Airport
Albuquerque International Sunport Airport
IATA Code: ABQLocation: Albuquerque International Sunport is located approximately four miles (6km) southeast of the Albuquerque central business district.
Time: GMT -7 (GMT -6 from March to November).
Contacts: Tel: +1 505 244 7700.
Transfer to the city: Ground transportation from the airport and around Albuquerque and New Mexico is provided by numerous cab companies, door-to-door shuttles, buses, limousines, out of town shuttles and hotel/motel courtesy vehicles. Sun Trans Bus number 50 serves downtown Albuquerque.
Car rental: Car rental agencies at the airport include Advantage, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz and Thrifty. All are located at the Sunport's Car Rental Center, which is connected to the passenger terminal building by free shuttle buses.
Facilities: There are a number of restaurants, bars, and shops available, as well as a tourist information desk and barbershop. Business facilities are available in nearby hotels. There are two smoking areas within the airport. ATMs are located throughout the terminal building in front of and beyond the security checkpoint. Disabled facilities are good.
Parking: Short-term parking at Albuquerque International Sunport is located near the terminal and ranges from $1 for 30 minutes to $10 per day, while long-term parking is further away and tops out at $7 per day. There is a free cell phone waiting area for drivers picking up or dropping off passengers.
Departure tax: None.
Website: www.cabq.gov/airport
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Albuquerque
New Mexico's largest city has been described as having one foot in the past, one in the present, and its eyes firmly set on the future. This certainly sums up this multi-cultural city, spread across the desert plains beside the Rio Grande, known for its high-tech research facilities, sentimentally proud of its historic Old Town, and offering a mix of museums, galleries, spicy restaurants and great shopping centres to satisfy the appetite of every kind of visitor. Albuquerque has an ultra-relaxed attitude, with shorts and t-shirts the unofficial uniform and locals cracking jokes about living in a 'dusty hick town'. But the city's numerous attractions are on-hand to prove them wrong.
Albuquerque was born back in 1706 when a group of Spanish colonists decided that the point on the Rio Grande where the river made a sweeping curve, backed by the wooded slopes of the nearby Sandia Mountains, would be a useful place to start a settlement. Water for irrigation and wood for building was plentiful, and the local Indian pueblos were available for trading. The new town, at first just a cluster of mud houses around a small adobe church, was named for Spain's 10th Duke of Albuquerque. Today the original church, San Felipe de Neri, stands enshrined in the centre of the historic heart of the city, the hub of various special holidays and feast days, drawing visitors and locals alike.
One of the most splendid sights Albuquerque has to offer happens only once a year - each October the International Balloon Fiesta has all eyes focussed on New Mexico's blue skies as hundreds of hot air balloons sail past. Every day of the year, though, the city offers up its attractions such as the zoo, aquarium, museums and vineyards for enjoyment, as well as an array of activities like skiing, golfing, mountain biking, hiking or simply dancing the night away. If all else fails, you can always eat - mild or with chilli, there is nothing to beat New Mexican cuisine to really add spice to life.
