Hi!
my boyfriend and I are attending to The Fest for the first time. we've booked at Paramount Plaza. we're wondering if is safe to take a 45min walk at 3am of if it's better to get a cab ride.
in the case of the cab, anyone can tell us how much would it cost a 10min ride?

You and your boyfriend should be totally fine. You'll be walking along a main stretch of road and/or side streets where students routinely stumble back in the dark to their apartments. Lots of sidewalks on all of these.

I cannot quote a cab price for you, but I can tell you that after Festing all day, you will NOT be pumped about your walk home. Personally, I would GLADLY buy one less T-shirt to pay for a cab.

^ i second this. Gainesville for the most bit is well lit with plenty of pedestrian byways, plus well patrolled esp. the bit youll be walking. but try to carpool or catch a cab, walking becomes much more dangerous after a night of festing, walking in general that is, just the one foot in front of the other part of it...

Also, when you wake up friday morning, you have no idea what kinds of damage your body will endure that day. One Fest, a fat smelly asshole tried starting a pit at Rumrunners but just managed to shove me through a bar and turn my ribs green and purple, another Fest i jumped out of a building and wrecked my ankle, walking can suck when random ass danger happens

Im sure that there are others staying at the paramount, ask around on the board, get to know some people, find a ride, and your first Fest will be just as awesome as mine was, but remember if you do decide to hike it, Buddy System, Alertness, Common Sense...

What these guys said. The walk down to Paramount is fine and you'll almost certainly have no problems but if you have some spare cash for a taxi you won't regret it. From the venues to PP is probably about $12-15 and if you share you can split that between up to 4 people.

Hey Beatriz

I stayed at the Paramount last year and it is one long ass walk! It was fine in a morning, helped walk off that hangover but on a night, drunk as hell it was brutal! Factor in cab money, you won't regret it

My girlfriend and I are also staying at The Paramount, along with the majority of Aussies going.

I'm sure if we bump into each other we can all walk together or taxi it together. I can't imagine that taxi's would be expensive either for the 10 min ride.

Thanks for your replies and advices!!

So we'll take a taxi back to the hotel after a long day festing. maybe we'll share one of those rides

it's a doable walk, more so at the start of the day than after a long day of Festing. cabs are less than $20, and can be split between riders. i think we typically paid $12 (before tip) usually and split it between 3 people.

couple tips:

the cabs are always busy during Fest. call them well in advance if you plan on getting downtown in a timely fashion.

if you get a good cabbie, ask for their business card or personal number. i've done this the past few Fests and usually get picked up quicker than waiting for a cab to be dispatched.

talk to other Festers when you head back to your hotel for the night. there's lots of hotels in that area, you can save money by sharing the cab/van with others.

The find a good guy and stick with him advice is sound. There's a dude who calls himself Ochocinco who is no way reliable but is highly amusing and therefore our cabbie of choice.

My girlfriend and I are also staying at the Paramount and very much open to cab shares after a hard days festing. We're both pretty short, not sure our little legs could handle the long walk back after a day on the PBR

[quote="showerbeers"]My girlfriend and I are also staying at The Paramount, along with the majority of Aussies going.

Not this Aussie - we have stayed at The Paramount for a couple of other fests & that walk back is a killer, hence us staying right in the thick of it this time around!