Getting Around, Charleston Travel, Transport and Car Rental
(Charleston, West Virginia - WV, USA)
Located on the southwestern side of central West Virginia, Charleston offers a comprehensive transport infrastructure. The city is well connected to the rest of the state by a series of highways and interstates, which allow you to travel between the main outlying towns and cities with ease.
These include the I-64 between Huntington (west) and Lewisburg (southeast), the I-77 (West Virginia Turnpike) between Parkersburg (northwest) and Bluefield (south), and the I-79 (Jennings Randolph Highway), which actually starts in Charleston and heads in a northeasterly direction, all the way to Morgantown.
If you prefer public transport to the idea of hiring a car, then there are plenty of buses based within Charleston, courtesy of the Kanawha Valley Regional Transportation Authority. For longer journeys, you may find the Amtrak trains useful and these regularly pass through the city, traveling between New York (Penn Station) and
Chicago (Union Station).
Yeager Airport (CRW) / Arriving by Air
Address: 100 Airport Road, Charleston, West Virginia (WV), 25311, USA
Tel: +1 304 344 8033
Yeager Airport began its life in the 1940s and is located just 4 miles / 6.5 km to the northeast of downtown Charleston, being connected by both Greenbrier Street and Quarrier Street East. Today, the airport occupies this site with the West Virginia Air National Guard Base and offers travelers a selection of airlines and onward destinations, such as
Atlanta, Chicago,
Dallas,
Houston,
New York and
Washington D.C. The principal airlines are American Eagle, Delta, Spirit and United Express.
When it comes to ground transportation at Yeagar Airport, you can choose between taxis, limos, car rental and hotel shuttles, the latter of which travel to the doors of the Charleston House Holiday Inn, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express Civic Center, Marriott, Ramada Plaza Hotel and the Residence Inn by Marriott.
Car Rental
If you are intending to travel around by rental car, then the easiest place to hire a car is at Yeager Airport, particularly if you are flying into Charleston. Hire car companies currently operating at the airport include Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz and National.
Buses
Local bus transport in Charleston offers an easy way to travel in and around the city and is operated by the Kanawha Valley Regional Transportation Authority (KRT). Bus fares are based on four different zones, which radiate outwards from the city and connect nearby destinations such as:
- Alum Creek
- Cabin Creek
- Campbell's Creek
- Cedar Grove
- Chesapeake
- Cheylan
- Clendenin
- Crede
- Crossroads Plaza
- Dunbar
- Dupont Plant
- East Bank
- Elkview
- Handley
- Hernshaw
- Montgomery
- Nitro
- Quincy Mall
- Sissonville
- Southridge
- Spring Hill
- St. Albans
- West Virginia State University (WVSU)
Trains
Amtrak provides national rail transport throughout West Virginia and features trains which run to Charleston three times each week, as part of the Cardinal routes. Travelers looking for the city's train station will find it located on MacCorkle Avenue, close to the South Side Bridge and right next to the Kanawha River. Trains connect much of West Virginia and beyond and are best suited for longer journeys. The main destinations in West Virginia reachable by train include Alderson, Harpers Ferry, Hinton, Huntington, Martinsburg, Montgomery, Prince, Thurmond and White Sulphur Springs.
Taxis
Several different taxi companies operate within the city of Charleston and service the entire Kanawha Valley, offering both a cheap and often extremely convenient way to travel between attractions. By taxi, the southerly Kanawha State Forest can be reached in less than 20 minutes, as can St. Albans, to the west. For longer journeys, consider sharing the total fare between passengers to make the trip more affordable. C&H Taxis on Lewis Street are amongst the most notable (tel: +1 304 344 4902), boasting a fleet of some 30 vehicles and operating 24-hours a day.
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