polar1718

When travelling on my own (am now early fifties) over the past ten years on business and for fun I would sometimes make use of a driver service rather than finding a taxi on arrival in a new airport. I did this in Cape Town, Prague and a few other places where I did not know anyone. I researched the driver services - most of the time it did not cost much more than a taxi, especially those run by English speaking expats. They hold the sign up in the airport arrival hall, handle your bags, and can give you all sorts of tips on safety, how to handle taxi drivers, local customs, etc. when driving you to the hotel. Also, I felt like I had a "contact number" in case anything crazy happened during my time in the country. Felt safer than trying to negotiate with taxi drivers etc. upon arrival after a long flight.

Annalisa12

I'm with you. I like a driver or hotel pick up at first until I am confident with the city. When I catch a cab, I also don't tell the taxi driver that it is my first time in the city.

oldpenny16

I've done that for years, even when in the USA. Sometimes it makes a great deal of sense.

Arrived in Singapore jet lagged to pieces and couldn't find my driver. Finally when it was down to just one guy standing with a sign I realized that someone had attempted to deal with my very non-Asian last name by trying to make sense out of it by adding about 6 letters.

Even when jet lagged sometimes you have to force your brain to function.