Jacksonville Transportation

The Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) is located inside the city limits but well north of downtown. It’s served by a handful of carriers—Delta, Southwest, JetBlue, American, USAirways, Continental—and has direct connections to about two dozen cities including New York, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas and Cleveland. Gator City Taxi is the official taxi company serving Jacksonville International Airport with service is available at curbside or by calling (904) 741-0008. Fares run about $30 to downtown and $45 to Amelia Island. Most of the major car rental companies (Avis, Hertz, Enterprise, Budget) have desks next to baggage claim

AMTRAK’s Silver Meteor and Silver Star serve Jacksonville. Travel time from New York is about 20 hours and about 9 hours from Miami. The Auto Train, which transports passengers and their cars, connects Lorton, VA with Sanford, FL (about two hours drive time south of Jacksonville).

Scheduled bus service to and from Jacksonville is provided by Greyhound. The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) operates regular bus service within the city. However, because the points of interest are so spread out, public transportation isn’t a viable option.

Jacksonville does have a cruise ship terminal, currently served by one ship, the Carnival  Fascination. The Fascination does five-day itineraries to the Bahamas and the Eastern Caribbean. The port is located on the north side of town, near the Zoo.

Taxis and shuttles can get you where you want to go, but the rates will be expensive for long hauls. Roundtrip from downtown to the airport will run about $30; airport to Amelia Island about $45. Gator City Taxi & Shuttle Service (904) 355-8294 and Checker Cab (904) 345-3333 are two reliable services.