Miami Beach Transportation

info about getting around the south florida area (palm beach county, broward county, and miami/dade county) by what is evidently a commuter train can be found at -- www.tri-rail.com/schedules_fares/train_schedules.htm. the customer service phone is 800/874-7245.

a website with a "trip planner" option is -- www.sfrtp.cinrtosfl.com for general info -- and -- sfrtp.cinrtosfl.com/hiwire?.a=iTripPlanning&.s=2c2014a1 to enter a specific starting point and destination. what you will get is info on how to get from one place to the other by whatever public transit means are available -- train/bus/whatever.

caution -- i did not try any public transit when i was in this area b/c i found these websites only after i got back!

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We always rent big car! There are not many big SUV's in The Netherlands, and the one you want to have is too expensive. So we choose always a really typical American car. This time we had a Cadillac Escalade. It was very comfortable to have a car like this, especially when you have to drive many miles like we did.

We hired a car for just one day during our visit to Miami, and didn't feel the need to have it for any longer than that. I guess if your holiday had been longer we may have wanted the car to explore more of Florida, but with only 4.5 days, there was plenty to do within walking distance.

After lots of research into car hire companies and prices etc we decided to go with the easy option and asked the concierge at our hotel to arrange the hire for us, which turned out to be with Thrifty Car Rental.

Thrifty delivered the car to our hotel in the morning, and collected it the following day. The price was competitive and the ease of the drop off/collection made it a breeze. We had a compact car (a Dodge Neon) which was just perfect for our day in the Everglades National Park.

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Upon arrival in Miami, the two main ways to travel to your hotel is by taxi or shuttle service. Outside the arrivals hall you can pick up a taxi , and there was certainly a large number of them available when we arrived. There are flat rates depending on which part of Miami you are heading to - there was a large sticker on the window outlining the regions and rates. It was 32 USD (plus tip) for us to go to South Beach.

Many of the hotels also have airport shuttles, and you should be able to arrange for these in advance of your trip.

There is also a shared SuperShuttle service that you can pre-book, which costs around 15 USD per person and will drop you at your hotel.

I have also read about a free-shuttle bus that links up with the tri-rail station. From there you go a couple of stops and then get another train and I think a bus....I'd stick with a taxi if I were you!

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On our trip to Miami, we flew direct from London Heathrow to Miami International Airport with British Airways. We chose British Airways as they flew direct, and the times of day of the flights fit in with our itinerary. There were also direct flights with Virgin Atlantic and American Airlines.

The flight from London to Miami was 9hours & 40mins. It was during the day, so we didn't really sleep, just watched a couple of movies and some of the other in-flight entertainment. On the way back to London, the flight was only 7hours & 40mins, and we were lucky enough to sleep most of the way as it was an overnight flight...in fact I was so exhausted (probably from all the eating we did on our holiday) that I fell asleep as soon as we had taken off.

Miami airport was quite nice, though there wasn't that much in the way of shopping/restaurants on the departures side which was a little disappointing.

If you land at Miami International Airport, the cab fare should be a flat rate of $28.00. Do not let the cabbie turn on the meter. If you are driving from the mainland to the beach see my Venetian Causeway travel logue.
If your are going to saty at the beach only, you can pretty much walk every where in SOBE. For traveling a bit further scooters are very popular. If you are going back to explore the mainland or north beach, better to rent a car.

Although Christy and I walked everywhere, we noticed a lot of people renting mopeds to get around the strip. I suggest that, if you don't want to walk. Driving in the area could be a major hassle for those of us not into teh stop/go of traffic jams. We parked our car for the weekend via valet and paid about $12 per day. It beats the frustration.

With Florida being surrounded by water,
what a better thing to do than go boting.

NOW if you're boating to impress the ladies,
HELP!
where can you rent a boat?

Try the following locations.
A remember,
drive safely...
plenty of endangered Manatess around.

Beach Boat Rentals
2400 Collins Ave.
Miami Beach
Tel. 305-534-4207

Captain Joe's
4525 Collins Ave.
Miami Beach
Tel. 305-218-2249

Carefree Luxury Rental
1031 5th St.
Miami Beach
Tel.305-534-3532
Carefree

Club Nautico
300 Alton Road
Miami Beach
Tel.306-673-2502
Club Nautico

Fantasy Water Sports
100 Sunny Isles Blvd.
Miami Beach
Tel. 305-940-2628
Fantasy

Key Biscayne Boat Rentals
3301 Rickenbacker Cswy.
Key Biscayne
Tel. 305-361-7368

Power Boat Rentals
1928 Sunset Harbour Dr.
Miami Beach
Tel. 866-724-9920
Power Boat Rental

Sea Sun Sports Catamaran
3660 Poinciana Ave.
Hobbie Beach
Tel. 305-448-3143