Travel from Denver to Colorado Springs (Air Force Academy, Monument: car rental, rental, work)

[smcdonald]

I am coming to Colorado Springs in May for a reunion. Airfaire is almost
double to Colorado Springs than what it is for Denver. We are from Idaho
and not familiar with Colorado. Would we be safe to fly to Denver and
rent a car to Colorado Springs? I understand it takes one hour. One
person told me it was worth paying the extra $150.00 to fly into Colorado
Springs and not have to drive in the maddening traffic. Another person
told me it would be easy because we could travel on the toll road and
zip right through. What do you suggest?

[kosnebbear]

Guess it depends on the time of day that you arrive in Denver. I have flown in and out of Denver International a few times after driving there from Nebraska. I did not have any problems. When you fly into Denver International airport you only have one way in and out of the airport and this is by way of Pena Blvd. Pena takes you to I-70. Colorado Springs as you know is south of Denver. You would have to go west on I-70 for about one or two miles to I-225 which is the bypass route around Denver. I-225 only goes south which takes you to the south side of Denver where you get on I-25 going to Colorado Springs. Sorry I can't tell you if I-25 is a toll road or not, but I don't think that it is. You can search this information on line through the Colorado State Higway Department. I don't see where you will have that much problem, unless you get there when everyone is either getting off or going to work.

Enjoy the reunion and the drive is a nice one along the east range.

[sunsprit]

Depends upon times of arrival and departure, and how long you're going to stay in CSprings.

If you arrive around "rush hour" traffic, it can take well upwards of 2 hours from DIA arrival to get to the springs with getting from the concourse to the car rental agency to getting the car to actually being on the road and then being in traffic. It can get pretty slow south of Monument through the Air Force Academy area. Returning to DIA can be problematic, since you'll have to allow for the traffic, car rental return, security and tram to your terminal area ... and arrive early enough for all of the events to reach your gate at least 40 minutes before scheduled departure.

225 and I25 are not toll roads. Somebody was referring to 470, which won't gain you much for this trip ....

For me, the direct flight and avoiding DIA is worth the expense during a short trip to COS.

[Nadine]

Originally Posted by sunsprit

Depends upon times of arrival and departure, and how long you're going to stay in CSprings.

If you arrive around "rush hour" traffic, it can take well upwards of 2 hours from DIA arrival to get to the springs with getting from the concourse to the car rental agency to getting the car to actually being on the road and then being in traffic. It can get pretty slow south of Monument through the Air Force Academy area. Returning to DIA can be problematic, since you'll have to allow for the traffic, car rental return, security and tram to your terminal area ... and arrive early enough for all of the events to reach your gate at least 40 minutes before scheduled departure.

225 and I25 are not toll roads. Somebody was referring to 470, which won't gain you much for this trip ....

For me, the direct flight and avoiding DIA is worth the expense during a short trip to COS.

AMen Driving thro Denver is a nightmare especially if not aquainted. If you have a GPS it would be of great help. Myself, I would fly into CS. and pay the extra. Then rent my car in the Springs.

[TinajaCo]

Nobody really referenced the toll option, which I think could be a viable option if you are traveling during peak times....

E-470 intersects Pena Blvd (the main road in/out of the airport) and is a toll highway. That being said, it rarely to never has traffic and would put you right at the south end of the Denver area, thereby avoiding I-25/I-225 and that traffic. I'm in the south Denver area and I can be in Monument in 50 minutes from my door, as long as you're not going to be traveling in peak times (such as rush hour). E-470 is an expensive-but-viable option to avoid traffic if you choose to fly into Denver during peak times.

Otherwise, it really comes down to what is your time worth to you. Denver's airport is big and busy, so you will have to plan ahead for security, getting to your gate, etc if you decide to go that route. COS is fairly small, short distance to the gate, short wait times, etc. But, another thing to keep in mind is that, since COS is much smaller than DEN, it has fewer nonstop flights, so if you're flying from Idaho you'll likely have a layover somewhere along the line (likely Denver or Salt Lake City), whereas there are many nonstop flights from Idaho to Denver. These (in addition to the drive) are things to keep in mind with your decision. Good luck!

[tfox]

Denver's flights these days are generally very cheap compared to the springs. Almost all our friends down in the Springs fly in and out of Denver. E-470 makes for an expensive commute, but I'd recommend it for going to/from the airport since it never has any traffic so you don't have to worry about missing your flight due to traffic. Check out their website: http://www.e-470.com/ -- they have a toll calculator there but it'd be around $6.00 or so one way.

[Mike from back east]

The drive is a piece of cake, have done it about 6-8 times over past 3 years.

We always use the Toll Rd (aka "470") from Pena Blvd to I-25 on the far south side of Denver. Tolls are about $5.

We live on the north end of COS, approx I-25 exit 153, and we can get to the parking lot at DIA in one hour flat.

If you were going to rent a car no matter which airport you planned to use, then I'd say go with DIA if its cheaper. When I tried to find flights out of COS, they are usually more or require extra stops. I don't think you can get a direct flight from COS to the DC area where we're from (IAD, DCA, BWI). It is almost always cheaper and quicker to fly out of DIA than COS.

s/mike