My Experience Getting to Richmond Airport
Last Thursday, I needed to catch a flight from Richmond Airport. Totally forgot how to get there since I hadn’t been in years. Fired up Google Maps on my phone and typed “Richmond Airport.” Immediately saw “Richmond International Airport (RIC)” pop up. Smart tip I learned: always look for airport codes like RIC. That’s the real airport.
Checking Routes and Traffic
Maps gave me three options. One through downtown, one using the highway, and a weird backroads path. The highway route showed orange lines for traffic delays downtown. I tapped “Directions,” then the settings icon. Changed it to avoid toll roads cause I’m cheap. Also hit “Depart At” to see how traffic would look during rush hour. Super useful – the highway route saved me 20 minutes.
Saving Offline Just in Case
Remembered spotty cell service near the airport. Searched “RIC” again, tapped the airport name, then hit “Download” in the menu. Blue highlight covered the whole route. Felt smarter already.
Drive Day Reality Check
Following turn-by-turn voice prompts worked great until exit 183. Construction zone confused the app – it kept insisting I turn right into cones. Ignored it and followed detour signs. Cool trick: I tapped the microphone icon and said “avoid construction.” Maps recalculated instantly. Arrived at Departures with zero wrong turns.
Final thoughts: ALWAYS
- Download offline maps
- Check traffic predictions
- Update if roads look blocked
Google Maps ain’t perfect, but doing this stuff saved my flight. Got through security with 40 minutes to spare!
