration ice.
Man, no wonder they always win....." Lonesomebri
"The powerful are exploiting people, art and ideas, and this leads to us plebes debating how to best ration ice.
Man, no wonder they always win....." Lonesomebri
Re: Travel time from Burning Man to Reno's airport Friday
Mmmmmm, True. Lets say the road is not blocked... How much time would it take or rather when would you leave?
Keep away from small people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. - Mark Twain
- trilobyte
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Re: Travel time from Burning Man to Reno's airport Friday
Agreed, it's impossible to say. I can say that even if there was nobody at Burning Man and no traffic on the road, it would take 45+ minutes just to get from most campsites to the paved road. And that's assuming good weather (in a dust storm, you stop and wait it out). Don't soeed in the city, it's both unsafe and it kicks up a fuckton of dust on the camps and people you're passing, and don't speed on the way out, it's also unsafe plus the road gets a little freaky with ruts from all that traffic. Once you get to the paved road you're a little more than two hours away from Reno on a normal day without traffic, but that's anything but a normal day, traffic wise. Once you get towards Reno, you'll likely be contending with Friday rush hour on a holiday weekend. I can't speak for Reno, but in other cities I've lived and traveled through, that starts earlier in the afternoon than typical rush hours, as people do their damnedest to get out of the office a little earlier to get a jump on their long weekend.
Re: Travel time from Burning Man to Reno's airport Friday
It'll take somewhere between 2-12 hours to get to Reno. (maybe longer)
Sooner or later, it will get real strange...
11th Principle: Depussyfication - Keeping Burning Man potentially lethal. Token
11th Principle: Depussyfication - Keeping Burning Man potentially lethal. Token
- trilobyte
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Re: Travel time from Burning Man to Reno's airport Friday
And don't forget to give yourself time to thoroughly clean any rental vehicles before returning. Burners get a bad reputation for trashing rentals and figuring it's all okay as long as you pay the cleaning fee (exhorbitant or not). You should be able to find a wash nearby, and maybe even score an early bird discount for beating the labor day crush. Good luck!
- some seeing eye
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Re: Travel time from Burning Man to Reno's airport Friday
What Trillo said. You need a backup plan if you miss your flight.
If logistics work - another ride in and a ride out for your stuff, you could book a ~45 minute flight from the playa airport to the Reno airport. There is information on the main Burningman website and you can contact the carriers for the price and schedule. But the planes are not set up to carry a lot of heavy camping gear.
If logistics work - another ride in and a ride out for your stuff, you could book a ~45 minute flight from the playa airport to the Reno airport. There is information on the main Burningman website and you can contact the carriers for the price and schedule. But the planes are not set up to carry a lot of heavy camping gear.
increasing the signal to noise ratio with compassion
- Eric
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Re: Travel time from Burning Man to Reno's airport Friday
If it was me, and I had to catch that flight, I'd leave Thursday afternoon (if I wanted more daylight driving) or evening (if you don't mind lots of night driving). You don't want to leave too late, unless you're camped on the backstreets, as the city will be full of people on Thursday night, and it will take you forever to get just from inside the city to Gate Road. Leaving on Thurs will get you into Reno sometime really late Thurs night or early Friday morning - have reservations at a hotel, get a good shower & a good nights sleep. Eat in the morning, knowing you have plenty of time to clean your car and catch your flight with no stress.
On Friday you'd have to give yourself at least 12 hours anyway, just to make sure you're prepared for all the contingencies posted early (dust-storms, traffic, BRC closed due to an Amber alert - which happened last year, flat tires, etc). Leaving on Thursday removes all the stress, and makes any problems much easier to deal with.
On Friday you'd have to give yourself at least 12 hours anyway, just to make sure you're prepared for all the contingencies posted early (dust-storms, traffic, BRC closed due to an Amber alert - which happened last year, flat tires, etc). Leaving on Thursday removes all the stress, and makes any problems much easier to deal with.
It's a camping trip in the desert, not the redemption of the fallen world - Cryptofishist
Eric ShutterSlut
Former Ass't Editor & columnist, BRC Weekly
Eric ShutterSlut
Former Ass't Editor & columnist, BRC Weekly
Re: Travel time from Burning Man to Reno's airport Friday
3am-5am Friday! Its late enough for most people to not be on the road, and its cooler outside too!
Keep away from small people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. - Mark Twain
Re: Travel time from Burning Man to Reno's airport Friday
Eric, you look like my friend Ian. I gave him my extra ticket 

