Getting around Miami

All your Options for Getting Around Miami

Miami can seem like a giant, sprawling landscape for those who aren’t familiar. But getting around isn’t as hard as you think, whether you’re in a car or trying public transportation.

Matt Meltzer

8 June 2023

Miami is fairly spread out and designed for driving. The city’s layout is simple enough, and the street grid is easy to follow, but drivers can be aggressive and traffic can be heavy. Miami also has a handful of ways to get around on public transportation, and while not always the fastest way to get around can be less stressful. Here’s a look at how to get around Miami, by car, train, and automated elevated tram.

Getting Around Miami by Car

If you want to explore Miami to its fullest, you’re going to need a car. Though the distance from the fringes of the Everglades to the Atlantic Ocean is just over 25 miles, the city’s public transportation doesn’t lend itself to getting around quickly.

Driving Tips for I-95

If you’re in the I-95 express lanes and traffic is stopped on the main line next to you, stay in the left-most express lane. Cars from the main line frequently drive over the divider poles into the right-most lane of the Express lanes, and many do it without signaling as cars speed towards them.

Miami-Dade County, with a few exceptions, runs a quadrant grid, with Flagler Street dividing north and south, and Miami Ave dividing east and west. They meet in the far eastern part of the county, so you’ll find most streets and avenues are designated NW or SW. Miami Beach has a separate grid, with street numbers starting in the south and getting higher as you go north. Coral Gables and Hialeah also have completely different street systems, so if you find yourself in those areas, it’s best to rely on GPS.

Interstate 95 is the main north-south expressway in the city. The Dolphin Expressway (SR-836) and the Airport Expressway (SR-112) run east-west and connect the airport with downtown Miami and Miami Beach. Nearly all the city’s expressways have tolls, and I-95 has variable toll express lanes that can save you literal hours in traffic. Just be careful as they can only be entered in one spot north of downtown Miami, and if you get in the express lanes accidentally you won’t be able to exit until the northern end of Miami-Dade.

Miami is connected to Miami Beach via a series of causeways, the fastest of which are the Julia Tuttle (I-195) and MacArthur (I-395.) The Julia Tuttle takes you into mid-Miami Beach at around 41st Street and is best for getting to points north of 17th Street. The MacArthur takes you into South Beach and is best for anything south of 17th Street.

Traffic patterns follow the usual rush hour times, with traffic into downtown Miami and Miami Beach peaking between 7-9:30 am and leaving those areas from about 3-7 pm. Avoid being on the road during those times if at all possible.

Getting Around Miami by Taxi

Taxis are readily available in Miami and Miami Beach, and often faster than rideshares as they roam around looking for fares. Taxis charge a drop fare of $2,95, 85 cents for each 1/6 of a mile for the first mile, and 55 cents for each 1/6 of a mile after.

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Fares from Miami International Airport (MIA) to downtown and Brickell should be about $25-30. Miami Beach fares are around $35-40 from MIA. The city eliminated flat fares recently, so if a cab driver tries to quote you a flat rate ask them to turn the meter on. Also, be advised that though taxi vans and SUVs have normal taxi rates posted on their vehicles, but they charge 30% more.

Getting Around Miami by Ride Share

Do You Speak Spanish?

A lot of the rideshare drivers in Miami don’t speak English. So, if you don’t speak Spanish you might want to brush up on simple stuff like directions before you go.

Uber and Lyft are everywhere in Miami, so you can call one in most parts of the city and it will be to you in under ten minutes.

The rideshare pickup at MIA is in the same area as all other passenger pickups, so just walk out to the middle curb outside baggage claim and call your ride. Still, check the prices of rideshares before ordering one; taxis can often be cheaper and arrive much faster. Taxis also have their own designated lane at MIA and get caught in less airport traffic.

Getting Around Miami by Metrorail

The Metrorail stop in Coconut Grove really should be called ‘Shell Station’ because that’s really all it’s near. The walk to the Grove is about a mile or more, so the name is pretty misleading.

Miami has an elevated commuter rail, a fact many locals don’t even know. It’s lightly used but does run from Dadeland Mall in the south up to the airport and Palmetto Expressway near Doral in the north. It doesn’t run to tourist hotspots like Miami Beach, Coconut Grove, Hard Rock Stadium, or Aventura. So, using it as a primary way of getting around as a visitor isn’t always practical.

The Orange line runs from Miami International Airport south to downtown, Brickell, the University of Miami, and Dadeland Mall and can save you a lot of money if one of those places happens to be your destination. Fares are only $2.25, and the ride takes about 20 minutes to downtown. On weekends, the Orange Line only runs one-stop to Earlington Heights. There, you’ll need to transfer to a southbound Green Line train to go the rest of the way. On weekends, that can sometimes mean waiting 25-30 minutes if the trains don’t time out right.

Getting Around Miami by Metromover (Tram)

Downtown and Brickell have a small, automated tram on elevated tracks called the Metromover. It is the most efficient way of getting around these traffic-congested areas and is free. It runs in three Loops – Brickell, Omni (Outer), and Inner.

The Brickell loop runs north from Brickell and goes in a counterclockwise loop around downtown before heading back south. The Omni, or Outer Loop, does the same counterclockwise loop through downtown, then continues north through the Arts and Entertainment District up to the Adrienne Arsht Center for Performing Arts. The Inner Loop runs clockwise through the downtown loop and is the fastest way of traversing Downtown Miami.

Getting Around Miami by Bus

Miami’s bus system isn’t the most efficient and generally isn’t advisable as a way of getting through the city as a whole. However, in Miami Beach, it can be helpful, especially when taking the city’s free trolley, which runs in continuous loops around Miami Beach. You can also take the 150 Express bus from Miami International Airport to a few fixed stops in Miami Beach. It leaves from the Miami Intermodal Station at MIA.

About the author

Matt MeltzerMatt Meltzer has been a travel writer for over a decade, covering U.S. domestic locations and hotels for Thrillist, Fifty Grande, Matador Network, Conde Nast Traveler, and other top publications. He's won multiple travel journalism awards from the Society of American Travel Writers and North American Travel Journalists Association, and currently resides in South Florida.