Semih
Travel editor at Reisedrop · 2026-06-04
The flight is booked, the hotel is sorted, and then comes the question that ruins a surprising number of trips: how do I actually get from the airport to my accommodation? There isn’t one best answer, but three solid ones that work better or worse depending on your arrival time, luggage and who you’re travelling with. A private transfer, a ride-hailing service like Uber, or a hire car. We’ll walk through all three options, honestly including the situations where they don’t work.
The three minutes that save you stress
Decide before you fly, not in the arrivals hall. Ask yourself three questions: how much luggage do you really have, what time are you landing, and how many people are travelling? Two backpacks at 11 in the morning in a city with an airport train is one scenario. Two adults, two children, a child seat and one suitcase per person at 23:00 at a holiday airport is another. Almost all transfer mishaps happen because nobody added up those three factors in advance.
Private transfer: when reliability matters
A pre-booked private transfer is the calmest option. The driver knows the flight number, waits if there’s a delay, the price is fixed before booking and luggage is included. That’s exactly where it comes into its own: late arrival, a family with child seats, a resort well outside the city, or a destination with no sensible rail link. The downside is being tied to a set time. If you like to improvise and you’re travelling light with hand luggage only, you probably don’t need it.
Uber and other ride-hailing services: flexible, but not the same everywhere
A ride-hailing service works well if you want to stay flexible and your destination is within the city. You book after landing, the destination is already entered in the app, and you pay there. The important thing is that Uber doesn’t mean the same thing everywhere. In some countries, Uber uses only licensed taxis; in Italy, for example, there’s no cheap entry-level category; and in some holiday regions the service is practically non-existent. Then there are airport rules: pick-up is often not at arrivals kerbside, but in a car park or one level up. Check that in the app before you rely on it.
Hire car: worth it from the third trip onwards
A hire car is rarely the right answer to the question of how to get to the hotel, but it’s often the right answer for the whole trip. As a rough rule, once you’re travelling as two people and planning more than two outings, a hire car beats any taxi budget. On islands, road trips and in rural areas, it’s almost a given. In compact cities with parking charges, low-emission zones and narrow streets, though, it becomes a burden you don’t need on arrival day.
And the train? Often the overlooked answer
Many major airports are directly connected to the rail network, and if your hotel is within walking distance of a station, that’s often the fastest and cheapest option. The calculation changes once you have to change trains, deal with stairs and suitcases, arrive late or travel in a group. Don’t calculate the journey time, calculate the time from baggage reclaim to your room door. That’s where it becomes clear whether the train really is the better option.
How Reisedrop handles the question after booking
After your hotel booking we do not ask whether you want to buy a transfer, we ask how you are getting to your accommodation. You see two options side by side: a private transfer you lock in beforehand, and a direct link into the Uber app with your destination pre-filled if you would rather stay flexible. No flood of suppliers, no invented guide prices. Private transfers and rental cars are booked with external providers, and with Uber you are forwarded straight to Uber. Price, availability and booking sit with the respective provider. We are not a partner of Uber and deliberately show no Uber prices.
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