Driving to Miami, parking at peir?

[aSiAnRiCk]

I live near Hypoluxo Rd in Palm Beach mentioned above. I-95 can be congested on rush hours as far north as Delray Beach (just south of me). So if you do choose to take 95, stay away from rush hours. Weekdays 7am-930am and 4pm-630pm.

 

My recommendation is, if you don't mind getting a Sunpass but also want a nice and shorter drive, is to take I-75 south and switch to Turnpike and then Turnpike south and switch over to 95 in Jupiter exit (north Palm Beach) as 95 and Turnpike are right next to each other. Then take 95 south to Miami.

 

You can make it a fun drive by stopping by West Palm Beach and Ft Lauderdale along the way.

 

 

 

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Edited April 7, 2017 by aSiAnRiCk

[trvlgirlmq]

As someone who has driven this from Nashville a couple of times just go through Atlanta on 75, to I-10 then 95. I also do not want to take precious time to stop and buy one of those transponder things and then try to figure out how to load money. I have also never run into any crazy traffic and I have driven in LA and 95 was nothing compared to that!

[hotsauce126]

You know you don't have to buy a SunPass to pay the tolls right? Some areas have actual booths that you pay at and some just take a pic of your license plate and send you a bill for the tolls in the mail

[BIGREDIOWAN]

You know you don't have to buy a SunPass to pay the tolls right? Some areas have actual booths that you pay at and some just take a pic of your license plate and send you a bill for the tolls in the mail

 

Yeah, I know I don't have to, I understand why it would be easier though too. Plus it's not expensive to get one so I may do that if I decide to take 75 down.

[Organized Chaos]

I live in Florida & travel on I75 daily/turnpike monthly. I would never opt for I95 over I75/turnpike. I think you should reconsider. If you're hoping to see the Atlantic from I95, it's not going to happen. Pay the tolls, take the turnpike.

 

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Organized Chaos - I'm not insisting on anything, nor do I have to convince you of anything. If you think paying a few tolls is a hassle, you probably should take 95.

My apologies, was "insisting" too strong a word? Because you said, "Pay the tolls, take the turnpike." Would you rather I used the phrase, strongly recommended?

 

And when I said to convince us, what I meant was, you come here and strongly recommend we "pay the tolls, take the turnpike," but your only reason behind it originally was because you take the turnpike monthly. So I was just asking you to elaborate, because those of us who are rarely down there might be looking for a little better reason.

[Organized Chaos]

OP, here's a link to the Toll Calculator on the FL Turnpike website: http://www.floridasturnpike.com/TollCalcV5/index.htm

You can mark your starting/ending point, choose your method of payment, and it'll show you how many toll plazas you'll end up going through, the cost of each one, and your total. I marked a route from the entrance onto the turnpike all the way down to the I-95 exit near North Miami Beach, which is probably where you'd get off the turnpike en route to Miami. The cost shows $20.97 and you'd have to go through 7 toll plazas (including the entry & exit). Using a SunPass only saves $3.74.

 

 

Screw it all. Just do the Toll-by-plate thing. If it is all in the same month. Then you get a bill in the mail for the tolls and a one time service/billing charge. That is what happens when you go thru the SunPass lanes without a pass. It is all legal.

This is for the Cashless toll areas. You still have to pay the cash in some areas. Keep an eye out for the Toll-by-Plate signs.

You know you don't have to buy a SunPass to pay the tolls right? Some areas have actual booths that you pay at and some just take a pic of your license plate and send you a bill for the tolls in the mail

 

These two comments represent a fair reason as to why some of us who don't travel FL regularly want to avoid the turnpike. We've seen several recommendations throughout this thread. Pay cash, but some plazas don't take cash. Use the SunPass. Don't use the SunPass, just use the plate reader...but you still have to pay cash in some areas that don't have the plate reader. That can be a lot for some people to deal with who are down there for a single trip once in a while. In the end, it's up to each individual to decide what's best for us.

