Miami car rental drop off, what's the best way to get to the port?

[MacII]

Hello,

 

My family and I are taking a cruise from Miami in April. It's our first time in Miami and I've never been to the city or port before. We are going to be in Orlando for a few days before the cruise so we will have a rental car. What I need to know is, where should I drop off the rental car? When I look at Google Maps, it seems like there are several car rental places very close to the port however in searching here on the forums, it seems that many people recommend dropping off at Miami Airport and then taking some kind of shuttle over to the port.

 

Does anyone have any feedback on that? I'm sure we will be short on time so I'd prefer the fastest way to get the car returned and then get to the port so we can start our cruise. Are the shuttles good? Is it smarter to use a ride-share service like Uber?

 

Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

Thank you.

 

MacII

[hannibal54]

What car rental are you getting your car from? A lot have drop off places near the port to return your rental, then take their shuttle to the ship. I have done this many times.

[JohninDC]

National, Alamo, Thrifty and Enterprise offer free shuttles between their MIA airport location and POM -- saving you the "excitement" of driving in downtown Miami traffic to drop your car closer to the port.

 

Avis, Budget and Hertz have downtown locations close to POM - about a $12 cab ride if they will not shuttle you. If you are using a downtown location I would drop bags and passengers off at POM first and then return the car.

 

Have a great cruise! :cool:

[MacII]

What car rental are you getting your car from? A lot have drop off places near the port to return your rental, then take their shuttle to the ship. I have done this many times.

 

I've not selected a rental company yet. I was holding off on deciding until I knew which was better, dropping off at the Airport or closer to the port.

[MacII]

National, Alamo, Thrifty and Enterprise offer free shuttles between their MIA airport location and POM -- saving you the "excitement" of driving in downtown Miami traffic to drop your car closer to the port.

 

Avis, Budget and Hertz have downtown locations close to POM - about a $12 cab ride if they will not shuttle you. If you are using a downtown location I would drop bags and passengers off at POM first and then return the car.

 

Have a great cruise! :cool:

 

Thanks for your reply. I'm trying to read into what you are saying, the idea of "excitement" makes me think the MIA sounds better plus dropping bags and passengers off sounds like another layer of complexity I'd rather not enjoy.

 

Would you think MIA is better or Downtown?

[JohninDC]

Would you think MIA is better or Downtown?

 

Yes! :)

 

If you get a good deal on a rental from an agency that does not offer a shuttle to POM a taxi is only $27+tip to POM, and an UberX (if you can fit your crowd into one) will be under $20.

[loanshark]

For shuttle service from the car rental drop off, use the following drop off locations based on what car rental company you selected:

 

Alamo / National / Enterprise (select location code MIA or Miami Airport) - uses the Miami airport location

Thrifty / Dollar (select location code Miami Cruise Ship - Shuttle) - They also use the Miami airport location

Hertz (select Miami - Port of Miami) - uses the 229 Southeast 2nd Street location

Budget (location code P2F) - uses the 89 SE 2nd St location

Avis (location code Q8M) - uses the 99 SE 2nd St location

[Tapi]

We rented from Budget and dropped off in downtown Miami. Long line of passengers doing the same thing, but the shuttles to the port were very frequent so the line moved fast. Nothing eventful or exciting to write about.

 

 

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[MacII]

We rented from Budget and dropped off in downtown Miami. Long line of passengers doing the same thing, but the shuttles to the port were very frequent so the line moved fast. Nothing eventful or exciting to write about.

 

What time of day was it?

[Miryam1234]

For shuttle service from the car rental drop off, use the following drop off locations based on what car rental company you selected:

 

Alamo / National / Enterprise (select location code MIA or Miami Airport) - uses the Miami airport location

Thrifty / Dollar (select location code Miami Cruise Ship - Shuttle) - They also use the Miami airport location

Hertz (select Miami - Port of Miami) - uses the 229 Southeast 2nd Street location

Budget (location code P2F) - uses the 89 SE 2nd St location

Avis (location code Q8M) - uses the 99 SE 2nd St location

 

Sorry, this may be just me not understanding due to my bad English, but we've got Hertz and drop off at MIA. So are you telling there is a Hertz shuttle from MIA to POM? We were considering a taxi as Uber/Lyft wont work for us (no US cellular data plan for us and I dont know if there is free wifi available). So our alternatives are a taxi or a shuttle to the port, or just taxi? Thanks for your help!

[Tapi]

What time of day was it?

 

 

We sailed on a Saturday. Let me also say that we didn’t go to the port first to drop our luggage or other family members off as someone suggested. We stayed together, and dropped the car off while we still had our luggage. The shuttles have racks for suitcases, so there was plenty of space for everybody’s luggage. We didn’t find it necessary to take any extra steps or waste any extra time going back and forth. It was pretty straightforward and uneventful.

 

As mentioned before, there were many other passengers also dropping their car off, but the shuttles were very frequent (like one would fill up and there would be another one pulling up behind it).

 

 

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Edited December 29, 2017 by Tapi

[Tapi]

we've got Hertz and drop off at MIA. So are you telling there is a Hertz shuttle from MIA to POM?

 

 

There are multiple locations. If you want to drop your car at a location with a complimentary shuttle to the port of Miami, you need to to select the location serving the port. Based on that list, it seems like Hertz has a location that serves the port, which is different than the MIA airport location.

 

 

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[JohninDC]

If you drop at the Hertz location at the MIA airport it will cost you $27 in a taxi or about $18 in an Uber/Lyft to get to POM. If you drop at the downtown location they should shuttle you to POM. The rental rates may vary depending upon which location you choose - shop around! ;)

[pilot123texas]

Check on whether there is a difference in the price dropping off at airport vs. a port or downtown location, and then factor in the cost of a taxi/uber vs. free shuttle, which the closer locations have. I don't think you'll have any more difficulty getting to a port location as to the airport and you'll save some time. On the other hand, if you are going to be picking up a car when you return, I strongly recommend picking it up at the airport. The rental locations nearest the port are packed with departing passengers all trying to rent a car at the same time - and the agency may be waiting for those cars to be returned by embarking passengers like you.

[loanshark]

Sorry, this may be just me not understanding due to my bad English, but we've got Hertz and drop off at MIA. So are you telling there is a Hertz shuttle from MIA to POM? We were considering a taxi as Uber/Lyft wont work for us (no US cellular data plan for us and I dont know if there is free wifi available). So our alternatives are a taxi or a shuttle to the port, or just taxi? Thanks for your help!

 

 

If you are renting from Hertz and want a shuttle, you need to drop off at 229 Southeast 2nd Street. This is not the airport... It is a downtown location.

 

Only Alamo/National/Enterprise/Thrifty/Dollar have shuttles from the Miami airport.

 

 

Alamo / National / Enterprise (select location code MIA or Miami Airport) - uses the Miami airport location

Thrifty / Dollar (select location code Miami Cruise Ship - Shuttle) - They also use the Miami airport location

Hertz (select Miami - Port of Miami) - uses the 229 Southeast 2nd Street location

Budget (location code P2F) - uses the 89 SE 2nd St location

Avis (location code Q8M) - uses the 99 SE 2nd St location