Direct flight from JAX to Sarasota (or Tampa)?

[Adam White]

I will be visiting Jax in August and since I've not been home since 2017, I cannot avoid going to visit my folks in Sarasota. Unfortunately, both my sons get car sick very easily and the prospect of a 4.5 hour (or longer) drive is pretty grim.

I tried various sites (Expedia, Orbitz, etc) to see how much it would cost to fly from Jax to Sarasota or Tampa, but every option I get has a layover somewhere.

Is it just not possible to fly direct from Jax to Sarasota or Tampa or am I missing something (like maybe the days of the week to travel or something)?

Any help would be appreciated.

[Lostwave]

Silver Airways used to have a direct from Tampa.  But I don't think they do anymore. 

[BridgeTroll]

I see a grim car trip in your future... 

[Captain Zissou]

The good news is if you leave at the right time you can do the drive to Sarasota in about 3.5 hours.  On christmas day last year I got from Bee Ridge in Sarasota to San Marco in about 3 hours and 10 minutes.

[Adam White]

Thanks everyone.

I guess my next big decision is what to line the car interior with. I guess newspapers will soak up the vomit pretty well.

We'll be driving from Neptune Beach and I think going via 301 is the better way - in my experience, it is almost always quicker, as there is usually at least one accident on I-4.

Captain Zissou - did you leave early or late? I assume we'll try to be on the road early. At least it's not likely to be on a weekend.

[BridgeTroll]

Perhaps the folks could drive to Jacksonville to spare the grandkids a horrible experience?

[Steve]

Silver still does the JAX-TPA flight, but it's REALLY limited. TPA-JAX is on Sundays and JAX-TPA is on Fridays.

If you're truly hellbent on flying, Delta will let you book TPA-JAX with a connection in ATL.

Would Amtrak work? There's once a day from Tampa to Jacksonville.

[Charles Hunter]

Dramamine or Bonine?

[jaxlongtimer]

If you drive for an hour at a time and take 2 or 3 stops for lunch or visiting an historic site or a park (our state parks are pretty good and they seem to be plentiful enough to be close to wherever you might find yourself) or other attraction along the way, maybe you could pull it off.

I would hope a one hour ride at a time was manageable given you probably take that long at times in some of your local travels, wherever that might be (it is getting to where it could take an hour to go crosstown in Jax).

[Adam White]

Perhaps the folks could drive to Jacksonville to spare the grandkids a horrible experience?

They did that back in 2017 - but my dad is 90 and I don't feel comfortable with him driving that far (or at all, really - though he seems to think he can drive just fine). My mother also had a stroke a few years ago, so I am not sure how comfortable she would be.

[Adam White]

Silver still does the JAX-TPA flight, but it's REALLY limited. TPA-JAX is on Sundays and JAX-TPA is on Fridays.

If you're truly hellbent on flying, Delta will let you book TPA-JAX with a connection in ATL.

Would Amtrak work? There's once a day from Tampa to Jacksonville.

You know, the Amtrak idea is actually tempting. I might look into that.

[Adam White]

Dramamine or Bonine?

Probably. I've never used it - but it might be the only option. I think they have some that kids can take.

[Adam White]

If you drive for an hour at a time and take 2 or 3 stops for lunch or visiting an historic site or a park (our state parks are pretty good and they seem to be plentiful enough to be close to wherever you might find yourself) or other attraction along the way, maybe you could pull it off.

I would hope a one hour ride at a time was manageable given you probably take that long at times in some of your local travels, wherever that might be (it is getting to where it could take an hour to go crosstown in Jax).

In the past, we've had to break up the trip a bit (we only had the one kid at the time). But it's so long that we don't want to spend too much time. We barely ever ride anywhere now - prior to the pandemic, we'd take buses all the time. These days, we walk the kids to and from school and walk most everywhere locally. We do take the train when we have to. But I think the lack of using public transport has made the kids more susceptible to motion sickness, as they are out of practice (for lack of a better word). I do think that if we drive carefully (in order to avoid lost of jerking movements/stepping on the brakes) it shouldn't be too bad, fingers crossed. The smoother the ride, the better.

[Captain Zissou]

Given that you're coming from the beach, getting out of jax is going to be your biggest headache.  I'd avoid leaving between 7:30-8:30 in the morning or 3-5:30 pm.  The path to sarasota stays pretty far from actual tampa, but the I-275 and Florida Turnpike offramps can cause congestion on I-75.  I think your best departure time on a weekday would be about 9:30 and arriving in Sarasota around 1:30.  Otherwise I would do 6 pm-10 pm and have the kids sleep if possible.

[Tacachale]

Silver still does the JAX-TPA flight, but it's REALLY limited. TPA-JAX is on Sundays and JAX-TPA is on Fridays.

If you're truly hellbent on flying, Delta will let you book TPA-JAX with a connection in ATL.

Would Amtrak work? There's once a day from Tampa to Jacksonville.

You know, the Amtrak idea is actually tempting. I might look into that.

Amtrak is great. Much more comfortable than a car (especially for those with motion sickness, poor kids). We did it from Chicago to Battle Creek, Michigan in December. Other than having to coordinate the times, it's a life saver.