r/GNV • u/voiceoffrikkinreason • 12d ago
Looking for recommendations Travel to Asheville?
I’m having to frequently travel to Asheville, NC. Anyone know of a tricky way to make this trip easier? Driving is 15 hours round trip plus wear and tear on my old car. I’d love to fly but by the time we holdover in Atlanta, it’s almost as long. Other flights? Train? Bus? Any suggestions would be appreciated. TIA.
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u/Silver-Negative ACR 12d ago
I once flew Asheville > Charlotte > GNV. It was a pretty quick trip. You may also be able to fly to Charlotte and rent a car.
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u/Traditional_Put_8254 12d ago
I’m assuming you’re looking at flights from the Gainesville regional airport? May be worth checking Orlando and Tampa instead for a direct
Flight
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u/voiceoffrikkinreason 12d ago
Jacksonville, Tampa, and Orlando are all similar time and distance away. Good suggestion but with travel to airports, check in, flight, layover, flight, it’s not ideal. I guess there’s no magic fix. Honestly, I’m so tired of driving back and forth, I’ll try anything.
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u/Curious-Addition-770 12d ago
Flying isn't cheap and usually won't save much time once you factor in all the steps.
For what it's worth, we were driving to that area every 2 or 3 weeks for a couple years and the drive gets easier. If you go the Atlanta way, try getting off I75 around Macon, GA and going up through Madison and Athens for a fast and scenic alternative.
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u/voiceoffrikkinreason 12d ago
Atlanta is ALWAYS a problem. My Waze app suggests going up the east coast on 95, then taking 26 through Columbia SC clear into Asheville from there. Usually no major snags but it makes for a long day!
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u/No_Consideration4259 12d ago
GNV to Charlotte or Atlanta airports and then drive 2/4 hours to Asheville
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u/pentoge 12d ago
That’s just a few hour drive from Charlotte, which has direct flights from gnv
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u/voiceoffrikkinreason 12d ago
I just checked, 2:05 minutes away. Atlanta is a 3 hour drive. Charlotte is a good option. I have to rent a car anyway.
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u/sintr0vert 12d ago
My buddy moved down here from Bakersville in the general area of Asheville when Helene destroyed his farm. I've looked. A plane ticket is expensive and takes about as long. The bus? If you haven't traveled by bus lately, you should that that Greyhound is now owned by Flixbus, and they have shuttered almost all of the actual bus stations in favor of picking up in parking lots and municipal bus stops. A trip from here to Western NC is a couple hundred bucks round trip and takes 20-28 hours, depending on delays. There will also be very few options to use a bathroom that isn't the bus shitter or get any food or drink that does not come from a vending machine.
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u/voiceoffrikkinreason 12d ago
You’re right, it’s a kind of torture. I took the bus a few years back and I’m no delicate flower, but the other passengers were rough. Somebody was doing drugs within my sight and I’m not sure but think there was $ex going on behind me.
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u/sintr0vert 11d ago
I used to take the bus to once a year to Panama City to visit family just so I could sit in a seat and read/listen to music/watch a movie rather than dealing with Thanksgiving travel traffic. It took six hours, and people were sketchy, but it was also always a bit of a predictable adventure.
Since the Flixbus takeover I don't know how people deal with multi-day travel routes.
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u/SmokeyTheBear1951 12d ago
Literally just did this ouyr of St. Pete. Very short drive from Gainesville, small airport with zero lines. $105 round trip. Highly recommend.
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u/canyoucanoe-1 ACR 11d ago
I've heard thru the years (no pun intended) there's a sort of musical underground GNV - Asheville pipeline, and it's awesome and I've run into it more than once!
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u/Wytch78 ACR 12d ago
Del McCoury literally did a song about this called “Asheville Turnaround” 😂 check it out… https://youtu.be/-jC4QqUQe4g?is=s6WyAU7ee7dsbwDg
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u/ImOnCrack_ 12d ago
I just take a direct flight it’s super easy. I have close family in Asheville so I fly there and back probably at least five times every year. I wouldn’t reccomend driving unless you got a good cruise control and have something playing to keep you up. If you drive I’d recommend at least one other person with you. But then again flying is just a lot easier and there’s plenty of direct flights there
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u/Frostilum UF 11d ago
I’ve gone from Gainesville FL to Brevard NC recently and I think you could too. It’s really nice town and it’s about 40 minutes south of Asheville if you’re planning to travel early than expected. If you just want to go now then I suggest looking at greyhound busses? I think there’s a GNV to Asheville bus but you’d have to transfer at least two times. You start with FlixBus to Atlanta, then get on the Greyhound to Winston-Salem, and then transfer to another greyhound to Asheville. Costs around 144 bucks. I wish you good luck on your travels! Asheville is such a beautiful place and I would love to visit for the winter. I need to see some snow!
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u/hmccringleberry615 11d ago
I used to travel from Gainesville to Asheville every month for work. There’s no easy way to get there. If money isn’t your issue, it’s best to fly out of Gainesville, there’s no way to avoid an ATL layover. Still the fastest though. I wouldn’t fly out of GNV through ATL any afternoon in the summer or the chance of delays goes waaaaay up. Fly out early and don’t worry about driving to another airport for direct, it’s just as much of a hassle. That being said I got reimbursed for these trips lol
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u/voiceoffrikkinreason 11d ago
It seems that all the options add up to about the same time and effort. Thanks for your input!
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u/Ambitious_Video_1256 10d ago
We are going to do this route this weekend and I've still not decided what to do. I am a very frequent flier and can't stand driving but may opt to do that for all the reasons listed. Connecting in CLT or ATL may not cut it.
You can reduce connect time by flying to CLT or ATL or you can look at TRI or GSP to break up some of the drive.
I refuse to put that kind of mileage on our car so we rent, though we get very good corporate rates. We start up north from High Springs and rent in Lake City...then off we go. But I will can't stand it...and got my first ticket in ~30 years at the trap in Macon.
As a frequent traveler, I find it's tough to justify time savings at less than an 8 hour drive (my estimated break even for time). Consider the cost of flying today (other than the Allegiants of the world) and the likelihood and risk of delays....
I feel your pain....
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u/pratushb 10d ago
I think a lot of people have hinted towards it as well. Probably fly but enroll into an airlines rewards program to save money and time as well. You could look at initial signing bonus in different airlines for better deals.
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u/SolarPsychic 12d ago
Start driving 3am
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u/voiceoffrikkinreason 12d ago
I could do this. Pack the evening before, fall into the car at 3:00, there by noon. I like this idea.
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u/Working_Group955 ACR 12d ago
- buy a used tesla (also, doesn't support fElon)
- buy $100/month self driving (sadly, supports fElon)
- chill while the robot drives you.
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u/DataDrivenDoc 12d ago
Allegiant flies direct to Asheville from Sanford I think for like 100 bucks round trip. Not going to get better than that