My student and I are planning a trip to see UNC and Duke. I really am not a fan of driving a rental car in a new city. I see there is a GoTriangle shuttle between the campuses that is $3 and runs hourly on weekends or half-hourly weekdays. Has anyone on this board taken it, and is it reliable? We would take a taxi or uber from the airport. If you think this is a really bad idea, please let me know.
Any other suggestions about the trip welcomed. Thanks so much.
I haven’t taken it but live in the area. Durham/Chapel Hill is a very drivable area - more like a large town then a city. Depending where you stay I’m not sure how convenient it would be to get the shuttle. Also depending on what you wanted to see at both Duke and UNC you could be walking quite a bit since they are sprawling campuses. So it’s doable but might not be the most efficient.
Duke alum here who took a lot of classes at Carolina. Yes, the Robertson bus is very reliable. It stops in front of the Duke Chapel at Duke and the planetarium at UNC, both of which are central places and within easy walking distance of the academic buildings.
It used to be free, but it seems they started charging. Very few people rode the bus (except Friday nights), so I’m not surprised.
It is a very easy area to drive.
The campuses and area hotels are pretty spread out.
If you don’t want to rent a car it might be easier and more convenient to Uber.
Agree with advice above – if you really don’t want to drive you should Uber to Duke or UNC and then take the Robertson bus to go between the campuses. It doesn’t make any stops in between the two campuses which is great. I’d say it’s a 25 minute trip.
To get a feel for both places, walk down Franklin St. in Chapel Hill along 9th Street near Duke’s East campus.
Enjoy!!
PS - you will undoubtably realize UNC is the better choice. Go Heels! 
Thanks to everyone for their thoughts. We will do Uber and the shuttle, but if we are lucky enough to have a student admitted, I am sure I will rent a car in the future and hopefully see more of the area. And truthfully both sound like wonderful schools.