Car Rental at Miami Airport

Airport travel guide

Get your rental car at Miami Airport! Then drive into the city to explore. Miami’s famous for its beaches, but you’ll discover that there’s a lot more to see and do. Drive to the historic MiMo district in Downtown Miami which is known for its architecture, experience the unique atmosphere in Little Haiti, and be sure to check out Little Havana and Coconut Grove.

Park by the harbor and take a boat tour — it’s the ideal way to see many landmarks. The city’s cultural scene and nightlife are vibrant, so check out a festival while you’re there and enjoy live music at the bars and nightclubs. Drive to Everglades National Park, explore the swamplands, and go on a tour to see alligators and other local wildlife.

Miami’s a great place to visit, but there’s so much more to see in the area, so why not get a longer-term car rental? Drive down to Key West, explore the north of Florida, or go all the way to New Orleans and visit America’s Deep South in Alabama and Mississippi. You can pick up your car at Miami Airport and drop it off in a different city. Start planning your adventure now!

Though you could easily spend weeks enjoying Miami, here are a few ideas of places in South Florida that are worth taking a day trip to in order to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city: 

• Big Cypress National Preserve: Head west along I-75 to this slice of nature. The park offers hiking trails, boat tours, and some of the darkest skies on the east coast making it the perfect spot to stare at the stars. You can also camp at one of the preserve’s campgrounds, a perfect way to spend the night outdoors. The preserve 
• Everglades National Park: Though it’s a couple of hours’ drive to the south, the Everglades is an excellent place to spend time in nature. You can experience the unique landscape in many ways, whether it be just for a day of birdwatching or an extended kayaking trip. 
• Biscayne National Park: South of Miami, this national park protects the Bay of Biscayne which includes the northernmost of the Keys. There are a few things you can do there like exploring the Visitor Center or walking along the Jetty Trail, but as the park is 95% water, a boat is needed to explore it. There are tours that you can join or you can rent a canoe or kayak and explore on your own. Either way, the park is a treasure that shouldn’t be overlooked.
• Fort Lauderdale. Part of Greater Miami, Fort Lauderdale is nonetheless a great day-trip destination in its own right. Sometimes called the Venice of America thanks to its extensive network of urban canals, the city is known for its beach area known as The Strip, which runs between Las Olas and Sunrise Boulevards and attracts thousands of ocean lovers every day. There are also interesting cultural institutions to explore, not least the Museum of Discovery and Science and the Old Fort Lauderdale Village & Museum. The drive from Downtown Miami to The Strip will take only about 45 minutes.

Top international routes

• Atlanta
• Bogota
• London
• New York City
• Dallas
• Santo Domingo
• Chicago
• Washington, D.C.
• Houston
• Havana

Main airlines

MIA is a major gateway from the United States to Latin America. American Airlines carries the most passengers at MIA, with the airport being a major hub for the airline. Delta, United, and Frontier are also major airlines at the airport and serve many domestic destinations. Aeromexico, LATAM, Avianca, and Aerolineas Argentinas serve many destinations in Latin America. Finally, Virgin Atlantic and British Airways connect the city to London.

Terminals

There are three terminals: North or Blue Terminal and its Concourse D; Central or Yellow Terminal that consists of Concourses E, F, and G; and South or Red Terminal that consists of Concourses H and J. All three terminals are connected by a moving walkway. It takes about 15 minutes to get from North Terminal to South Terminal.

Location

The airport is 8 miles (13 km) northwest of Downtown Miami and a similar distance west of Miami Beach. You can reach I-95, Downtown Miami, or Miami Beach either via State Road 112 or the Dolphin Expressway, but keep in mind that the latter is a toll road.

It’s a good idea to figure out your options for paying for tolls in your rental car in South Florida ahead of time. Many tolls can't be paid with cash or credit card. Some rental companies provide cars that have a SunPass transponder attached that can neither be removed nor turned off. Others provide one that can be taken off so that you can use your own if you have one.

Most popular types of rental car

• Large cars - from $12 per day
• Medium cars - from $9 per day
• Small cars - from $14 per day
• SUVs - from $16 per day
• Vans - from $28 per day
• Premium cars - from $16 per day
• Convertibles - from $22 per day

Car rental desks

Those rental companies that are located at the airport can be found in the separate MIA Rental Car Center (RCC) building. Miami Airport and the RCC building are connected via an automated people mover system (MIA Mover).

Companies that are located outside of the airport each provide a shuttle service to their location. These shuttles can be found outside the lobby of the Rental Car Center.

Services and facilities

You’ll find countless shopping and dining opportunities, banks, and ATMs, lounges, a lost and found office, a spa, a yoga room, and a chapel. Luggage storage is located on level 2 of Central Terminal’s Concourse E and is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. You can find more information on the airport's official website.

Nearest gas station

There are some convenient gas stations for renters to fill up at prior to returning their rental cars, though one should be careful of price gouging. The two stations closest to the Rental Car Center (a Chevron and a Shell) both have prices significantly higher than other stations in the area. Just one or two blocks down the street, you will find Exxon and Texaco stations with much lower prices.

If renting a car from one of the companies located away from the airport, other stations may be more convenient. For example, most returning a rental car to Fox Easirent, or Clubs will find a Chevron station at the intersection of NW 27th Avenue and NW 17th Street may be better.

Those returning a rental car to Zig Zag may find a Chevron station at the intersection of NW 41 Street and NW 27th Avenue where they will most likely exit the Airport Expressway to be the best solution.

Popular one-way rentals

• 1. Fort Lauderdale (30 miles / 48 km). Located just a short 45-minute drive to the north, Fort Lauderdale is another beach city of Florida. Known as the Venice of America, it also boasts one of the most extensive (and most scenic) networks of canals in the country.
• 2. Orlando (236 miles / 380 km). Known as the Home of Disney World and many other theme parks, Orlando is perhaps the one other destination in Florida that more than matches the popularity of Miami. The drive between the two cities takes just under four hours.
• 3. Key West (160 miles / 257 km). The southern terminus of the Florida Keys archipelago is the former home of Ernest Hemingway and is now a popular tourist destination. The islands are connected by US Highway 1, so you can explore them by car – The drive from Miami will take about 3 hours and 30 minutes.
• 4. West Palm Beach (72 miles / 116 km). North of Fort Lauderdale, but still reachable in 90 minutes from Miami, West Palm Beach is home to not just stunning beaches, but also John D. MacArthur Beach State Park, which is known for its diverse flora and fauna.
• 5. Fort Myers (155 miles / 249 km). Fort Myers, and its next-door neighbor Cape Coral, are two of the best places to enjoy Florida’s southwestern coast. Located about 2 hours and 30 minutes from Miami, the area is known for its coastline, but equally for nature preserves like the Butterfly Estates and Matanzas Pass Preserve.
• 6. Tampa (278 miles / 447 km). The largest metropolis on Florida’s West Coast, Tampa is known as the home of Buccaneers and Lightning, but also as a popular vacation destination. A stop for many famous cruise ships, it is about a four-hour drive northwest of Miami.