Fort Lauderdale or Miami hotel??

[sunrise&set]

Hi

 

I'm sure this has been asked a thousand times so I'm sorry if this is a repeat question!

 

We are sailing out of Miami on 2/19/06. We are flying into Fort Lauderdale the day before. We will be renting a car to pick up my stepson who lives in West Palm Beach. Should we stay at a hotel in Fort Lauderdale or Miami?? Do any of the hotels in Fort Lauderdale have shuttle services to the port in Miami?

 

Thanks for your help!

[TrentS]

None of the Fort Lauderdale hotels have shuttles to the Port of Miami, and in fact very few Miami hotels do either... If you're renting a car it doesn't really matter where you stay. There are no drop fees on rental cars in FL, you can return your car to either the Miami airport, or to a downtown Miami location if your company has one, and they'll shuttle you to the port.

[VTSnorkeler]

you can return your car to either the Miami airport, or to a downtown Miami location if your company has one, and they'll shuttle you to the port.

 

I like the idea of getting the shuttle from the rental agency to the pier. Do you know what rental agencies have downtown locations??

 

A few other questions... do you have any idea how much it will cost to park the rental at one of the 4* (priceline rating) hotels downtown?

 

Also if we decide to go clubbing, how much will a cab run us for downtown to South Beach? (I won't be bringing a car there if we're going clubbing)

 

Is there good nightlife downtown Miami? Maybe we don't even need to go to South Beach?? (been there b4)

 

Sorry for all the questions.

Thanks!

[TrentS]

Hertz has a downtown location. There may be others though as they seem to come and go frequently.

 

The Intercontinental Hotel (downtown, Priceline 4-star) charges $24 per night for parking according to their website. Parking is not cheap at any of the downtown hotels.

 

Other than Bayside Marketplace there's really nothing to do in downtown Miami unless something's going on at American Airlines Arena.

 

South Beach is 10 minutes from downtown Miami, but if you go over the causeway on a Friday or Saturday night the backup of cars can be long and it can take a lot longer... That wait would also make a cab ride more expensive, it should normally cost about $10-15.

[VTSnorkeler]

Thanks Trent!