🛫 Terminal 1 — Concourse A

9 gates (A1-A9) on a single concourse; smaller building, shorter walks.

Airlines: Southwest Airlines (significantly reduced presence vs pre-pandemic), JetBlue, Frontier, Spirit, Allegiant, Sun Country, Avelo Airlines, plus the new Breeze Airways base operations.

📍 Terminal 2 — Concourses C + D + International

45 gates total (C1-C25 + D1-D20); the main terminal handling 80%+ of RDU passenger volume.

Airlines: Delta + Delta Connection (#1 carrier in 2026, 28% market share, focus city), American + American Eagle (#2, 26%), United + United Express, Alaska Airlines (new service for 2026), Air France.

ESTA — $21, Two-Year Validity

Visa Waiver Program nationals (UK, most EU including French citizens, Australia, NZ, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Chile, Brunei) need an ESTA — $21 at esta.cbp.dhs.gov, valid 2 years or until passport expiry. Apply at least 72 hours before flight. Beware scam look-alike sites charging $80-100 for the same form.

CBP Kiosks & Mobile Passport Control

RDU international arrivals (mainly the Air France Paris flight, plus Breeze’s Punta Cana/Montego Bay) clear CBP in Terminal 2. Global Entry members have dedicated kiosks. Mobile Passport Control (MPC) — the free CBP app — handles the customs declaration in advance for both US citizens and Visa Waiver Program travellers. APC kiosks available for everyone else.

The Paris Route — Air France 7x Weekly

Air France is the only nonstop transatlantic operator from RDU. Daily service to Paris CDG, ~7h45m eastbound, ~9h westbound (against the jet stream). Booking class spread: Economy, Premium Economy, Business. The route connects RDU to the SkyTeam network at CDG for onward Europe, Africa, Middle East destinations.

⭐ GoTriangle Route 100 — Bus to Raleigh

• Route: RDU airport ↔ Regional Transit Center (RTC near Research Triangle Park) ↔ downtown Raleigh (GoRaleigh Station on Blount Street).
• Journey: 45-60 minutes from RDU to GoRaleigh Station including the RTC transfer.
• Fare: $2.25 one-way (verify current GoTriangle fare structure — they revise periodically).
• Frequency: every 30 minutes peak Mon-Fri starting 6:10 a.m.; every 30-60 min weekends starting 6:40 a.m.; hourly evenings. After 7 p.m. Route 100 runs direct between RTC and Raleigh without the RDU detour.
• Pickup at RDU: ground-transportation island outside the arrivals level at both terminals.

🚕 Rideshare & Taxi

• Uber and Lyft — designated rideshare pickup at the ground-transportation islands. Typical fare $30-45 to downtown Raleigh, $25-40 to Durham, $25-35 to Cary, $40-60 to Chapel Hill. 20-30 minutes to most Triangle destinations.
• Taxi — metered, slightly higher than rideshare; queue at the same ground-transportation islands.
• The Triangle is spread out. Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill are 25-35 minutes apart by car. Pick your destination first, then the transport option.

🚗 Rental Cars & the Triangle Highways

• All major brands (Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, Sixt, Thrifty) operate from a consolidated facility within walking distance of the terminals.
• I-540 (the outer beltway) is the main road serving RDU — connects to I-40 south to Raleigh and west to Durham/Greensboro, and to NC-147 (Durham Freeway) for the Research Triangle Park.
• Toll roads in the Triangle (I-540 portions, Triangle Expressway) use the NC Quick Pass or bill-by-plate system — rental companies handle this automatically with a service fee.

🚙 Hotel Shuttles & Park-Ride

Roughly 20 nearby hotels run free shuttle service to/from RDU on call — Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt and Holiday Inn-branded properties in the Brier Creek and RDU Center areas. Useful for early flights. RDU’s official long-term parking includes free shuttle to the terminals; the “Park & Ride” service in the central lot runs continuously.

✈️ American Airlines Admirals Club

Location: Terminal 2, airside near gates C1-C3.

Hours: typically 4 a.m. – 9 p.m. daily (verify before travel).

Access: AA Flagship Business / First, AAdvantage Executive Platinum, oneworld Emerald (with same-day oneworld international flight), Admirals Club membership, Citi/AAdvantage Executive credit card.

What’s inside: complimentary snacks, beer/wine/spirits, charging stations, Wi-Fi, workstations, conference area.

✈️ Delta Sky Club

Location: Terminal 2, near gate C3.

Hours: typically 5 a.m. – 9 p.m. daily.

Access: Delta One, Delta Diamond Medallion + Platinum (with same-day SkyTeam international flight), AMEX Platinum + Delta Reserve, Sky Club individual membership.

What’s inside: hot and cold snacks, full bar, Wi-Fi, comfortable seating, runway views.

✈️ United Club

Location: Terminal 2, near gates C1-C3.

Access: United Polaris, United 1K/Premier Gold (with same-day Star Alliance international flight), United Club individual membership, Chase United Club Infinite credit card.

🎖️ USO Lounge

Location: Terminal 2, ticketing level near Starbucks (landside).

Access: active-duty US military personnel and dependents — free. Quiet space with seating, refreshments and Wi-Fi.

The eastern-NC tradition — whole pig cooked over wood, chopped, dressed with vinegar-pepper sauce, served with hush puppies and slaw. Skylight Inn in Ayden (open since 1947, recognised by the James Beard America’s Classics award) is the institution; in the Triangle, The Pit in downtown Raleigh and Sam Jones BBQ in Raleigh and Winterville keep the tradition. Plate $14-22.

