Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to PortMiami
Getting from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to PortMiami — 35-55 min, 28 miles
Transfer Options
Hotel Shuttle Services
Many Miami hotels offer cruise shuttle packages, especially those near the airport. Quality and timing vary widely.
Verify shuttle times before booking — some only run once in the morning — and confirm how many parking nights the package actually includes, because that count varies by property and a seven-night sailing needs eight days of parking. The best packages include both legs, to the port and back. Price the total against a week in the port garage at $25 or $35 a day plus the room you would have booked anyway.
Uber/Lyft from Anywhere
Rideshare is readily available throughout Miami. The port has designated pickup/drop-off areas.
On busy embarkation days (Saturdays especially), prices can surge, so the app's estimate the night before is not the price you will pay in the morning. The port drop-off area is well-organized — drivers know where to go.
Taxi
Traditional taxis are available at the airports and can be hailed downtown.
Taxis can be the better deal when rideshare is surging, but treat any figure you have read online as unverified: neither PortMiami nor the cruise lines publish passenger fares. Confirm the rate with the driver or the stand dispatcher before getting in.
From Fort Lauderdale Airport (FLL)
FLL is about 28 miles north of PortMiami — plan on 35-55 min by car straight down I-95, and more during rush hour. Flights into FLL often cost less than MIA, but weigh the savings against the longer transfer.
I-95 traffic can be brutal during rush hour. If your flight arrives during peak times (7-9 AM or 4-7 PM), add extra buffer. Landing the day before and staying near FLL — or in downtown Miami — turns a stressful sail-day transfer into an easy morning ride.
Brightline Train from Fort Lauderdale (FLL)
Brightline's Fort Lauderdale station is downtown, not at the airport — a dedicated Brightline shuttle covers the airport-to-station leg. The train reaches MiamiCentral in under 40 minutes, and MiamiCentral is less than a 10-minute drive from PortMiami.
The airport shuttle runs 8 AM-7 PM at roughly 30-minute intervals, first-come first-served — no advance reservations, so a very early boarding window means rideshare instead. Premium fares include a complimentary Uber within five miles of the station, which covers the MiamiCentral-to-port leg.
Driving & Port Parking
PortMiami has parking garages at each terminal. The port is on an island — take the Port Boulevard tunnel from I-395 (toll-free) or the MacArthur Causeway from South Beach. Garages AA (MSC) and B (Norwegian) are $35 per vehicle, per space, per day. Garages C, D, F and G are $25/day long-term and $10 short-term with no overnight — Carnival sails from Terminals D and E and parks in Garage D. Surface Lot E, the open-air option and the only one without a height limit, is $25 per space per day, doubling to $50 if your vehicle takes two spaces. Garage A, serving Royal Caribbean at Terminal A, is the one garage the port does not price on its own page; it refers you to the garage operator's site instead.
Debit cards are NOT accepted — bring a credit card or cash. Follow signs to your specific terminal number; the port is large and garages are not interchangeable. Check the clearance for your garage before you drive in, because the first floor is much taller than the rest: Garage D drops to 6ft 8in above the ground floor, Garage C to 6ft 10in. The garages are staffed 6am to 5pm on cruise days and the free terminal shuttle runs on cruise days only.
Cost Comparison
| Option | Cost | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel Shuttle Services | CostBundled into the room rate and quoted by the property; no standing package price is published. | Best ForCruisers who want to bundle hotel + parking + transport |
| Uber/Lyft from Anywhere | CostNo published fares — pricing is dynamic. Downtown is the shortest hop, South Beach a little longer, MIA about 10 miles out and Fort Lauderdale about 28. | Best ForFlexibility and door-to-door service |
| Taxi | CostNo fare published by the port for any taxi route — agree the fare or confirm the meter before you set off. | Best ForCruisers who prefer a quoted fare over surge-based rideshare |
| From Fort Lauderdale Airport (FLL) | CostUber/Lyft: $35-55 depending on traffic. Shared shuttle services: ~$20-30 per person. | Best ForCruisers who found better flight deals to FLL |
| Brightline Train from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) | CostSMART fares $10-49 one-way. Airport shuttle: $12/person with a same-day train ticket. Rideshare from MiamiCentral to the port: ~$10-15. | Best ForCruisers who'd rather ride the rails than sit on I-95 |
| Driving & Port Parking | Cost$25-35/day for cruise-length garage parking, depending on terminal. Garage A is quoted by its own operator rather than the port. | Best ForCruisers driving from Florida or nearby states |
Local Tip
The 7-9 AM peak on I-95 southbound overlaps exactly with cruise check-in, so leave FLL before 7 or after 9:30 when you can. Landing the day before removes the gamble entirely — a hotel near FLL or in downtown Miami puts you an easy morning ride from the port either way. Taking Brightline? Its first airport shuttle leaves at 8 AM, so a very early boarding window means rideshare to the downtown Fort Lauderdale station or skipping the train altogether. Arriving from abroad, budget 60-90 minutes for immigration and customs before the drive south even starts.
Once you arrive, find your terminal:
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