<p>Hi all. Will be visiting your lovely campus with son in a week or two. We are staying at the Washington Inn or whatever it's called, the one on campus. We fly into Raleigh-Durham at night, have the morning and early afternoon to visit campus, and then have to get back to the airport.</p>
<p>Do I need to rent a car to really see the campus/deal with airport logistics? Or can we take a cab to the campus for a reasonable sum and then use buses and foot power to get around?</p>
<p>From the Washington Duke Inn, you could definitely just walk it/take buses on campus. You're about a 5-10 minute walk or so to Cameron Indoor Stadium and from there it's less than 5 minutes to the Chapel/West Campus bus stop (which is kind of the center of campus). From there, you could get to anywhere you need on West, East, or Central Campus. Cabs from the airport are about $30-$40 to Duke from my experience (I agree, it's a little on the high side - that's why I always wait around a little to see if other people are heading to campus as well). Anyone else get a better deal? I think there are a few taxi services that advertise less, but they're not the one's conveniently stationed at the airport.</p>
<p>Alum, find out what services the hotel offers. They may have a shuttle service to/from the airport that would be cheaper than a cab. Find out, too, if they have a service that will take you to/from campus.</p>
<p>If the prices aren't that bad, I'd get a car. I like having the options available to be on my own time schedule. Plus, if you can do a driving tour combined with a good walking tour, you'll be able to see everything first, then focus on what you want to spend time seeing. Good luck. p.s. it's been HOT here in NC, but check the weather forecast before coming. ps The azaleas are getting to be awesome!</p>
<p>I just checked. It appears to be cheaper to rent than to take the cab boths ways, by a lot. Especially since now I am a card-carrying member of the AARP:).</p>
<p>Also, we wanted to get out to the marine biology lab if possible - but that might be pushing it with only 3/4 of a day in Raleigh. </p>
<p>I figure it might be hot, but hey, when I visited Yale with D three years ago it poured rain, then hailed, then snowed, then the sun came out. All within 4 hours...she didn't apply:)</p>
<p>Getting to the marine lab and back would definitely be pushing it. There is a lot of information about it around campus, though. The EOS department (3rd floor of the Old Chemistry building next to the new Bostock library), the biology department (near the student center on Science Drive), and possibly the admissions office will have fliers and course listings. </p>
<p>Alumother..feel free to PM me with any questions about Duke. Son is a very happy member of the class of 09. However, he made up his mind for Duke about midnight the last day of April and we attended two Duke days! Loved his classmates since the day he moved in and the teachers were more than he hoped for.<br>
rent a car. this is nascar country. Shuttles between campuses actually do quite nicely though and the Wash Duke will probably drop you at West anytime you like if you don't want to walk over. happy april touring with your senior! Son still has no car and this is fine at Duke as kids come from so far away. Duke has so much to offer and so much variety that car-less-ness is really AOK for students.</p>
<p>If you're going during the week parking will be a premium (especially these next few weeks with a lot of prospective students and families visiting). Parking in general isn't the greatest here so be prepared for that if you're going to drive around campus. If you're the adventurous type, lifting gates to get into parking lots (especially if they have a ton of empty spaces) is not that uncommon. Even if you get a ticket I'd imagine it wouldn't be enforceable since you would have a rented car. You didn't hear it from me though, and I guess there's a chance that this could backfire. It's not a bad last choice though.</p>
<p>I don't know if you and your son don't mind walking, but I recommend doing that as much as you can. If your son chooses to come here, he's going to be walking around campus a lot so he might as well get a feel for it. Also take the bus (East-West aka C-1) to East Campus. Since this is where freshmen live, it would be a good thing to check out that side of Duke that is often overlooked on Duke campus visits.</p>
<p>agreed about not missing spending time on East. At first, our family felt a bit put off by the split campus but freshman year on East proved to be extremely positive. Lots of school spirit and opportunity to get to know your own classmates before being merged with the larger school. East has its charms. Son still very close to his own dorm mates, and I sense this is true for many Duke students. I like the fact that these are not concrete block high rises but more old fashioned buildings that are homier..except for the lack of AC of course. Radiators however are great.</p>
<p>Freshmen on East was great. Like you said, Faline2, it is natural at first for a lot of us to be skeptical, but I really could not imagine a freshman year without it. Whenever I talk to friends from back home, I find it so strange that they are mixed in with upperclassmen right away. An entire freshmen campus really does foster a great relationship right off the bat, and there is a lot of freshman dorm pride right away that'll last throughout your time at Duke.</p>
<p>And yes it's great that besides the novelty 5th floor dorm rooms in the tower in Kilgo, there's no dorm on campus larger than four stories (and the vast majority are three stories). No bland high rises.</p>
<p>Alumother~renting a car is probably best for getting to see everything. There is a bus service from the RDU that I have taken that runs throughout the Triangle, but I took it in the morning--not sure how often it runs in the evening. Car rental will be faster for getting to campus and back again!</p>
<p>S2 is '09 (like Faline2's S), so would be happy to answer any questions! He loves it! He enjoyed East, though is happy to not be shuttling on the bus every morning this year--and was lucky to be in Randolph with a/c!</p>