ok so honestly i literally just landed at denver international and im already feeling the vibes its so big you know and im sitting here waiting for my next flight which is honestly forever from now so i thought hey why not spill the tea on connecting here because its definitely not lax or jfk its its own special beast and if you are not prepared you will honestly just lose your mind trying to figure things out so consider this your unofficial guide from someone whos just been through it like a real person.
The connection game plan
first things first denver is massive like its literally huge with three main concourses a b and c all connected by an underground train which is efficient but honestly its kinda far from the main terminal like if you landed at gate a1 and your next flight is c80 youre doing serious walking and then serious train riding so dont think its just a hop skip and a jump and the train can get super crowded especially at peak times which is not ideal.
so basically when you land you gotta figure out your concourses and head for the train and you just follow the signs honestly theyre pretty good but getting to the train can feel like an Olympic sport and once youre on, its a quick ride to b or c but then you still have to walk to your actual gate which could be on the very end so yeah comfy shoes are literally a must here like forget the fashion just wear sneakers.
Do you have enough time?
this is honestly the million dollar question because denver can really chew up time so me personally i would recomended at least two hours for a domestic connection especially if you are changing concourses because things can just go wrong you know like flight delays or the train breaking down and if you have less than that youre basically just running and praying.
if you are coming in on an international flight oh my god you need even more time like honestly three hours minimum and thats not even an exaggeration because you have to go through customs and immigration then deal with your baggage and then clear security all over again which is a whole other thing and it just adds so much time its not even funny.
- the baggage hassle:
- if you are flying internationally into denver as your first point of entry into the us you absolutely have to pick up your checked bags after immigration then through customs and then recheck them for your connecting flight even if they are tagged all the way through because thats just how it works its a huge pain.
- for domestic flights usually your bags are checked all the way through so you dont have to worry about them during your connection unless there was some weird error or you had a really short layover.
- always double check your boarding pass and ask the gate agent if you are unsure about your bags because its better to ask than to find out your bags didnt make it later.
- do you have to clear security all over again?
- yes if you are arriving on an international flight you will almost certainly have to go through tsa security again after you clear customs and immigration and recheck your bags so factor that into your time and if you have tsa precheck or clear membership use it because it will save your butt.
- for domestic to domestic connections generally no you dont have to clear security again unless your connecting flight requires you to leave the secure area or your original flight was delayed.
- but if you stay airside meaning you dont exit the sterile area and just use the trains to go between concourses you should be fine and not need to re-clear security its mostly just the international arrivals that have to deal with that mess.
honestly the best advice i can give is just to be prepared and dont underestimate the size of denver and the time it takes to get around and definitely bring a water bottle because the altitude here can really hit you if youre not used to it and the water fountains are everywhere so its easy to fill up and save some money because airport prices for drinks are just wild anyway good luck out there and may your connections be smooth and your planes be on time unlike some of mine today haha.