miami port location/hotel question

[hlb76]

We are planning on arriving in Miami a day before our cruise and we would like to see some of miami and maybe rent a car and head south towards the keys. Any hotels suggestion? We are just looking for something budget seeing we only plan to sleep and shower there but we want to be some what centrally located? Is there such a place? And where excatly is the port? Thanks guys for your help?

[Wennfred]

We are staying at the Holiday Inn, its across from the Terminal and Bayside Market, its like a seaport village with shops and resturants...

[Poolguppy]

We stayed at the Holiday Inn and as Wennfred said, you can walk right across the street to the Bayside Market which is a really nice open air mall that has several restaurants, such as Bubba Gump Shrimp. Also, a few of us picked up some last minute items there. Purses, beach bags, etc. The hotel itself is not the greatest, but if you join their preferred guest program, you might get lucky and get a room on the 8th floor (for preferred guests) that look out over the bay. From there, you will see the port and all the ships. It's a terrific location if you want to be close and you're not looking for a fancy place to stay.

[amlindmark]

I dito the above, There is also a Hard Rock across the street. Ask for Port side and you can see the ships. Well the only one I could see was Royal Caribbean but was still exciting.

[BlueHerons]

If you want to sight see, I suggest staying in South Beach. Tons to do there and you don't need a rental car to see South Beach. The port is a quick ride across McArther Causeway.

 

I don't recommend fighting South Florida traffic Friday through Sunday trying to get into the keys.

 

If it does work for you, take Card Sound Road out of Florida City to Key Largo. It is a much prettier drive.

 

While Bayside is fine for a quick overnighter, that is about it.

[kytten_kat]

We just stayed at the Holiday Inn Port of Miami 10.22.05 and thought it was great ... will be booking it again for next year ... we are not however, members of the preferred club and got a room on the 8th floor ... we did however have the cruise package with them and I also requested a room facing the port and as high as they could get me ... We were very pleased with our room ... while the hotel is older and the business center left much to be desired, location and view where the keys elements we were looking for and we were not dissappointed ...

 

From our room we saw Royal Caribbean before they left on Saturday night ... and did they ever have a send off ... Bayside had a fireworks show at 9pm just before the ship sailed away ... was awesome to see ...

 

As I knew that the Victory and the Valor arrive as early as 4 am, I slept very lightly and got up a few times to see if they had arrived ... I got to watch the Victory make the turn in the bay as well as see the Valor and RCCL arrive ...

 

The cab fare from the airport for the 3 of us adults was about $25 and from the hotel to the port it was $10 ... the cab driver found us a porter as soon as we got to the port so we did not even have to handle our luggage after leaving the hotel ...

 

Hope this helps and if you have any questions feel free to email me or as here ...

 

Candy

[hlb76]

Never even thought about the traffic to and from the Keys:o Is it really that bad? I would hate to be late or even be grumpy due to traffic. Thanks for all the info.

[amlindmark]

Kytten Kat, I was also there the same night. What a great send off the Royal Caribbean had. The fireworks were a thrill never expected them. A great room as she said if you can not sleep that night because of excitement. You can just look out the window for your ship to come in. They also have a computer room for you to use. I used it a few times that night to make sure they were not going to close the port and the Victory could come in.

[smoothdancer]

If you decide to stay in South Beach, try PriceLine for a good rate. We were really successful in a ocean front hotel on PL.

[BrendaB1]

Just stayed at Hyatt-Miami in a Priceline room for $57. Nice hotel within walking distance of Bayside. I could see the ships in port from my balcony. Also close to Metromover but it was closed because we were there right after the hurricane.

[BlueHerons]

Never even thought about the traffic to and from the Keys:o Is it really that bad? I would hate to be late or even be grumpy due to traffic. Thanks for all the info.

 

Traffic heading into the keys on Friday or Saturday is heavy and one tiny wreck on US 1 will back traffic up for hours. The road into the keys is mostly just a two lane road with very small areas in Key Largo and Marathon that turn into four lanes. Traffic is very heavy leaving the keys on Sunday.

 

It is a little over 150 miles from Miami to Key West and it takes just under four hours under the very best conditions. It has taken me eight hours just to drive one way on more than one occaision.

 

Don't try and drive to Key West. I would do Key Largo only if you aren't driving Friday thru Sunday.

 

My parents have a home right outside Key West so I'm familiar with this drive and I've taken it often.

 

Bayside is very 'manufactured' for the cruise ship industry. While it is perfectly fine for an overnighter, stay elsewhere if you want the feel of Miami.

 

Both Coral Gables and Coconut Grove are excellent.

 

Again, I would take a cab from the airport to South Beach and take in the sights in South Beach. Art Deco walking tours, Jewish Museum, architecture, shopping, dining, excellent people watching, etc.

 

South Florida traffic can be horrendous. I-95 can turn into a giant parking lot in seconds. I would rather relax on the beach.

 

Good luck!

[hlb76]

Do you know which holiday inn it was? I see a few diff ones listed---thanks