 

On a side note, I also saw a couple people who actually recommended taking I-75 through Atlanta and I'm wondering why. Atlanta is a nightmare. Just last year as we approached the city, traffic exiting I-75 onto the I-285 bypass was backed up and at a standstill. The traffic going through the city looked to be flowing nicely. So I made the mistake of choosing to go through the city. Big mistake! It didn't take long to become bumper to bumper and drivers in the city were completely reckless. Weaving in & out, cutting everyone off without warning. Going way too fast in heavy traffic, then having to slam on their brakes. Sorry, but those are some of the most reckless drivers I've ever seen. The I-285 bypass isn't much better when it's busy, but if we choose to go that route again, I'll never go through the city.

[fatpaul]

I live in Florida's panhandle and drive to South Florida/Tampa area 3 or 4 x year - grandkids to Orlando, baseball, cruises, etc. I decided to use SunPass and buy the $5.00 transponder and preload with $50.00. The primary reason: allows us to blow by the 4 or 5 toll booths each way which saves me, what? 5 minutes each way and maybe 3 or 4 bucks each way. It's just convenient. I wish I could use it for pier/peir/Seebrüke/muelle parking.

 

 

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[trvlgirlmq]

OP, here's a link to the Toll Calculator on the FL Turnpike website: http://www.floridasturnpike.com/TollCalcV5/index.htm

On a side note, I also saw a couple people who actually recommended taking I-75 through Atlanta and I'm wondering why. Atlanta is a nightmare. Just last year as we approached the city, traffic exiting I-75 onto the I-285 bypass was backed up and at a standstill. The traffic going through the city looked to be flowing nicely. So I made the mistake of choosing to go through the city. Big mistake! It didn't take long to become bumper to bumper and drivers in the city were completely reckless. Weaving in & out, cutting everyone off without warning. Going way too fast in heavy traffic, then having to slam on their brakes. Sorry, but those are some of the most reckless drivers I've ever seen. The I-285 bypass isn't much better when it's busy, but if we choose to go that route again, I'll never go through the city.

 

I live 30 minutes North of Nashville so if I leave my house about 4 pm I hit Atlanta around 8 pm (local time); no traffic then we drive on to Macon to spend the night. Or, if we choose to leave in the morning I leave my house at 6 am and hit Atlanta about 11 am (local time); no traffic. I guess if you start from somewhere else and don't time it right then yes, it can be bad. I have hit road construction or an accident I didn't plan on but we just sit back and inch forward until we get past it.

[Passing Lane]

Download the Port of Miami app it shows thePort parking.

 

 

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[Swagner36]

That's kinda where I'm at. Is it worth setting up the SunPass for one trip considering we may drive all the way down there and back and realize we'll never do that again and spend the money to fly in the future? Or do I bypass the turnpike, hit I-95 and call it good. I really don't have an answer for that and I'm not getting enough answers one way or the other to really decide at this point, at least not yet. So keep 'em coming folks.

 

I will say a poster mentioned going through Mississippi to get over to Miami. That adds 4 hours by itself and an additional 173 miles to the trip so I doubt we go that route. I've never heard of this waze app until this thread so I'll give that a look to see which way we're going to head down. Either through Alabama, across the panhandle or taking the bypass around Atlanta if necessary. Right now I'm leaning towards going through Alabama.

 

 

I used to drive from Iowa to Florida yearly until I moved here. Email me at Skipw_54@yahoo.com. I'm from the QCA.

 

 

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[98Charlie]

I have used hotels that offer parking for the length of the cruise. There are several sites that have hotels offered. Just Google "stay park cruise" Some have free shuttle to the pier. Some are paid both ways and occasionally some are free both ways. You park your car and keep your keys.

 

If you are planning on staying in Miami the night before you might want to check it out.

 

RE: Driving

 

 

 

• I've made a number of trips from OH to FL (3 this year). I just time myself to avoid the main part of rush hour. The HOV lanes have always worked for me.
  
• I have a SunPass and it's great for me. If you are just doing a one time I personally wouldn't mess with it. YMMV
  
• I have become a big believer in the WAZE app for my smart phone. Last trip south it told me to get off I-75 even though the traffic was flowing steadily. I did and was routed on to a 2 lane road running parallel to 75. for 13 miles. After the first mile we could see to our left that 75 was at a near standstill for miles! Saved us at least a half hour and probably more.
  

Hope you have a great cruise regardless!

