osakaorchid

never been to denver (unless you count 3 seperate connections i made during the early 90's at stapleton)

i am thinking of visiting and had a few questions and concerns.

i hate cold weather, so i would more than likely be visiting sometime next summer, or when it begins to warm up.

i am also curious to how good the local public transportation system there is, as im not the type to get a rental car.

is there a light rail that exists in denver at all? if so does it connect to DIA?

what is there to see and do in denver? how long of a stay is recommended? what restaurants are good to eat at? what part of town is best to stay in that would put me in the center of all the attractions in denver?

bigtyke

light rail exists. It does not connect with the airport.

Stay downtown.

5alive

We did a trip to Colorado last summer. Even had the convention not been going on, we still would have done little in Denver than in the outlying areas.

My parents did the Coors tour and the Molly Brown House. But really, this is one town where I would rethink not getting a rental car, at least for part of your stay. A day out in the mountains, or even just to Red Rocks Ampitheatre likely requires a car.

maria_so

went to denver twice last year around april and then again later in the year. It was warm one day and that night, it started snowing - love it.

We were there for a conference both times. Rented a car before the conference to make a long weekend out of it then no car for the remainder of the week. It was tough for me to go shopping at the different neighborhoods without getting a taxi but we had plenty to do in 3 days. By the 4th and 5th day, we thought how nice it would be to have a car.

Jax is my favorite restaurant in the Denver downtown area. I also liked the restaurant in the DAM (Denver Art Museum - which by the way is definitely worth a visit. The building alone is incredible!!!)

Airport is V. far away from downtown but there are shuttles you can get for $13 each way.

I would split the time. One part with a rental to go see neighboring areas like Estes Park and Rocky Mountains NP or Colorado Springs, or further away in Ouray and Telluride area. Yhe other part to be in Denver alone.

Colorado is GORGEOUS. I don't know anyone who doesn't like Colorado.

Have fun!

osakaorchid

maria_so, based upon your reply youre giving me the impression that there exists the option to rent a car downtown, since you mentioned the airport shuttle, lodging downtown, and allocating time to devote to getting a rental car.

is this the case? are there many rental companies downtown? hertz, specifically?

fmpden

If you stick to the downtown area you have no meed for a car. The 16th Pedestrian Mall (one of three surviving pedestrian malls from the pedestrian mall movement of the 80s) has a free shuttle bus that runs the length. The bus system is excellent and will take you to museums, shopping, etc. that are out of the downtown area. You can buy a $5 day pass. Other than Boulder, bus service to far outlying areas is limited. The light rail system is new and primarily serves the south side of Denver. The LoDo (Lower Downtown) area and the area around Coors Field have a number of very good restaurants. Jax is one of my least favorite restaurants -- average quality with high prices -- but that is just my opinion. I could better recommendations if I knew your food preference and price ranges.

With 500 miles of designated trails in the Denver metro area it is very walkable and especially bikeable. A car is necessary if want to visit the foothills and mountains which I think you should. Enterprise has a good neighbor presents.

Summer months are reasonable pleasant. July is generally the hottest although this summer has been cool with only a dozen days in the 90s so far. The low humidity make the heat less intense. And night are always cool if not a bit chilly.

BigRuss

DIA is about 20 miles from downtown and to the northeast of the city. If you are "not the type to rent a car" and really want to see Denver and its environs, you should change your type. Denver itself is a nice enough city, but it's a nice mid-size American city that's not part of a huge metropolitan area. Minneapolis, Nashville, Seattle and Austin fit that description too.

Travelers to Colorado really miss out if they don't see the state itself. And you're not going to do that from the back of a Greyhound.

SAnParis2

Go to a baseball game, Coors Field is an excellent venue, & right downtown.

maria_so

hi osaka. no, we rented the car as soon as we got there and did a weekend trip to outlying areas I've mentioned then returned the car to the rental location at the airport and hopped on a shuttle to lodo (lower downtown) area and checked in. once we were in downtown, we didn't have a car which is why i said after 3 days, we were wishing we had a car again. as others have mentioned, it is not a huge metropolis. there are plenty to see and do and that's what we did for 3 days (well, I did as DH was in the conference). i agree with the others, to really see colorado, you have to visit the really spectacular scenery which is not in the downtown area.

i do think some of the hotels have the rental companies available. we stayed at the marriott the first round and then the hyatt the second time, both by the convention center and really close to all the touristy spots. i can't remember but i think hyatt may have a rental agency there - or maybe it was marriott. check with the hotels.