Question about Tampa to Miami, rental car, restaurants

[kiwiwoman]

Hello, I tried to do a search, but was not successful. We will be flying in to Tampa on Thanksgiving, does anyone know what the restaurant situation will be? We just are unsure if anything is open around dinner time. Also, we are planning to get a rental car from Tampa to Miami, but are unsure about whether to drop it at the Miami airport or the port area. Has anyone had experience with these options? Also, we will need a car going back to Tampa, so any advise on getting a car from the port by shuttle would be great! Thanks in advance!!

[floridacruiser63]

One quick question, is it a lot more expensive to fly directly into Miami International?

2 rental cars (in and out), plus gas for a 4-5 hour car trip times 2, plus tolls, plus the long drives?

 

I know that in Miami many restaurants are open for Thanksgiving. I would imagine that Tampa is no different. If all else fails, Denny's is open 24 hours a day. I also believe Cracker Barrel might also be open.

[kiwiwoman]

Yes it was around $90 more per person to go directly into Miami and there are 4 of us.

[maggieworkman]

We just drove from Tampa to Miami for our cruise and it cost us around $85 one way for a tank of gas.

 

Just an FYI. I think it will cost you $170 + 2 rental cars for the trip. It might be worth it in the long run to fly into Miami. Or did you try Ft. Lauderdale? That's very close too.

 

There isn't any car return at the Miami Port. You will either have to return the car to the airport and book with a rental place that has a shuttle to the airport. Or you can rent from Avis and return to the downtown area and take a $8 or so cab ride to the port.

 

Maggie

[SeaPA1]

There will surely be plenty of restaurants open in the Tampa area. We have a significant population of seniors & snowbirds who are here for the winter, with no family in the area, so it's a busy day for a lot of restaurants (I have a good friend who owns a franchise restaurant, and he's told me it is his biggest day of the year).

[NickCDN]

We are doing the same thing from MCO to POM. Our flights were only 145USD round trip compared to over 250USD to FLL or MIA. Also, the hotel just north of PBI are far cheaper than any hotel down around FLL, MIA or POM. Since we have 5 in our party, we would need two cabs from hotel to POM and from POM back to Airport. In totel we are saving at least 700USD by fling into and out of MCO for our cruise from POM. We are flying in a day early and leaving the day after we return from our cruise. Not only that, MIA is the WORST airport I have been too in North America. You would be lucky to find a seat anywhere in that airport on cruise days.

 

Nick