I am considering making a short visit to the DUKE Law School campus in Durham.

I am based in CPH. What would be the cheapest way to get there?

A flight to NYC and then a domestic flight to where?

What international airport is close to Durham?

Look for flights to RDU, Raleigh Durham Intl.

AA flies LGW to RDU nonstop, or you could look for a stateside connection.

Seems to cost about $120 from NYC to RDU. SK offers a whole trip for about 4300DKK.

You can also take an international flight to Washington/Dulles and then connect to a (terrible, but short) regional jet flight to RDU. Also, even though it's out of the way, maybe Delta via Atlanta.

Be careful when going via NYC as it is possible that your international flight may arrive at JFK and your connection might be scheduled from LGA. You do not want to do that -- especially on the return flight, you could miss your connection.

If you like driving, Dulles is about a 5 hour drive from Durham (but don't get off a trans-Atlantic flight and immediately drive 5 hours!).

During winter and spring, regional jet flights are often delayed, even canceled, due to weather, when larger aircraft are on schedule. So check that out carefully.

Unfortunately, there aren't many non-regional jet flights to RDU from other east coast destinations. Maybe Delta from Atlanta. Or Southwest from BWI. And some US Air flights to RDU use larger aircraft.

Thanks. That's great.

SK fly direct to Dulles. I guess that would be my choice then.

How much do the regional jets cost? Are their cheaper options. Trains? Buses? (did I spell bus right in plural?).

GL

Looks like it may be pretty close on price, either SK CPH-IAD/UA IAD-RDU or BA CPH-LGW/AA LGW-RDU. Check it several ways to see what will produce the best price. You may want to look at what will do you the most good on miles/points for your favorite alliance.

Bus or train is not really an option - we have nothing like the European intercity networks, except for some convenient train coverage in the northeast. Stick with the flights.

And yes, you did get the plural spelling on "bus" correct - "busses" is actually the plural of "buss," an old term for kiss. I always laugh when I see a sign at a bus station directing people to "busses" - I want to ask just who's doing the kissing! (Welcome to irregular plural forms.)

Enjoy your trip, and if you have some time, try to stop in Washington if you've never visited our capital - there's plenty to do, and you can hit some of the high points even in a day or so.

[This message has been edited by fcrit (edited Jan 04, 2004).]

I looked at the AMTRAK site and the fares were actually quite reasonable...$36 one way from Union Station in DC to Durham. If you wanted to combine the university visit with a DC visit, that might work. There's only two trains a day, with the one at 1050 having a 1715 arrival, one long train ride. The other train doesn't arrive until after 2200. The return trip from Durham is at 1037 with a 1705 arrival in DC.

Be careful with the train option - there really isn't a train station in Durham - the trains stop there, but you need to be picked up by someone at the station or know your way around in advance. There is no way to rent a car, for example.

There are several hotels near the Duke campus, but if you really want to see the area, you might want to rent a car to drive around. It would probably work out to be about the same cost as a cab from RDU to campus and back.

The regional operator, ACA, was/is United Express and hence was/is part of Star Alliance along with SAS. However, ACA and United are parting ways so it might not work anymore when you want to go. Regional jet flights purchased on their own are often very expensive.

In short, at least try asking SAS if they can ticket you all the way to RDU via Dulles -- it should be cheaper, if available.

Dulles airport is far from town, so to take a train or bus you would first have to get to downtown Washington D.C., which is either time consuming or expensive or both!

Incidentally, Duke is not that close to RDU and pretty much separated even from the town of Durham -- once you get to RDU, you should rent a car if you are willing to drive. Auto rentals in RDU seem to be rather pricey, at least $50-60 a day if rented from the majors, but taxi fares would be considerably higher I think.

I would try checking your particular dates on matrix.itasoftware.com. It may turn up some connecting possibilities that you hadn't considered. Be sure to change the city of purchase to CPH so that it prices in Danish currency.

I agree that a rental car will be very useful in this area. Public transit in the Carolinas, where it exists, is clearly designed for people with a lot of spare time. Timetables are generally lists of times where you are guaranteed NOT to find a bus at a particular location. You should check one of the travel booking sites (www.orbitz.com, for example) for a comparison of rental car rates, which can actually be as low as $20/day plus tax.

Alternatively, this may be one of those situations where a good travel agent could save you some money.

Have a great trip!

It seems like I might soon need to obtain a driver's license...

You'd probably want one if you attended Duke. It's a pretty big campus!