Miami to Orlando

[LTFC]

Trying something new this year. Going to fly into Miami and then spend two days in Miami before driving up to Orlando.

Has anyone been through Miami Airport before?

What's Miami like, is it safe?

Any other advice would be appreciated.

many thanks


LTFC

 

[terrynewpack]

Parts of Miami are definitely unsafe and should be avoided. You can usually tell when you are approaching an unsafe area because you see the deterioration in the neighbourhoods.

Stick to the main roads and the coastal roads and you will generally be ok.
Miami airport I haven't been to for a number of years but usually managed to get lost coming out of it.

We usually avoided Miami and went up the road to Hollywood/Fort Lauderdale area. Thats a great place to be.


Terry

 

[patdavies]

MIA has some of the rudest immigration officers in the US. Also the queues can be vast. Do not reckon to get clear of immigration/Customs for at least 2 hours.

It is one of the main entry points for flights from the Caribbean and this means that the US Customs are always looking for drug smuggling.

It is a nightmare to get out of from the car hire depots and some years ago was a magnet for thieves (and worse) who preyed an tourists with hire cars who became lost. This has apparently improved somewhat.....

Furthermore, it is well overdue for updating - it is almost caught in a 70s timewarp for style/facilities/etc.

I would avoid flying into MIA like the plague. It is an easy drive from Orlando (albeit over 200 miles and Key West is at least another 100)

This is just my personal experiences, YMMV

 

[Bellis Belle]

Hi
We are doing the same thing in Oct, but doing a carnival cruise for a week and then driving up to Orlando which I have been told takes approx 4 hours with good roads all the way. I would be keen to hear your experience if you are going before me. 9 weeks and counting.

 

[TheFram4]

MIA has some of the rudest immigration officers in the US. Also the queues can be vast. Do not reckon to get clear of immigration/Customs for at least 2 hours.

This is just my personal experiences, YMMV

We flew to/from Miami a couple of years ago and found the customs officials far more friendly than the miserable lot at Orlando International (all 4 times!)

we stopped at disneys VB resort about 2.5 hours North which is lovely.

Rental car location not brilliant but not difficult to find

 

[SammieG]

we did this last trip.. although we didnt stay in miami.. we drove up to Ft Lauderdale which was absolutely gorgeous!! stayed there for 2 days and then up to Orlando..

it was about 3 hours from Ft Lauderdale so about 4 hours from Miami. It actually would have been a lot quicker except the weather was torrential rain all the way!

it was good to do something different. Immigration was fine.. very quick...
car rental was fine.. not as handy as Orlando, but pretty much ok..

 

[JohnnySharp2]

There are areas fairly close to the Airport that are definitely to be avoided.
However, if you stick to the interstates and main roads you will be okay.

Miami have done a lot over the past few years to improve security and I think providing you do not stray too far away from the main road links you wont have any problems at all.
I think its only poor tourists who are unaware and drift into no-go areas at the wrong time of day that have problems.
To be honest most major cities have areas not too be around at night, parts of Orlando are to be avoided also.

The rental car collection is not ideal as its a bit away from the actual airport.

Fort Lauderdale/Palm Beach and Boca Raton are all very nice, its a very pleasant drive down the coast on the A1A route and well away from any trouble spots.

It's only the 4 hour drive to Miami that puts us off returning, we went on honeymoon there and have only been back once since. Our young son loves Orlando and wouldn't get anything out of it really. For shopping Miami is the best by a mile.

 

[Richard Bruvofetc]

The only time I have been through Miami airport was almost a disaster. As we made our final approach the jumbo suddenly went full throttle and performed a emergency climbing manoeuvre. I found out later that this was due to the fact that Miami airport is used by drug dealers to land light aircraft on the runway (flying below radar detection levels), taxi up to the airport perimiter, unload then drive off. This is what happened to us. They were landing at the other end of the runway as we were coming into land. We made 4 approaches before it was deemed safe to land.

Also the airport, as others have said, is grim. There were lots of shady characters roaming around (preying). I did not feel comfortable at all and chose to find my own way rather than ask questions (I'm 6' 1" and my colleague was 6').

The big plus was that Danny La Rue was on the flight and he kept us entertained. I also stood with him in the queue (1.5 hrs) at immigration and the time flew listening to his anecdotes (I learned a lot about Ernie Wise + others).

 

[FizzyPop]

Miami airport is HUGE I have only flown out of Miami but found it to be ok Stayed in coral gables in Miami for seven weeks which is quite a nice area but like all places there are good and bad people where ever you go

 

[TraceyL]

We found the airport & immigration great but finding the car rental office on the way back was a nightmare!