Jinan is the hub of traffic for the region and province so you'll likely end up here if heading elsewhere in Shandong, notably Qingdao and Yantai. Most people will arrive by bus or train.
By plane
You can fly to Jinan, but the airport is located 40km northeast of downtown. A taxi will take an hour and cost about ¥100 foreigners might be asked to pay a higher fixed price or be taken a detour. There is a shuttle bus between the airport and downtown that runs hourly from 6 am to 5 pm. It takes just as long and costs ¥20. A subroute of bus 16 also goes to the airport.
You can find flights from most major cities with Shandong Airlines (http://www.shandongair.com/) being the major carrier. Shandong Airlines code-shares with Air China, so your ticket and check-in may well say Air China.
By car
Several expressways connect to Jinan.