RDU · Layover Guide
Raleigh/Durham
Stop in Raleigh/Durham.
Best layover: 3–24h
LayoverScore™
Base city score. Your route score varies by savings and timing.
Exit realism
Comfortable window
Enough room in Raleigh/Durham for a real stop. Keep the buffer at the end anyway.
Landside playbook
If time slips
- Drop the last stop. Go straight to the train, taxi rank, or ride pickup you already chose.
- Add 15 minutes to map ETAs for the return leg at rush hour.
- One ticket for the whole trip protects you when the inbound is late. Separate tickets do not.
Worth knowing
- Do not stack three stops. One solid block in the city beats a rushed loop.
- Do not treat one map time as gospel for immigration lines. Pad on your first pass through this hub.
Planning a stop in Raleigh/Durham?
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Places to stay
Search hotelsLayoverScore™ breakdown
Score 62 · Discover 49 · Ease 20
Why Raleigh/Durham scores 62
Getting there
GoTriangle Bus 100 $2.5 · Uber/Lyft to Raleigh $22
min to center
bus- 01GoTriangle Bus 100 to downtown Raleigh (25 min, $2.50)
- 02Uber/Lyft to Durham (20 min, $25-35)
- 03Uber/Lyft to Raleigh (15 min, $18-28)
- 01North Carolina Museum of Art with outdoor sculpture park
- 02Historic downtown Durham's American Tobacco Campus
- 03Pit-smoked BBQ at The Pit or Picnic Durham
- 04Duke University Chapel and Sarah P. Duke Gardens
- 05Raleigh's warehouse district breweries on West Morgan Street
Experiences in Raleigh/Durham
Timed tours and tickets for Raleigh/Durham are listed on our partner site.
Open listingsOpens in a new tab.
Need a room for your layover? Browse hotels near the airport.
Where to stay →Drop your luggage. Don't drag it around the city.
Marriott Raleigh City Center
Downtown Raleigh
$65/day
0 min walk
The Durham Hotel
Downtown Durham
$85/day
0 min walk
From the terminal to the good part.
GoTriangle Bus 100
to-city
Runs every 20-30 min to downtown Raleigh
25 min
$2.50
Uber/Lyft to Raleigh
to-city
15 min
$22.00
Uber/Lyft to Durham
to-city
20 min
$30.00
Taxi
to-city
Flat rate to downtown Raleigh
18 min
$35.00
No city pass available for this city.
Getting there
Get an Uber from the airportAt the airport
- 01Local craft beer at 42nd Street Oyster Bar
- 02Carolina BBQ Company in Terminal 2
- 03Rocking chairs throughout terminals with runway views
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