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Rio Grande Valley Airports
The McAllen Miller International Airport is located across from the La Plaza Mall on the south side of downtown. It is accessible by 10th street and Bicentennial. The Short term parking is just after the drop off lane and then is followed by the Long Term Parking. Short term parking is free for 24 hours. After that, you will need to park in long term parking which is free for 14 days. The grounds are well taken care of and the airport itself has an attractive design.
Once you are inside the airport, your choices of airlines are Allegiant, which mainly offers flights to Las Vegas, American Airlines, Continental, and Delta Airways.
When you enter the main lobby of the airport there is plenty of space and a few TVs to watch. On the perimeter of the lobby they have display cases for some of McAllen’s attractions. In the month of March, 2007, they had an exhibit of the Museum of South Texas, International Museum of Art and Science, Nuevo Santander Galley displayed. They also had a display case of products from some of McAllen’s leading businesses. On the outer area of the lobby was a Saturn Aura XE on display and a vintage airplane.
In addition to the lobby, the Airport has the UETA News and Gifts Shop and the Game Time Grill and Cantina. Sandwiches at Game time cost around $7.00 whereas the main courses range from $7.95 to $14.95. McAllen international airport conveniently offers car rentals on location. They are competitively priced and will provide maps and hotel locations to those that need them. The list includes Avis, Enterprise etc. If you are visiting McAllen for the first time, travel guides with information of hotels in the area can be found at the gift store.
For more information, please click on the link below.
The Valley International Airport is located in Harlingen, Texas off of Loop 499. It is easily accessible and has convenient parking. The street in the front of the main building has a drop off section which is commonly found at most airports. On the left of the street is a row of metered parking spaces. Although they are just a few, they are conveniently placed for passengers that need a ride from the airport. The cost for these spaces is .25 cents for fifteen minutes. Next to the metered parking is the taxi lane. Directly after the taxi lane is the short term parking that is a sidewalk away. At the end of the parking area is the Long Term parking. This is also extremely close. It is separated from the short term parking by the exit street. You would have a hard time finding a closer parking space at a popular mall than you would finding a parking spot in long term parking. The rates for parking are reasonable. Check below for prices as of 3/28/07.
Short Term: 0-20 mins. $.75 Additional 20 $.50 Daily Max $5.75
Long Term: 0-1 hr $1.25 Additional hr $1.00 Daily Max $4.50
When you walk into the departure area, you have three options for airline careers namely Southwest, Continental, and Sun Valley. MSN lists Continental as the 3rd best airline by region under the North America section. Southwest is your best option for cheap airfare to and from Harlingen. There is state of the art security and scanning methods in place at this location.
After one goes through security, you will find to the left the main “lobby” of the Harlingen Airport. Located in the lobby is a fairly large fountain, a gift shop, a restaurant with a bar, and a Starbucks cart. Remember, Harlingen International airport may seem small but sufficiently services a population of 60,000 people.
The gift shop has a diverse collection of books, magazines, cups, shirts, postcards, and all kinds of souvenirs. When I traveled, I used to collect refrigerator magnets with the pictures of the area I was visiting. There are some really nice ones of South Padre Island. Lisa, the gift shop Manager, was kind enough and very helpful in explaining what one can find at the gift shop.
Starbucks = 5 bucks a drink! Let’s move on.
The tropics café is a nice place to sit and eat. It has dim lighting to give a relaxing atmosphere and is extremely clean. The main dishes price average is around $12.00. The sandwiches though cost about $ 7.00.
In addition, to these services there is also a game room, rental cars, a Texas State Bank ATM and free Wifi. For more information about the Harlingen Airport, see the link below.
Rio Grande Valley Airports to RGV Info
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