Recommended must do's between Daytona and Miami

[mattR]

Decided to fly into Daytona for our Miami cruise airfare half the price.   We will have an entire day to get from Daytona to Miami what are some recommendations of things to do along the way will be traveling with our two kids 16 and 21.   Thinking of staying a ways out of Miami in order to get a decent price on a hotel the night before the cruise.  Any recommendations for that?

[Noxequifans]

Daytona to Miami area is a lengthy trip not allowing much time for stopping and doing something. If you can limit your time the Kennedy Space center is worth a visit. Also, traffic in the Miami area can be very heavy so take this into account when you plan your overnight stop.

[emory2001]

Kennedy Space Center. The drive from West Palm Beach to Miami will take a lot longer than you think.

[Flymia]

Does your cruise leave on a weekend? If so the drive down to Miami from say West Palm Beach should be pretty painless. If during the weekday, yea the drive from Palm Beach to Miami is rough. 

 

Only two things come to mind, the Space Center or stopping in West Palm Beach. You could also just drive straight down to Miami and enjoy Miami. All depends on where you want to stay and what prices you find. 

[2wheelin]

Jupiter Lighthouse. Includes small history museum.

Stay Fort Lauderdale or on north side. 

[mattR]

1 hour ago, Flymia said:

Does your cruise leave on a weekend? If so the drive down to Miami from say West Palm Beach should be pretty painless. If during the weekday, yea the drive from Palm Beach to Miami is rough. 

 

Only two things come to mind, the Space Center or stopping in West Palm Beach. You could also just drive straight down to Miami and enjoy Miami. All depends on where you want to stay and what prices you find. 

Will be driving Dec 26th which is a Thursday.  Dec 26 is a holiday in Canada is it a holiday in the US?  How long should I plan on the drive taking from Daytona to Miami? 

[hrhdhd]

December 26 is not a holiday in the U.S., but traffic that week will be lighter overall. School will be out, and some people will take the week off because Christmas is on Wednesday.

 

Daytona to Miami is about 4 hours. I'd drive to West Palm Beach, hang there, and drive to the port in the morning. There are a lot of reasonable hotels near the WPB airport, although I'm not sure what their Christmas-time rates are.

[Flymia]

Well the 26th will have pretty high hotel prices everywhere, so price out MIami, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. With a car you can likely find something that is reasonably priced in Miami. 

 

Dayton to Miami should be about 4-hours without stops. So I would plane for at least 4.5 hours. 

 

West Palm Beach to Miami on December 26th should not be bad. Though not a holiday a lot of people are not working and there is no school. I would plan for around 65-95 min drive. Should be closed to 70-mins on that day.