Am I crazy...MCO to port of Miami?

[lv2czlady]

We are sailing on Liberty in January. Airfare to fort lauderdale and miami is a fortune and bad connecting flight (DTW in January, with short connecting times). Flying into Orlando is about $100 less per person (we have 6 people) and direct flights. So we are thinking about flying into Orlando 2 days before and driving to miami. Is this crazy? Mapquest says its about a 3 hour commute. However, i know this doesnt take into account traffic conditions. Never traveling this part of Florida, what is traffic like. Is the 3 hour time frame accurate? We would stay in boca raton area and drive the rest the way on morning of cruise. By the way im doing this with a 5 and 7 year old. Tell me Im not too crazy!

[mizLORInj]

It is do-able. I think it's probably 3 hours from Orlando to Boca Raton. From there it's maybe an hour to Miami.

I think I'd want to stay in the Miami area the night before the cruise though. We've stayed at the Doubletree on Biscayne.

[mrpayroll]

You are NOT crazy. We stay just south of Cocoa Beach ( free condo ) and make the drive quite often to Ft. Lauderdale or Miami to cruise. We leave around 7:30 am and have never had a problem....:)

[Nightlockkk]

Personally I think you should fly in closer even though it is $100 cheaper to fly into MCO. I am an Orlando resident who has driven to Miami many many times for cruises and it takes a minimum of 4 hours to get to the port. With small children traveling I think it would just be easier. You wouldn't have to rent a car or fill it with gas, etc.

 

If you stopped in Boca and stayed, Boca is probably 3 ish hours from MCO. Traffic wise it depends which way you take. You can take the turnpike (Toll road) or I-95 (They LITERALLY are side by side at one point where you can visibly see one another haha), and I feel like the turn pike is quicker because more people take 95 not wanting to pay the tolls.

 

I hoped this helped a little with your decision! Enjoy your vacation!

[goofytoo]

We have driven from Orlando to Miami Port numerous times. It takes me 2 1/2 hours on the Turn-Pike. I drive faster than the average person. So 3 hours is about right.

[AXiDMonica]

I'm in Miami and go to Orlando all the time... (love that Mickey Mouse!) The drive takes us 3 hours without stopping so thats about right. But consider rental cars, gas, tolls, hotel rooms, etc and it may just be worth to fly into Miami/FLL.

Edited October 16, 2013 by AXiDMonica

[josefina022]

I don't think you're crazy. You probably won't save too much money after paying for hotel, food, rental car, gas, etc. But to not have a layover in DTW in Jan would be worth it alone. We are thinking about flying into Daytona Beach instead of MCO for a cruise out of Port Canveral because the flight times/price is better.

[FloridaMomma]

We live in the Orlando area, and frequently drive down to Miami to visit friends. It's not a bad drive at all. I have 2 boys, 8 and 9. They are fine as long as they have something to do!

[virginiab]

You can buy a lot of gasoline for a $600 savings in airfare, plus avoiding a bad layover. It sounds like a good idea.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

We are sailing on Liberty in January. Airfare to fort lauderdale and miami is a fortune and bad connecting flight (DTW in January, with short connecting times). Flying into Orlando is about $100 less per person (we have 6 people) and direct flights. So we are thinking about flying into Orlando 2 days before and driving to miami. Is this crazy? Mapquest says its about a 3 hour commute. However, i know this doesnt take into account traffic conditions. Never traveling this part of Florida, what is traffic like. Is the 3 hour time frame accurate? We would stay in boca raton area and drive the rest the way on morning of cruise. By the way im doing this with a 5 and 7 year old. Tell me Im not too crazy!

 

what airport would you be flying out of in Utah?

 

Bill

[Graeme68]

We are flying into mco but have a week to get things together then a drive to Miami done this last year but only went to Fort Lauderdale found the drive not to bad we are on the liberty on the 4th January

[lv2czlady]

what airport would you be flying out of in Utah?

