The closest hotels to the JAXPORT cruise terminal

The JAXPORT Cruise Terminal is at 9810 August Drive at Dames Point, off Heckscher Drive near I-295, and there is very little next to it. This list is the 13 hotels outside the airport cluster, closest to the terminal by car first. The ten airport hotels are 17 to 22 minutes away, about the same as most hotels here, and have their own guide.

The times are OpenStreetMap driving routes from each hotel to the terminal, without traffic. No hotel is within a 25-minute walk, so the table gives every one as a drive.

Which hotel is closest to the Jacksonville cruise port?

The Holiday Inn Express & Suites Jacksonville - Blount Island, at 10148 New Berlin Road, is 7 minutes from the terminal by car, 1.9 miles. The hotel calls itself the closest hotel to the Carnival terminal. Parking is free for registered guests, and the hotel says its lot takes buses, trucks, trailers and RVs.

What it doesn’t do is just as useful to know. It has no local shuttle and no airport shuttle. Its page invites you to ask about a Park & Cruise package, but the parking section of the same site says cruise parking and extended parking are not available, so call before you plan to leave a car there. On foot, our route to the terminal is 37 minutes along the roads around Heckscher Drive and I-295, and we couldn’t confirm sidewalks the whole way.

Where are the other hotels?

Across the river in Arlington, along the I-295 East Beltway, 14 to 17 minutes from the terminal:

• Candlewood Suites Jacksonville East Merril Road, 14 minutes, free parking.
• Holiday Inn Express Jacksonville East, 15 minutes, free parking for guests and a Stay, Park & Cruise offer.
• Hampton Inn Jacksonville East Regency Square and InTown Suites Atlantic Blvd, 16 minutes.
• WoodSpring Suites Jacksonville East 295 Cruise Port and Courtyard Jacksonville I-295/East Beltway, 17 minutes, both with free parking.

On the Northside by I-95, the Red Roof Inn Jacksonville - Cruise Port and the Aloft Jacksonville Airport at River City Marketplace are 16 minutes away. The Red Roof parks free; the Aloft charges $10 a day and runs a free airport shuttle.

Downtown, the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront is 22 minutes away, the Home2 Suites Jacksonville Downtown 23 and the DoubleTree Jacksonville Riverfront 24. The DoubleTree charges $25 a day to self-park and $35 for valet.

In Atlantic Beach, the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Jacksonville - Atlantic Beach is 27 minutes away. It is on this list because it sells a Stay And Cruise offer with up to 5 days’ parking.

Do the hotels’ own distances match?

Not always. The Red Roof Inn Cruise Port gives the cruise terminal as 4.82 miles in one place and 9.4 miles in another; our route is 7.8 miles. InTown Suites says JAXPORT is 4 miles away; our route is 8.5. Use the times in the table, which come from one routing service for every hotel.

How do I get to the terminal without a hotel shuttle?

None of these hotels runs one, so you drive or take a taxi or rideshare. The Atlantic Beach hotel estimates $25 to $30 for the ride to the port. JAXPORT’s own lot by the terminal is $17 a day with tax included, paid on arrival, and the port says its franchised taxi service runs between the terminal and the airport.

The Jacksonville park and cruise guide compares the hotels that let you leave a car for the cruise, and hotels near the Jacksonville cruise port covers all 23 we checked.