For experienced UF families from OOS…how do your students get from home to campus? In researching UF, I have found that the Orlando airport is a 2 hr drive and Jacksonville says 80 min. I know that the Gainesville airport is close to school, but there are no direct flights from my area (NJ). Do most students fly with a stop-over to Gainesville? If you fly to Orlando or Jacksonville, how do you then get to UF? Are there busses? Thanks…
Orlando is probably the best option. We have direct flights with a lot of cities through several airlines thanks to Disney and Universal. AA, Delta, United, Southwest, Alaska, Frontier and Spirit, all offer flights from Orlando International. Allegiant has flights into and out of Orlando/Sanford, which is a smaller airport about 40 minutes north of the city (and about an hour from the attractions).
It looks like there are some companies that offer shuttle service for Orlando International and Jacksonville. I’m not sure about Orlando Sanford.
My son was also accepted for fall and we are in CT. Is there any type of transportation between the major airports and campus? Gainesville does not seem all that easy to get to and those trips back home seem like they may be a hassle.
If your son flies to Orlando, he could take the Red Coach to Gainesville. Their location is pretty close to the airport. A lot of students use the Big Red Coach to go to/from college in-state. Sounds like he could get a shuttle from the airport to the bus location, if needed.
http://www.redcoachusa.com/stop/orlando/
Hi all. OOS student from PA here. Whenever i fly to or from home, i normally take american or delta out of gainesville and have a layover in Charlotte. Its a super easy flight and although it can sometimes be pricey it is worth it bc the gainesville airport is super small and you can get there pretty fast and get through security fast. I have also flown out of both tampa and orlando and theyre pretty equal but if youre gonna take a bus, take redcoach!!! do not take greyhound as they put me in an extremely bad situation one times that almost screwed me out of $300. If you have any questions or want more detail lmk
My husband flies in and out of Gainesville constantly and if you can do that, at least at first, it’s worth it (leave time for layover).
I frequently drive from Gainesville to Orlando or Jacksonville to fly Southwest. Orlando is kind of a pain in the butt imho - then again I’m driving myself. It just seems long and fraught with potential for delay (75 and the turnpike). Maybe it’s better on Red Coach mentioned above.
thanks for the responses!