 

Charlie

[Organized Chaos]

I've heard a lot about Waze over the years, but have never tried it. How's the data usage on that app? Do you notice it uses a lot? I'm on a family plan with three other members of my family, so we share data. They tend to be data hogs and I end up with the leftovers, so I have to keep an eye on my usage.

 

If I remember correctly, taking I-95 to Ft. Lauderdale last year instead of the turnpike tacked on an additional 30 minutes of drive time and about 30 miles more. That half hour didn't bother us and the extra $2-3 in gas was better than $20+ in tolls. I didn't find I-95 to be as hectic as some here make it out to be. Not in the least. Well, that is until we got to Ft. Lauderdale.

 

 

I live 30 minutes North of Nashville so if I leave my house about 4 pm I hit Atlanta around 8 pm (local time); no traffic then we drive on to Macon to spend the night. Or, if we choose to leave in the morning I leave my house at 6 am and hit Atlanta about 11 am (local time); no traffic. I guess if you start from somewhere else and don't time it right then yes, it can be bad. I have hit road construction or an accident I didn't plan on but we just sit back and inch forward until we get past it.

The last two times we went through Atlanta, it was around noon (we took the 285 bypass) and about 2pm (took 75 straight through). Both times were gridlock. I can see your point about going through at night, but we leave from the St. Louis area and I like to leave in the morning, so it doesn't time out to going through there at night.

[98Charlie]

I've never checked the data usage before and after a drive. I'm on a shared plan also but we don't go over.

 

Charlie

 

 

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[LMaxwell]

So I was just asking you to elaborate, because those of us who are rarely down there might be looking for a little better reason.

 

I live here and often cruise from Miami. I drive daily for my commute from Palm Beach to Fort Lauderdale and you'd have to put a gun to my head and start clicking away before I'd choose I95 over the Turnpike, even though the Turnpike is a toll road. If I have to visit a client on any given day at say 11AM or 2PM I can sit in miles of traffic on 95, out of the blue, north or southbound. Just. Plain. Sucks.

 

The Turnpike is not without it's traffic incidents and delays, but more often than not it flows just fine. I95 is pretty much always a mess, just absolutely jam packed; east of the turnpike, even east of 95, is the more heavily populated areas, there's lots of road work, and there's more local exits than the turnpike so you get just a whole bunch more traffic.

 

95 and Turnpike usually don't give me any trouble heading south until around Boynton Beach and then it starts getting heavier, but no need to go that far south and then have to cross town, a bit north of that area 95 and the Turnpike are side by side within spitting distance of each other and you can switch over.

 

If you're still on 95 as you enter Broward County, Godspeed!

[simplelife]

Several posters on travel sites have offered an alternate route for missing Atlanta traffic.Leave I-75 about 30 miles South of Dalton GA that takes you through Rome, Carrollton, and Griffin. You get back on to I-75 just East of Griffin. It's Hwy 27 followed by Hwy 16. Hope this helps.

 

 

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[hotsauce126]

Atlanta is only a big deal if you're going through it on a weekday rush hour

[Justcallmemom]

We always try to go through Atlanta late at night and have no problems getting through!

 

 

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[Miamitennismom]

Please google or MapQuest that site. We live in miami and think that NW 7 Ave is a bit of an a drive, how much depends on NW 8300 St. I think ( not sure without MapQuest and too hard on cellphone at gym) that it's pretty far, and possibly not good area either. I recommend Googling cost at Port of Miami, not cheap, probably $20 daily, or stay at nearby hotel with free parking and shuttle as people do in Fort Lauderdale out of Port Everglades. Also the name "Jetport" is different. Concern of security for family is also possible consideration as well as your SUV. Most of Miami ok, but some areas not at all ok. I hope you will plan on being here night before cruise as too many things can go wrong arriving same day. Check CC for favorite nearby hotels with shuttles and parking. Please. Miamitennismom

 

 

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[Organized Chaos]

FYI. A few people in this thread recommended Premier cruise parking on NE 2nd Ave. I was looking at their website today and there are several new reviews dated today. A couple of those people say this facility now makes you leave your keys with them. Apparently this is a new policy. So if this is a factor in your decision making (it definitely is for us), be prepared to turn over your keys. I don't quite understand this because it's a garage and, as far as I can tell, you still park your own car. So why the need to keep our keys? That makes me nervous.

