MIAAirport Guide

Miami airport to South Beach: every option and what it costs

Compare taxi, ride app, bus, rail plus bus and rental car trips from MIA to South Beach, with fares, pickup points and service hours.

The palm-lined path through Lummus Park in South Beach in the early morning
Lummus Park, South Beach

Take Route 150 if price leads your decision: it costs $2.25 per person. Routes 110 (J) and 20 also connect the airport station with Miami Beach. The free MIA Mover gets you from the terminal to the buses. A taxi or ride app takes you to your address. You can also rent a car if you’ll need one after reaching South Beach.

The pastel streets can wait until you’ve found the right curb. Taxis board outside baggage claim, while Route 150 leaves from the airport Metrorail station. For an app pickup, your assigned door matters more than the door nearest you.

Option What you’ll pay From baggage claim to your South Beach door
Taxi Metered: about $45 for the 12 miles Uber lists to South Beach, on MIA’s published rates, before tolls and waiting. MIA lists a $15 minimum and a $2 airport fee. Walk to the arrivals taxi stand, wait for a cab, drive, then walk from drop-off.
Ride app The fare shown in your app for your exact address and ride type. Uber’s published average is not a guaranteed quote. Walk to the app’s assigned door on Level 1 or 2, wait for your driver, then drive to your address.
Route 150 bus $2.25 per person. The MIA Mover is free. Walk to the MIA Mover, ride to the airport station, wait for a bus that runs every 30 minutes, ride to your stop, then walk to your door.
Route 110 (J) bus $2.25 per person. The MIA Mover is free. Take the MIA Mover to the airport station, then the bus via NW 36th Street and Allapattah to Miami Beach. Walk from your stop.
Route 20 bus $2.25 per person. The MIA Mover is free. Take the MIA Mover to the airport station, then the bus to South Beach via NW 36th Street, NW 20th Street, the MacArthur Causeway and Alton Road. Walk from your stop.
Metrorail plus bus The Orange Line costs $2.25 per person. A day pass is $5.65, a 7-day pass $29.25 and a 1-month pass $112.50. Miami-Dade doesn’t state the rail-to-bus charge for Route 36. Walk to the MIA Mover, ride to the station, take rail to Allapattah, change to Route 36, then walk from its South Beach stop.
Rental car Get a vehicle quote from the rental company. The airport’s transport listing gives no rental price, and the MIA Mover is free. Take the MIA Mover to the Rental Car Center, collect your car, then drive to your address.

For a fixed price, Welcome Pickups lists its own private transfer to South Beach at $109 for a sedan of up to three passengers and $126 for a minivan of up to six.

Plan from the moment you have your bags: add the terminal walk, pickup or transit wait, and the last walk to your address. Uber gives 27 minutes as its average ride, which leaves out the walk to pickup and the driver’s arrival time. Put your actual address into a route planner or ride app before choosing, especially if you’re due somewhere at a set time.

Taxi: settle the fare before you get in

Go to the designated taxi stand on the arrivals level, outside baggage claim. You don’t need a reservation. Uniformed airport staff can help you find a cab. If you use a wheelchair, request a wheelchair-accessible taxi or a SuperShuttle accessible van at the ground-level curb outside baggage claim. Check the fare for the van when you request it. Ignore offers of a ride from people inside the terminal.

Taxis to South Beach run on the meter. Miami-Dade County has ended its flat fares, and the Greater Miami tourism board also says MIA-to-South-Beach taxis are metered. MIA lists $2.95 for the first one-sixth mile, $0.85 for each further one-sixth mile up to one mile, then $0.55 for each further one-sixth mile. Waiting costs $0.40 per minute. Eligible SUVs and vans add a 30% surcharge above the meter, though wheelchair-accessible taxis serving wheelchair users don’t.

For a group with bags, compare the cab’s confirmed vehicle fare with the total bus fares for everyone. Two Route 150 tickets cost $4.50. The taxi gets you to the address without the Mover, bus wait or final walk from a stop.

Ride app: follow the door in your booking

Enter your South Beach street address in the app before requesting a car. Check the displayed fare, pickup time and vehicle size. Uber’s route page calls its price a historical average and warns that the price you pay can differ. Its ride time is also an average.