Pork shoulder only, cooked low and slow, dressed with a vinegar + ketchup sauce called “dip”, served with red slaw. Lexington Barbecue (Honey Monk’s, Lexington NC, ~90 min west of RDU) is the original; in the Triangle, Allen & Son near Chapel Hill is a working example. The east-west “barbecue line” runs through central NC — you’ll find proper eastern-style east of Raleigh, proper Lexington-style west of Greensboro.

Krispy Kreme started in Winston-Salem, NC in 1937 and remains a North Carolina institution — the “Hot Light” on at the original-recipe stores means fresh glazed are coming off the line. The historic Krispy Kreme on Person Street in Raleigh runs the hot light at predictable hours. Available at RDU airside but the experience of a fresh glazed donut at the original-style store is the local move.

Cheerwine is the cherry-flavoured soda from Salisbury, NC (Carolina Beverage Corp, since 1917) — the unofficial North Carolina soft drink. Bojangles’ (founded in Charlotte, 1977) is the regional fried-chicken-and-biscuits chain with locations across the Triangle. The Bojangles’ sweet tea is the proper southern sweet tea — RDU has a Bojangles’ outlet airside.

🥃 NC Distilleries — Catdaddy, Defiant, Sutler’s

$30-60 per 750ml. North Carolina’s craft-distilling scene includes Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine (Madison, NC), Defiant Whisky (Bostic, NC), and Sutler’s Spirit Co. (Winston-Salem). Look in the RDU duty-free for NC product alongside the broader American whiskey selection.

🌽 Mt Olive Pickles & NC Honey

$8-15 per jar. Mt Olive Pickle Company (Mt Olive, NC, since 1926) is North Carolina’s pickle institution — sold at the airport’s gift shops. Sourwood honey from the Blue Ridge Mountains is the regional alternative — distinctive, harder to find outside the Carolinas.

🏀 NC State, Duke & UNC Apparel

$25-65 per shirt or cap. The Triangle’s three big universities all have college-sports merch at RDU’s airside shops. UNC Tar Heel blue, Duke royal blue, NC State red — pick your loyalty. Carolina vs. Duke basketball is one of the great American college rivalries.

🍩 Krispy Kreme Mini-Boxes

$10-15 per dozen. The airside Krispy Kreme stand sells boxes for travel; if you can time it right, the original-recipe glazed straight off the line are the proper NC souvenir. Don’t travel internationally with these — agriculture rules at most countries treat them as fresh-food import.

The North Carolina State Capitol (Raleigh, completed 1840, Greek Revival) is open Mon-Sat until 5 p.m. Free admission. The capitol sits at the centre of Raleigh’s compact downtown grid, walking-distance to the NC Museum of Natural Sciences (free admission; the most-visited museum in North Carolina and the biggest natural-history museum in the Southeast). The NC Museum of History is across the street but currently closed for renovations — verify reopening before planning around it.

Duke Chapel in Durham (completed 1932, Horace Trumbauer architect; the centerpiece of West Campus) is one of the great Gothic Revival church buildings in the United States — 210 feet tall, with a 50-bell carillon. Free entry, open daily to visitors when not in service. The Sarah P. Duke Gardens (55 acres) sit adjacent. Duke’s West Campus is also the Cameron Indoor Stadium — the basketball venue with arguably the most intense atmosphere in US college sport. From RDU: 25 minutes by rideshare ($25-35).

Founded 1959, the Research Triangle Park is one of the largest research parks in the world — 7,000 acres between RDU and the three universities, with 300+ companies (IBM, Cisco, Lenovo, GlaxoSmithKline, Fidelity, Bayer, NetApp) employing 60,000+. It’s not a tourist destination, but if you’re flying RDU for business, this is the geography that explains why the airport exists. The Regional Transit Center (where GoTriangle Route 100 stops) is inside RTP.

William B. Umstead State Park sits directly adjacent to RDU — 5,500 acres of pine-hardwood forest, three lakes, 22 miles of hiking and biking trails. Park entry is free. The proximity is striking: take off from RDU and within 90 seconds you’re flying over wilderness state park. From the terminals: 5-10 minute drive to a trailhead. Layover-viable for the active traveller with 3+ hours.

For early flights: there’s no in-terminal hotel at RDU. The Brier Creek commercial district (Hilton, Hyatt House, Marriott, Holiday Inn Express) is 5-10 min by free shuttle, $130-260 per night. For a real Triangle overnight: the Sheraton Raleigh, the Heights House Hotel (Glenwood Avenue boutique), or the Marriott City Center downtown ($220-380). The 21c Museum Hotel in Durham is the boutique-museum-hotel choice if you’re focused on the Duke side.

US networks (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, plus prepaid Mint Mobile, Cricket, US Mobile, Visible) sell SIMs at retail in Raleigh and Durham. EU/UK Roam-Like-At-Home does NOT extend to the US — get a Mint Mobile or US Mobile eSIM for $20-40/month before flying, or use Airalo / Holafly / GigSky. 5G covers RDU and the Triangle.

The Triangle is spread out — that’s the constraint. 4 hours airside-to-airside: not enough for downtown Raleigh by bus (45-60 min each way + connections) but workable by rideshare ($30-45 each way, 20-25 min). Take Uber/Lyft to the NC State Capitol + NC Museum of Natural Sciences (both free, adjacent), lunch on Fayetteville Street, return. 3 hours or less: stay airside or take a short drive into the William B. Umstead State Park trails next to the airport. 5+ hours: Duke Chapel or the Sarah P. Duke Gardens in Durham becomes feasible. Allow 30-45 min for return security.