Vortex
The Vortex is a hovercraft in GTA San Andreas that drives on land and water. It appears in Cut Throat Business and the Boat School.
Key facts
- Class
- Boat
- Type
- Hovercraft
- Travels on
- Land and water
- First driven in
- Cut Throat Business or the Boat School
The Vortex is a hovercraft, and its party trick is that it goes on both land and water. IGN’s vehicle guide calls it the coolest ride in the game for exactly that reason. Its best vehicles guide is more measured: the Vortex is neither the fastest nor the toughest vehicle around, but no other vehicle can switch between road and sea the way it does.
When you first drive it
IGN’s best vehicles guide says the Vortex is unlocked right at the end of the game. Most players first meet it in Cut Throat Business, one of the late missions. CJ and Madd Dogg confront OG Loc at a video shoot, and Loc escapes in a Vortex, so CJ takes another and gives chase. IGN’s tip: if lining up Loc’s ramp jump over the dock is too fiddly, just drive around the dock. Once the mission is complete, IGN says the Vortex becomes available around San Andreas. The exception is the Boat School in Bayside: its final test is a long course in a hovercraft, and IGN notes that damage is the main thing that can cost you gold there.
Where to find it
After Cut Throat Business, IGN says the Vortex appears at several spawn points. Two it names as reliable are:
- Next to the Pirates in Men’s Pants casino in Las Venturas
- The end of the marina in Los Santos
IGN’s vehicle list also mentions a shed at The Panopticon in the northwest of Red County, and the Boat School itself.
Why use it
Because it works on both land and water, the Vortex keeps going where a car or a boat would have to stop. IGN is clear that it is not the fastest option, so for pure speed on the water a boat such as the Squalo is the better pick.
Videos
Updated