Fll or Miami

Doing a 10 night cruise next January thinking of having 3 nights afterwards just wondering what would be better Fort Lauderdale or Miami for a few extra days thanks

That rather depends on what you want to do and which will be your departure airport. There's plenty to occupy yourself for 2 or 3 days at either location.

why would the departure airport really matter since they are less than an hour apart???

why would the departure airport really matter since they are less than an hour apart???

When I go to LA, LAX and BUR are an hour apart. I still choose the one that is most convenient to what I'll be doing while I'm there.

South Florida traffic isn't as bad as LA, but I'd need a reason to drive from the cruise terminal in FLL to the Miami area for a few days, then back to FLL unless there was something that I particularly wanted to do in Miami. If the activities were roughly equally appealing, I'd do the ones near the airport from which I was flying and save transportation issues.

I agree that for me it would depend on which airport I was using to fly home.

An hour apart is not "close" in my book!

if i'm spending 3 nights - an hour on the day we fly out is nothing...Miami and Ft Lauderdale have totally different vibes...:D

That rather depends on what you want to do.

I honestly don't understand why people who post questions like this don't give us a hint of what they're interested in.

Doing a 10 night cruise next January thinking of having 3 nights afterwards just wondering what would be better Fort Lauderdale or Miami for a few extra days thanks

Fort Lauderdale if you want beaches, a nice walkway along the beach, sidewalk cafes, shops, mall, downtown area, boat rides, or if you want to rent a car to drive around to other locations. The inexpensive, $5/day I think, Sun Trolley takes you all around the main areas. Check out their routes on line and select a hotel near a route. We mostly stay at the Embassy Suites on SE 17th St.

Miami Beach, not Miami (different towns) if you want to hang out on South Beach and stay in the Art Deco hotel area.

If you are flying from Ft. Lauderdale, surely Ft. Lauderdale. You can always drive to Miami for a day trip.

If you want a quieter location look at Hollywood just south of Ft. Lauderdale.

Be prepared for high rates, it is high season.

I didn’t read this as having anything to do with departure airports but which location, Miami or ft Lauderdale is a better area in which to stay for a few days. Maybe I read it wrong ,,, but in case I did not:

I like Fort Lauderdale a lot better than Miami. And in Fort Lauderdale, if you are looking for a fabulous hotel, right on the beach that caters to both couples or families, I would recommend looking into staying at Lago Mar Beach Resort. I would go back there in a heartbeat. When staying in Miami in the past, I’ve never felt so I unwelcomed. I am sure some will argue for the virtues of Miami, we just don’t care for it based on our experiences.

Lived in Fort Lauderdale-Boca Raton area for 43 years. My DH worked in Miami most of that time. Miami area is very Latin in culture which I like. However, I would definitely stay in the Fort Lauderdale area and use Fort Lauderdale airport if you can. You can always rent a car and do a day trip to Miami Beach area or wherever.

Pooh

When I go to LA, LAX and BUR are an hour apart. I still choose the one that is most convenient to what I'll be doing while I'm there.

 

South Florida traffic isn't as bad as LA, but I'd need a reason to drive from the cruise terminal in FLL to the Miami area for a few days, then back to FLL unless there was something that I particularly wanted to do in Miami. If the activities were roughly equally appealing, I'd do the ones near the airport from which I was flying and save transportation issues.[/quot

 

Have you considered taking the new Brightline trian to/from MIA and FLL? New, clean, comfortable, economical and with frequent trips. No traffic, no parking hassles. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.

I lived in Miami for the past 23 years and on weekends, we would drive to Ft Lauderdale just to get away from the madness. The area around Las Olas is a great place to hang for a day or two.

Miami is a lot more expensive than FLL. Embassy Suites offers a nice package that includes a managers special with free cocktails & snacks each night. A full breakfast in the mornings, and a nice room with a bedroom & living room area. We stayed at Loews in Miami where a glass of wine was $15...burger $25...

Embassy Suites in FLL

Miami is always the place to party. Fort Lauderdale sometimes is a place to party then other times it is a place to sleep, depends on when you go.

FLL would be our choice. Less hetic!

Have you considered taking the new Brightline trian to/from MIA and FLL?.

Tri-rail goes right to MIA (finally. took an extra 1+ years to go from Hialeah to MIA). Brightline does not.

We’ve stayed in Miami / South Beach multiple times and Ft Lauderdale a few times. We actually prefer Miami Beach as it seems to have more of a fun vibe, found some great restaurants, good shopping, lots to walk and see, love the colorful unique lifeguard stands, and we liked the beach better... we love the Betsy Hotel and Front Porch cafe at the hotel next door. The beach pretty much shuts down at 5/6pm and as it starts to get dark, we feel safer staying close to our hotel so don’t venture too far once the sun goes down. Also, there are lots of homeless people that sleep on the beach. Ft Lauderdale is good too and we’ve found that the hotels are cheaper. You can get an oceanview room which is harder to come by in Miami / South Beach. Definitely more calm and not as crazy. If that’s what you are looking for, could always do a day trip to Miami / South Beach (go on a weekday as weekends are super crowded). We’ve stayed at the Atlantic Hotel and the Westin on the beach in Ft Lauderdale and enjoyed stays at both. You really can’t go wrong with either beach... just depends on what you are looking for.

Agree it depends upon what you are interested in and who is cruising.

http://www.sunny.org has lots of tourist info and hotel listings - a good place to start your research.

As a local, we don't care which cruise port or airport we travel from as they are both so close and convenient. The airports are not an hour apart, more like 30 minutes and it's totally trivial.

I would definitely suggest Miami vs Fort Lauderdale largely based on what someone wants to do. It's a tough comparison as both are great.

A third option, and probably one of my favorites is Hollywood Beach. The broadwalk, music, activities, bars and restaurants, water taxi, etc. It's really awesome.

OP is doing this in January, the height of the South Florida tourist season and thus the height of pricing for hotels located near the beach, either on Miami Beach or in Fort Lauderdale. The availability of "reasonably priced" hotels may need to be factored into the decision.

Well OP has not come back to tell us what he/she wants.

Miami and Ft. Lauderdale are different but only 20-miles apart, outside of driving with the flow of rush-hour the drive is very easy. So you can stay in either and enjoy the other.

Miami overall has more to offer in different areas, shops, activities etc.. It is the larger more well known city. Ft. Lauderdale is more of a suburb "outskirt city" of Miami.

That being said, Ft. Lauderdale has plenty to offer too, great things to do there with the beach, shopping, food etc.. If you are here for more than 2-days I would say Miami. Or stay in Ft. Lauderdale and you will undoubtedly travel down to Miami unless you really just want to eat and relax and not do much else.