Travel to Detroit

Flying to Detroit

Virgin Atlantic, Air France, KLM, and Delta operate direct flights to Detroit from the UK. Multiple airlines offer flights from other cities within the USA, including Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit Airlines, United and US Airways. The peak season is July, August and Christmas, whereas winter tends to be cheaper.

Flight times

From London - 8 hours 55 minutes; New York - 2 hours; Los Angeles - 4 hours 30 minutes; Toronto - 1 hour 15 minutes; Sydney - 20 hours (including stopover).

Travel by road

Cars are a way of life in Michigan, perhaps even more than any other US state—after all, Detroit is known as the 'Motor City’. The state is covered by an extensive network of freeways and highways. Multi-lane freeways, which have a maximum speed limit of 113kph (70mph), are distinguished by a thick line on maps. Highways may be more than two lanes but are marked by thinner lines and have a maximum speed limit of 89-105kph (55-65mph). All freeways and highways are named according to numerical convention.

Traffic drives on the right and seat belts must be worn at all times. The minimum driving age is 16 years. Proof of insurance is compulsory and foreign drivers must possess a licence from their country of origin. It is advisable to take out an individual insurance policy in addition to those provided by the car hire company.

Emergency breakdown services

AAA (tel: +1 800 222 6424).

Routes

Major freeways connecting Detroit with its suburbs and beyond include: I-75, which connects to Ohio in the south and to Flint in the north; I-94, which connects with Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo to the west and Sarnia to the northeast; and I-96, which connects with Lansing and Grand Rapids to the west. The Detroit-Windsor Tunnel is a toll tunnel connecting Detroit with Windsor, Ontario, Canada, which is just to the south.

Coaches

Greyhound (tel: +1 800 231 2222; www.greyhound.com) operates regular intercity services out of the Detroit Greyhound Bus Terminal, 1001 Howard Street, including direct buses to Cleveland, Chicago and New York.

Megabus (tel: +1 877 462 6342; www.megabus.com) runs direct buses to Ann Arbor, Chicago and Toledo, and offers a stop at Ann Arbor along the Chicago route.

Time to city

From Cleveland - 2 hours 30 minutes; Chicago - 4 hours 15 minutes; New York - 9 hours 30 minutes.

Travel by Rail

Services

Amtrak operates intercity rail services from Detroit Amtrak Station, 11 West Baltimore Avenue, which is located towards the northern end of the city's Downtown. Services are comfortable, but known for being slow and subject to delays.

Operators

Amtrak (tel: +1 800 872 7245; www.amtrak.com) operates intercity rail services to Detroit.

Detroit is directly connected via the Amtrak line with Chicago. Other cities, such as Washington, New York and Los Angeles, are accessible via Chicago, although the considerable journey time limits the practicality of such a journey. Cities of note on the Detroit line (named 'The Wolverine') include Kalamazoo, Dearborn, Jackson and Ann Arbor.

Journey times

From Chicago - 5 hours 15 minutes

Travel by boat

Detroit is a major port connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Great Lakes-St Lawrence Seaway. Passenger traffic is gaining popularity in the Port of Detroit, and the recently constructed Port Detroit Public Dock and Terminal caters to cruise ships, ferries, and tour boats traveling between Canada, Michigan, and other states.

Ferry operators

At present, ferry services are restricted to commercial vehicles such as trucks, though there are plans to expand the network to take leisure and commuter passengers in the future.