Driving from northern Florida to Miami port. Where should we stop along the way?

[dem372]

We are going to be driving to the port in Miami from the midwest over the course of two days.  Our first stop will be somewhere around Jacksonville/St. Augustine, and then we will have 4 or 5 hours of driving the day before the cruise before we get to the Miami area.  So I am looking for somewhere to stop that is interesting, nice, and easy to deal with for our day/night before we board our cruise.

 

I am guessing anywhere from Ft. Lauderdale to the port itself would be an option.  We would need something family friendly as well.  I don't know if there are any good beach areas where we could stop and spend the day at the beach and then have a good dinner out near a hotel, or interesting shopping areas within half an hour or so of the port where we could stay?  Staying near the port would be an option but I am guessing the hotel prices would go way up the closer we get to downtown.  I plan on parking at the port so I don't need anything as far as a shuttle goes.  

 

So, anyone have any ideas for little beach towns, suburbs, or hotels somewhere along the route to the port?  Thanks for any advice.

[LHT28]

we stopped near Vero Beach

By the time we drove to the Embassy suites near MIA to park the car & get the shuttle to the port it was about  1pm

Traffic  was  bad the day we went

 

 

[Diver2014]

If you stay anywhere north of the Palm Beaches, give yourself plenty of driving time from there to Miami.  The traffic, especially on I 95 from Palm Beach to Miami is  horrendous no matter what day of the week it is.  That's the main reason we moved from Miami. 

Edited October 5, 2019 by Diver2014

[Flymia]

Why not just go straight to Miami that day and leave out any issues with Have you checked out prices? Depending on time of year downtown hotels can be very reasonable. 

 

Anywhere on the East Coast is fine. Ft. Lauderdale and south towards Miami (Lauderdale is only 22-miles north of Miami) have plenty of good options and the most to see and do. You could check out Ft. Lauderdale beach areas or Hollywood beach or all the way down to South Beach. More family type places are north of Miami Beach if you want to stay on the beach. 

 

Downtown/Brickell is just fine for the family and plenty of things to do with kids. Parking can be a bit expensive, but not much more or less than what the port cost. 

[JohninDC]

www.sunny.org has lots of FLL area hotel and tourist information.

[legaljen1969]

So many folks here are veteran cruisers and really have this thing down.   That said, I will tell you we have driven from Coastal South Carolina to cruise out of Fort Lauderdale/Port Everglades.  We have stayed in West Palm Beach at the Hampton Inn off Worthington Rd several times. We have always had great experiences there.  We typically go over to City Place and find somewhere to eat.   

 

The next morning we get up and it typically takes us about 45 minutes to get to the Port.  So you probably would need to add at least another 30-45 minutes to get to Miami to account for traffic.   If that's too far ahead to stop, I can completely understand.  Just letting you know we have had good experiences in West Palm. 

[rkacruiser]

Driving from Ohio, my first Florida stop is at Orange Park.  Then, on the Fort Lauderdale, staying at a hotel in the Cypress Creek Road area.  Hotel rates (even for a Marriott or a Sheraton property) are much less trying to stay at a hotel of the same caliber closer to the port.  The next day, to Port Everglades:  45-60 minutes.  Have not driven from there to Miami--yet.  But, I would think another 30-45 minutes ought to be OK. 

[dem372]

On 10/6/2019 at 7:46 PM, Flymia said:

Why not just go straight to Miami that day and leave out any issues with Have you checked out prices? Depending on time of year downtown hotels can be very reasonable. 

 

 

Thanks for the response.  I have looked into hotels in both areas.  There are options for each.  My main motivation for picking Ft. Lauderdale area is just the ease of getting around.  It seems like it would just be easier to park at a hotel, drive around, find a seaside restaurant, and get around the area in general.  I am picturing staying near the port as kind of a hassle with downtown parking garages, traffic, and having to rely on Uber to get the 5 of us around the area.  I could be really wrong on that though, so happy to hear any info that proves me wrong.  Thanks again for the input!

 

 

[dem372]

On 10/6/2019 at 10:11 PM, legaljen1969 said:

 We typically go over to City Place and find somewhere to eat.

 

Thank you.  This is the type of thing I am hoping to find.  Interesting shopping/restaurant areas where we can spend the evening without a lot of hassle.  I don't know if we will end up stopping that far north but I will definitely add this to my list of considerations.  Thank you.

[dem372]

On 10/7/2019 at 5:36 PM, rkacruiser said:

Driving from Ohio, my first Florida stop is at Orange Park.  Then, on the Fort Lauderdale, staying at a hotel in the Cypress Creek Road area.  Hotel rates (even for a Marriott or a Sheraton property) are much less trying to stay at a hotel of the same caliber closer to the port.  The next day, to Port Everglades:  45-60 minutes.  Have not driven from there to Miami--yet.  But, I would think another 30-45 minutes ought to be OK. 

Good info, thank you.  This is the exact type of trip I am hoping to map out.  That is interesting to see it takes that long to get from your hotel to Port Everglades.  Is most of that port traffic backing things up?  

[dem372]

On 10/5/2019 at 6:28 PM, Diver2014 said:

If you stay anywhere north of the Palm Beaches, give yourself plenty of driving time from there to Miami.  The traffic, especially on I 95 from Palm Beach to Miami is  horrendous no matter what day of the week it is.  That's the main reason we moved from Miami. 

I have been hoping that a Sunday departure would keep the traffic light.  Sounds like maybe that won't be the case.  Thanks for the warning.

[rjgdjg]

We live in North Florida and on the way to Port Everglades, spend the night in Port St. Lucie. It's about one and a half hours from the port and right off the highway. It has many nice hotels (Residence Inn, Springhill Suites, Holiday Inn, etc.) and a lot of decent restaurants and shopping, including Starbucks and Walmart (for those oh-no-I-forgot-to-bring). - Musing About Cruising 

[rkacruiser]

3 hours ago, dem372 said:

Good info, thank you.  This is the exact type of trip I am hoping to map out.  That is interesting to see it takes that long to get from your hotel to Port Everglades.  Is most of that port traffic backing things up?  

 

The time depends more on the traffic volume on I-95 than at the Port entrance itself.  I have driven to the port in as few as 30 minutes from Cypress Creek Road's entrance to I-95, but usually, it is closer to 45 minutes when I actually pull up in front of the cruise terminal to drop off luggage and a traveling companion.  I find driving to/from Port Everglades and Port Canaveral to normally be unstressful.  This January, I will be driving to the MSC Terminal in Miami from Fort Lauderdale.  The last time I drove to Miami's Port was 1979.  I expect some stress this time!

[BlueHerons]

Take a look at Delray Beach.  It's a really cool beach town.

[Flymia]

10 hours ago, dem372 said:

Thanks for the response.  I have looked into hotels in both areas.  There are options for each.  My main motivation for picking Ft. Lauderdale area is just the ease of getting around.  It seems like it would just be easier to park at a hotel, drive around, find a seaside restaurant, and get around the area in general.  I am picturing staying near the port as kind of a hassle with downtown parking garages, traffic, and having to rely on Uber to get the 5 of us around the area.  I could be really wrong on that though, so happy to hear any info that proves me wrong.  Thanks again for the input!

 

 

 

If you stay downtown/brickell you can just walk anywhere or take the free metromover. Won't even need to Uber unless you want to go somewhere else. Even then, parking in Miami is not that bad, its not NYC or D.C. plenty of parking and the prices are not insane. If anything you'll drive less in Miami then compared to Ft. Lauderdale. 

 

And unless there is an event weekend traffic in Downtown/Brickell is pretty easy. 

[Flymia]

10 hours ago, dem372 said:

I have been hoping that a Sunday departure would keep the traffic light.  Sounds like maybe that won't be the case.  Thanks for the warning.

Typical traffic on a Sunday is pretty easy. A drive that takes me 60-mins in the morning rush hour will take me 25-mins on the average Sunday. 

[Cienfuegos]

11 hours ago, Flymia said:

Typical traffic on a Sunday is pretty easy. A drive that takes me 60-mins in the morning rush hour will take me 25-mins on the average Sunday. 

 

That has been my experience, as well. 

 

This past Sunday afternoon, the trip from Miami International Airport to West Palm Beach (60 miles or so) took about 50 minutes.  Sunday morning is usually a breeze in both directions, as well.

[JohninDC]

If you choose to stay in the FLL area there are a number of hotels offering cruise parking packages - listed at www.sunny.org  You can use a shared shuttle for about $15 per person each way (SAS, QLS, MJS, Go Airport, etc.) or UberX (about $35+ for the car to get to & from POM.  Or drive to POM, pay to park ($22/day) and make a quick get away post cruise for your drive home.

 

Have a great cruise! 😎

[bilyclub]

Don't forget February 2nd, 2020 is Super Bowl Sunday  at Hard Rock Stadium.