 

Bill

 

I'm flying out of SLC. There are other flights available, but we are using free tickets so the airline is only allowing flights connecting through DTW when flying into FFL.

[whitshel]

Were doing the same thing in March, flights from San Diego to FLL are just crazy so we booked San to MCO for $141pp nonstop and will stay one day in Orlando so the kids can go to Universal. Then drive to FLL, there are 8 of us total so splitting gas and the 15 passenger van wont be bad at all.

 

Now it's finding the flight back to San from FLL on a Sunday. Yikes, crazy prices.... I'm hoping they come down as we get closer.

 

For those of you who do that drive, whats the best, or fastest way down to FLL form Orlando? I don't really care about tolls if that get us there fastest, don't want to miss the boat...:D

[tamirpr]

Were doing the same thing in March, flights from San Diego to FLL are just crazy so we booked San to MCO for $141pp nonstop and will stay one day in Orlando so the kids can go to Universal. Then drive to FLL, there are 8 of us total so splitting gas and the 15 passenger van wont be bad at all.

 

Now it's finding the flight back to San from FLL on a Sunday. Yikes, crazy prices.... I'm hoping they come down as we get closer.

 

For those of you who do that drive, whats the best, or fastest way down to FLL form Orlando? I don't really care about tolls if that get us there fastest, don't want to miss the boat...:D

 

Take the Turnpike. We do this drive a lot also and rarely run into traffic problems. I don't think traffic gets bad until you get past FLL, but that's just my opinion. It's faster than 95 because the rest area is the only thing you get off at and it's much quicker than getting off 95, sitting at a light, finding a gas station, waiting for six people to use two stalls, etc.

[lv2czlady]

I appreciate ALL replies. It is very helpful to hear a local perspective. If we take the toll, how much extra in toll cost are we talking about?

 

I know the cost is not going to be that much different, so it really comes down to preferred flights. Direct 4 hour flight with a 3 hour commute or 9 hours of flying and layover times, going through Detroit in the winter. Did I mention my hubby hates flying. So with all your insights I think we'll book the MCO flight.

 

Again, thanks for your help.

 

Any other tips for a easy drive would be greatly appreciated.

 

Oh, we would have all day Friday to drive, so any must do along the way?

[hloakes]

We are in the Atlanta area and have driven to Miami. We also stopped in Orlando for a night or two to see the Mouse. With kids that age it makes sense, if you have the time. Personally I would get there 3 days early, if you have the time and resources, to give them some time at DW or Universal. The drive from thee to Miami is not bad.

[FireEater]

I looked on my map program. From MCO to Glades Rd (Holiday Inn Express) in Boca Rotan shows approx. 2 hrs 46 min. Route shows taking I-95 from MCO then at Fort Pierce, take the Turnpike into Boca Rotan. That route will save you around $10. Depending on your arrival time, the turnpike might be a better option. Once you get on I-95, at rush hour time frame, I-95 from Cocoa to Palm Bay can be a PIA. I drive a lot of miles in Florida and I would bite the bullet and take the turnpike. At one area, you will be driving parallel with the 2 highways and will freak you out...LOL You will have at least 3 if not 4 rest areas between the airport and Boca, mind you they will be far apart, but doable. Both routes are boring.

 

Now what not to miss on the way down...hmmmmmmmmm my answer would be the bathrooms!!!!!! LOL

[JillK]

My hubby and I took our daughters (then 6 and 8) on a cruise out of Miami on the Epic last December. When we were booking our air using points, we came up with the idea of flying into MCO, spending a day at Magic Kingdom and then driving to Miami for the cruise.

 

We spent two nights at a Disney property, then made the drive to Fort Lauderdale to stay overnight pre-cruise and then a quick skip to Miami the next morning to board the ship.

 

We had an amazing trip. The girls didn't even mind the drive, which if I remember correctly was about 3 hours or so. We just made sure that they had plenty to keep them busy... books, colouring, etc.

