Tucson - American Southwest - page 348

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ARRIVING
BY PLANE Located 6 miles south of downtown, Tucson International Airport, 7250
S. Tucson Blvd. ( & 520/573-8000; www.tucsonairport.org), is served by the following
major airlines: Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air ( & 800/252-7522; www.alaskaair.com),
American ( & 800/433-7300; www.aa.com), Continental ( & 800/523-3273; www.
continental.com), Delta ( & 800/221-1212; www.delta.com), Frontier ( & 800/432-
1359; www.flyfrontier.com), Northwest/KLM ( & 800/225-2525; www.nwa.com),
Southwest ( & 800/435-9792; www.southwest.com), Sun Country Airlines ( & 800/
359-6786; www.suncountry.com), United ( & 800/864-8331; www.ual.com), and US
Airways ( & 800/428-4322; www.usairways.com).
Visitor centers in both baggage-claim areas can give you brochures and reserve a hotel
room if you haven't done so already.
Many resorts and hotels in Tucson provide free or competitively priced airport shuttle
service. Arizona Stagecoach ( & 520/889-1000; www.azstagecoach.com) operates
24-hour van service to downtown Tucson and the foothills resorts. Fares to downtown
are around $21 one-way and $42 round-trip ($24 and $48 for a couple), and to the
foothills resorts around $42 one-way and $78 round-trip ($48 and $88 for a couple). It
takes between 45 minutes and 1 hour to reach the foothills resorts. To return to the air-
port, it's best to call at least a day before your scheduled departure.
You'll also find taxis waiting outside baggage claim, or you can call Yellow Cab
( & 520/624-6611; www.yellowcabtucson.com) or Allstate Cab ( & 520/798-1111 ).
The flag-drop rate at the airport is $4.50, and then $2.50 per mile. A taxi to downtown
costs around $25, to the foothills resorts about $30 to $50.
Sun Tran ( & 520/792-9222; www.suntran.com), the local public transit system,
operates bus service to and from the airport. The fare is $1. Route no. 6, to downtown,
runs Monday through Friday from about 4:50am to 10:50pm, Saturday from about
6:15am to 8:15pm, and Sunday from about 6:15am to 7:15pm. Departures are every 30
to 60 minutes on weekdays and every hour on weekends. It takes 40 to 50 minutes to
reach downtown. Route no. 11 operates on a similar schedule and travels along Alvernon
Road to the midtown area.
BY CAR I-10, the main east-west interstate across the southern United States, passes
through Tucson and connects to Phoenix. I-19 connects Tucson with the Mexican border
at Nogales. Ariz. 86 heads southwest into the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation, and
Ariz. 79 leads north toward Florence and eventually connects with U.S. 60 into Phoenix.
If you're headed downtown, take the Congress Street exit off I-10. If you're coming
from the north and going to one of the foothills resorts north of downtown, you'll prob-
ably want to take the Ina Road exit off I-10.
BY TRAIN Tucson is served by Amtrak ( & 800/872-7245; www.amtrak.com) pas-
senger rail service. The Sunset Limited, which runs between Orlando and Los Angeles,
stops in Tucson, as does the Texas Eagle, which runs between Los Angeles and Chicago.
The train station is at 400 E. Toole Ave. ( & 520/623-4442 ), in the heart of downtown
and within walking distance of the Tucson Convention Center, El Presidio Historic
District, and a few hotels. You'll see taxis waiting to meet the train; see “Getting Around,”
below, for more info.

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