Planning a trip is always fun and lately it's been somewhat of an addiction. Jacksonville was a unique situation in that I had 4 friends drive to FL from TX (15 hours to get there and 12 hours to come back), so I didn't need to rent a car. As the date approached, WorldMate (excellent app!) kept reminding me to rent a car, and I had to ignore the reminder after doing a double-check every time.
I had booked the trip in February, shortly after US Soccer made the announcement of the USA vs Scotland friendly on May 26, 2012. I have learned it's best to book as quickly as possible before airlines figure out there's a game scheduled and raise their prices. The cheapest option was a hotel and airfare package through United Vacations for about $600. While this may seem extravagant, the trip was booked during Memorial Weekend for three nights of hotel. Within two months of the date, airfare began to soar, costing as much as $450 alone without the hotel.
I should note that even though I had booked the trip in February, United does give a 100% refund if you cancel about a month in advance. After that, the percentage is prorated, e.g. 80% refund if canceling within 3 weeks of departure. Of course, if you wait until the week of departure, there is no refund.
I don't always do these kind of packages (because you do have to pay all of the money up front), but if I can afford it, I will do it. I have learned never sign up for a hotel/airfare/car rental package, as I always have cheaper options for a car rental (whether it be a coupon or free double upgrade). Car rental coupons can only be applied if you book directly with the company; you cannot apply car rental coupons when booking through a third party (in this case, United Vacations). Since I've made this mistake before, often the third party will allow you to cancel the car rental portion of the package with no penalty.
I did book ground transportation to/from the hotel and the airport. Typically when I need ground transportation, I book through Super Shuttle because they are the only company nationwide with whom I can book online. Although I support local businesses, many independently owned companies require you to complete a form with your flight information, and someone will call/email you later to confirm. I prefer instantaneous booking. [I suppose that's the American in me.]
We stayed at the Best Western Mayport Inn and Suites in Atlantic Beach, FL, about 40 minutes from the airport. The cost of Super Shuttle was $105 round trip. Although this seems like a lot, a one-way cab fare can be as much as $75 if you were to book directly with the cab company. For ground transportation, instead of a shuttle van, a taxi was sent. Super Shuttle will send a taxi if their vans are unable to make the trip, and will reimburse the taxi company the fare. I had to sign a voucher each time so that the cab driver could account for the fare.
The company who brought me back to the airport is Checker Cab. I thought it was neat I received a text message when the taxi was dispatched to the hotel. If you need to be picked up, you can fill out the form online or text the address and zip code to 904-222-8507. I've kept this number in my contacts in case I visit Jacksonville again.
In a nutshell, this was my experience when booking hotel, airfare, and ground transportation in Jacksonville. It may seem easy when I write the logistics in a nice little blog post, but this trip took weeks of research to plan. Nevertheless, the trip was worth it, and we had a blast!
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