OT: getting from denver to vail

Ty, your real question is how long is Vail from the Denver airport. By the time you get from the airport to Denver, you're damn near half way there.

A couple of summers ago, I drove from Aspen to the airport on a Sunday, and I think it took about 3 hours. Aspen, of course, is a lot further away. Back when Denver used Stapleton (man, I miss that airport. Thought I'd never say that.), there were shuttles that ran from the airport to all the resorts. Now that the airport is in Kansas, I don't know if this is still the case. You might check with the property where you'll be staying.

If it were me, I'd rent an SUV or try to find someone who will rent a Boxster. I like Colorado in the Summer even more than the Winter.

Good Luck, Dale

 

Well, it dpends on when you come. Don't make the trip on a Friday after 2 pm. It'll take 4 hours. It's normally 2 hours from DIA to Vail and it's a straight shot - VERY easy. Resort Mountain Express offers shuttles. I don't know the prices but I would guess $40 per person. Don't take a cab. I don't know where you're staying but they might have the name of the shuttle that they use and some kind of discount. Too bad you won't have your F-car. It's a great drive.

 

I'll second both of those... I70 from Denver to Vail is one of the few truly fun interstate drives. And then with a few detours off I70, the trip can be an event!

DIA to Vail can be done in 2 hours if you drive the curvy roads pretty fast. I'd plan on 2.5 hours. Or 3 if using a shuttle or cab. Or 4 or more if you hit the mass Friday exodus from Denver to the mountains. BTW, a cab can be cheaper than a shuttle if you have a whole family to bring. But if just you, the shuttle will be way cheaper. But car rental might be the best deal.

For me, the funnest thing to do in Colorado is just get out and drive... drive the curvy roads... drive the dirt roads... drive the "you call that a road"s. So, having a rental car is like having skis during the winter... gotta have it.

 

Rent the car! I can still remember every curve and turn of the first time I made that drive. I was 17 and drove a very ratty TR-3 Triumph from Minneapolis to Vegas. So beautiful, I got a room for the night in Vail, drove back to Denver the next morning and did it again. Brakes and sincro's would have made the drive more relaxing, but the lack of both in that old car surely made it a memorable drive.
Enjoy,
Dave

 

Depends on the day of the week and the season. During the ski area rush hours, it can be a linear parking lot, especially if the weather is bad. Otherwise, it has the same characteristics as any other freeway, with the traffic travelling in pulses - clots of congestion interspersed with relatively open highway. The only time I've driven it in my Lusso during the RMR caravan to Beaver Creek a few years, I swore I'll NEVER subject my F car to it again. It involved either trying to thread through the moving roadblocks of semis, motorhomes, and SUV's attempting to pass each other on the upgrades, or trying to stay between the travelling clots and being periodically engulfed with the amebic chaos of another swirling mass of idiots trying to shave 30 seconds from a 2-3 hour trip............rent a disposable car.

 

It's not too bad. I am not really a hotel aficionado (blame it on years of being a penny pinching bicycle racer) but I think that it's okay.

Summer is the best time to be here. If you're going to be in Denver for a day or two on business, let us know. I am sure that there would be a few of us at least willing to get together for lunch. I work downtown so it would be easy for me to get together for sure.

 

Another fun beautiful drive is silverthorn/dillion to Steamboat Springs.