MIA permits ride app pickup on Level 1, arrivals, and Level 2, departures. On Level 1, the pickup area is at the middle median beyond the crosswalk. Your app gives the designated level and door number. Go to that door before looking for the car, and check the vehicle details in the app.

If the quote jumps or the driver is far away, compare it with the taxi stand before accepting. MIA says ground transportation is available around the clock.

The $2.25 buses: MIA Mover, then Route 150, 110 (J) or 20

Route 150 is the straightforward transit choice for South Beach. It runs from the Miami International Airport Metrorail station to Miami Beach, from 41st Street to South Pointe Drive via 41st Street, Alton Road, Collins Avenue, Lincoln Road and Washington Avenue. Check your nearest stop against your hotel address before you board.

  1. From baggage claim, go up to Level 3 and follow signs to the MIA Mover. Its airport station is between the Dolphin and Flamingo garages. The ride to the Miami Intermodal Center is free. The Mover runs about every three minutes from 5:00 a.m. until about 4:41 a.m. the next morning.
  2. At the airport Metrorail station, go to the ground-level bus pickup on the west side. Find Route 150 for Miami Beach.
  3. Pay the bus fare with an EASY Card, EASY Ticket, the GO Miami-Dade Transit app, contactless payment or cash. Get off at the stop nearest your South Beach address and allow for the walk from there.

The first and last airport-station departures are 5:23 a.m. and 11:18 p.m. on weekdays, 5:22 a.m. and 11:16 p.m. on Saturdays, and 5:24 a.m. and 11:18 p.m. on Sundays. Check live arrivals before heading to the Mover. A missed bus can add nearly a full interval to a trip that already includes the station walk and the walk after your stop. The tourism board says the bus has luggage racks, but you’ll still handle your bags at each stage.

Route 110 (J) also boards at ground level on the west side of the airport Metrorail station. It costs $2.25 and runs along NW 36th Street through Allapattah to Miami Beach. Route 20, at the same fare, connects the airport Metrorail station with South Beach via NW 36th Street, NW 20th Street, the MacArthur Causeway and Alton Road. Check the live trips and Miami Beach stops against your address before choosing either bus over Route 150.

Rail plus bus: a transfer, not a train to South Beach

Metrorail doesn’t take you across to South Beach. Start with the same free MIA Mover ride to the airport station. Allapattah is a stop on the Orange Line, and Metrobus Route 36 runs through Allapattah to South Beach along NW/NE 36th Street, the Julia Tuttle Causeway and Collins Avenue, so a change there can work. Check the rail and Route 36 schedules in the GO Miami-Dade Transit app before leaving the airport. The Orange Line fare is $2.25 per person. Its listed discount fare is $1.10, and a day pass is $5.65. Miami-Dade lists a free bus-to-rail transfer, but does not state the total rail-to-bus charge for this trip. Check that charge or the pass price before paying.

Choose it if a live trip plan puts its Route 36 stop closer to your address or Route 150 isn’t suitable for your timing. From 8:02 p.m. on weekdays and all day Saturday and Sunday, trains from MIA run as a shuttle to Earlington Heights every 15 minutes. Change trains there for Allapattah. The first and last MIA departures are 5:04 a.m. and 12:17 a.m. on weekdays, and 5:11 a.m. and 12:21 a.m. on weekends.

Rental car: useful if the beach isn’t your last stop

The MIA Rental Car Center is at 3900 NW 25th Street. Take the free MIA Mover from Level 3, between the Dolphin and Flamingo garages. Alamo, Avis, Hertz and Sixt are among the companies in the center. The center is open 24 hours, though some operators close between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Check your company’s desk hours and quote before relying on a late pickup.

If your plan stops working

If Route 150 doesn’t show up at the station, the GO Miami-Dade Transit app’s live arrivals tell you whether another 30-minute wait is coming. Routes 110 (J) and 20 board at the same west-side pickup and may leave sooner for your address. If the last usable bus has gone, compare a taxi at the terminal with an app quote rather than assuming transit is still running.

At the curb and unsure about a taxi charge? Ask a uniformed airport attendant to settle the rate before you board. For a ride app, use the level and door shown in the booking. If the driver and app disagree about pickup, follow the app’s designated location or request another car.

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