How about Raleigh? That seems closer than Charlotte.
Rdu is not closer, but the travel difference between charlotte and raleigh airports is negligible because of construction(which i had forgetten about)
Raleigh would be the choice airport if you are thinking of visiting richmond as well on the same trip though, as @almostthere2018 pointed out.
CLT is closer (86 vs 103 miles) and an easier drive than RDU, especially since construction is nearing completion on I-77. There are also alternate routes in the event of a wreck or other traffic disruption. Car rentals are much cheaper at CLT than GSO, don’t know about RDU. Agree that RDU would be better for a Richmond visit.
If I could fly directly into GSO I would do that. Is it that much cheaper to fly into RDU or CLT?
Drive is not bad if you miss rush hours but you would have to rent a car, etc, or wait around on a shuttle. Perhaps not the nicest way to get introduced to a potential college? If you have time and are determined to get the FF points, think about flying into CLT and visiting the whitewater center which is very close to the airport. Great facilities…
@marrast Construction on I77 out of CLT is partially complete but traffic is still quite bad and will be until they complete the toll lanes which I think is several more months.
@yearstogo I think Greensboro is the way to go if she ends up at school there. I guess I just need to get over my Southwest fetish.
The extra bag is nice but my D only brings a checked bag home at Christmas when home for 3-4 weeks. For all others including 2 week spring break she only brings carry-on. She has enough clothes floating around here for lounging and working out. So southwest might not matter. Frankly every time we look at it (from NY/CT area to CLT) it is never the cheapest option. And she has flown CLT to Chicago to see BF.
@scmom12 The SW preference has to do mostly with our account full of points to use and also because we can buy flights super early and change them without change fees. But, oh well, what’s the cost of a few flights home each year after we are already paying full price for college? Lol. (hey where did the emoji option go? Just noticed I can’t see if anymore.)
@GnocchiB Hopefully I understand the comment properly… here’s my take. Wake’s main campus (they do have a downtown area called Downtown Wake for engineering and a collaboration with undergrad sciences and the med school - great space! - with a shuttle that runs all day) is isolated in that it is a few miles from downtown WS. Lots of restaurants in downtown WS. Students can get there via shuttle, zipcar, uber, or friend with car. However, they can’t walk anywhere worth walking (somewhat like URichmond in that it’s a beautiful campus surrounded by residential areas. No UNC Chapel Hill Franklin Street or UVA’s The Corner.
That said, there is plenty to do on campus as there is always stuff going on. And when they want or need some time away, someone within S’ friend group has a car. Most didn’t freshmen yr. Several of them do now which makes it easier for airports, quick run to CVS or Walmart for supplies, change of eating scenery on the weekends, etc. My understanding is when they are of age, kids uber to downtown to the many pubs available.
I’d agree with @rickle1 - there is plenty to do on campus and would not remotely be a reason to take Wake off the consideration list.
@homerdog I’m going to chime back in here. Many kids that have cars live within diving distance of the school DC, SC etc. and so they don’t fly they just drive. My son has a car because he has an off campus commitment on a regular basis and it was just easier than him ubering all of the time. I would say it isn’t the norm. Two of his roommates last year were from Greensboro and they didn’t have cars. As far as airports GSO is most convenient and I would consider getting an AA or United card if she ends up going there. I have driven from both RDU and CLT and honestly I think the drive from RDU is easier. It may be a little longer but less traffic. But I will still fly into whichever has the best timing for flights. As far as nothing to do my DS never complains about there being nothing to do. Wake has a lot of things going on on campus. Uber isn’t very expensive compared to major cities like we live in 
I would say it is worth a look my DS absolutely loves it there and couldn’t be happier!!
We found that flying into CLT was a pain in terms of of the 1.5-2 hour trip from CLT to Wake, and also that flying through CLT to GSO was always cheaper than flying into CLT. It makes no sense, but was a consistent pattern for us for all four years. In terms of having a car, we found that our student’s quality of life took a quantum leap upward once she had a car and could get off campus to do non-Wake-related things.
Planning a trip and there is good advice above but I still have a question. Our best nonstop choices are to fly to Charlotte or Raleigh Durham. Visiting friends elsewhere and flying home from a different airport. Where is better to fly into with an easier drive given distance, construction, etc, CLT or RDU? Thanks!
Depends on what time of day. If you can avoid driving from CLT to W-S during weekday evening rush hour (3:30 to 7:00 to be safe) then driving to Charlotte is better / closer.
Agree with the above, and I would really try hard to avoid rush hour at either airport. Part of the toll lane just opened on I77 so that has helped with traffic a bit. Also, I think the drive is a bit prettier if you fly into CLT and drive to WFU via 77/40.
As an aside, I am not a fan of AA/CLT. RDU & GSO are our home airports, but we booked our European trip through AA/CLT because of the non-stop flight. We arrived at CLT at 4pm and found almost all of the long term gates locked & unmanned with no directions. There were plenty of empty spaces available too. Found our way to a gravel lot where the someone told us we were lucky because there were only 50 spaces left. At 4pm? Really? Then AA cancelled our flight resulting in a missed day due to “mechanical issues.” I do wonder if there just weren’t enough people to make it profitable because they had no trouble fitting us all on the plane the next evening. My mom sat at the airport for 12 hours the next day and said that AA cancelled SEVEN flights that day. All other airlines? ZERO. Then, AA sent our bags to Madrid. We were in Barcelona and it took them 4 days to get there. And my mom spent countless hours on the phone/internet. My nephew has flown through CLT on AA 4 times and he is 4/4 for cancelled flights. I will never fly AA again through CLT unless it is the ONLY option and even then I just might do something else.
I am flying out of CLT tomorrow and hope I do not have similar issues.
I recently flew RT to San Diego on AA, and other than a long queue at security as I do not have the TSA pre check, I had no issues at all. DS flew from CLT in early June and also had no issues. Regarding a gravel lot, I have not seen one at CLT, although they have been under construction for a while so perhaps that is what happened.
I have been in and out of many airports domestically and internationally and I think CLT is fine. Traffic in and around Charlotte is not fine however.
I generally agree RDU is a better airport. CLT has a renovation going on which is a bit of a hassle. Maybe pop by UNC or Duke and then you have a reason to fly there? I checked and w/o traffic it’s only 15 min longer than from CLT. That surprised me – I thought it was 30 to 40 min longer.
You’ll also want to avoid evening rush hour from RDU – though I think up until 4:00 you’d be fine.
Honestly, I’d do whichever is cheapest.
Thanks everyone! This may not be s one time trip. I’m trying to determine how much of a pain it is to fly to Wake if one goes to school there and has to be flying in and out for four years. Seems like a pain no matter which airport is chosen! Need to consider that if we put Wake on the list.
@homerdog – United and American have nonstops from Chicago to GSO that don’t seem crazy expensive. As you know, D18 seriously considered Carleton and the nonstops RDU to MSP were expensive (it was $600 + for accepted student day flight!!). It was cheaper for her to fly to ONT to visit the 5Cs in CA!
Anyway, I agree important to take travel costs into account but my two cents is that coming from Chicago WF is not such a hassle or so expensive to take it off the list, but I guess it’s what you’re comparing it to.