Jacksonville Travel Guide

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 904/355-8294 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) provides van service to and from hotels and resorts throughout the area. Per-person fares are about $20 to downtown Jacksonville, $25 to $30 to the beaches, $60 to $70 to St. Augustine, and $40 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; 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 35¢. 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 $2 when the flag drops and 75¢ for each 1/5 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 $3.25 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.