Gainesville

Finding Your Way around Gainesville

Transportation to and around Gainesville might be very different than the transportation you are used to back home. In this video, we want to briefly go over the best ways for students to get to and from the main campus. There are many transportation options available to you, and we hope this information will help facilitate your experience at UF.

Airports

The connecting cities to Gainesville Regional Airport (GNV) are ATL on Delta and CLT, DFW and MIA on American Airlines. The Gainesville Regional Airport is located at 3400 NE 39th Avenue. It is six miles from the Gainesville airport to campus. Taxicabs are available at the airport. Allow at least $25 for cab fare and tips. For more information, students should visit the Gainesville Regional Airport webpage or call (352) 373-0249.

Car Rental

Students planning on renting a car to drive to Gainesville should be sure to ask about the car return (drop-off) location in Gainesville. Each company has specific rental requirements. Students should contact the company for more information:

• Avis or 1-800-831-2847. Gainesville drop-off located at the Gainesville Regional Airport.
  Renter must be at least 21 years old, have a credit card and a valid international driver's license.
• Budget Rent-a-Car or 1-800-527-0700 Gainesville drop-off at the Gainesville Regional Airport.
  Minimum age is 21; must have a credit card and a driver's license notarized in English.
• Enterprise Rent-a-Car or 1-800-261-7331. Gainesville drop-off located at the Gainesville Regional Airport.
  Minimum age is 21; must have a credit card, an international driver's license and a home country license.
• Hertz or 1-800-654-3131. Gainesville drop-off at the Gainesville Regional Airport and 3620 North Main Street HLE.
  Renter must be at least 21 years old, have a credit card and a valid driver's license from the home country.
• National Car Rental or 1-800-227-7368. Gainesville drop-off at the Gainesville Regional Airport.
  Renter must be at least 21 years old, have a credit card, an international driver's license, and passport.
• Once students are in Gainesville, UF has a deal with Zipcar which provides rental car access for a limited price. 

Bus Service

• Greyhound Bus Lines offers nationwide and city-to-city bus service. The Gainesville Greyhound bus station is located at 101 NE 23RD AVE, Gainesville, FL 32601. Ph: 352-376-5252
• RedCoach is a new luxury bus service which covers some cities in Florida, including the Miami, Tampa, and Fort Lauderdale airports.
• Regional Transit System (RTS) is the City of Gainesville's public transportation system. With the Gator 1 card, students can ride the RTS buses for free. New international students can ride the bus number 25 from the airport by presenting their letter of admission or initial I-20. Review additional RTS routes and schedule information.
• Megabus

Rail Service

Amtrak Rail Lines, the nation's largest passenger train service, does not offer direct trains into Gainesville. The closest train station is in Palatka, approximately 45 miles from Gainesville. The train does not run every day. For reservation information, students should visit Amtrak webpage or call 1-800-872-7245.

Getting Settled

Once in Gainesville, students are responsible for finding housing, bus lines, stores, laundries, post offices, libraries, banks, etc, and for completing all required paperwork. The UFIC recommends arriving on campus no later than a week before the mandatory orientation. Students who have an assistantship or fellowship award should contact the awarding department to confirm when they should arrive in Gainesville, since hiring procedures need to be completed before the start of the semester. Students with an assistantship or fellowship are also required to apply for a Social Security card once they arrive in the United States and have been present in the country for at least ten days. Students with valid F-1 visa status may be permitted to obtain an assistantship or fellowship.

• United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) does not allow B-1/B-2 visa holders to be degree-seeking students nor enroll at all until the change of status to F-1 is approved. F-2 visa holders can attend school part-time but must wait for the change of status to F-1 to be approved before they can enroll full-time.

Gainesville has a semi-tropical climate, with hot summers and cool winters. During a normal winter, the days are sunny and warm (60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit or 16 to 21 degrees Centigrade), nights are cool (30 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit or -1 to 10 degrees Centigrade). There are occasional freezing temperatures but it does not snow. A winter jacket is necessary. The summer days are hot (80 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit or 27 to 35 degrees Centigrade) with high humidity; brief rain showers are frequent, especially throughout April/May – September/October; an umbrella/rain gear is suggested.

UF Housing

All students must make their own arrangements for housing. The University of Florida Housing Office is located on the corner of SW 13th Street and Museum Road. Hours of operation are 8:00am-5:00pm, Monday through Friday.

 Learn more about all housing options and to apply for housing on-campus. 

• Single Student On-Campus Housing: There is limited availability for single student on-campus housing. 
• The UF Department of Housing and Residence Education features three different apartment complexes known as villages that are available to all graduate and professional students.  Pricing includes telephone, high speed internet, standard cable, and water service in most facilities. 
• UF Housing has a partnership for graduate and professional students with the off-campus apartment community, The Continuum. These apartments provide all-inclusive rates and are walking distance to UF and downtown Gainesville.  

Off-Campus Housing

All students must make their own arrangements for housing. There are several off-campus apartment complexes located in Gainesville that rent housing facilities to UF students and their families. UF’s Office of Off-Campus Life (OCL) has several resources and services to assist students with finding off-campus housing. 

The first resource is the Gator Guide to Off Campus life. The Gator Guide is Off Campus Life’s annual publication and is available through the Off Campus Life website. This resource provides steps to follow to find off-campus housing, average rental rates, lease information, safety information, bus information and much more. 

The second resource is a free online off-campus housing locator that students can use to search for housing off campus including apartments, houses and condominiums for rent. Students can search based on location, number of bedrooms, lease length, cost, amenities and several other search criteria. The locator also has sublease listings and a roommate finder.

Off Campus Life also provides individual meetings with students that are looking for off-campus housing to discuss the Gainesville rental market and to provide tips for securing off-campus housing. Students interested in scheduling an appointment should visit UF Off Campus Life website and click on CONNECT to select the Appointment Request option or visit the OCL office on the corner of SW 13th Street and Museum Road, inside the Housing and Residence Life office located at 1304 Diamond Road, Gainesville, Florida 32611.

To learn more about Off Campus Life, students should visit the OCL website.

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