Keep away from small people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. - Mark Twain
Re: Travel time from Burning Man to Reno's airport Friday
I got a reply back from the burner express in regards to Friday 12pm departure from Burning man heading to Reno. I will post the response below. Its sounds decent, I'm actually thinking about using their service this year.
"We ESTIMATE the trip will take anywhere from 3-5 hours, depending on traffic conditions. We will be stopping at Save Mart on way back to dump garbage and recycle bikes. The main bus depot will be at 6 and G, and that bus will shuttle you out to Gerlach where you will hop on the larger coach bus. The bus will leave out of Gerlach at noon, so please be to Gerlach prior to 11 am. Due to the this being the first year, I have no idea how long the line will be until we continue to see ticket sales.
Thanks
Andrew Ripani
Director of Sales & Site Operations"

"We ESTIMATE the trip will take anywhere from 3-5 hours, depending on traffic conditions. We will be stopping at Save Mart on way back to dump garbage and recycle bikes. The main bus depot will be at 6 and G, and that bus will shuttle you out to Gerlach where you will hop on the larger coach bus. The bus will leave out of Gerlach at noon, so please be to Gerlach prior to 11 am. Due to the this being the first year, I have no idea how long the line will be until we continue to see ticket sales.
Thanks
Andrew Ripani
Director of Sales & Site Operations"
Keep away from small people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. - Mark Twain
-
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Re: Travel time from Burning Man to Reno's airport Friday
Hi there. I live in Reno and have been going to the burn for over 10 years. Travel times out to burning man vary depending upon what day you head out. When I have early entry, it takes me about two hours to get to the playa, then the wait in line before the gate can take about an hour to an hour and a half. If you dont have early entry, there will be much more congestion, and you will get stuck behind slower moving RVs, buses, and trailers. Just take your time and dont pass if you dont need to. It takes about three hours to get to gerlach if super congested. Then the wait in line can vary from two to six hours typically. So be prepared, and have water and food accessible so you can keep yourself fed and hydrated. Do not show up at the gates before they open them, time your trip so you arrive at least two hours after the gates are opened, by then the lines will start flowing and you will be in before you know it.
If you need help with logistics in Reno before you arrive, I am glad to assist with that, just contact me through eplaya and we can sort it out.
Hope this helps, and hit me up for any logistical needs.
Cheers,
Steve in Reno
If you need help with logistics in Reno before you arrive, I am glad to assist with that, just contact me through eplaya and we can sort it out.
Hope this helps, and hit me up for any logistical needs.
Cheers,
Steve in Reno
Re: Travel time from Burning Man to Reno's airport Friday
This post is a follow-up to what I encountered on leaving Burning Man Friday via the Burner Express in hopes of catching my Friday night flight out of Reno at 7:15pm.
The trip back to the airport was slightly uneventful. I say slightly because I was under the assumption that shuttles would be picking me up at 9 & G at 6am, 8am and 10am and they didn't. I walked over to 6 &G at 9pm after waiting 2 hours for the shuttle. When the buses arrived, I was told that the shuttles only ran at 10am that day. Anyway, I packed my stuff on the bus and we headed straight to Reno airport. They didn't make stops at the trash place nor did they try to recycle bikes. I was lucky because my camp mate wanted my bike. Maybe I missed the convo about the trash and bikes, and maybe that's why they didn't stop. I'm thinking the trash, grey water and recycled bikes must've went in a separate truck or at least I hope it did. Anyway, we made it back to the airport at ~3:30pm. Which gave me plenty of time to wash in the bathroom, style my hair, brush my teeth and change my clothes.
After I checked in, I went to my gate and was told my flight was cancelled
They then told me to go back to the ticketing agent to get a new flight. I stormed back to the ticketing area only to find out that the ticketing clerks were the gate clerks....So no business could be handled until they came back! When they did come back, they told me the only flight that could be found was one leaving early the next day, which would make me miss my cruise.
I spoke to other airline agents and they all told me the same thing except for SWA. I was told they had 1 more ticket left, and it was leaving in 30 min. I ran back to AA only to find that they were at the gate, and wouldn't be back for awhile (1hr). I couldn't get my bags from them, so I missed the flight. When they got back, I was told to ask SWA for any flight leaving out of the airport, so they could get me a connecting flight somewhere else. SWA only had a flight going to Las Vegas, but I had to pay for it ($198). AA confirmed they had a flight leaving from Las Vegas heading to Miami at 11:15pm and that it would be a 50/50 chance that I would make the connecting flight because I had 45 min to reclaim my bags upon arrival, and recheck them into AA across the way and then run to the gate. I told them I would try and to book it anyway.
Long story short, the flight leaving from Reno was delayed making my time even shorter. I prayed hard and allowed God to take over. We made it into the airport 15 min earlier than expected. I ran like crazy got to the baggage claim and waited for my bags. Luckily for me, my bags came out first. I grabbed them and ran across the terminal and across the street to check them in. Thats when I noticed my phone was missing....sigh. The Ticking agent called my phone, and a lady answered it. She told me I dropped it near the carousel. I ran back to baggage claim, retrieved my phone from her, gave her a big playa hug and ran off like Usain Bolt. I got to security only to find out that the agent forgot to give me my ticket. I ran back to her retrieved my ticket and ran through the halls like the amazing race until I reached my gate. I was literally the last person on the plane. Whew!!! God was looking out for me.
Long story short. Don't ever do what I did. Murphy's Law was in full effect that day. Even though my cruise was leaving at 4pm the next day. My Reno flight was the last flight out. Never fly out on the last flight! Never fly out on the same day that you return if you have to definitely be somewhere on time. Things can and will happen and you will pay for it. I'm now seeking reimbursement for my $198 SWA flight from Reno to Las Vegas. You were right.... I did end up paying for another flight, and it had nothing to do with me not making it there on time, and everything to do with them cancelling my flight.
At least I know that I would be a strong contender on the Amazing Race
The trip back to the airport was slightly uneventful. I say slightly because I was under the assumption that shuttles would be picking me up at 9 & G at 6am, 8am and 10am and they didn't. I walked over to 6 &G at 9pm after waiting 2 hours for the shuttle. When the buses arrived, I was told that the shuttles only ran at 10am that day. Anyway, I packed my stuff on the bus and we headed straight to Reno airport. They didn't make stops at the trash place nor did they try to recycle bikes. I was lucky because my camp mate wanted my bike. Maybe I missed the convo about the trash and bikes, and maybe that's why they didn't stop. I'm thinking the trash, grey water and recycled bikes must've went in a separate truck or at least I hope it did. Anyway, we made it back to the airport at ~3:30pm. Which gave me plenty of time to wash in the bathroom, style my hair, brush my teeth and change my clothes.
After I checked in, I went to my gate and was told my flight was cancelled


