How do I use tri-rail?

Flying in and out of MIA for a cruise out of Port Everglades. What do I need to do to get from MIA to the tri-rail and then from tri-rail to the port (and reverse at the end of the cruse)? I have plenty of time each way (actually flying in late the night before and staying at airport hotel).

You first have to get from the airport to Hialeah Market Tri-Rail Station. With luggage I would strongly recommed a taxi, though there is a shuttle bus. But to catch said bus you will have to walk with your bags from the airport hotel to the lower level of the parking garage.

Map of shuttle bus route.

Saturday schedule for shuttle bus.

Inexplicably there is no shuttle from the Airport Intermodal Center (where Tri-Rail will begin stopping sometime next year) to the nearest open Tri-Rail station. You were probably thinking that taking the free monorail from the airport terminal to the Intermodal Center would get you to Tri-Rail--not for now.

Saturday schedule for Tri-Rail

Get off at Ft Lauderdale Airport station. There will be taxis and van shares waiting to take you to Port Everglades. For two the taxi may be cheaper and easier to deal with luggage, especially when you arrive at the port.

Thanks for the directions. Made notes for this weekend.:)

Please post your tri-rail experience when you return! We are going to ride tri-rail from FLL to Miami in December. It's MUCH cheaper than renting a car or taking a shuttle!

Thanks and have a wonderful time!

Well I'm sitting here at the station waiting for the northbound train. So far it's been easy because the hotel shuttle driver agreed to bring me directly to the station. Buying the ticket was easy, there is a machine that takes cash or cards. Cost was $5.00

Awesome, keep me posted!!!

At the station at Hialeah the southbound train came in, unloaded, and waited for the northbound trip, so you have plenty of time to get on and off even with luggage. I only had one suitcase plus a backpack so easily fit my stuff in a seat, but I wouldn't do the with large amounts of luggage as there is nowhere else for it to go except in seats.

The ride was pleasant. They announce upcoming stops as they leave stations and shortly before you arrive which is your cue to stand up and get to the door as it doesn't stay very long at each stop. You don't have to rush but at the same time you can't wait until its stopped before starting to grab your stuff.

At the Ft Lauderdale airport station, you follow the signs to buses which will take you back across the tracks to where the shuttles and taxis were waiting.

Overall quite enjoyable, easy to use, and I'm glad I chose this option.

Thank you!! I was wondering about luggage and you answered that question! We're going to try it in December!

Thanks again!! :D

We are also planning on trying this next month so many thanks for sharing your experience.

This thread is just what I was searching for, so thank you!

Next November we will be arriving at the POM after our TA crossing and then have been invited to stay with friends in their holiday home in Boca Raton for a week.

They have told us we will not need a car for that week and I think a taxi is expensive (Might as we'll pay to hire a car).

I heard about the Tri-rail and wondered how easy it would be to use. You have just put at mind at rest.

Thanks again.

:)

So just completed the return.

From the port I shared a taxi with a lady to the airport or you can take one of the shared shuttles. You get off at any terminal (I did Terminal 1) which will drop you off on departures level. Go down to baggage claim and follow the signs outside to Tri-Rail. I had to wait a bit for the shuttle. The driver was helping people with bags and it is wheelchair accessible.

At the station there was a bit of confusion as the northbound trains were also operating from the southbound side, and the southbound train was delayed 35 minutes due to construction. Also the ticket machines here only took credit cards.

The train itself was more crowded today and I was in a car with luggage racks - but not as much seats so some people had to stand.

At Hialeah there was another wait for the shuttle to MIA but there was plenty of room onboard for everyone and luggage. The shuttle dropped us off basically outside Terminal E.

All in all with the delays and waiting it took me 3 hours from exiting the cruise terminal to getting through security, including waiting for shuttles and delayed trains.

Also I used luggage valet so only had carryons this direction.

All in all a pleasant experience and worth the money, but don't rely on it if you are in a time crunch.

Thought I'd post a few photos to give some people an idea:

Here's Hialeah Market station (the station for MIA):

Here's the train I took northbound:

Note the slight gap and step up into the train from the station.

Here's the seats on the northbound train (the southbound train was older, and the seats weren't as nice)

On the northbound train there wasn't anywhere for luggage, so you just had to sit it in a seat. Or in my case I was at the very end of the car and could sit mine right in front of me because there was only a single seat, not a double seat there. On the southbound train, there was an area for luggage - but less actual seats and some people had to stand so it was a tradeoff.

Here's my luggage so you can tell what I was easily able to handle by myself using the train (although people did help me on the northbound train, but not southbound)

Thank you so much for this! DH and I were wondering how we were going to get from FLL to MIA. We saved so much money flying into FLL and our hotel in Miami has a free shuttle to the port, so we couldn't really rationalize renting our own car!! But this information has been wonderful! I'm now confident with the tri-rail!

