---
title: "Miami Beach versus staying near the airport · MIA Airport Guide"
description: "Stay near MIA for an early flight, a late landing or one night before a cruise. Choose Miami Beach if the trip is the beach. The fares and the ride compared."
url: "https://miaairportguide.com/guides/miami-beach-versus-staying-near-airport/"
updated: "2026-10-21"
airport: "MIA"
type: "guide"
---

> Independent guide, not the official MIA website. All pages: https://miaairportguide.com/llms.txt

# Miami Beach versus staying near the airport

Stay near MIA for an early flight, a late landing or one night before a cruise. Choose Miami Beach if the trip is the beach. The fares and the ride compared.

Updated October 21, 2026

![Biscayne Bay from Maurice Gibb Memorial Park](https://miaairportguide.com/images/mia/brickell-avenue-night-v2.webp)

Biscayne Bay from Miami Beach

**Stay near MIA if you’re only in Miami for a night, landing late or flying out early. Stay on Miami Beach if the beach is why you came.** One hotel sits inside the terminal, and the nearest shuttle hotels are about a mile out. The beach is a metered taxi, a ride app, or $2.25 on the Route 150 bus, which runs every 30 minutes.

## Which side of the causeway suits your trip

| | Near MIA | Miami Beach |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Getting there from arrivals | Walk to the hotel inside Central Terminal E, or take a hotel shuttle from Level 1 | Taxi on the meter, a ride app, or Route 150 for $2.25 |
| Getting back for your flight | A walk from the terminal hotel, or the hotel’s shuttle to the Level 1 curb | The same ride in reverse, so build it into your departure time |
| Best for | One night between flights, an early departure, a late landing, the night before a cruise | A beach holiday, Lincoln Road, the ocean |
| What you give up | There’s no beach, and the city is a ride away | Time and a fare each way to the airport |

MIA’s taxis run on the meter: $2.95 for the first one-sixth mile, then $0.85 for each further sixth up to a mile and $0.55 after that, plus a $2 airport origination fee and any tolls. Our guide to [every way from MIA to South Beach](https://miaairportguide.com/guides/miami-airport-south-beach-every-option-what-it-costs/) puts fares on the whole trip.

## Near the airport, there are three kinds of stay

- **Inside the terminal.** The [Miami International Airport Hotel](https://miaairportguide.com/hotels/) is on Level 2 of Central Terminal E, before security. It’s the only one you can walk to. [Our guide to the hotel inside MIA](https://miaairportguide.com/guides/hotel-inside-miami-international/) covers its day rooms and when security applies.
- **A shuttle ride away.** Hotels within 1.5 miles include Hilton Miami Airport Blue Lagoon, Ramada, Wyndham Garden, Holiday Inn Express Airport East, Miami Airport Marriott, Embassy Suites and Pullman. Shuttles pick up at MIA’s curbside zones on Level 1. Our guide to [hotels near MIA with a free shuttle](https://miaairportguide.com/guides/airport-hotels-near-mia-with-free-shuttle/) lists each one’s hours.
- **On a budget.** Our guide to [the cheapest places to stay near MIA](https://miaairportguide.com/guides/cheapest-places-stay-near-miami-airport/) weighs each one’s shuttle limits against the cost of getting back to the terminal at 4 a.m.

## Route 150 gets you to the beach for $2.25

Metrobus **Route 150, the Miami Beach Airport Express**, leaves the MIA Metrorail station, one free MIA Mover ride from the terminal’s Level 3. It goes through Miami Beach from 41st Street down to South Pointe Drive.

| Day | Runs from | Until |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Weekdays | 5:23 a.m. | 11:18 p.m. |
| Saturdays | 5:22 a.m. | 11:16 p.m. |
| Sundays | 5:24 a.m. | 11:18 p.m. |

A split stay works too. Take a night near MIA after a late landing and move to the beach in the morning, or end the trip at an airport hotel before an early flight. Our guide to [where to stay in Miami](https://miaairportguide.com/guides/where-stay-miami-neighbourhoods-what-you-came/) compares Brickell, Wynwood, Coral Gables and Coconut Grove as well.

### Sources

- [MIA Airport Guide: hotels](https://miaairportguide.com/hotels/), [hotel shuttles](https://miaairportguide.com/transport/hotel-shuttles/), [Metrobus Route 150](https://miaairportguide.com/transport/metrobus-150/) and [taxis](https://miaairportguide.com/transport/taxi/)
- Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau: South Beach