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Butterfly Rainforest, Devil’s Millhopper & Ichetucknee Springs in Gainesville, Florida

Best things to do in Gainesville Florida - Paulette Perhach - Butterfly Rainforest at the Florida Museum of Natural History

Butterfly Rainforest at the Florida Museum of Natural History. Photo courtesy of Visit Gainesville, Alachua County.

I’m really excited to interview freelance writer Paulette Perhach about Gainesville, Florida. Paulette’s tips for the best things to do in Gainesville are awesome because she went to school here, moved to Seattle for ten years, and then returned for the sunshine, creative atmosphere, and low cost of living.

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Best things to do in Gainesville Florida - Paulette Perhach - Devils Millhopper Geological State Park sinkhole tour

Devil’s Millhopper Geological State Park sinkhole tour. Photo courtesy of Visit Gainesville, Alachua County.

Gainesville, Florida

We share a lot of resources and local suggestions in today’s podcast, but you should also check out Visit Gainesville, the local visitor’s bureau. They are a wealth of information and can help you plan an itinerary based on your time, budget, and interests. And we really appreciate them sharing fantastic photos of local attractions for this week’s episode.

If you’d like to learn how to travel for free using airline miles and hotel points, check out my free 7-day email course.

Best things to do in Gainesville Florida - Paulette Perhach - University of Florida Gators football stadium by jcalderaio from Pixabay

University of Florida Gators football stadium. Photo by jcalderaio from Pixabay.

Getting around Gainesville

The local airport is Gainesville Regional Airport (GNV), which is about a 10-minute drive into the city. Use our Expedia tool below to find flight, hotel, and rental car options.

Paulette says that, even if you’re staying downtown, it’s a good idea to rent a car. For the best rental car offers, visit Avis, Budget, or Hertz. The Gainesville Regional Transit System (RTS) is a budget-friendly option when you don’t want to rent a car because it offers low-cost public transit throughout the city. Uber and Lyft are also excellent ways to get around.

When you only need a car for a couple of hours, you can rent by the hour with Zipcar. Join now to get $25 loaded into your account.

Best things to do in Gainesville Florida - Paulette Perhach - Slice at Satchels Pizza

Slice at Satchels Pizza. Photo courtesy of Visit Gainesville, Alachua County.

Places we talked about on the Gainesville, Florida podcast

Here is a map of all of the places we talked about on the podcast episode with Paulette Perhach about Gainesville, Florida. You can zoom into the map and click on each dot to explore the city.

  • Red dots = best places to eat in Gainesville, Florida
  • Green dots = best things to do in Gainesville, Florida
  • Yellow dots = best places to stay in Gainesville, Florida

Who is Paulette Perhach?

Paulette Perhach’s writing has been published in the New York Times, Vox, Elle, The Washington Post, and more. She’s the author of multiple million-reader viral essays.

Her book, Welcome to the Writer’s Life (Amazon affiliate link), was published in 2018 by Sasquatch Books, part of the Penguin Random House publishing family, and was selected as one of Poets & Writers’ Best Books for Writers.

She blogs about a writer’s craft, business, personal finance, and joy at Welcome To The Writer’s Life. Paulette also leads meditation and writing sessions for passionate writers looking to “enhance their productivity and foster a sense of belonging” every weekday at 10 a.m. Eastern through A Very Important Meeting.

Best things to do in Gainesville Florida - Paulette Perhach

Here are a few articles that she’s written:

You can connect with Paulette on her website and social media on Twitter and Instagram.

We Travel There - Gainesville Florida - Paulette Perhach - podcast one sheet

Click here to download our one-page guide of Paulette’s tips for Gainesville.

Big thanks to today’s affiliate partner – AwardWallet

This episode is brought to you, in part, by AwardWallet. Using airline miles and hotel points makes travel affordable, but keeping track of all of those loyalty programs can be a challenge. That’s why I use AwardWallet to track my miles and points balances, reservations, and special goodies like free hotel night certifications and airline companion passes.

Having everything in one easy-to-use dashboard helps ensure I don’t let any rewards expire and makes logging into my accounts super easy. Go to WeTravelThere.com/awardwallet to start your free account.

Best things to do in Gainesville Florida - Paulette Perhach - Tubing on the river at Ichetucknee Springs State Park

Tubing on the river at Ichetucknee Springs State Park. Photo courtesy of Visit Gainesville, Alachua County.

Stay tuned for our next episode

Best things to do in Istanbul Turkey - Pinar Tarhan with her book

Pinar with her book.

Listen to the next episode when freelance writer Pinar Tarhan, the author of the fun rom-com series “A Change Would Do You Good” (Amazon affiliate link), shares the best things to do in Istanbul, Turkey. In this episode, Pinar and I talk about visiting Dolmabahce Palace, swimming at Prince’s Islands, and exploring the historic Hagia Sofia, which was completed in 537 A.D. We hope you’ll join us when We Travel There.

What’s your favorite part of Gainesville? Send us a Tweet, let us know in the comment section below, or continue the discussion in our Facebook group!

Please take a moment to follow the podcast on your favorite podcast apps, like Apple Podcasts, Google, or Spotify, so you don’t miss the next episode! While you’re at it, give us a rating and Tweet the podcast to your friends.

To see which cities we’ve interviewed and scheduled, please visit WeTravelThere.com/map. If you’d like to be a guest on the show, please submit an application at WeTravelThere.com/guest.

Related episodes for Gainesville

To learn more about destinations in Florida, check out our episodes below:

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