Renting a car at FLL and cruising out of Miami

Also is 95 going to be the best route? Hotel is right near the Miami airport

My suggestion is download the Google Maps App and just take the way it tells you to take. If you have a flat rate toll pass the best way will almost always be I-95 South to the 836, which is near by your hotel. With the flat rate toll pass take the express lanes there.

Are there any must see areas of Miami we should check out?

Depends what you want to do. Most people will say Ocean Drive/South Beach is a must see, along with maybe Lincoln Road. Vizcaya is an interesting spot, so is the Biltmore Hotel. Wynwood is great if you enjoy art. Little Havana for an interesting look into the history of Cubans in Miami.

Thank you! Anyone else??

We picked up a rental (2 adults plus 3 kids) from FLL and stayed in between FLL and Miami. It was nice to have our own vehicle. I picked a hotel with free parking but I would have gladly paid for the peace of having our own car. Drop off was no big deal. One thing I will recommend is that if you see a gas station closer to FLL then get your gas. There are not many gas stations near rental drop off.

When we returned from our cruise we did the same. Free shuttle to rental place and picked up a car. I purposely booked a late flight. We did everglade air boat ride to see the gators. It was a great! We flew back out of FLL.

We picked up a rental (2 adults plus 3 kids) from FLL and stayed in between FLL and Miami. It was nice to have our own vehicle. I picked a hotel with free parking but I would have gladly paid for the peace of having our own car. Drop off was no big deal. One thing I will recommend is that if you see a gas station closer to FLL then get your gas. There are not many gas stations near rental drop off.

 

When we returned from our cruise we did the same. Free shuttle to rental place and picked up a car. I purposely booked a late flight. We did everglade air boat ride to see the gators. It was a great! We flew back out of FLL.

Where did you rent your car from when you returned from your cruise??

In January, we flew into West Palm, rented a car from Thrifty... stayed in Miami 2 nights, dropped off car at MIA Saturday am.. used their free shuttle to POM. On return had reservation again with Thrifty.. used free shuttle from POM to MIA to pick up car with drop off in Fll later in the day for flight home. Worked out great and gave us the convenience of having a car... We've done this several times and has always worked out well... Less expensive then using a shuttle service or Uber..

How did you set up the shuttle? Is it something you need to set up with Thrifty in advance?

Does anyone know the code for BUdget rental car discounts?

One thing I will recommend is that if you see a gas station closer to FLL then get your gas. There are not many gas stations near rental drop off.

 

 

Budget and Avis charge a flat rate of $13.99 if you drove < 75 miles, and you do not show a receipt. The receipt is supposed to be from a gas station within 10 miles.... Gas stations around FLL technically would not qualify.

 

There are plenty of gas stations if you are dropping near the airport. However, the 2 stations closest to the airport car rental center on LeJeune Rd have inflated prices.

 

For drop offs at either location, I recommend planning your trip ahead using the Gas Buddy app, or the gasbuddy.com website to get an idea of what gas station to use before you begin the trip to drop off the vehicle.

How did you set up the shuttle? Is it something you need to set up with Thrifty in advance?

When you drop your car off they have a shuttle to take you to your ship. If you are getting off the ship, there is an area where the shuttles pick up the people, just look for the signs. You don't need to schedule the shuttle.

Decided to rent a convertible. It's about half the price of uber and we can then drive along the ocean and check out south beach Saturday night. The idea of taking a convertible in the Florida sun when we haven't hit 50 degrees in 4 months sounds wonderful

I didn't read every post in this entire thread, but I think I get your situation. You are flying into FLL a day ahead of the rest of your group, correct? Is the rest of your flying into FLL or MIA?

If they are flying into FLL, why are you getting a hotel in Miami?

Also, you can't really drive along the beach between Ft Lauderdale and Miami. There's not really much to see (for the most part) other than tall buildings and stoplights.

Decided to rent a convertible. It's about half the price of uber and we can then drive along the ocean and check out south beach Saturday night. The idea of taking a convertible in the Florida sun when we haven't hit 50 degrees in 4 months sounds wonderful

The drive along A1A between Fort Lauderdale and Miami is all high rises and condos. You will not see any portion of the beach except for maybe a small stretch along the Haulover Park area, between Sunny Isles and Bal Harbour.

Back home and everything worked perfectly! We got a 2017 Camaro Convertible SS for 50 bucks and it was so fun. Once we got the car, we crammed our luggage into the car (that was a challenge) and drove to Miami to our hotel. Once unpacked, we met our party who flew into Miami and had a shuttle to the hotel and we drove down ocean Avenue and caught the night life. The next morning, we dropped the car off at the FLL airport and took their free shuttle right to the ship. It was SUPER easy and so much more fun than an uber. The top down in a high powered car is better any day!

Glad it all worked out - hope you had a great cruise! :)

Back home and everything worked perfectly! We got a 2017 Camaro Convertible SS for 50 bucks and it was so fun. Once we got the car, we crammed our luggage into the car (that was a challenge) and drove to Miami to our hotel. Once unpacked, we met our party who flew into Miami and had a shuttle to the hotel and we drove down ocean Avenue and caught the night life. The next morning, we dropped the car off at the FLL airport and took their free shuttle right to the ship. It was SUPER easy and so much more fun than an uber. The top down in a high powered car is better any day!

Glad it worked out great for you. Which rental agency did you go through?

Dollar

Thanks for the follow-up, very rarely does that happen. What was your final cost with taxes, fees, tolls, gas, insurance, etc?

Thanks for the follow-up, very rarely does that happen. What was your final cost with taxes, fees, tolls, gas, insurance, etc?

I paid the extra $10 for the toll pass thing just for ease of mind and fuel was $12 after driving around all night so total cost was roughly $65 bucks. I never take the insurance offered by the car rental company. The amount of pickup the camaro ss had made it real fun! 👌