Cheap flights from
Denver (DEN)

The airport code for Denver International Airportis DEN.

The Westin Denver International Airport Hotel is a few steps from the terminal building, just across the Plaza from the terminal’s south doors. There’s an indoor pool, fitness center, and multiple restaurant options. Room rates start around $400 per night.

• American Airlines Admirals Club: Located at the north end of the A gates concourse and open from 4:45am-7:30pm daily. The lounge offers free WiFi and food for purchase. Access is free for Admirals Club members, American Airlines travelers flying first or business class, Citi/AAdvantage Executive World Elite MasterCard cardholders with an AA boarding pass, ConciergeKey members with an AA boarding pass, and AirPass members with Admirals Club privileges. It’s also available to British Airways Club World travelers and Executive Club Gold or Silver members who are flying to London Heathrow on BA218. Day passes are also available for $59.

• American Express Centurion Lounge: Located on the mezzanine of the C gates concourse near C46 and open from 5am-9pm daily. This is DEN’s only non-airline lounge, offering local beers, freshly cooked food, and free WiFi. Access is free for Centurion members, AmEx Platinum cardholders, and Delta SkyMiles Reserve cardholders.

• British Airways Executive Club: Located in the A gates concourse, this lounge is temporarily closed. See American Airlines Admirals Club information above for information about access for BA travelers.

• Delta Sky Club: Located in the A gates concourse on Level 4 of the Center Core, open from 4:45am-1am daily. There are complimentary drinks, food, and WiFi. Sky Club access is free for Sky Club members, Delta’s and Air France’s first-class or business-class ticketholders, SkyMiles Reserve cardholders, and AmEx Platinum cardholders with a Delta boarding pass.

• United Club–East: Located in the B gates concourse, this lounge is temporarily closed.

• United Club–West: Located in the B gates concourse near B30, open from 6:45am-7:30pm daily. Amenities include a self-service bar, breakfast and afternoon snacks, and free WiFi. Access is free for United Club members, travelers flying first or business class on United or its Star Alliance partners, United Club Infinite cardholders, and some elite-status United or Star Alliance frequent flyers. Day Passes are also available for $59.

• United Club–Fly: Located in the B gates concourse near B62, open from 7am-8pm daily. This is United’s “first-ever grab-and-go” lounge, offering packaged snack options to take on your flight. Access is the same as listed above for United Club–West.

All service animals must be kept on a leash, and non-service animals kept in their kennels except when using the pet relief areas. Each of the three concourses has at least one pet relief area, and there’s also an outdoor pet relief area outside door 200 on the terminal’s western side.

Pet Relief Areas:

• A Concourse: Near center core, A15, A17, and A25
• B Concourse: Near center core and B16
• C Concourse: Near center core

There’s also Wag Hotels, a “pet resort” for boarding dogs and cats while you travel. It’s located near the Pikes Peak airport shuttle parking lot on 75th Avenue.

Denver International Airport has one terminal, the Jeppesen Terminal, with three concourses: A, B, and C. International arrivals come through concourse A.

• Concourse A: Food and options in the A concourse include Denver Chophouse, Blue Sky Bar, Ben & Jerry’s, and an assortment of fast food outlets. There’s a Duty Free here, the Tattered Cover Book Store, and several other local and chain shops. The American Airlines Admirals Club, British Airways Executive Club, and Delta Sky Club lounges are in this concourse.

• Concourse B: Dining options are plentiful in Concourse B, including lots of fast food chains as well as Voodoo Doughnut, Wolfgang Puck, Smashburger, City Pho, and Half Moon Empanadas. There’s a Duty Free and Tattered Cover Book Store in this concourse, too, as well as an assortment of souvenir shops. Both of United’s lounges are located here.

• Concourse C: There’s another Smashburger in Concourse C, a variety of fast food, along with Woody Creek Bakery & Cafe, Little Man Ice Cream, Root Down, and La Casita. This is where you’ll find Kiehl’s, SEE’s Candies, Colorado Limited, and another Tattered Cover Book Store. The American Express Centurion Lounge is also in Concourse C.

At Denver Airport, CLEAR is available on the east side of the North Security Checkpoint (open 4am-7:45pm) for CLEAR travelers with TSA PreCheck. Those without TSA PreCheck must use the CLEAR lane at the South Security Checkpoint (open 24/7).

