The Major Airlines

Nashville is served by the following major airlines: American Airlines (tel. 800/433-7300); Continental (tel. 800/525-0280); Delta (tel. 800/221-1212); Northwest-KLM (tel. 800/225-2525); Southwest (tel. 800/435-9792); United Airlines (tel. 800/241-6522); and US Airways (tel. 800/428-4322).

Southwest is the city's largest carrier, with some 87 daily flights out of the city. Most Southwest flights will depart and arrive from the airport's Concourse C. Southwest Airlines also offers air/hotel packages. For details, visit Southwest Airlines Vacations online at www.swavacations.com, or call tel. 800/423-5683.

Airport Shuttles -- Airport shuttle schedules vary according to the number of passengers at any given time. If you are the first one on or the last one off, your travel time may be doubled. If there are two or three people in your party, it's usually cheaper and faster to take a cab.

Getting Into Town From The Airport

Nashville International Airport (tel. 615/275-1675) is located about 8 miles (13km) east of downtown Nashville and is just south of I-40. It takes about 15 minutes to reach downtown Nashville from the airport. See "Getting Around Nashville," in chapter 3 for information on car-rental facilities at the Nashville airport. Many hotels near the airport offer a complimentary shuttle service, while others slightly farther away have their own fee shuttles; check with your hotel when you make your reservation.

The Gray Line Airport Express (tel. 615/275-1180) operates shuttles between the airport and downtown and West End hotels. These shuttles operate from the airport every 15 to 20 minutes daily between 6am and 11pm; in addition to the hotels listed below, a few other hotels are on call. The downtown shuttle stops at the following hotels: Hilton, Union Station, Courtyard by Marriott (Fourth and Church), Holiday Inn Express, Renaissance Nashville Hotel, Nashville Sheraton, Westin Hermitage, and Doubletree Hotel Nashville. The West End shuttle stops at the following hotels: Loews Vanderbilt Plaza Hotel, Embassy Suites-West End, Holiday Inn Select, Courtyard by Marriott, Marriott-Vanderbilt, Guest House Inn, Hampton Inn-Vanderbilt, Hampton Inn and Suites-Elliston Place, and Days Inn-Vanderbilt. Rates are $11 one-way and $17 round-trip.

Metropolitan Transit Authority buses connect the airport and downtown Nashville. The no. 18 Elm Hill Pike bus runs between 8:13am and 5:33pm Monday to Friday (shorter hours and fewer departures on Saturday and Sunday). The adult, base fare is $1.45 each way, with exact change required, and the ride takes approximately 40 minutes. Buses from the airport leave at the ground-level curbside. Buses for the airport leave from Shelter C at Deaderick St. and 4th Ave. For the most current schedule information, call tel. 615/862-5950 Monday to Friday between 6:30am and 6pm and Saturday 8am to 1pm.

Metered taxi fare from the airport into downtown Nashville will cost you a $20 flat rate, or a few dollars more from the airport to West End hotels. Taxis are available on the ground level of the airport terminal. For information, call the Transportation Licensing Commission (TLC) at tel. 615/862-6777.

How To Find A Package Deal

One good source of package deals is the airlines themselves. Most major airlines offer air/land packages, including Southwest Airlines Vacations (tel. 800/423-5683; www.swavacations.com), American Airlines Vacations (tel. 800/321-2121; www.aavacations.com), Delta Vacations (tel. 800/221-6666; www.deltavacations.com), Continental Airlines Vacations (tel. 800/301-3800; www.coolvacations.com), and United Vacations (tel. 888/854-3899; www.unitedvacations.com). Several big online travel agencies -- Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Site59, and Lastminute.com -- also do a brisk business in packages. If you're unsure about the pedigree of a smaller packager, check with the Better Business Bureau in the city where the company is based, or go online at www.bbb.org. If a packager won't tell you where it's based, don't fly with them.

Travel packages are also listed in the travel section of your local Sunday newspaper. Or check ads in the national travel magazines such as Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel Magazine, Travel & Leisure, National Geographic Traveler, and Condé Nast Traveler.

The Delta Queen Steamboat Company, Robin Street Wharf, 1380 Port of New Orleans Place, New Orleans, LA 70130-1890 (tel. 800/543-1949), offers paddle-wheel steamboat tours that include Nashville (as well as other Tennessee cities like Memphis and Chattanooga) in its itineraries. For more information, go to www.deltaqueen.com.

Quite a few tour companies in Nashville arrange 2- and 3-night tours of the city. These tours usually include lodging and tickets to various attractions and performances, with tickets to the Grand Ole Opry tops among these. Transportation around the city is sometimes an additional charge. If you don't like planning, these tours can be a good value. You usually have a range of hotel choices in different price categories. Some of these tour companies include Gray Line Tours, 2416 Music Valley Dr., Nashville, TN 37214 (tel. 800/251-1864 or 615/227-2270; www.graylinenashville.com); and Johnny Walker Tours, 2416 Music Valley Dr., Nashville, TN 37214 (tel. 800/722-1524 or 615/834-8585).