Long story short, the flight leaving from Reno was delayed making my time even shorter. I prayed hard and allowed God to take over. We made it into the airport 15 min earlier than expected. I ran like crazy got to the baggage claim and waited for my bags. Luckily for me, my bags came out first. I grabbed them and ran across the terminal and across the street to check them in. Thats when I noticed my phone was missing....sigh. The Ticking agent called my phone, and a lady answered it. She told me I dropped it near the carousel. I ran back to baggage claim, retrieved my phone from her, gave her a big playa hug and ran off like Usain Bolt. I got to security only to find out that the agent forgot to give me my ticket. I ran back to her retrieved my ticket and ran through the halls like the amazing race until I reached my gate. I was literally the last person on the plane. Whew!!! God was looking out for me.
Long story short. Don't ever do what I did. Murphy's Law was in full effect that day. Even though my cruise was leaving at 4pm the next day. My Reno flight was the last flight out. Never fly out on the last flight! Never fly out on the same day that you return if you have to definitely be somewhere on time. Things can and will happen and you will pay for it. I'm now seeking reimbursement for my $198 SWA flight from Reno to Las Vegas. You were right.... I did end up paying for another flight, and it had nothing to do with me not making it there on time, and everything to do with them cancelling my flight.
At least I know that I would be a strong contender on the Amazing Race

Keep away from small people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. - Mark Twain
- lucky420
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Re: Travel time from Burning Man to Reno's airport Friday
Yay! On behalf of all who posted to you earlier this year I get to be the first to say "told you so,neener, neener!"
Glad you made it and I hope you had an amazing cruise.

Glad you made it and I hope you had an amazing cruise.
Oh my god, it's HUGE!
Re: Travel time from Burning Man to Reno's airport Friday

Keep away from small people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. - Mark Twain