Raleigh Durham International Airport (RDU)

Rental Cars: Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz, National and Thrifty car rentals are available at the airport.

Taxis: from the airport to downtown Durham cost less than $20.

Shuttles: there are many hotel shuttles from the airport as well.

Amtrak Carolinian/Piedmont trains arrive daily at Raleigh Train Station and Durham Train station, the latter an impressive piece of public architecture. Both cities are planned stop on the Washington-Richmond-Raleigh-Durham-Greensboro-Charlotte-Atlanta high-speed rail corridor of the coming decade.

Triangle Transit Authority is building a 35-mile, 13-station rapid rail line opening in 2008. This much needed transit infrastructure will connect Duke University, downtown Durham, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina State University, downtown Raleigh and northeast Raleigh. Extensions are planned to RDU airport and University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Durham Civil Rights Walking Tours
Durham Preservation Society has monthly tours in Spring and Summer months; one Saturday tour covers civil rights FREE

Durham Self-guided Tours
Durham CVB features online maps for a wide range of themed self-guided tours

Raleigh Downtown Walking Tour
Start with a country breakfast in a City Market restaurant. After a hearty breakfast, walk through the cobblestone streets of City Market and do a little shopping. Shops range from home furnishings to art galleries. Also in City Market is Artspace (FREE), where artists work in open-to-the-public studios. Walk across Moore Square to IMAX at Exploris, an interactive museum that encourages people to learn how the world works and the part each person can play in it. Or, see an IMAX film. Walk a few blocks to the North Carolina State Capitol (FREE). Tour the legislative chambers. Browse down Fayetteville Street for a bite to eat, then head to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (FREE) and the North Carolina Museum of History (FREE). These museums and the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame will keep you stimulated for the rest of the day.

Raleigh & Durham Freeway Network is still expanding in this fast growing consolidated metro area. The freeways can be clogged with rush-hour traffic, but not at the scale Atlanta. Modest route congestion is understandable for a fast growing region adding lane expansions and new freeway-to-freeway connectors. Anticipate construction-related delays over brief stretches of landscaped freeway and OBEY North Carolina’s posted speed limits, which vary from 65 mph downwards. Freeways and major highways are:

    1  US Highway connects Raleigh destinations south
  15  US Highway connects Durham and Chapel Hill
  40  Interstate freeway connects Durham, Chapel Hill & Raleigh
  64  US Highway connects Raleigh with I-95
  70  US Highway connects Durham and Raleigh
  85  Interstate freeway connects Durham and Greensboro
147  State freeway connects I-40 & I-85 via downtown Durham
440  Interstate freeway circles Raleigh and connects with I-40
540  Interstate freeway connects I-40 and US 70