miami or fort lauderdale airport?

[cavy68]

have any of you flown into fort lauderdale instead of miami? i can save about ?500.00 right now out of seattle if we land at fort lauderdale and drive into miami. we want to get in on thurs. morning and the cruise leaves friday afternoon. have any of you done this? any suggestions would be great! we have never been to miami. 2-adult 2-kids (17 & 14 girls)

[DanJ]

Lots of people do this for the same reason you are looking at. It's not really that far to Miami (half hour drive depending on traffic). There are plenty of transportation options on the airport website at http://www.broward.org/airport/

 

Renting a car would be a good option, then you can stay at any number of hotels in FLL or Miami. I would look at a rental that you can return to Miami airport or even somewhere closer to the cruise port. You should be able to find lots of info on the East Coast Departures board on here.

[Keith1010]

If you can save $500.00 and the flight still gets you in a day early I would go with Fort Lauderdale.

 

Personally, I prefer Fort Lauderdale over Miami. It is a smaller airport, easier to get from the plan to pick up your luggage and out the door.

 

The distance from Fort Lauderdale and Miami is about 30-45 minutes depending on traffic.

 

You'll just need to figure out transporation between the two areas.

 

One option would be to rent a car as mentioned.

 

Other options are taking a van or arranging for private transportation.

 

I would price out the transporation (not sure if you need it one way or both ways) so that you know that cost and can then figure out your net savings.

If you are returning back into Miami from the cruise and fly out of Fort Lauderdale be sure to factor in the extra time getting over to the airport when you consider return flights.

 

Keith

[Whimsy]

We did this in reverse in September. We flew into Miami and sailed out of FLL to save money and have a nonstop. We were able to fly out of FLL to go home though. We do like FLL airport more then Miami. One way car rentals is very easy in FLL. Go for it!

[steve20832]

Most transportation companies charge by the person. Rental car one way before and another one after the cruise will probably be your best bet. Fort Lauderdale airport is broken up into several building next to each other and is much easier to get in and out of. If your plan is to rent a car, also look at Palm Beach airport(PBI), it is about 30 minutes north of Fort Lauderdale.

I found out for my cruise, the best price was to fly into FLL and out of PBI.

[Keith1010]

Most transportation companies charge by the person. Rental car one way before and another one after the cruise will probably be your best bet. Fort Lauderdale airport is broken up into several building next to each other and is much easier to get in and out of. If your plan is to rent a car, also look at Palm Beach airport(PBI), it is about 30 minutes north of Fort Lauderdale.

I found out for my cruise, the best price was to fly into FLL and out of PBI.

 

This has not been our experience. We have taken taxis in Southern Florida and paid based the same regardless of how many of us rode in the taxi. The same was true for private cars.

 

Yes, if you take a van type service you will be charged per person and if you take a shuttle from the cruise ship you will pay per person as well.

 

Keith