Gators Fans - Advice Needed!

[TinkOhio]

Our daughter is earning her MBA at UF, and we picked up football tickets for her birthday. We live a few hours away. We would like to book a hotel for the night before and aren’t sure where to look. We also saw that parking close by can run hundreds of dollars. Gators fans, can you please lend some advice? This might be the only game she attends and we want to make it extra special for her. Any tips on lodging, parking, dining, and the like would be very appreciated. And of course tips on how to save for this trip are welcome. Thanks! And go Gators!

 

[princesscinderella]

Our son is a UF Gator and we have gone up for a few games. They have paid spectator parking on campus, usually at the garages on Gail Lemerand Dr. You just have to get there early. So many people tailgate all over campus and it’s fun to walk around campus before the game. You can grab a bite to eat at the student union if you don’t want to tailgate too. They also will have a pregame expo area where they give away free junk to the college kids and they will have sportscasters filming.

Hotels are very expensive in the area for football season, I’d recommend booking something ASAP. Sometimes it’s cheaper to get an air b&b if they don’t do surge pricing for game weekends. The Fairfield Marriott on 37th is usually where I stay when we go up it’s quiet and clean. The hotels off 75 can be loud with road noise if you get stuck with a room on the side that abuts the highway.

 

[TinkOhio]

Thanks so much for the tips! How early do you suggest we get there to park in garages?

 

[princesscinderella]

Thanks so much for the tips! How early do you suggest we get there to park in garages?

We got there around 9:30 AM as we were tailgating with another family.