Dallas, Texas — Travel Tips
Getting There By Air
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
Tel: (972) 973 8888.
Website: www.dfwairport.com
The airport is 30km (18 miles) from Downtown Dallas, about 30 minutes by road. It has five passenger terminals (A, B, C, D and E) that carry around 60 million passengers per year. From here, any major US, Canadian or Mexican city is only four hours away.
Airport facilities: All the terminals are well served by a range of eating and drinking outlets, gift shops, bureau de change, a barber's shop and ATMs. Of greatest interest are the retail shops, restaurants and spectacular art exhibitions inside the new, ultra-modern Terminal D, the international terminal. Tourist information is available, as are major car hire firms, including Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz, National and Thrifty.
Transport to the city: Visitors should remember that the Dallas-Fort Worth conurbation is locally referred to as the ‘Metroplex'. Taxis are found on the upper terminal level. All other ground transport is found on the lower level, where there is a general transport information office (tel: (972) 574 5878). Several shuttle services operate from the airport including Yellow Checker Shuttle (tel: (214) 841 1900 or (817) 267 5150; www.yellowcheckershuttle.com), City Shuttle (tel: (214) 760 1998; www.cityshuttle.net), SuperShuttle (tel: (817) 329 2000; www.supershuttle.com) and Suvana Dallas DFW Airport Shuttle Service (tel: (267) 390 4122; www.suvana.com/dfw-airport-shuttle.html). Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and Fort Worth's The T provide rail service to the airport via the Trinity Railway Express (TRE) (tel: (214) 979 1111; www.trinityrailwayexpress.org), Monday to Saturday. A shuttle bus connects with the TRE station at CenterPort, five minutes from the airport. DART provides express service to Remote North Parking via bus 310 (tel: (214) 979 1111; www.dart.org). Many hotels operate their own courtesy shuttle service.
Dallas Love Field (DAL)
Tel: (214) 670 6073.
Website: www.dallas-lovefield.com
Located 10km (6 miles) from Downtown, this was the sole city airport until DFW opened in 1974. Today, it is a regional airport served by national airlines, including Southwest, American and Continental.
Airport facilities: These are limited to eating places and basic shops. Car hire is available from all the major providers, including Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz and National.
Transport to the city: All ground transport is found at the main terminal lobby and baggage-claim area. DART (tel: (214) 979 1111; www.dart.org) bus 539 goes to downtown Dallas 0600-2230. Taxis are also available. Several shuttle services operate from the airport, including City Shuttle (tel: (214) 760 1998; www.cityshuttle.net), SuperShuttle (tel: (800) 258 3826; www.supershuttle.com) and Yellow Checker Shuttle (tel: (972) 222 2000; www.yellowcheckershuttle.com).
Approximate flight times to Dallas: From London is 9 hours 30 minutes; from New York is 4 hours 15 minutes; from Los Angeles is 3 hours 15 minutes; from Toronto is 3 hours 35 minutes and from Sydney is 17 hours.
Getting There By Road
The motorway (interstate and freeway) network in America is very good. The general rule for numbering on US freeways and interstates is that the odd numbers go north-south and the even numbers go east-west over their whole length, although at any single, localized point it may seem different. Interstates are indicated by the letter 'I', while 'S' and 'L' stand for 'spur' and 'loop' respectively.
Driving is on the right. The speed limits on the different motorways can vary - the general maximum is 90kph (55mph) but some rural interstates allow limits of 110kph (70mph). Town residential areas can be as slow as 30kph (20mph), with specifically posted limits near schools. It is illegal to pass a yellow school bus when it is stationary with its lights flashing. It is possible to turn right on a red light, after stopping to check that it is clear, unless otherwise indicated. Seat belts are obligatory for front seat passengers. Prosecution for drunk-driving is severe. The maximum legal alcohol-to-blood ratio is 0.08%.
The minimum driving age is 16 years. A British driving license is valid but a temporary International Driving Permit is also a good idea, as it carries a photograph. Third party insurance is mandatory, although it is highly recommended for driving visitors to ensure that they have adequate travel medical insurance, as the cost of medical treatment in the USA is huge. Petrol ('gas') is two to three times cheaper in the USA than it is in Europe. Virtually all petrol stations are open 24 hours a day on main roads and operate a prepay system, using a credit card at the pumps - otherwise, it is necessary to make yourself known to the cashier.
The American Automobile Association (AAA) (tel: 1 800 222 1333; www.aaa.com) provides information and may offer reciprocal benefits to members of automobile clubs in other countries. It is necessary to report a serious accident to the authorities. To do so, call the Dallas Police (tel: (214) 744 4444). For any other traffic information, call the Dallas Police Traffic Unit (tel: (214) 670 6955).
Emergency breakdown services
AAA (tel: 1 800 222 4357/AAA HELP).