DEN’s North Security Checkpoint (open 4am-7:45pm) is the primary one for TSA PreCheck travelers. There are also a few PreCheck lanes open in the South Security Checkpoint near Bag Claim 7 from 4am-5:45pm.

Global Entry kiosks are available at Denver International Airport for international arrivals.

The general recommendations for how early to get to the airport are two hours for domestic flights and three hours for international flights. You may be able to adjust that for your specific trip, depending on a few things.

• How big is the airport? Denver isn’t as gargantuan as some airports we could name, but it’s no tiny regional airport, either. The train connecting the main terminal building to the concourses takes about 10 minutes to reach the C concourse, which is furthest from the terminal.

• Where is your gate? If your gate happens to be at one end or the other of the concourse, give yourself 5-7 minutes to walk from the airport train to your gate.

• Do you need to check in at the airport? Airlines have cutoff times for checking in, usually 30-60 minutes before departure, after which you won’t be able to get on the plane. If you’re not able to check in online for any reason, give yourself extra time to check in at the counter.

• Do you need to check a bag? There’s also a cutoff time for checking bags, usually 45-60 minutes before departure, so allow extra time to check any bags you aren’t carrying on the plane.

• How busy is the airport going to be? DEN says security waits can be about a half-hour (for standard screening) on average, but that doesn’t take busy travel periods into consideration. If you’re flying around a holiday, the busy summer season, or on a Friday or a Sunday, the wait times at security will be much longer. Not only that, the train to the concourses may be full enough that you have to wait for the next (hopefully emptier) one.

The bottom line is that if you’re traveling light during the off-season and have checked in early, you may be able to get to Denver Airport an hour before your flight (though 1.5-2 hours is going to be the best bet most of the time). During especially busy times, or if you need to check in or check a bag, you may need to arrive 3-4 hours before your flight.

Denver International Airport International Airport (DEN) is about 30 miles from downtown Denver via the most direct roads.

There are several options for traveling from Denver to DEN.

• By taxi or rideshare: Downtown Denver is about 30 miles from the airport, a trip that can take 45-50 minutes even when there isn’t much traffic—be sure to allow for even more travel time if you’re headed to the airport during rush hour. A rideshare trip may cost anywhere from $40-90, depending on traffic and demand. There’s a flat rate charge for taxis coming from four popular “zones” in the Denver metro area. From downtown Denver proper, for instance, a taxi to the airport costs $71.03. From Tower Road, it costs $36.03. Metered taxi trips usually cost between $80-100.

• By public transportation: Denver’s A Line commuter train runs from Denver Union Station downtown to the airport in 37 minutes. Trains operate between 3am-12:30am, leaving downtown every 15 minutes during the busiest travel times and every 30 minutes outside those peak hours. A train ticket costs $10.50. There are also a few RTD public bus lines in Denver that serve the airport station: AB, AT, 104L, 145X, and 169L. Tickets for bus trips to the airport are also $10.50.

Many of the cheap international flights out of Denver will be to Europe, with a number of daily flights heading to Germany, the UK, France, Iceland, and Switzerland. Flights to other cities and regions involve a layover, either in Europe or the US. From Denver, direct flights to Europe take anywhere from 7.5 hours (Iceland) to 9 hours (Germany).

From Denver, there are direct flights to Frankfurt (Lufthansa, United); London (Norwegian Air to Gatwick and British Airways and United to Heathrow); Munich (Lufthansa); Paris (Norwegian); Reykjavik (Icelandair), and Zurich (Edelweiss Air).

Regular prices for a roundtrip flight from Denver to Europe range from $900-$1,500 in high season and $800-$1,300 in low season. A good price on a roundtrip flight from Denver to Europe is anything under $650 in high season and $500 in low season.

Almost all cheap flights from Denver to Asia will involve a layover on the West Coast (LAX, SFO, or SEA), with one exception: United’s 12-hour flight to Tokyo. You may want to compare the cost of booking one itinerary from Denver to Asia versus booking a cheap flight to another US city and then snagging an international deal from there.

From DEN, the only nonstop flight is to Tokyo, Japan (NRT) on United.

Regular prices for a roundtrip flight from Denver to Asia range from $1,200-$1,800 in high season and $850-$1,400 in low season. A good price on a roundtrip flight from Denver to Asia is anything under $800 in high season and $650 in low season.