Finding your way from the airport to your hotel can be a challenge. You’ve arrived in a new city. Now what?

Part of trip planning requires research into the various airport transfers available. Each destination has unique options. We select our transfers based on these criteria:

• safety
• price
• efficiency

We choose a more expensive choice if we are unfamiliar with the city, or if the public transit options require multiple steps or takes twice the time. As middle-aged travellers, we no longer take the cheapest options.

Getting from the airport to your accommodation or cruise ship can sometimes be challenging. Many cruise companies offer transfers, but they can be expensive. Viator also has transfers that are reasonably priced for larger groups.
We usually travel as a couple, and we often find a convenient train or bus that can transfer us to the downtown centre for a fraction of the cost. For example:

• in Rome, Italy, we used the airport shuttle bus to reach our downtown hotel for 8€ each.
• the airport bus in Granada, Spain was also quick and reliable for only 3€ each.
• in Tokyo, Japan, we used the public transit trains as they were safe, quick, cheap and efficient.

Sometimes a taxi is the safest and most efficient method. Not all cities allow Uber or ride-sharing drivers to pick up clients at the airport. In Spain and Portugal, people prefer to use the Cabify app. These apps need a local cell number to work.

Here is an option for a car service:

Kiwitaxi – we successfully used this one in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  Our Kiwitaxi experience in Rio is described here in our Copacabana Beach post.

We research airport transfer options in this order:

• public transit, train/metro
• express airport bus
• Uber or other car share apps (always check to see which app locals use) Many car share apps are not allowed at the pick up at the airport
• regular taxi (in Spain and Portugal these options were quick and cheaper than other modes)
• a car service may be safer for places where you are not fluent in the local language. They can be prepaid so there’s no need to pay the driver, or have to negotiate a price in the moment or have cell service

We choose the right transfer based on safety, price and convenience. When possible, we book the transfer ahead of time. We rarely arrive in cities without having done our airport transfer research. It has saved us a lot of cash and hassle. Doing the research ahead of time provides peace of mind when travelling.