Routes to the city
Dallas is encircled by a motorway link road - to the north and east it is the I-635 (the LBJ Freeway); to the south of the city, the east-west interstate is I-20; and to the west it is L-12 (north part) and S-20 (south part). Various interstates meet this beltway and pass on towards the city center. The ones that go right across the city are the north-south I-35, which goes to Austin and San Antonio in the south, and the east-west I-30, which goes to Fort Worth in the west. The other major highways are US75 (the Central Expressway) from the north, the US67 from the southwest, the US80 from the east, the US175 and the I-45 from the southeast, which links to Houston.
Coach services
Greyhound Buses (tel: 1 800 231 2222; www.greyhound.com) operate out of the bus station at 205 South Lamar Street (tel: (214) 849 6831). The facilities are limited to a cafe, ATMs, vending machines and toilets with disabled access. Greyhound operates coaches throughout America.
Getting There By Rail
A good standard of service, with modern networks and rolling stock, is provided by Amtrak (tel: (214) 653 1101 or 1 800 872 7245; www.amtrak.com), which uses Union Station, 400 South Houston Street (tel: (214) 653 1101), on the western side of Downtown. Facilities are limited to a cafe, ATMs, vending machines and car hire.
Rail Services
The two major routes out of Dallas are northeast to Chicago and southwest to San Antonio with connections available to other destinations.
Getting Around in Dallas, Texas
Public Transport
It is impossible to enjoy Dallas without some form of transport, partly because the city is too spread out but also because the heat is oppressive for much of the year.
Public transport buses and trains are operated by the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) authority (tel: (214) 979 1111; www.dart.org). The urban light railway and the commuter line, which are separate lines in the south and north, combine to form a single route in the downtown area. The system operates 0400-2400.
Bus tickets must be purchased with exact change in cash. Alternatively, prepaid tickets and day passes can be purchased from vending machines at the station. Day passes may be purchased in advance online at www.dart.org.
DART has joined forces with the volunteer-run McKinney Avenue Transit Authority to operate the historic M-Line Streetcar, providing free, daily transit service in downtown and to connect downtown with the uptown neighborhood. Schedules and detailed route information are available (tel: (214) 979 1111 or (214) 855 0006; www.mata.org).
Taxis
Taxis operate 24 hours. Three of the main cab companies are Checker Cab and Yellow Cab, both at the same depot (tel: (214) 426 6262), and Terminal Cab (tel: (214) 350 4445). A tip of 10% is expected.
Driving in the City
Driving in downtown Dallas at the weekends is feasible for the visitor, since the streets are relatively quiet. Morning and evening rush hour in the week is just the opposite and very frustrating - this is to be avoided by anyone who isn't familiar with the city.
Downtown Dallas is essentially on a north-south grid layout, although north of Pacific Avenue, the grid is skewed slightly and angled more on a northwest-southeast axis. The same happens south of Young Street. Circling the whole Downtown is a freeway, known as the Central Expressway at the northeast corner and east side, the Thornton Freeway at the southern edge, becoming Stemmons Freeway up the west side and then Woodall Rogers across the northern edge.
There are three toll roads in Dallas. One is the North Tollway, which goes from Downtown up into Collin County. There are tolls at various points along it. Exact change is necessary and can be thrown into a wide coin-catching basket. Locals will have automatic toll smart-cards attached to their windscreens, so they appear to be going through without paying. The other toll road is the Mountain Creek Bridge in southwestern Dallas County. The third is the George Bush Turnpike, an east-west route across the northern suburbs, with Garland at the east end and Irving at the west.
There are meters and parking lots all over Downtown, which can be expensive, except at weekends. Visitors should read meters carefully as timings will be enforced.
Car Hire
A foreign driver's license, provided that it is in English, is valid in Dallas, although an International Driving Permit is also a good idea, as this carries a photograph, unlike old versions of the British driver's license. Insurance will be part of the hire arrangement, although drivers should check what this entails. The minimum age for hiring a car is usually 21-23 years.
Car hire is available from Alamo (tel: 1 800 327 9633; www.alamo.com), Avis (tel: 1 800 230 4898; www.avis.com), Budget (tel: 1 800 527 0700; www.budget.com), Dollar (tel: 1 800 800 3665; www.dollar.com), Enterprise (tel: 1 800 261 7331; www.enterprise.com), Hertz (tel: 1 800 654 3131; www.hertz.com) and Thrifty (tel: 1 800 847 4389; www.thrifty.com). For something with a real local flavor, visiting drivers should try Exotic Car Rental of Texas (tel: (800) 979 2585 www.rentexoticcars.com/dallas.html).
Bicycle Hire
Although Dallas is not the ideal city in which to cycle, bikes are available for hire from Richardson Bike Mart's White Rock Lake location, 9040 Garland Road (tel: (214) 321 0705; www.bikemart.com). Riding around the lake is wonderful in good weather.