 

Since bus transportation inside WDW is included when staying on site, we simply picked up a rental onsite at WDW the day before our cruise and returned it to MIA the next morning, taking the rental company's free shuttle to the port. It worked perfectly.

 

I would imagine that you would be able to rent a car at MCO and return as we did at MIA and shuttle it to the port. We booked our car through National, but as they own Alamo, you can also do the same with them. I would double check that they still have the free shuttle from MIA to POM beforehand, however.

 

As others have mentioned there is a fee to pay for the interstate but looking at your savings on the flight, not a big deal.

 

I think the price difference, but perhaps more importantly the direct flight, offsets the inconvenience of the drive. I know with my kids, I'd rather have the time in the car than have to de-plane, wait around, re-plane, etc.

 

Either way, enjoy your cruise!

Edited October 16, 2013 by JillK

[Lovefuninthesun]

Take the turnpike! It will cost you about $18 total.

I-95 is TERRIBLE -- not only is it bumper-to-bumper a lot of the time, but people drive like lunatics on it!:eek:

[cantwait04]

We are doing this for our Nov. 16 cruise on the Liberty. We saved over $400 by not flying into Ft. Lauderdale. We are flying in the morning before, grabbing the car and heading straight down to Miaimi. We opted for the turnpike ant the tolls where calculated to be about $17.90 so $18 is right. Got our rental car from Budget and is dropping it off about a mile from our hotel in downtown Miami. We live in the midwest so a 3 1/2 hour care ride to my children is nothing. We travel alot to neighboring states by car. Our group altogether is 14 people and only two are flying directly into Miami. However, the majority did chose Ft. Lauderdale. I just wanted to spend our savings on some other things. Do whats right for you and enjoy yourself!

[Host CJSKIDS]

We have driven from Orlando to Miami Port numerous times. It takes me 2 1/2 hours on the Turn-Pike. I drive faster than the average person. So 3 hours is about right.

 

How the heck do you get from Orlando to Miami Port in 2 1/2 hours?!!! I am a couple of miles from the port and just did the drive again to Disney and downtown Orlando where my daughter lives and it takes me 3 1/2 hours and I drive faster than the average person.

 

 

It's about 225 miles.

[GuitarPlayer]

We did a B2B cruise in 2010. First leg was a 5 day on the Destiny in Miami. Second leg was a 7 day on the Dream in Port Canaveral.

 

We got off the Destiny on a Saturday morning, drove up to Port Canaveral ON THE SAME DAY, and got on the Dream for a 7 day.

 

Now, I might not have attempted this on a weekday, but on a Saturday, no problem.

 

 

For you, coming in a day early from Orlando to Miami...piece of cake.

 

GP

Edited October 25, 2013 by GuitarPlayer

[Spring Valley]

We are getting into Orlando at 10pm, would you recommend heading out and do the drive down to FLL that night, or get close to FLL, rather then have to deal with the traffic during the morning and staying in the Orlando area for the night? Would taking I-95 be OK during this time of night?

 

Keith

[JohninDC]

We are getting into Orlando at 10pm, would you recommend heading out and do the drive down to FLL that night, or get close to FLL, rather then have to deal with the traffic during the morning and staying in the Orlando area for the night? Would taking I-95 be OK during this time of night?

 

Keith

 

At 10:00 PM I would suggest an MCO area hotel and an early start the next morning - otherwise you are looking at arriving at your hotel about 2:00-3:00 AM. :eek:

 

I-95 will be less crowded late at night, but I'd still suggest the toll road to get down to the FLL/Miami area. Most of the rental agencies can set you up with an electronic "SunPass" to save you some time at the toll booths.

 

Good luck! :)

[wrigley80]

We're driving from Port of Miami (after we disembark the Carnival Imagination) to New Orleans to board the Carnival Imagination.

 

What would be better....the Florida Turnpike or I-95 to I-10