Popular Airport | Nanjing South Railway Station |
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Popular Airlines | |
Approximate Flight Duration | 10 hour 40 min |
Approximate Travel Distance | 8542 Km |
The airport, which is approximately 6 kilometers of the city center, is located on Bole Road. In the city where public transportation is not very developed, you can use minibuses to reach the airport. Taxi is another transportation alternative that is frequently preferred by visitors. In addition to these, you can get to the airport from the city center by renting a car or by benefitting from the airport shuttle service in case your hotel offers this service.
You can reach the airport by getting on a minibus from the minibus stops located in the city center. Minibuses generally carry passengers to the airport from 5:30 am to 09:00 pm. Although it is relatively cheaper compared to taxi, you should remember that drivers may demand higher amounts from tourists. The fare is about 5 Birr. They may also charge extra amount for each baggage.
Hotel shuttle service is the most comfortable alternative for your travel to the airport. In Addis Ababa city center, there are both small hotels and accommodation centers of chain hotels such as Hilton, Radisson and Sheraton. Some of these hotels offer airport shuttle service. If your hotel offers this service and you want to benefit from this service for your travel to the airport, you should definitely make a reservation in advance.
There are two types of taxis that you can get on to reach the airport. Mercedes taxis of the National Tour Operator (NTO) operate under a company and offer service with more comfortable vehicles. With their predetermined tariffs, they create a more reliable image in terms of the fares. You can ask your hotel to call a NTO taxi for you.
There is no taximeter in the taxis operating in Addis Ababa, so it is advised to agree on the fare before getting on. These yellow taxis are approximately 10 times more expensive than blue-white taxis. You can also reach the airport in a short time with a blue-white taxi which you can find in the city center or waiting in front of hotels. The average fare is between 80 and 100 Birr. The owners of these taxis aren’t companies but individuals. Since there is also no taximeter in blue-white taxis and fares are not standardized by a company, they are more flexible in terms of fares and you should definitely bargain.
You can rent a car from one of the car rental companies that you can find in the city center or from the offices of tour operators. You can also get help from your hotel about renting a car.
Since some roads in Addis Ababa have no name, there isn’t sufficient number of traffic signs throughout the city and there is no traffic light on many roundabouts, traffic flow isn’t in order. For this reason, renting a car during your visit may not be a good option. If you want to rent a car only for travelling to the airport from the city center, you should prefer a company which has an office at the airport.
In order to get to the airport with the car you have rented, connect to Bole Road in the city center, drive southeastward and follow the airport signs.
There are 2 terminals at the airport. Terminal 1, which offers service for domestic flights, is located in the old building. Terminal 2 offers service for international passenger transportation in the new building.
At Bole International Airport, there are many restaurants and cafes in addition to stores and a duty-free shop where you can do some shopping before your flight.
At the airport, there is also a lounge for passengers looking for a comfortable environment and a much larger lounge is now being constructed. Although there is no left luggage service at the airport, you can find other standard airport services such as pharmacy, currency exchange office and ATM.
There are several ways to get to Nanjing city center from Nanjing Lukou Airport. The most popular options are metro, shuttle and regular city buses, taxi and Uber, transfer and car rental services. It takes a maximum of 1 hour from the airport, which is 35 kilometers away from the city, to Nanjing.
It is quite common to use metro in Nanjing. Because of this, there is a subway line called S1 (Airport Line) which provides continuous transportation between Nanjing Lukou Airport and Nanjing city center. In fact, we can say that the cheapest way to get to the city from the airport is to use the metro. You can get your metro ticket for only 6 Chinese Yuan and get off at one of the city center metro stops. You can reach the city center by metro within 30 minutes. When you use this route which is also called Line 1, you reach Shinjiekou, which is considered as a central district of the city.
The most affordable and reliable way to reach the city center from Nanjing Lukou Airport is to use the shuttle buses that are operated by the airport. There are two shuttle bus routes, Line 1 and Line 2. With Line 1 you can easily go both to bus and railway station from Nanjing airport and with the Line 2 you can easily go to the central bus station and the hotels located in the center. As of 2016, shuttle service costs 20 Chinese Yuan. At the end of the 40-minute bus journey you arrive at Nanjing city center.
When you exit the airport arrival terminal you would see the taxi stands. If you are in a rush, or if you have arrived late at night and do not want to wait for public transport, taking a taxi might be a good idea for you. The taxi fare from Nanjing Lukou Airport to the city center can vary around 90-120 Chinese Yuan, depending on where you want to go. It is very practical to reach Drum Bell Square for 105 yuan and to Nanjing railway station for 120 yuan by taxi.
In addition, it is possible to reach Nanjing in a comfortable, fast and very economical way by using Uber system. There is only one thing you need to do to benefit from this system: you should either download Uber application to your smart phone or by following it on the internet.
There are a lot of foreign car rental companies at the airport because it is an international one. You can choose one of these companies and head to Nanjing city center. You can also save time by using express highway which shortens this distance significantly.