[Robbob533]

I've heard a lot about Waze over the years, but have never tried it. How's the data usage on that app? Do you notice it uses a lot? I'm on a family plan with three other members of my family, so we share data. They tend to be data hogs and I end up with the leftovers, so I have to keep an eye on my usage.

 

 

 

If I remember correctly, taking I-95 to Ft. Lauderdale last year instead of the turnpike tacked on an additional 30 minutes of drive time and about 30 miles more. That half hour didn't bother us and the extra $2-3 in gas was better than $20+ in tolls. I didn't find I-95 to be as hectic as some here make it out to be. Not in the least. Well, that is until we got to Ft. Lauderdale.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last two times we went through Atlanta, it was around noon (we took the 285 bypass) and about 2pm (took 75 straight through). Both times were gridlock. I can see your point about going through at night, but we leave from the St. Louis area and I like to leave in the morning, so it doesn't time out to going through there at night.

 

 

It doesn't use a lot of data at all. Maybe a few hundred MB's. very little and that few hundred is from me using it a lot over a whole month.

 

 

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[tango223]

We returned from an Oceania cruise last month. I followed all the posts on this site related to parking and ended up parking right at the port. It cost a bit more than the discount lots, but it was so easy to just walk to the ship with our luggage and even easier to leave at the end of the cruise. It seemed that each of the discount lots had detractors and I just felt our car was more secure at the port garage.

 

 

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We are sailing Oceania & would like to know what terminal Oceania uses for Miami

 

Thanks!

 

 

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[CheapIrish]

Don't recall exactly, but when you enter the port you will be directed by signage. The one we went out of was all the way at the end of the road. Thought we were going to have to circle around again but then saw the ship.

 

 

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[CheapIrish]

I've heard a lot about Waze over the years, but have never tried it. How's the data usage on that app? Do you notice it uses a lot? I'm on a family plan with three other members of my family, so we share data. They tend to be data hogs and I end up with the leftovers, so I have to keep an eye on my usage.

 

 

 

If I remember correctly, taking I-95 to Ft. Lauderdale last year instead of the turnpike tacked on an additional 30 minutes of drive time and about 30 miles more. That half hour didn't bother us and the extra $2-3 in gas was better than $20+ in tolls. I didn't find I-95 to be as hectic as some here make it out to be. Not in the least. Well, that is until we got to Ft. Lauderdale.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last two times we went through Atlanta, it was around noon (we took the 285 bypass) and about 2pm (took 75 straight through). Both times were gridlock. I can see your point about going through at night, but we leave from the St. Louis area and I like to leave in the morning, so it doesn't time out to going through there at night.

 

 

I just checked my Waze app usage. Used it from Virginia to Miami and back and it shows 600 MB used, but that without having reset it in I don't know how long, so it's actually much less than that.

 

I've not actually used Waze for navigation but for reports on police and blockages. For directions I use Google Maps. I like it because it will suggest alternate routes if there's a slow down. Don't know if Waze does that. Google Maps doesn't use a lot of data either.

 

 

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[Jobeth66]

If you drive in Illinois much I think you can use the same toll transponder you would use around the Chicago area.

 

Unfortunately not. EZPass and SunPass/Epass in Florida are not compatible. They're supposed to be, eventually, but I haven't seen anything good on that recently.

 

As someone who has driven this from Nashville a couple of times just go through Atlanta on 75, to I-10 then 95. I also do not want to take precious time to stop and buy one of those transponder things and then try to figure out how to load money. I have also never run into any crazy traffic and I have driven in LA and 95 was nothing compared to that!

 

You can go to the sunpass.com website and buy the transponder and have it shipped to your house. Easy to set up and either pre-load or attach a credit card to for auto fill.

 

I do agree that 95 is nothing compared to driving in LA/Inland Empire!! But it can be really bad, especially with all the construction - there are parts of 95 south that are down to 1 lane right now. I much prefer to take the turnpike.

[whtbearfan]

We are sailing Oceania & would like to know what terminal Oceania uses for Miami

 

Thanks!

 

From the Port of Miami map, Terminal J is used by Oceania. It is on the opposite side of the port from all the other ships.

 

 

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