MIAAirport Guide

Staying overnight between your flight and your cruise

Choose an MIA or downtown hotel for the night before your cruise, then plan the airport pickup, morning ride and luggage handoff.

The downtown Miami skyline across the bay from Watson Island
Downtown Miami from Watson Island

Open 24 hours at MIA

Open 24 hours 12

Everything open at MIA right now

From each place's published hours, in MIA local time. Hours change on holidays and at short notice; 220 of 225 listed places publish hours we can read exactly.

Stay by MIA if your flight lands late or could slip. Choose downtown if you arrive with time to spare and want to wake up on the port side of the trip. Whichever you choose, arrange the ride to your ship before you book.

PortMiami puts MIA 7.1 miles from the port, so either side of town works. Your cruise terminal and boarding instructions matter more than a hotel’s claim to be “near the port.”

Which side should you sleep on?

Your night Better starting point What you still need
Late arrival, a delayed flight, or a bag to collect MIA’s in-terminal hotel or an airport shuttle hotel Confirm hotel check-in and the shuttle’s last airport pickup. Arrange the morning ride to your cruise terminal.
Time for dinner and a relaxed morning before boarding A downtown hotel Arrange the ride from MIA to the hotel, then another ride to your assigned terminal.

The Miami International Airport Hotel is on Level 2 of Central Terminal E, before security. It removes the wait for a hotel shuttle after you land. For a room outside the terminal, our hotel guide lists Courtyard Miami Airport, 1.1 miles from MIA, and Staybridge Suites Miami International Airport, 1.2 miles away. The hotel shuttle pickup zones are on Arrivals Level 1, across from doors 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 15, 20, 23, 24 and 28. Ask your hotel which zone it uses.

If you’re landing late, compare the shuttle hours before you pay:

Hotel Listed airport shuttle
Days Inn by Wyndham Miami Airport North 6 a.m. to midnight
Tru by Hilton Miami Airport South Blue Lagoon 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
La Quinta Inn & Suites Miami Airport East Hourly, 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Hampton Inn & Suites Miami-Airport South-Blue Lagoon Hourly, 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.
TownePlace Suites Miami Airport Reservation required, 305-779-0900

Confirm the last pickup with the hotel, especially if your flight could slip.

Among the downtown hotels in our hotel guide, Hilton Miami Downtown is closest to MIA’s Concourse J by road, at 6.8 miles. InterContinental Miami is 7.2 miles away, and Four Seasons Hotel Miami is 7.8 miles away. Hilton and InterContinental list no airport shuttle, so plan your arrival ride as well as your port ride. Ask the hotel how guests reach your cruise terminal.

If you’re traveling alone, rail costs less than a taxi toward a downtown hotel. Take the free MIA Mover from Level 3 between the Dolphin and Flamingo garages to the Miami Intermodal Center. It runs from 5 a.m. until about 4:41 a.m. the next morning. From there, the Metrorail Orange Line runs through Government Center and Brickell for $2.25 per person each way. From 8:02 p.m. on weekdays, and all day on weekends, trains from MIA go only to Earlington Heights. Change there for downtown. The last shuttle train leaves MIA at 12:17 a.m. on weekdays and 12:21 a.m. on weekends.

The tourism board lists Embassy Suites by Hilton Miami International Airport with a free MIA shuttle and a paid PortMiami shuttle. A “fly and cruise” offer may cover one ride, both or neither, so before paying, ask the property which stops it serves, whether a seat must be reserved, what it costs and when it runs. Get the answer for your flight arrival and your sailing day.

After you land at MIA

Collect your bag before going to an outside hotel. Domestic baggage claim is on Level 1. International arrivals through Concourse J exit on Level 3, so follow the signs down to a Level 1 hotel shuttle pickup if that’s your plan. The in-terminal hotel is in Central Terminal E on Level 2.

If your hotel shuttle has stopped running, use the taxi stand at the lower-level arrivals curb outside baggage claim or check the pickup shown in your ride app. MIA allows ride-app pickups on Level 1 arrivals and Level 2 departures. The app gives the designated zone and door. Don’t assume the hotel’s shuttle listing means service all night.

If you haven’t booked yet and your flight looks shaky, the terminal hotel removes the last-shuttle question altogether.

The ride to the ship in the morning

Find your assigned terminal in your cruise documents before you request a car. PortMiami’s official app gives cruise details and directions to terminals. Give the driver the terminal, not only “PortMiami.” Check your cruise line’s boarding and early bag-drop instructions as well.

From MIA’s taxi stand at the lower-level arrivals curb outside baggage claim, a taxi to PortMiami runs on the meter, since Miami-Dade County ended flat fares. On MIA’s published rates that’s about $30 to $36, including the $2 airport fee, plus tolls. Trips from MIA have a $15 minimum. A ride from an outside hotel starts elsewhere, so check that fare separately.

PortMiami says most cruise lines offer a shuttle when coming directly from MIA. MIA lists pre-arranged cruise-line transport at the North bus station, Concourse D Level 1 Door 1, or the South bus station, Concourse J Level 1 Door 33. Ask your cruise line whether your booking qualifies after an overnight hotel stay, and where you must board. A hotel shuttle back to MIA followed by a cruise transfer adds another handoff. Compare it with a direct ride from your hotel.

PortMiami’s free shuttle is for a different problem: it moves passengers between port terminals only when a ship departs from one terminal and returns to another. It will not collect you from MIA or your hotel.

If you have hours between checkout and boarding

PortMiami has no luggage lockers. Ask your cruise line when it accepts bags at your terminal before heading over early. If you plan to stay near the hotel for a while, ask whether the hotel can hold your bag after checkout.

MIA has baggage storage before security on Level 2 of Central Terminal E and South Terminal H, but it means keeping your bag at the airport while you wait. It charges daily rates by bag size. MIA’s own pages list two sets of hours for the Central Terminal E counter, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on one and 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on another. Call 305-869-1163 for Central Terminal E or 305-869-1148 for South Terminal H before you rely on it.

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