MIAAirport Guide

Miami airport to Florida's west coast: Tampa and Sarasota

Getting from MIA to Tampa or Sarasota: a connecting flight, FlixBus and RedCoach buses, or the drive across Alligator Alley with its toll.

The Tamiami Trail beside its canal through the Everglades sawgrass
The Tamiami Trail

American flies nonstop from MIA to both Tampa and Sarasota-Bradenton. FlixBus and RedCoach run buses from Miami to the west coast, and FlixBus boards at the Miami Intermodal Center next to the airport. Driving suits you if you’ll want a car on the coast, and the road heads west across the Everglades on Alligator Alley, the toll stretch of I-75.

Taking a flight for the last leg

MIA’s list of nonstop cities shows American as the only airline flying to Tampa (TPA) and to Sarasota-Bradenton (SRQ). American’s MIA gates are in Concourses D and E, and our American Airlines page shows which.

FlixBus leaves from one MIA Mover ride away

FlixBus lists routes from Miami to Tampa, Sarasota, Fort Myers and Naples. It boards at the Greyhound and FlixBus bus bays at the Miami Intermodal Center, 3801 NW 21st Street. From the terminal, take the free MIA Mover from Level 3, between the Dolphin and Flamingo garages, and follow the signs for the bus bays. The intercity bus page also covers Greyhound from the same bays.

RedCoach lists stops in Miami, Tampa, Tampa Airport, Sarasota, Fort Myers and Naples, and sells Miami to Sarasota and Miami to Naples trips.

Driving means crossing Alligator Alley, a toll road

Pick up the car at the Rental Car Center. The crossing of the Everglades is Alligator Alley, the toll section of I-75, also called the Everglades Parkway.

  • The toll. FDOT’s toll table lists two plazas on Alligator Alley, East and West, and each charges a car $3.18 with SunPass or $3.51 by toll-by-plate. The plazas are all-electronic, so you don’t stop to pay.
  • Rental cars. Ask at the counter how tolls get charged to the card you rented with. Florida’s Turnpike says toll-by-plate isn’t available to customers in rental cars. Our guide to tolls and SunPass in a rental car explains what to ask.

Heading to Naples or Marco Island instead? Our guide to MIA to Naples and Marco Island sets the rental car against the bus for that trip, including the last leg to Marco Island.

Sources