jenbos

My friends and I are going to South Beach in early March. We are flying in to Ft. Lauderdale and we're planning to take one of the shuttles from the airport to our hotel. My flight leaves really early on Monday morning and I'm thinking of taking a cab from the hotel to the Ft. Lauderdale airport. Does anyone have an idea of how much the taxi fare will be from South Beach to the airport?

Judy

Oh, jenbos, I think it would be very costly. We were at a marina in South Beach this month and needed to rent a car. A taxi trip to the Miami airport was quoted at $32....I can only imagine what the additional distance to FLL would cost! South Beach taxis were very expensive.

MikeT

There is a cooperative taxi service serving South Beach and FLL. Basically, the taxi picks you up but may also pick up a few other passengers. The ride takes longer, but it is very reasonably priced.

Christina

I'm thinking of doing the same thing in a few months -- flight in/out of FLL but stay in Miami. However, from what I read Super Shuttle will not take you from FLL to Miami, only back. Can you say what company you intend to use for a shuttle from FLL to Miami Beach?

I read somewhere that the taxi fare is around $60, but I don't know. It's not that far that it should be too outrageous, I wouldn't think. Isn't it only about 20 miles? For several people sharing a taxi, that doesn't sound too bad.

I don't know where you are staying, but you could consider Tri-Rail, the light rail train that goes from Miami to FLL. It only takes about 40 minutes between those points, and the fare is pretty cheap, only a few dollars. You'd have to take a taxi to a point in Miami to get on Tri-Rail, but that wouldn't be so bad. They have a station at MIA airport, one called Hialeah Market and one called Metrorail transfer point. You'd have to check the closest to where you were. From MIA, it departs every half hour or so early morning (eg, departs MIA 6:19 am and arrives FLL 6:58 am).

They have a website with details www.tri-rail.com

Sandy4

I'm looking for the same thing. Try www.floridalimo.com.

GoTravel

Christina, while the Tri Rail is great in theory, in practice it is impractical especially if you have luggage.

The cheapest thing would be to rent a car on Hotwire with South Beach as your pickup area. You can get an economy size for under $20 including taxes and service charges.

Christina

thanks, but I do not want to rent a car in South Beach and won't do it.

Just out of curisoity, why are you advising that Trirail is impractical if you have a little luggage? What's up with that, I take subway systems all over the world with luggage, whether arriving by plane or train (and would almost always have a tote bag and a 22" rollaboard piece of luggage). I was just wondering why you say it is impractical with luggage, when I can do this in every other city in the world? Are Trirail cars really not the same size as typical lightrail or subway cars?

GoTravel

Tri-Rail isn't the same as a typical subway car. I've also taken mass transit all over the place and the Miami Tri Rail system is a mess.

For starters, plan on more than two hours for the trip. If it is busy, and it will be on a Monday morning, you will not have room for your luggage and don't expect people to make room for you.

Secondly, you'll have to cab it to the closest rail station which is the Miami International Airport and that is a $32 cab ride with tax and tip. You could take a bus, if you do add 45 minutes to the above two hours.

Thirdly, and most importantly, the system is a mess with all the construction going on. There are constant delays and changes to the system.

If you still want to attempt this, have lots of patience and plan for a long miserable trip.

rb_travelerxATyahoo

Like Christina, I travel light and never have had any problems with public transportation .. but I do plan for either off-hours travel, or to be able to start at the train/bus originating point, so I can "stake out" my territory.

I guess it's a matter of attitude, but I've usually found what many people would consider a "major inconvenience" to be an adventure. Just part of getting there. How is Tri-rail different than, let's say Baltimore's Light Rail?

GoTravel

rb, they have no idea what they are doing and with construction and delays, it is a mess.

I've used the Subway (NYC), Metro (DC), Septa (Philly), Tube (London), EL (Chicago), Marta (Atlanta), Meto (Paris) and the Tri Rail is a joke.

It is improving but still has a long way to go.

I'm not going to argue this, I've stated fact and I hope you have a good experience.

rb_travelerxATyahoo

I'm glad it is so busy and that a lot of construction is going on .... it demonstrates a need for more transportation options in the US; our leaders should take notice. We are a third world nation when it comes to passenger rail.

I'll trust your judgement, GoTravel, should I be in FLL/MIA area.

Christina

well, you've convinced me, but I just wanted to know the reasons, that's all. Some people just assume everyone in the world has to rent a car to go a few miles, and don't like public transportation, and would tell people not to do it just because they couldn't think of doing it themself. It's really helpful to people to tell them the reason (construction etc, rather than the luggage per se). I've seen the schedules, so knew that.

I would not plan to do it during rush hour, as I know any car can be crowded during rush hour and I don't travel on my own city's system with luggage in rush hour (nor would I recommend it).

well, my trip got cancelled, but guess I would go for one of those limo services.