We are leaving this Sunday from Nebraska and flying into FLL for a cruise leaving Monday from the Port of Miami. We are coming in a day early and I thought about using the Tri-Rail instead of before and after cruse transfers. With hotel and the transfers it's well over $300. Tri-rail would save us some money but the catch is, we have our kids with us, one of which is a 1-1/2 year old. They would love the idea of taking a train and we pack light so that's not an issue. I'm just wondering about using the shuttle busses. I know we can hop on them to get to and from the airports, but what about getting to a hotel once we arrive at the Hialeah Market Tri-Rail Station? Are there shuttles, busses....etc that could drop us off. We aren't going to be bringing a car seat so I assume a taxi is out of the question. We'll be staying at one of the hotels right by the airport.

From the Hialeah station, you would need to do one of the following:

1. take the shuttle to MIA airport, then a cab from the airport to the hotel

2. take the shuttle to MIA airport, then the hotel shuttle from the airport to the hotel

3. take a cab to MIA airport, then a hotel shuttle to the hotel

4. take a cab directly from the train station to your hotel.

Does anyone know about taking the Tri Rail from FLL to West Palm Beach? Managed to get a much cheaper flight home from there!

Does anyone know about taking the Tri Rail from FLL to West Palm Beach? Managed to get a much cheaper flight home from there!

Yes! We did this last month! It was a breeze! We flew into WPB and cruised out of FLL, so we did 2 trips on Tri-Rail. We saved $600 by flying into WPB. Do you have any specific questions? I'd be glad to answer anything I can. :)

Thanks for the info. This may be a good option for us. We are flying into Miami and need to get to our hotel in Fort Lauderdale in May.

Thanks for the info. This may be a good option for us. We are flying into Miami and need to get to our hotel in Fort Lauderdale in May.

Just make sure you know exactly where your hotel is in conjunction with Tri-Rail---there are 2 stops in FLL on Tri-Rail. Obviously, you want the one closest to your hotel.

Yes! We did this last month! It was a breeze! We flew into WPB and cruised out of FLL, so we did 2 trips on Tri-Rail. We saved $600 by flying into WPB. Do you have any specific questions? I'd be glad to answer anything I can. :)

EXCELLENT! Yes, actually it looks as simple as getting a cab to the FLL airport to catch the Tri-Rail train (north).

From there I need "instructions". After we get off at the West Palm Beach stop how do we get to the airport itself? I read there was a shuttle, but is that extra $?

EXCELLENT! Yes, actually it looks as simple as getting a cab to the FLL airport to catch the Tri-Rail train (north).

 

From there I need "instructions". After we get off at the West Palm Beach stop how do we get to the airport itself? I read there was a shuttle, but is that extra $?

The Tri-Rail closest to the FLL airport is not actually at the airport. When you leave the FLL cruise port, take a taxi directly to the Tri-Rail station closest to the airport. (It will be right across the street from a Homewood Suites). (No need to go to the FLL airport). Make sure you tell the taxi driver to take you to the Tri-Rail over near the airport. If not, they may take you to the other FLL station, which is further and will cost you more moolah. :)

Once you arrive at the Tri-Rail in WPB, take their shuttle bus over to the airport (about a 15 min ride). It does cost extra, but it's very cheap. My hubby paid for it, but it seems like it was $2.50 a person. You can use the kiosk or pay at the ticket window.

***Make sure when you get your Tri-Rail tickets, that you check which track the train will arrive on. It does change sometimes and we were part of the lucky group that had the track changed on us. They will announce it on the loudspeaker and will show it on the digital signs there right above the platform. They have stairs (if you can handle your luggage on those), or you can use the elevator to go up and walk across the bridge and back down the elevator or stairs.

Hope this helps, but let me know if you have any further questions.

Have a great cruise!!! :)

PS---loved the WPB airport.

There is also a $2.35 bus from downtown Miami on Biscayne Blvd.to FtL. 7 stops as I recall in FTL. Big Blue one called Ride 95. Takes expressway non stop.Look it up on the MiamiDade site.

EXCELLENT! Yes, actually it looks as simple as getting a cab to the FLL airport to catch the Tri-Rail train (north).

 

From there I need "instructions". After we get off at the West Palm Beach stop how do we get to the airport itself? I read there was a shuttle, but is that extra $?

Right now, there is no PBI Tri-Rail station. They closed the old one about 15 years ago, and they are just building a new one right now. To take public transportation, you'll have to get off at the main WPB station, take a bus to the bus transfer point (near the courthouse) and then switch to another bus that goes to the airport. Or there might be a shuttle bus that you can pay for - but it depends on time of day and day of the week.

My sister and I took the tri rail from the Miami airport to the Hyatt downtown, then took a taxi to the cruise port.

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Right now, there is no PBI Tri-Rail station. They closed the old one about 15 years ago, and they are just building a new one right now. To take public transportation, you'll have to get off at the main WPB station, take a bus to the bus transfer point (near the courthouse) and then switch to another bus that goes to the airport. Or there might be a shuttle bus that you can pay for - but it depends on time of day and day of the week.

I have no idea what you are referring to. We just took Tri-rail last month from the FLL up to WPB. It was very simple........we did not have to transfer buses. Once off at WPB tri-rail, use THEIR bus to go DIRECTLY to the airport. No need to transfer buses!!