Is driving (on a Monday) from Kissimmee to POM (day of cruise) logical?

[shellster1]

So I'm staying in Florida for about a month with my 10-year-old. We're taking a last minute cruise this Monday. I have a rental car and will park at the port. It's just that I'm torn between driving Monday or leaving Sunday and enjoying the 3.5-hour drive, checking into a hotel and relaxing. My son says it's a waste of money and would prefer we just get up early and drive straight there. I see his reasoning, but I'm nervous because I've never done this drive before. It looks easy, but what if we get lost? Hit traffic? I'm also not familiar with the toll roads. The rental car place (Budget) tells me I'm fine, that I just drive straight through and they will charge me afterward.

Am I just being paranoid because of my unfamiliarity? I mean, I would never consider a hotel just to avoid a 3.5-hour drive back home.

Also, if we do the drive Monday, what time should I leave? I'm thinking 6:00am, just to be safe? Does that make sense to the Floridians or others who might be familiar with the drive?

Thanks!

[cruise47]

Please factor in the traffic on Monday. Monday is a work day and traffic is heavy. Also, factor in construction delays and possible accidents on the interstate.

Enjoy your cruise,

[skrufy]

If you decide to drive the day of your cruise use the Florida Turnpike to Miami, less traffic. Leave early there could be delays on the turnpike also.

[Saturngrl]

In addition to the above recommendations (giving yourself at least 4 hours drive time between Kissimmee and Port of Miami via the Florida Turnpike), you may also want to get the Waze app for your smart phone. It will guide you through the best and quickest routes to your destination with real-time traffic information.

[BNBR]

Use Google or Waze to make sure you don't hit any unexpected traffic or accidents. Otherwise it's a very easy drive that you can do on Monday, no problem. As others said, expect about 4 hours. 6AM should have you at the port around 9:45 - 10AM which is a huge buffer.

[JohninDC]

Yup - up early, on the road early, on the ship before noon. ;)

 

Parking at POM will cost you $22/day - why pay to park a rental? :confused: National, Alamo, Thrifty and Enterprise will shuttle you between their MIA airport location and POM. Hertz, Avis and others are located in downtown Miami, close to POM.

[Capt_BJ]

are you comfortable driving in somewhat heavy and fast moving highway traffic? When you get to the Dade county line and get off the turnpike and get on to 95 heading into the city and the port the traffic is gonna be thick and has a distinctive Miami flavor . . . .

 

On 95 heading into the city you want to follow the signs to the 'new' port tunnel ....

 

from 95, take 395 east towards Miami Beach and STAY LEFT ....

p.s. you might want to get a bit more detail on just what the deal will be for Budget and your electronic tolls. Budget is not known for having the best deal. In the greater Miami area you can not pay cash for tolls btw ..... https://www.sunpass.com/rentalcar

Edited May 31, 2018 by Capt_BJ

[shellster1]

Wow! Thank you everyone, SO MUCH, for the great advice, and the apps will definitely help. :)

[Capt_BJ]

as an alternative to paying Budget for your toll road fees you may wish to consider

 

http://www.paytollo.com/

[Cruiser Who Knows Nothing]

I would drop my car off in the Ft. Lauderdale and Uber in. Driving in Miami on 95 is not for the faint hearted and driving to the cruise terminal isn't either. I'm a damn good driver, go to SoFlo, 5 times a year (I live in Chicago, the traffic capital of the US), and driving from Lauderdale to SoBe is tough.

[Dckamme]

I drove all night from Kansas City Missouri to Mobile Alabama the night before a cruise one time. 13 hour drive. Didn’t want to pay for a hotel room and I worked overnights at the time so it worked out great, got to Mobile around 8am and the cruise didn’t leave until 4pm that day. I did however fall asleep as soon as I got on the ship!

 

 

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