Transportation Question from a first timer!

[mysparky]

There are 6 of us in our party (my parents, me, husband, & 2 kids) and we embark/disembark in Ft Lauderdale. In order to avoid outrageous airfare, we are actually flying home from West Palm Beach and our flight leaves at 3:30pm. My question is two-fold:

 

First, from a logistics standpoint, what's the best way to get to West Palm Beach, considering that our flight isn't until 3:30? Should we go taxi to the airport and pickup a rental and then drive up? Should we get on a shuttle (then what would we do)?

 

Second, I'm assuming that we'd disembark around 9:00 and the ride to West Palm should only take about 1 hr. What are your suggestions on what to do with all of the "hang out" time? We plan on being at the airport at 1:30, but we'd still have about 3.5 hours (with luggage) to occupy.

 

I'm open to suggestions!

 

Thank you!

[Tmeister]

The car rental is likely to be your best bet, since you have a large group. Just be sure to rent a large enough vehicle to accommodate 6 people and their luggage (sounds like a Grand Caravan would work).

 

Ft Lauderdale and West Palm (and a number of other cities in between) have decent downtown areas with nice shops, restaurants, etc. Unfortunately, you really don't have a lot of time for any sort of attractions or amusements.

[mysparky]

The car rental is likely to be your best bet, since you have a large group. Just be sure to rent a large enough vehicle to accommodate 6 people and their luggage (sounds like a Grand Caravan would work).

 

Ft Lauderdale and West Palm (and a number of other cities in between) have decent downtown areas with nice shops, restaurants, etc. Unfortunately, you really don't have a lot of time for any sort of attractions or amusements.

Thanks for the reply - that's what I was thinking as well.

 

Does anyone know if I have to return to the airport to rent a car? Are there options closer to the cruiseport?