Getting There

By Plane

Those flying to Colorado will probably land at Denver International Airport or Colorado Springs Airport. Both offer car rentals and shuttle services to their city's hotels.

Denver International Airport (DIA) is 23 miles northeast of downtown Denver, about a 35- to 45-minute drive. It is the sixth-busiest airport in the nation, with six runways and 93 gates. An information line (tel. 800/AIR-2-DEN or 303/342-2000; www.flydenver.com) provides data on flight schedules and connections, parking, ground transportation, current weather conditions, and local accommodations. The local airport information and paging number is tel. 303/342-2300. Airlines serving Denver include Air Canada (tel. 888/247-2262; www.aircanada.ca), Alaska Airlines (tel. 800/252-7522; www.alaskaair.com), American (tel. 800/433-7300; www.aa.com), America West (tel. 800/235-9292; www.americawest.com), Continental (tel. 800/523-3273; www.continental.com), Delta (tel. 800/221-1212; www.delta.com), Frontier (tel. 800/432-1359; www.frontierairlines.com), jetBlue Airways (tel. 800/538-2583; www.jetblue.com), Mesa (tel. 800/637-2247; www.mesa-air.com), Mexicana (tel. 800/531-7921; www.mexicana.com), Midwest Airlines (tel. 800/452-2022; www.midwestairlines.com), Northwest (tel. 800/225-2525; www.nwa.com), Southwest (tel. 800/435-9792; www.southwest.com), Sun Country (tel. 800/359-6786; www.suncountry.com), United (tel. 800/241-6522; www.ual.com), and US Airways (tel. 800/428-4322; www.usair.com).

Colorado Springs Airport (tel. 719/550-1900), located in the southeast corner of Colorado Springs, has nearly 100 flights each day, with connections to most major U.S. cities. American, America West, Continental, Mesa, Northwest, and United serve Colorado Springs.

A good alternative to flying to Denver or Colorado Springs for those heading to western Colorado is Grand Junction's Walker Field (tel. 970/244-9100; www.walkerfield.com), which has direct flights or connections from most major cities on America West Express, Delta/Skywest, Frontier, Great Lakes, and United Express, and car rentals from most major companies.

Flights from the United Kingdom -- British Airways (tel. 800/247-9297, 0845/773-3377 in London; www.british-airways.com) offers one daily nonstop flight between London and Denver. Travelers from the United Kingdom can also take British Airways to other U.S. cities and make connecting flights to Denver or Colorado Springs.

Immigration & Customs Clearance -- Foreign visitors arriving by air, no matter what the port of entry, should cultivate patience and resignation before setting foot on U.S. soil. Clearing immigration control can take as long as 2 hours. This is especially true in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when U.S. airports considerably beefed up security clearances. People traveling by air from Canada, Bermuda, and certain Caribbean countries can sometimes clear Customs and Immigration at the point of departure, which is much faster.

Prepare to Be Fingerprinted -- As of January 2004, many international visitors traveling on visas to the United States will be photographed and fingerprinted at Customs in a new program created by the Department of Homeland Security called US-VISIT. Non-U.S. citizens arriving at airports and on cruise ships must undergo an instant background check as part of the government's efforts to deter terrorism by verifying the identity of incoming and outgoing visitors. Exempt from the extra scrutiny are visitors entering by land or those that don't require a visa for short-term visits (mostly visitors from Europe). For more information, go to the Homeland Security website at www.dhs.gov/dhspublic.

Getting Through the Airport

Use a TSA-approved lock for your checked luggage. Look for Travel Sentry certified locks at luggage or travel shops and Brookstone stores (or online at www.brookstone.com).

By Car

An excellent road system, connecting to interstate highways heading in all directions, makes driving in Colorado both a good and an economical choice. This is especially true for those planning excursions away from the major cities, where there is little or no public transportation and a car, either your own or a rental, will be practically mandatory.

Some 1,000 miles of interstate highways form a star on the map of Colorado, with its center at Denver. I-25 crosses the state from south to north, extending from New Mexico to Wyoming; over its 300 miles, it goes through nearly every major city of the Front Range, including Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Denver, and Fort Collins.

I-70 crosses from west to east, extending from Utah to Baltimore, Maryland. It enters Colorado near Grand Junction, passes through Glenwood Springs, Vail, and Denver, and exits just east of Burlington, a distance of about 450 miles. I-76 is an additional 190-mile spur that begins in Denver and extends northeast to Nebraska, joining I-80 just beyond Julesburg. Visitors entering Colorado from the southwest may take U.S. 160 (from Flagstaff, Arizona) or U.S. 550 (from Farmington, New Mexico). Both routes enter the state near Durango.

Denver is about 1,025 miles from Los Angeles, 780 miles from Dallas, 600 miles from Kansas City, 510 miles from Salt Lake City, 440 miles from Albuquerque, 750 miles from Las Vegas, 820 miles from Phoenix, 1,010 miles from Chicago, and 1,800 miles from New York.

By Train

Amtrak (tel. 800/USA-RAIL; www.amtrak.com) has two routes through Colorado. The California Zephyr, which links San Francisco and Chicago, passes through Grand Junction, Glenwood Springs, Granby, Winter Park, Denver, and Fort Morgan en route to Omaha, Nebraska. The Southwest Chief, which runs between Los Angeles and Chicago, travels from Albuquerque, New Mexico, via Trinidad, La Junta, and Lamar before crossing the southeastern Colorado border into Kansas.

Back to Top

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

		Email			Print			RSS

				Frommer's Colorado, 9th Edition Author: Don Laine Pub Date: February 20, 2007 Price: $18.99				Related Titles: Arizona For Dummies, 4th Edition Frommer's American Southwest, 3rd Edition Frommer's Arizona 2008