Getting into Dallas from DFW
 

My wife will be flying into DFW, staying at the ZaZa Hotel (first time in Dallas) and will not have a rental car. What is the best way to get from the airport without spending a fortune? taxi, prebooked limo etc.

You are going from DFW to Uptown Dallas (the area in which I live). I know Hotel ZaZa has a big SUV but Im not sure they transport people to and from the airport.

A taxi will cost you at least 60-70 dollars. Ive never looked into private towncars or limos.

In the past I have used Super Shuttle or Go Yellow Checker shuttle. Not sure about pricing per person.

Canada Eh?


Taxi

You have been getting bent over then.

I also live in uptown and its $45 plus tip.
http://www.dallasyellowcab.com/rate.html

If it helps set a baseline, it is going to be around $50 by taxi.

May be worth asking the hotel if they have a limo service.

Have the internetz? Google Maps and you can take the Trinity Rail for a few bucks to Dallas and then walk or short cab ~.8 mi.

FWIW - even when private limo is an option for me, I usually take public transit in most domestic cities where available - time permitting.

That said, rentals are crap cheap at DFW (think I got a midsize ~$20 day ai). So un;less you have exhorbitant parking charges, it might be a best bet. Texas wasn't designed to be foot/public transit friendly.

Headed to the best place y'all can learn about this ;), as this is not airline related. / Moderator

DFW to ZaZa
 

You may want to consider using Allen Limo. www.allenlimo.com

May be a little pricier but they will meet you.

Taxis at DFW can be hit or miss.

As others have said you have discovered how unfriendly Dallas is to mass transit. There are plans to add a light rail line to the airport, but it won't be for a while.

Thanks everyone for the helpful replies. My wife likes to go in style so she picked the Allen Limo option, albeit the sedan not the stretch. $58.00 quoted seems reasonable.

In that case she would NOT have been happy with Trinity Rail ;)

First a small bus to South Parking lot, then another small bus Trinity Rail. And unless it's rush hour, only runs every hour and a half.

EmailKid

Trinity Rail is difficult at best and most especially for someone who doesn't know how it works. I would never recommend it to a woman coming in to DFW on her own especially not knowing the time of day (especially after dark) she is planning to arrive.

While technically correct, this is a completely horrible suggestion.

In order to take the TRE, you will have to walk down to the bus stop, take 2 shuttle buses, wait on the train, lug all your belongings on to said train, get off at Union Station, take the train to Knox/Henderson, switch the to McKinney Ave. trolley and get off near ZaZa. From Union Station to Zaza could be a $15.00 cab ride depending on what time of day you go. I would never consider taking DART/TRE to or from Love Field or DFW.

Don't rent a car. ZaZa does not have self-parking and it is $25.00 to valet. You MAY be able to find free parking around the area, but the meter maids are like hawks in that area as Uptown is the go-to spot for bars these days.

Edit: Just saw that the problem was solved :D

I'm arriving at DFW on friday March 22, 4:30pm. I have to go to Plano, north of Dallas. I was checking trains and I can take the TRE to Victory Station and then transfer to the Orange line to Downtown Plano Station. Assuming I'll get out of DFW at 5pm, what do you think about this idea? Will it be too crowded? How long it will take the whole ride? I'm travel with a medium size baggage (I'm going to a wedding so I carrying suit and that stuff).

Well, Orange line actually starts close to the north exit of DFW now. I've taken it TO the airport, but you can certainly take it FROM the airport.

There's a shuttle from Term A using a brand new rather small bus that takes you directly to Beltline station, though it's a bit of a roundabout way of getting to Victory Station and on to Plano.

OTOH, unless there are college students getting on at that first station, you can choose a good spot for yourself and your luggage.

No matter which option you choose you have to take a shuttle to get to rail.

EmailKid

Thanks! I was checking the map and just realized the CentrePort station south of DFW, but you are right, at the north side the Orange Line is close, thanks a lot.

Dart has a trip planner at http://tripplan.dart.org, looks like about 2 hours from the airport to Plano.

Where in Plano are you going? Would someone pick you up at the station, or would you need a cab or another bus from there? The Dallas suburbs are really hard to get around without a car; unless money is really tight or there's some other reason it's not feasible, I'd consider a rental car.

75023 it's the zip, I think Town West is the area, north of Downtown Plano station. Yes, I'm evaluating to rent a car, cause not all the trains reach this station, if my flight is delayed I won't be able to catch a train to there, it will end at LBJ Central station. My relative would pick me up but since it's the day before her wedding I may complicate her agenda. I'll rent a car I guess.

