Getting There
Air
Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) +1 904 741 2000 http://www.jaa.aero/
JAX is located only a short distance from downtown and services the following airlines:
Air Tran (+1 800 776 3000/http://www.airtran.com/) American Airlines (+1 800 433 7300/ http://www.aa.com/) Comair-Delta (+1 800 221 1212/ http://www.delta.com) Continental (+1 800 525 0280/ http://www.continental.com) Delta (+1 800 221 1212/ http://www.delta.com ) Executive Airlines (+1 800 423 7300/ http://www.executive-airlines.com/) Independence Airlines (+1 800 359 3594/http://www.flyi.com/) Northwest (+1 800 225 2525/ http://www.nwa.com) Southwest Airlines (+1 800 435 9792/http://www.southwest.com/) United (+1 800 241 6522/ http://www.ual.com) US Airways (+1 800 428 4322/ http://www.usairways.com)
Airport Map & Information: http://www.airguideonline.com/airports/airport_jax.htm
Airport Services: http://www.airguideonline.com/airports/airport_jax2.htm
Airport Transportation: http://www.airguideonline.com/airports/airport_jax3.htm
Airport Parking:
Park Space (+1 800 763 6895/ http://www.pnfnetwork.com)
From the Airport
Taxi: Gator City Taxi (+1 904 741 0008 or +1 904 355 8294)
Car Rental: ANC Car Rental (+1 904 741 4580) Avis (+1 800 831 2847/ http://www.avis.com ) Budget (+1 800 527 0700/ http://www.budget.com) Dollar (+1 800 4000/ http://www.dollar.com) Enterprise (+1 800 261 7331/http://www.enterprise.com/) Hertz (+1 800 654 3131/ http://www.hertz.com Thrifty (+1 800 847 4389 /http://www.thrifty.com/)
Train
Jacksonville Station, located at 3570 Clifford Lane, serves as the local Amtrak (+1 800 872 7245/ http://www.amtrak.com) connection.
Bus
Greyhound (+1 800 231 2222/ http://www.greyhound.com) connects Jacksonville with virtually all of the Eastern Seaboard. The downtown bus station, (+1 904 356 9976), located at 10N Pearl Street, is open 24 hours.
Car
Interstate 95 runs through the city, making Jacksonville easily accessible from both the North and the South.
Getting Around
Public Transit
Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) (+1 904 630 3181/ http://www.jtaonthemove.com/) offers a variety of transportation options.
Traffic Information
To find out city traffic information go to http://www.traffic.com
If traveling overseas, take the safety precaution of registering your trip at https://travelregistration.state.gov and for helpful, practical advice about traveling technicalities and safety standards check out http://travel.state.gov/
Planning a Trip
Getting There
Jacksonville International Airport, on the city's north side, about 12 miles from downtown (tel. 904/741-2000; www.jaxairport.org), is served by Air Canada (tel. 888/247-2262), AirTran (tel. 800/247-8726), American (tel. 800/433-7300), Continental (tel. 800/525-0280), Delta (tel. 800/221-1212), Midway (tel. 800/446-4392), Northwest (tel. 800/225-2525), Southwest (tel. 800/435-9792), United (tel. 800/241-6522), and Metro Jet and US Airways (tel. 800/428-4322).
Alamo (tel. 800/327-9633), Avis (tel. 800/331-1212), Budget (tel. 800/527-0700), Dollar (tel. 800/800-4000), Enterprise (tel. 800/325-8007), Hertz (tel. 800/654-3131), and National (tel. 800/227-7368) have rental-car booths at the airport.
Gator City Taxi (tel. 904/741-0008 at the airport, or 355-8294 elsewhere) provides cab service. Fares for up to four persons are about $20 to downtown, $40 to $45 to beach hotels, $55 to $65 to St. Augustine, and $40 to Amelia Island. Express Shuttle (tel. 904/353-8880; www.airportexpresspickup.com) provides van service to and from hotels and resorts throughout the area. Per-person fares are about $25 to downtown Jacksonville, $30 to $40 to the beaches, $60 to $70 to St. Augustine, and $50 to Amelia Island.
There's an Amtrak station in Jacksonville at 3570 Clifford Lane, off U.S. 1, just north of 45th Street (tel. 800/USA-RAIL [872-7245]; www.amtrak.com).
Visitor Information
Contact the Jacksonville and the Beaches Convention & Visitors Bureau, 201 E. Adams St., Jacksonville, FL 32202 (tel. 800/733-2668 or 904/798-9111; fax 904/789-9103; www.jaxcvb.com), for maps, brochures, calendars, and advice. The bureau is open Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm. It operates an information booth in the upstairs food court of Jacksonville Landing, open Monday through Saturday from 10am to 7pm, and Sunday from 12:30 to 5:30pm, as well as a walk-in information office in Jacksonville Beach, at 403 Beach Blvd., between 3rd and 4th streets (tel. 904/242-0024), open Monday through Saturday from 10am to 6pm.
Getting Around
In general, you're better off having a car if you want to explore this vast area. To get around downtown Jacksonville, you can take the Skyway, an elevated and completely automated train that runs down Hogan Street from Florida Community College's Jacksonville campus through downtown and across the river via the Acosta/Florida 13 bridge to the Southbank Riverwalk. The Skyway operates Monday through Friday from 6am to 11pm, Saturday from 10am to 11pm, and Sunday only for special events. The fare is 50¢. The Trolley connects with the Skyway and runs east-west through downtown, primarily along Bay Street. It's free and operates Monday through Friday from 6:30am to 7pm and Saturday from 8am to 6pm. Get maps and schedules from the visitors bureau or information booths . Both the Skyway and the Trolley are operated by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (tel. 904/630-3181; www.jtaonthemove.com), which also provides local bus service.
