The method behind every transfer time we publish
When a hotel page says an airport is a certain number of miles away, that distance tells you almost nothing about how long you will sit in a car. This article explains how we turn a location into a routed transfer time, what that number includes, and where it can still mislead you.
- Start point
- AirportRouted to the property's coordinates
- Basis
- Real road networkNot straight-line distance
- Excludes
- Terminal time and live trafficAdd your own buffer
What question a transfer time actually answers
The decision in front of you is simple: after a flight, how long until you are at the property with your bags down? That is not the same as the distance printed on a map. A short straight-line distance can hide a mountain road, a single-lane coastal stretch, or a ferry. A longer distance on a highway can be quicker than a shorter one through a town center.
Our transfer time is built to answer the practical question, not the geometric one. It estimates door-to-door driving time along a real route, so you can judge whether a place is a quick hop or a commitment that eats an afternoon.
Why straight-line distance misleads travelers
Straight-line distance, sometimes called as-the-crow-flies, draws a line between two points and ignores everything in between. Roads do not run in straight lines. Water, terrain, and one-way systems all force detours.
The result is that two hotels the same map distance from an airport can have very different real drives. We treat straight-line distance as a rough sort key at best, and we never publish it as a transfer time. If a figure on our pages is labeled as a transfer, it has been routed.
How the routing works
We take the airport as the start point and the property's coordinates as the end point, then route between them along the actual road network. That produces both a driving distance and a driving time estimate for a private car or taxi under typical conditions.
Because the route follows real roads, the distance it reports is usually longer than the straight-line figure, and the time reflects road type: highway segments move faster than urban or mountain segments. This is the number we surface as the transfer time.
What the number includes and what it leaves out
The estimate covers driving from the airport to the property under typical traffic. It does not include the time you spend inside the terminal: immigration lines, baggage reclaim, or waiting for a prearranged driver. On a busy arrival that can add a meaningful chunk before the wheels even move.
It also assumes a direct private transfer. Shared shuttles that drop other guests first, or a scheduled bus with stops, will take longer. Read our figure as the driving leg only, and add your own buffer for the terminal and any shared legs.
How traffic and time of day change the answer
Where the honest answer is "it depends," it depends on when you land. A route that is quick at dawn can be far slower at a resort-strip changeover on a summer afternoon, when transfer vans and rental cars fill the same road. Our estimate reflects typical conditions rather than a specific arrival slot.
If your flight lands in a peak window, treat the published time as a floor, not a ceiling. The direction of travel matters too: airport-bound morning traffic and resort-bound afternoon traffic do not mirror each other.
Why we route to the property, not the town
Two hotels in the same resort can sit 15 minutes apart once you account for the last stretch off the main road. Routing to a town center would erase that difference. We route to the property's own coordinates so the last mile, which is often the slowest, is counted.
This matters most for places set above a bay or at the end of an access road. The final climb or the final turn-off is exactly where a generic town-level estimate quietly understates your journey.
How to read a transfer time before you book
Start with the driving time, then add a terminal buffer for immigration and bags. Multiply the drive by your number of nights times two, because every transfer is a round trip. A long transfer is a poor trade for a two-night stay and a fair one for two weeks.
If a short first night matters, favor a shorter transfer even at some cost to the setting. If you are staying put for a fortnight, a longer drive from a busier hub can be worth it. Match the transfer to the length of the trip, not to the brochure.
Where our method can still be wrong
Routing is only as good as the road data behind it. Temporary closures, new bypasses, seasonal ferries, and roadworks can all shift the real time. We do not model live traffic, so a specific incident on your arrival day is outside the estimate.
We publish the method openly for that reason: a transfer time is a well-founded estimate, not a guarantee. Treat it as a planning tool, cross-check it against your transfer operator's own quote, and keep a buffer for the parts of the journey no router can see.
What works
- Routes along real roads rather than straight-line distance
- Measures to the property's own coordinates, including the slow last mile
- Reflects road type, so highway and mountain segments are weighted differently
- Published openly so you can judge its assumptions
What does not
- Does not include terminal time for immigration and baggage
- Assumes a direct private car, not a shared shuttle
- Does not model live traffic or one-off closures
Who should go somewhere else
travelers needing an exact arrival-day timing — the estimate excludes terminal time and live traffic
Instead: get a written quote from your transfer operator for your flight time
Questions people actually ask
does transfer time include immigration and baggage
No. Our transfer time covers only the driving leg from the airport to the property under typical conditions. Time spent inside the terminal on immigration, baggage reclaim, and finding your driver is not included. On a busy arrival that can add a significant amount, so build in your own buffer on top of the driving figure.
why is the transfer distance longer than the map distance
Because roads do not run in straight lines. A map's straight-line distance ignores terrain, water, and one-way systems. Our figure follows the actual road network between the airport and the property, so it is almost always longer than the crow-flies distance, and it reflects the route a car really drives.
is the transfer time for a private car or a shared shuttle
It assumes a direct private car or taxi. A shared shuttle that drops other guests first, or a scheduled bus with stops, will take longer than the published figure. If you book a shared transfer, treat our time as the minimum driving leg and add time for the other stops.
how accurate is a routed transfer time
It is a well-founded estimate under typical traffic, not a guarantee. It does not model live traffic, temporary closures, or seasonal ferries, so a specific incident on your arrival day sits outside it. Use it to compare properties and plan, then cross-check against your operator's own quote.
should a long transfer change where I book
It depends on trip length. Every transfer is a round trip, so multiply the drive by two and weigh it against your number of nights. A long drive is a poor trade for a two-night stay and reasonable for two weeks. For short trips, favor a shorter transfer even at some cost to the setting.