Yes, the Orange line ends at LBJ / Central station after rush hour, but Red line goes all the way to Plano and you could hop on that at the same station.

That said, rental cars can be cheap on weekends, though you get stuck with the aiport tax.

EmailKid

The Red line also runs on the same tracks part of the trip from downtown up to Plano. If your Orange line train ends at LBJ, it's a same-platform transfer to the Red line. The Red line runs all the way to Plano every 20 minutes until almost midnight.

If it were me, though, I'd still prefer having a car for the weekend.

Actually, ALL the way from downtown, only different tracks going the other way from downtown ;)

And if it were me, and rental cars were cheap, I'd probably go with that as well ^ DFW area is hard to get around without a car.

EmailKid

Would never cross my mind that people would rely on trains in Dallas

Unlike the rest of DART, for the most part light rail is pretty reliable.

EmailKid

Is the DFW to central Dallas business district taxi flat rate a new thing? DFW site says taxis are 40 dollars. But these posts in this thread are only a year old and quote more than 40 dollars. Is this thread out of date for taxi fares? Just wondering so I don't get ripped off.

The taxi rates further up are for going to Uptown. Uptown is not Central Business District, even though it is adjacent. That's why there is a difference. Are you actually going to the Central Business District (i.e. Downtown proper)?

I am staying at the hotel Indigo downtown Dallas. Seems to fall in the CBD boundaries. Is 40 the flat rate to go here from DFW? Do I have to ask the cab driver for it?

Nobody here uses Super Shuttle shared van?

Dallas/Fort Worth Airport (DFW) Contact Info:
3200 East Airfield Drive
DFW Airport, TX 75261
972 973 8888
http://www.dfwairport.com

To the ZaZa, for example,

Shared Ride Van Service
First Passenger :$18.00
Each Additional Passenger :$18.00
Fuel Surcharge : $1.00
Max Passengers :10

USD $90 for a dedicated, non-shared van for one to ten passengers)

Yes, I've used them a few times, especially at night if I arrive after last shuttle to the light rail already left.

It's a shared service, so by the time we load all the pax and then distribute them it is about same time as going by DART.

any recommendations for me, I'm following this thread, but we are taking our two kids, both in car seats and also my wife and I for a vacation on thanksgiving, we are leaving that morning.

We are only in coppell, so I could actually drive back and forth in the car pretty fast, it's only 10 miles from my house.

I just am looking for recommendations. a cab isn't big enough, and neither of our cars is big enough either because of the luggage. We could take both cars, but parking then is ridiculous. I wonder if I could just go over and drop off my bags and then come back and valet. Usually I just valet the car with the yellow shirt guys.

but it would be nice to not have to worry about it.

and yes my wife does want to buy a minivan, but I have resisted.

so far I have found about 90 dollars for one quote, but that seems pretty silly for 10 miles. plus automatic 20 percent gratuity.

Here is what I just did for departure too early for DART:

Made a reservation for car rental a few weeks in advance, took DART rail to Beltline, shuttle bus #500 to Term A, Interterminal shuttle to E (UA only lets me checkin for int'l flights randomly), checked in, took Rental car shuttle to pick up car, go home. No stress in the a.m.

Of course you could just drive to pick up you car. I was able to pick up Love Field before, but not this time. Cheaper than taxi or Supershuttle.

by the way, i did my trip and my new recommendation would be to use uber, I used a scheduled pickup on thanksgiving and it was way too expensive, uber was half the price.

Well, we normally get a big ice storm every other year (been one pretty much every year since I came back here for work four years ago), and that stops the DART train dead in its tracks :mad:

They said they would run (empty) trains all night long to keep lines clear, but it didn't work - and still not running over 36 hours later :confused: :td: :rolleyes:

Well, thanks to UA not being able to fix a computer glitch my 11:06 p.m. flight (arrival time at DFW) got in an hour late, so I was forced to use them again :rolleyes:

The price into Dallas was (per their website - and my CC was charged) actually $27, and it was a subpar experience that late: we had to wait for a couple of late arriving (even later than mine) pax, and I was somewhat lucky to be dropped off #3, but even so it took well over an hour for a 20 mile trip, most all on freeway.

This worked great once again, cheaper than SuperShuttle, and sleep in an extra hour over catching SuperShuttle. Just wish rental cars were open late at night :rolleyes: