Miami airport - has anyone connected via Miami? Have tips/warnings/info?

[disneyholic family]

We're flying via Miami airport for the first time this coming summer (July 2022).

Has anyone connected to Orlando via Miami?

I know none of us has flown to the US for the past 2 years, but before that did anyone connect via Miami?

Did immigration/customs take a long time?

Any tips/info/warnings?

 

[gismo1554]

I've flown into Miami and then we've driven up to Orlando. Immigration is hit and miss. Last time it was quick but time before it was about 2 hours. (we go every year). The airport itself is quite spread out so walking between areas takes awhile so give a good connection time if having to go to a different terminal.

 

[LucyDoesDisney]

I did it once yeeeaaaars ago. I don't remember immigration being hugely different to Orlando, but it will of course depend what other international flights are arriving at the same time.

Are hiring a car? When we flew to Miami we picked up the car at the airport and drove up to Orlando, rather than get a connecting flight to Orlando and picking up the car there. The drive is really straightforward once you're out of Miami!

 

[Constant]

Just posted something similar on the other thread. Like the others have done it a couple of times but always driven, prefer it now to tampa and 3 hours 30 to 4 hour easy enough drive up, really easy to get out the airport and 90% is on cruise control. Plenty of places to stop along the way to get a drink / stretch legs etc.
Does also mean I can't have a drink on the plane but not too bad I am heading on a 2 week holiday!

 

[disneyholic family]

we thought about renting a car and driving up, but our flight into miami is 13 hours long.
I'm not sure i'm up for a 4 hour drive after 13 hours in a small metal tube with a 4, 6 and 8 year old in tow (the grandkids, but we're all sitting together)

 

[disneyholic family]

OMG - i just watched a youtube walkthrough of miami airport.
that has to be THE worst airport EVER!
there is no way we would make it from customs to american airlines in time
and i think we'll have to check in our luggage a second time since we're on two separate tickets!!!
what a nightmare..

so my task now is to find someone who has a minibus and can drive us to orlando....hmmmm....

 

[Ruttangel]

We have done Miami twice, once we drove up and once flew up.
Also flown via JFK and Philadelphia, to be honest the immigration is about the same in my experience, probably Orlando the worst.
The drive up was very tiring but it is extremely straightforward, about 2 roads!
Flying up much easier of course.
Regardless of where you land the first port of call in US always requires you to go through immigration and collect baggage and recheck it in for onward flight.
Good to know when you arrive in Orlando you can skip their queues like a local

Car rental used to cheap pre-pandemic, quotes for next year seem to be insane probably due to less volume of customers

 

[disneyholic family]

We have done Miami twice, once we drove up and once flew up.
Also flown via JFK and Philadelphia, to be honest the immigration is about the same in my experience, probably Orlando the worst.
The drive up was very tiring but it is extremely straightforward, about 2 roads!
Flying up much easier of course.
Regardless of where you land the first port of call in US always requires you to go through immigration and collect baggage and recheck it in for onward flight.
Good to know when you arrive in Orlando you can skip their queues like a local

Car rental used to cheap pre-pandemic, quotes for next year seem to be insane probably due to less volume of customers

yes, the car rental prices right now are so high that i think it would be cheaper to buy a car and then sell it at the end of the trip!!!

 

[OhDannyBoy]

The worst thing about the Miami airport is it's in Miami. Everything in Miami is tedious. I know. I live here. I try to fly to and from Ft Lauderdale / Hollywood as it's a much easier airport to navigate and it's way easier getting in and out of there. Plus it's about an hour closer to Orlando!!


The drive is easy. Take the Turnpike. A lot of rest areas. Just go north and you get there fast. Especially once you get North of Palm Beach. Just try not to be in the tri-county area at rush hour (7-9ish AM and 5-6:30is PM, more like rush hours) during the week or it can be a bit slow moving.

 

[disneyholic family]

The worst thing about the Miami airport is it's in Miami. Everything in Miami is tedious. I know. I live here. I try to fly to and from Ft Lauderdale / Hollywood as it's a much easier airport to navigate and it's way easier getting in and out of there. Plus it's about an hour closer to Orlando!!


The drive is easy. Take the Turnpike. A lot of rest areas. Just go north and you get there fast. Especially once you get North of Palm Beach. Just try not to be in the tri-county area at rush hour (7-9ish AM and 5-6:30is PM, more like rush hours) during the week or it can be a bit slow moving.

we arrive in the USA on a thursday at 6:30 AM so presumably we'll be in rush hour at some point.
But if we use a private van, the driver will have to deal with it, not me.

On the way out, we leave on a sunday, but maybe we'll fly in that direction.
Still working on it.

if it were only me, it would be easy, but we'll be a group of 9 including three small children.

 

[OhDannyBoy]

we arrive in the USA on a thursday at 6:30 AM so presumably we'll be in rush hour at some point.
But if we use a private van, the driver will have to deal with it, not me.

On the way out, we leave on a sunday, but maybe we'll fly in that direction.
Still working on it.

if it were only me, it would be easy, but we'll be a group of 9 including three small children.

A private van is not a bad idea at all. Miami rush hour traffic can be intimidating to the uninitiated. It's not horrific once you get north of the spaghetti bowl, but having someone else do it is the way to go. Especially dealing with a party your size that just sat in a flying can for 13 hours.

Leaving Orlando on a Sunday there is going to be some traffic, but honestly it won't be as bad as the morning rush hour coming north from Miami, at least in my experience.

Just figured I'd share some local knowledge for you. I've made that drive from Miami to Orlando and back at least 100 times both for work and for vacation.

 

[disneyholic family]

A private van is not a bad idea at all. Miami rush hour traffic can be intimidating to the uninitiated. It's not horrific once you get north of the spaghetti bowl, but having someone else do it is the way to go. Especially dealing with a party your size that just sat in a flying can for 13 hours.

Leaving Orlando on a Sunday there is going to be some traffic, but honestly it won't be as bad as the morning rush hour coming north from Miami, at least in my experience.

Just figured I'd share some local knowledge for you. I've made that drive from Miami to Orlando and back at least 100 times both for work and for vacation.

"flying can"......great description!!

i did that drive exactly once....orlando to ft lauderdale...
it was on a sunday morning...
just four of us (DH, me, DD and DSIL)..
i had it all planned out where i would stop on the turnpike (halfway there, don't recall which stop)..
but i was soooooooooooo tired i ended up stopping at every single station on the turnpike..
we parked, walked into the bathroom, i bought a cup of coffee from whichever fast food place was there, and then we were on our way..
i was completely falling asleep the entire way, but thank god i made it to port everglades (for our allure of the seas cruise)...
it was the latest i've ever arrived for a cruise....i think our port arrival time was 10:30, but we ended up getting there at 12:30 ...
on the bright side, when we boarded, the staterooms were already open so we could drop off our bags right away...silver lining!!!

so yeah, attempting that drive after flying for 13 hours and being up for who knows how many hours before that organizing, definitely a recipe for disaster...

 

[Plague]

so yeah, attempting that drive after flying for 13 hours and being up for who knows how many hours before that organizing, definitely a recipe for disaster...

Given that it's not just your life depending on your driving I think hiring a pro would be worth the expense (though that may depend on the pro you get ... ).

 

[gismo1554]

we thought about renting a car and driving up, but our flight into miami is 13 hours long.
I'm not sure i'm up for a 4 hour drive after 13 hours in a small metal tube with a 4, 6 and 8 year old in tow (the grandkids, but we're all sitting together)

We always do a hotel in Miami and then drive the next day for this very reason. My Dad is our only driver and he claims its fine driving straight from the airport but I know we once did it and there had been a delay this end so when we got there it was late at night and he'd been up travelling for almost 24 hours. The drive was very scary as we were all trying to stay awake to ensure he did. We made it but after that said no way would we do it on the same day

 

[disneyholic family]

We always do a hotel in Miami and then drive the next day for this very reason. My Dad is our only driver and he claims its fine driving straight from the airport but I know we once did it and there had been a delay this end so when we got there it was late at night and he'd been up travelling for almost 24 hours. The drive was very scary as we were all trying to stay awake to ensure he did. We made it but after that said no way would we do it on the same day

i've had drives like that. Very scary indeed!!!!

 

[disney fan68]

We flew into Miami one year as it worked out cheaper than a direct flight. All I can say is never again. We should have had three hours to spare for our connecting flight, but it took soo long getting through we barely made it. We went to get in line but we told to go to the fingerprint check in. We all got through ok but my husbands wouldnt register. We tried for 30mins, we then had to get in line after another 2 flights had got in line. It was very stressful and the airport staff were very rude and unhelpful.

 

[disneyholic family]

We flew into Miami one year as it worked out cheaper than a direct flight. All I can say is never again. We should have had three hours to spare for our connecting flight, but it took soo long getting through we barely made it. We went to get in line but we told to go to the fingerprint check in. We all got through ok but my husbands wouldnt register. We tried for 30mins, we then had to get in line after another 2 flights had got in line. It was very stressful and the airport staff were very rude and unhelpful.

what a nightmare!!!!
we've had terrible times going through JFK, so try to avoid it at all costs.

.

 

[bex7583]

We have had insane long lines at immigration and absolutely no lines.

Miami is usually our preferred airport. However we drive rather than connect to a flight.

And our UK flight timings mean we land in the evening, cheap airport hotel with free shuttle, sleep , wake up super early shuttle back to airport and start the drive around 6am.

 

[disneyholic family]

We have had insane long lines at immigration and absolutely no lines.

Miami is usually our preferred airport. However we drive rather than connect to a flight.

And our UK flight timings mean we land in the evening, cheap airport hotel with free shuttle, sleep , wake up super early shuttle back to airport and start the drive around 6am.

yes, that definitely makes sense if you land in the evening..
our flight lands at 6:30 am so we would be wasting a day in miami...
i just got a quote from Mears...
it's not bad....about 30% less than it would cost to go by air.....
and faster as well...

 

[Plague]

it's not bad....about 30% less than it would cost to go by air.....
and faster as well...

If that is "not bad", what is your bar for "good"?