Should you visit Gainesville or Virginia Beach?
If you're trying to decide where to visit between Gainesville or Virginia Beach, this travel cost comparison can help. The overall cost of travel is usually a consideration when deciding where to go next, and the cost comparison below can help you decide based on the average prices from other travelers along with your own travel budget.
Gainesville
Home to the University of Florida as well as Santa Fe College, the town of Gainesville has all of the shopping, entertainment, and restaurants that you could want in a college town - plus easy access to a number of outdoor adventures from canoeing, diving, and kayaking to birding, fishing, hiking, and biking. Some of the top features include the Butterfly Rainforest, the Florida Museum of Natural History, the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens, and Devil's Millhopper Geological State Park.
Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach sits on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay. It's a popular beach destination and has many of the characteristics of most southeastern beach towns. There are many activities that you can enjoy and there's a concrete boardwalk that runs parallel to the water for about three miles. The boardwalk is a fun place to walk or bicycle. The beach itself is wide and sandy and is a great place to soak up some sun. During the summer months and school holidays it can get quite crowded and you might struggle to find a place for your towel and beach chairs. There are also many beach side resorts that line the water front. Most have pools and hot tubs where you can relax and some hotels have indoor pools as well, which can be nice during the cool winter months.
Which city is cheaper, Virginia Beach or Gainesville?
These are the overall average travel costs for the two destinations.
The average daily cost (per person) in Gainesville is $135, while the average daily cost in Virginia Beach is $104. These costs include accommodation (assuming double occupancy, so the traveler is sharing the room), food, transportation, and entertainment. While every person is different, these costs are an average of past travelers in each city. Below is a breakdown of travel costs for Gainesville and Virginia Beach in more detail.
Accommodation
A hotel room in Gainesville is about $138 This assumes double occupancy and modest accommodations.
The prices for places to stay in Virginia Beach can vary by date, location, and type. Generally, the average cost for accommodation per person is $60, while a typical double-occupancy hotel room for two people will cost around $120.
Food
While meal prices in Gainesville can vary, the average travelers spends about $46 per day on food. Based on the spending habits of previous travelers, when dining out, an average meal in Gainesville should cost around $18 per person. Breakfast prices are usually a little cheaper than lunch or dinner. The price of food in sit-down restaurants in Gainesville is often higher than fast food prices or street food prices.
Food in Virginia Beach costs travelers about $25 per day on average. Restaurants can vary significantly in price, so choose wisely if you're trying to save money. Fast food and street stalls are typically your cheapest options, which sit down restaurants can be significantly more expensive.
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Food
Meals for one day
Gainesville $46
Virginia Beach $25
Typical Food prices in Gainesville
Some typical examples of dining costs in Gainesville are as follows:
Local Transportation
The cost of a taxi ride in Gainesville is significantly more than public transportation. On average, past travelers have spent $33 per person, per day, on local transportation in Gainesville.
Public transportation tends to be much less expensive in Virginia Beach than paying for a taxi or private car service, as is expected. Typically, people spend $31 on transportation in Virginia Beach on average per day.
Hired Cars and Shuttles in Gainesville
Some specific examples of transportation prices in Gainesville:
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Private Transfer from Gainesville to Orlando-Sanford (SFB) Airport:
$676
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Private Transfer from Gainesville to Port Canaveral:
$658
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Private Transfer from Gainesville to Orlando (MCO) Airport:
$453
Typical Local Transportation prices in Virginia Beach
Below are a few samples from actual travelers for transportation costs in Virginia Beach:
Is it cheaper to fly into Gainesville or Virginia Beach?
Prices for flights to both Virginia Beach and Gainesville change regularly based on dates and travel demand. We suggest you find the best prices for your next trip on Kayak, because you can compare the cost of flights across multiple airlines for your prefered dates.
Entertainment
Entertainment and activities in Gainesville typically cost an average of $14 per person, per day. This includes fees paid for admission tickets to museums and attractions, day tours, and other sightseeing expenses.
Sightseeing expenses in Virginia Beach, including the cost of admission tickets for day tours, museums, and attractions, usually cost an average of $17 per day, per person.
Typical Entertainment prices in Gainesville
Some typical examples of activities, tours, and entrance ticket prices in Gainesville are as follows:
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Manatee Tour for Two
$98
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Tour Guide Tip
$5.00
Tours and Activities in Gainesville
Some specific costs of activities, tours, and entrance tickets for Gainesville are as follows:
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Butterfly Rainforest at Florida Museum of Natural History Ticket:
$14
Tours and Activities in Virginia Beach
Also, here are some specific examples of entertainment, tickets, and activities for Virginia Beach.
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Sunset Stand Up Paddleboard Tour of Linkhorn Bay:
$41
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Wetland Zip Tour:
$61
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Sunset Dolphin Kayak Tours:
$62
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Small Group Dolphin Kayak Eco-Tour:
$62
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RIDE ALONG GREEK GODS & AQUATISM *Certified Tours*:
$75
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Tour of Virginia Beach (half day), for GROUPS of 10-16:
$499
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Tour of Virginia Beach, for GROUPS of 10-16:
$831
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All-Inclusive, Autumn Weekend Tour for GROUPS of 10-16:
$5,901
Alcohol
The average person spends about $39 on alcoholic beverages in Gainesville per day. The more you spend on alcohol, the more fun you might be having despite your higher budget.
Alcoholic beverages can often be a significant portion of a traveler's budget, and the costs can vary greatly from person to person. In Virginia Beach, the average amount that a visitor spends on alcoholic beverages per day is $8.51.
When we compare the travel costs of actual travelers between Gainesville and Virginia Beach, we can see that Gainesville is more expensive. And not only is Virginia Beach much less expensive, but it is actually a significantly cheaper destination. So, traveling to Virginia Beach would let you spend less money overall. Or, you could decide to spend more money in Virginia Beach and be able to afford a more luxurious travel style by staying in nicer hotels, eating at more expensive restaurants, taking tours, and experiencing more activities. The same level of travel in Gainesville would naturally cost you much more money, so you would probably want to keep your budget a little tighter in Gainesville than you might in Virginia Beach.
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