Airport location, terminals and transportation
George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Huston is an international airport located 32 km from the city centre. It is the second largest airport of the country. The airport takes regular and charter flights, both domestic and international ones. It was established in 1969. The airport was named after one of the US Presidents. It got this name in 1997. Its passenger traffic amounts to roughly 44 million people a year. Thus, it is the eighth busiest airport of the country. It is among the ten strongly developing airports of the USA.
The airport has 5 terminals (A, B, C, D, E), connected by TerminaLink ground train. It provides sterile airside connections for transit passengers and let them avoid additional inspections. Terminals located out of the sterile zones are connected with each other and with the hotel by metro. You can also use buses to move between terminals. You can get to the city by bus number 102 which leaves from Terminal C, by taxi or shuttle service provided by the majority of city hotels.
Rental offices, how to find them, where to return car
There is a centralized car hire office in the airport. Such world leading companies as Alamo, Budget, Avis, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Hertz, National, Thrifty, Zipcar and others offer vehicle rental services in George Bush Intercontinental Airport. The office is found next to the terminal. It operates round the clock. A free shuttle bus runs to it every 5 minutes. On arriving, you should follow the signs "Rental Car". The shuttle departs from the baggage claim area of the arrival level of Terminals A, B, C, and E. The bus is blue-and-white, and has the inscription "Renting a car" on it.
Information desks with contact details of the car rental companies are also situated in the arrival areas of the first level of Terminals A, B, C, and E. At these desks you can get necessary information and contact a certain vehicle rental firm.
One can book a car in advance through the online service of the airport's site. A preliminary online reservation will cost you much cheaper and guarantee that the car, selected in advance, will be available. The place of returning a car is specified when processing your order. It may be both the parking of the terminal or of the airport's car rental centre and the vehicle rental centre, located in the city at the following address: 17330 Palmetto Pines, Houston, TX 77032.
Long-term and short-term parking, hotels nearby
Airport parking lots (garages) are located along the terminals and coincide with them. Valet-parking service is available in all the garages. Another two car parks are situated outside the terminals. These are Ecopark and Ecopark 2. A shuttle goes from them to all the terminals of the airport. What is more, there is SurePark (the 3rd level of Terminal C) for the members of the airport parking program.
Marriott Hotel is found between Terminals B and C. You can very quickly get to any terminal from here using TerminaLink. Many hotels, lying not far from the airport, provide free parking on site. The nearest hotels are Springhill Suites, Hampton Inn & Suites, and La Quinta Inns & Suites.