Car hire from Miami Int

[Mount Mayday]

We are flying into Miami at the end of July and travelling up to Disney and we are currently looking around for the best car hire prices. We would like to know if any of you have done this and what the process is like? Once sorted at the counter is it like MCO and Sanford where you can choose the car from the certain bays? Also after some sites where we can download US roadmaps to our SAT NAV. Any help would be great.

 

[wayneg]

Rented twice from Miami.
1st time with Hertz but I used Gold canopy service, just look at the board, find my name and lot number, car ready to drive out, showed DL at exit.
2nd time with Alamo, exactly the same as MCO.

I bought my TomTom in the US a few years ago, last year upgraded to lastest map, Tom Tom sent me an offer to upgrade for about £15. This year I am considering using a free sat nav app on my phone.

 

[TraceyL]

Booked with Avis via BA. Hop on the train to the car rental center then straight to the garage. Look for you name on the board and it will tell you which bay your car is in.
Show your paperwork on the way out and off you go. Our town and country had a built in satnav

 

[Rach78]

We used a free sat nav app on our phone last year and had no problems at all. Will do the same this year.

 

[DISWolves]

Only used MIA once and it was a nightmare! From landing to leaving the airport took around 3 hours.
Car Rental was with Alamo and the car was one of the best we have had (Ford Equinox)
Used to take a Tom Tom sat nav but for the past 3-4 years, I have used Tom Tom on my phone with no problems.
(plus the updates are free) . If you do use your phone, I found the sat nav will drain the battery quite quickly, so be sure to take a car charger with you in your hand luggage.

 

[willeve]

Just be aware not to turn your sat nav on until you clear the parking garage- we had to return after 20mins driving around as it had gone back to factory settings of Chicago!

 

[bex7583]

do you need to have your phone online all the time to use phone sat nav?

we are also flying in to miami so will need to get a car at the airport

 

[wayneg]

do you need to have your phone online all the time to use phone sat nav?

we are also flying in to miami so will need to get a car at the airport

Read the info for the app you are considering. One called Navmii says "Enjoy offline maps stored locally that you can use at home or abroad without an internet connection."

 

[DISWolves]

do you need to have your phone online all the time to use phone sat nav?

we are also flying in to miami so will need to get a car at the airport

I use TomTom installed on an old iPhone 4 without a sim. It picks up the GPS signals so no need to be online.

 

[1andrea]

I use TomTom installed on an old iPhone 4 without a sim. It picks up the GPS signals so no need to be online.

Ohhh what a good idea and no accidental data risk that way either!! x