You can hail a cab downtown if you spot one, though it's usually best to call Gator City Taxi (tel. 904/355-8294) or Yellow Cab (tel. 904/260-1111) for a pickup. Fares are around $2 when the flag drops and about $1.50 per additional mile thereafter.
Out at the beaches, the St. Johns River Ferry (tel. 904/241-9969; www.stjohnsriverferry.com) shuttles vehicles across the river between Mayport, an Old Florida fishing village on the south side, and Fort George, on the north shore. The boats run daily; times vary, so call for the current schedule. One-way fare is $5 per two-axle private vehicle, $1 per pedestrian or bicyclist. Even if you have to wait 30 minutes for the next ferry, the 5-minute ride greatly shortens the trip between the Jacksonville beaches and Amelia Island.
Bikers and hikers traveling along the 3,000-mile East Coast Greenway connecting major cities from Calais, Maine, to Key West can now take the "Blueway Bypass" thanks to the Cumberland Sound Ferry Service (tel. 877/264-9972; www.ameliarivercruises.com), which runs a minimum of three round-trips per day from Amelia Island, Florida, to St. Marys, Georgia, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The trip takes approximately 1 hour and features live narration of the region's history, natural features, and wildlife. You'll also get to explore each of the cities. Trip costs $15 per person.
Planning a Trip
Getting There
Jacksonville International Airport, on the city's north side, about 12 miles from downtown (tel. 904/741-2000; www.jaxairport.org), is served by Air Canada (tel. 888/247-2262), AirTran (tel. 800/247-8726), American (tel. 800/433-7300), Continental (tel. 800/525-0280), Delta (tel. 800/221-1212), Midway (tel. 800/446-4392), Northwest (tel. 800/225-2525), Southwest (tel. 800/435-9792), United (tel. 800/241-6522), and Metro Jet and US Airways (tel. 800/428-4322).
Alamo (tel. 800/327-9633), Avis (tel. 800/331-1212), Budget (tel. 800/527-0700), Dollar (tel. 800/800-4000), Enterprise (tel. 800/325-8007), Hertz (tel. 800/654-3131), and National (tel. 800/227-7368) have rental-car booths at the airport.
Gator City Taxi (tel. 904/741-0008 at the airport, or 355-8294 elsewhere) provides cab service. Fares for up to four persons are about $20 to downtown, $40 to $45 to beach hotels, $55 to $65 to St. Augustine, and $40 to Amelia Island. Express Shuttle (tel. 904/353-8880; www.airportexpresspickup.com) provides van service to and from hotels and resorts throughout the area. Per-person fares are about $25 to downtown Jacksonville, $30 to $40 to the beaches, $60 to $70 to St. Augustine, and $50 to Amelia Island.
There's an Amtrak station in Jacksonville at 3570 Clifford Lane, off U.S. 1, just north of 45th Street (tel. 800/USA-RAIL [872-7245]; www.amtrak.com).
Visitor Information
Contact the Jacksonville and the Beaches Convention & Visitors Bureau, 201 E. Adams St., Jacksonville, FL 32202 (tel. 800/733-2668 or 904/798-9111; fax 904/789-9103; www.jaxcvb.com), for maps, brochures, calendars, and advice. The bureau is open Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm. It operates an information booth in the upstairs food court of Jacksonville Landing, open Monday through Saturday from 10am to 7pm, and Sunday from 12:30 to 5:30pm, as well as a walk-in information office in Jacksonville Beach, at 403 Beach Blvd., between 3rd and 4th streets (tel. 904/242-0024), open Monday through Saturday from 10am to 6pm.
Getting Around
In general, you're better off having a car if you want to explore this vast area. To get around downtown Jacksonville, you can take the Skyway, an elevated and completely automated train that runs down Hogan Street from Florida Community College's Jacksonville campus through downtown and across the river via the Acosta/Florida 13 bridge to the Southbank Riverwalk. The Skyway operates Monday through Friday from 6am to 11pm, Saturday from 10am to 11pm, and Sunday only for special events. The fare is 50¢. The Trolley connects with the Skyway and runs east-west through downtown, primarily along Bay Street. It's free and operates Monday through Friday from 6:30am to 7pm and Saturday from 8am to 6pm. Get maps and schedules from the visitors bureau or information booths . Both the Skyway and the Trolley are operated by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (tel. 904/630-3181; www.jtaonthemove.com), which also provides local bus service.
You can hail a cab downtown if you spot one, though it's usually best to call Gator City Taxi (tel. 904/355-8294) or Yellow Cab (tel. 904/260-1111) for a pickup. Fares are around $2 when the flag drops and about $1.50 per additional mile thereafter.
Out at the beaches, the St. Johns River Ferry (tel. 904/241-9969; www.stjohnsriverferry.com) shuttles vehicles across the river between Mayport, an Old Florida fishing village on the south side, and Fort George, on the north shore. The boats run daily; times vary, so call for the current schedule. One-way fare is $5 per two-axle private vehicle, $1 per pedestrian or bicyclist. Even if you have to wait 30 minutes for the next ferry, the 5-minute ride greatly shortens the trip between the Jacksonville beaches and Amelia Island.
Bikers and hikers traveling along the 3,000-mile East Coast Greenway connecting major cities from Calais, Maine, to Key West can now take the "Blueway Bypass" thanks to the Cumberland Sound Ferry Service (tel. 877/264-9972; www.ameliarivercruises.com), which runs a minimum of three round-trips per day from Amelia Island, Florida, to St. Marys, Georgia, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The trip takes approximately 1 hour and features live narration of the region's history, natural features, and wildlife. You'll also get to explore each of the cities. Trip costs $15 per person.
