thereuare

I will be traveling to Florida to take a cruise out of the Miami port, and flying down the nite before.

There are more options (and cheaper) from my departing city to fly to FLL rather than MIA. If i stay in downtown Miami or South Beach area, how much more would a cab cost me if i go from FLL instead of MIA.

From one hotel's website, it says a cab to South Beach from MIA is $25, a cab to South Beach from FLL is $50.

I could easily make up the $25 extra cost with the money i save in airfare, but how much extra time is involved? It wouldn't be worth it to me if one trip is 15 minutes and the other is 1 hour and 15 minutes (although this doesn't appear to be the case when considering the cab cost).

I welcome any advice if FLL is a viable option to MIA or if this would be a mistake. Is one airport more/less reliable than the other?

Thank you.

x

30 minutes give or take depending on traffic

Duane

FLL is a viable option especially if the cost is that much cheaper to make up for the taxi fare. You might want to check out FLL web site to see if they have cruise ship transportion. Make sure it is to the Miami cruise ships and not Ft Lauderdale cruise ships.
Enjoy,
Duane

mag

It is about a 45 minute drive from FLL to MIA with general traffic (not rush hour). You could probably get a shuttle service for less than $50, better than taking a cab IMO.

thereuare

Just to clarify (as it's not clear i was totally understood from one of the replies above)...

I don't need to go from FLL to Miami Airport, i need to go to a hotel from either airport. The hotel will likely be in Miami Beach or South Beach, unless anyone suggests a different location (it's just for one nite, with us going to on a cruise the following day).

Speaking of Miami Beach vs. South Beach, we'll likley be getting in somewhat late (9:30pm?), and although we're each in our early 30's, we're not really into the whole "velvet rope" thing/crowd, but we've heard that South Beach is a MUST see/do, and MUCH more interesting than the downtown Miami Beach area. Also, it'll be Sunday nite, is South Beach still "happening" on a Sunday nite (if it's not, maybe that'll actually be better for us!)

It'll be the second night after our wedding, so although i now see us planning a late dinner at a nice place, i can also see us being too tired from the flight and no sleep the nite before to eat out and end up cancelling our reservation.

Is South Beach worth it, even if we'll just be there for the nite and following morning?

Thanks <again> for any advice.

thereuare

Whoops!

The above hotel choices SHOULD be Downtown Miami (somewhat near the cruise ship port) and South Beach.

Sorry, and thanks again.

rp

If it's just a ride to and from the airport, then FFL is fine, and if your coming in on a Sunday, then traffic is no big deal, besides your not driving so sit back and get a limo! I have made it down from FFL to SoBe in
1/2 hour.

As for South Beach, a Sunday night is less of a scene, depends on where you are coming from. It is nice to have dinner across from the beach, you know like the Riveria.is a Taking a cab from Downtown Miami or South Beach...it's six in one 1/2 doz...you know. You're not that far from the Port either way. I suppose it's worth it since your here anyway, as for whether it's a must see, I guess it depends what you have seen already!, The resturants are definitely nicer in South Beach, you can take a stroll down ocean drive, (I'm sure you checked out the websites) and the art deco buildings with neon are cool. Lincoln Rd is a nice little stretch for resturants and people watching.

Hope this helps.

RP

One more thing...Ft. Lauderdale airport is much nicer, smaller but totally reliable. Miami can sometimes be a zoo.

Have fun!

Lenore

FLL and MIA are 20 miles apart. During non-rush hour it should take about 30-40 minutes. FLL is currently expanding and being remodeled, but even with their construction it is MUCH NICER and easier to deal with than MIA. Have you thought about staying on Ft Lauderdale Beach and then taking a shuttle or cab down to the port the next day?

thereuare

I hadn't considered that, because my first thought was: "leaving from the Miami Port, then gotta fly to/stay in Miami"!

Is there something to see/do in Ft. Lauderdale area? I'm open to the idea of staying around FLL if you have some suggestions on why (not that we'll have that much time, but might as well make the best decision anyway)

We're really just flying down the nite before out of convenience, and for peace of mind of not missing the cruise ship due to travel related issues.

Cathy C

I live in Miami and travel a lot for business, frenquenting both airports. There are indeed better deals into Ft Laud. which is abour 45 min to downtown Miami (15 min. fr Miami airport). Miami Beach is off the path and would not be best unless you are spending an extra day. You might consider flying into Ft Laud, stay in that area, enjoy an evening on Las Olas and take your cab straight down to the Port of Miami the morning of your departure. Good Luck.

Why not?

Given what you've just explained, why not spend the first night (on the way out) in Fort Lauderdale? Get a place to stay on the beach and just plan on having a simple dinner and a walk on the beach when you arrive. Next morning, cab to the Miami port.

Then consider spending a couple of nights in the South Beach/Miami Beach area on your way back. Transpo between FLL amd miami is a cinch. You'll have a trip with a bit of variety and I'm sure you'd like a couple of lively days after the cruise before you go home.

Make the most of every opportunity, I say... I always try to tack a bit more on the side to my "primary" vacation goal.

rp

Yes, Ft. Lauderdale is equally a nice little evening...there are many good resturants on Las Olas...one particularly good one is in the hotel toward broward blvd...the riverfront, or riverside....the resturant on the ground floor is very good. Also a little italian place down east of that one on the other side of the street, sorry don't know the name...but they have outdoor seating in front...good food..The name is "Pasta and....something". (Sorry.) Their brushetta is very good as is the appetizer salad with grilled seared tuna....yum...i'm hungry!! Right next door is a cool and funky shop with many neat things.(don't ask me the name!!!)

thereuare

We'll only have 1 nite in Florida on the nite before the cruise, because when the cruise is over, we're flying to Mexico for 8 nites (we're not really big travelers, but it's just honeymoon so we're taking 2 weeks).

I didn't want to spend an add'l nite in Florida on the way back, because i don't think we'd really get to appreciate it since we'd be arriving in the evening from Mexico and i wouldn't relax knowing we're flying out the next day.

We have the rest of our lives togethter to make it back to the Sunshine State! I guess i'll have to start doing some research on Las Olas.

Thanks for the info thus far, and if anybody else has an opinion or more advice, please post!