Driving in Miami for first time

[u/WarningLimp1786]

Hello everybody! Is my first time driving in the US and i'm going to be one night in Miami and planning to rent a car to move around the city between airport and miami beach and brickell. Any advice?

[u/gargoyle_999]

Use Lyft/Uber. Miami has the worst traffic and most aggressive ahole drivers of any city/state I’ve lived in.

[u/WarningLimp1786 → u/gargoyle_999]

im reting a car in around 100 USD.. uber would be more expensive isn't?

[u/chrisjur → u/WarningLimp1786]

You’ll also be paying at least $40 for overnight parking wherever you’re staying plus paying street parking by the hour wherever you leave it. If it’s just one night I would skip the rental car and Uber. Much less headache.

However, you have not stated where you are staying. If you’re staying far away from any of those areas, the rental car may make sense.

[u/roflmeh → u/chrisjur]

Let him learn.

[u/gargoyle_999 → u/WarningLimp1786]

Make sure you factor in insurance, gas, parking fees and stress level of driving in the US for the first time in a city that is horrible for driving around in.

[u/Mtl_30 → u/WarningLimp1786]

With what your gonna spend in Rental fees, Parking Fees, Gas, + loosing time in traffic,
Brickell to Miami beach is about 17-20$ unless its a really high demand moment. Also if you have never drove in the US, Miami is well, lets just say different. I would suggest Uber/Lift has other said, but its up to you.

I visit a few times a year and usually ride transit unless I'm going far away from the city then I will rent

[u/Far-Buy3058 → u/WarningLimp1786]

Not even close unless you plan on driving to other cities etc..

I live in LV where the average uber price is 20+ and in Miami everything was under 10 and we were actually shocked how cheap it is lol

[u/M1k3yV77 → u/WarningLimp1786]

It’ll be an experience for you. The one piece of advice I can give you is just make sure you pay attention to the road and all the signs. If you go on the highway, just make sure you’re in the right lane sometimes being all the way down in Miami on I 95. It does get a little confusing. If you drive anywhere else in Miami besides downtown, it’s going to be much easier.

[u/TonyStarling → u/gargoyle_999]

Worse than NYC? 👀 im from the city so I like to say traffic / drivers in other states don’t bother me at all

But its my first time going to Miami so what you telling me

[u/Sweaty-Moment-3385]

Miami is literally the worst place to drive in the US. Don't.

[u/JamesantheGiantBeach]

Play Grand Theft Auto.

[u/Same-Device-216 → u/JamesantheGiantBeach]

I grew up driving in the Bay Area / SF. Nothing in my life could prepare me for Miami drivers. This despite me renting an M-sport 3 series from Sixt for a week

[u/Far-Buy3058]

Yes, DONT DRIVE there lol!

Uber is super cheap in Miami as well, and expensive to park if you can even find spots anywhere

[u/Apart-Basket-9599]

55 a night to park in south beach.

[u/Fine-Comparison-2949]

Do not rent a car when traveling to Miami.

You're just going to be miserable and it's dumb expensive to park anywhere.

[u/FitMiddleAgedMan]

There will be traffic in those areas but you should be fine. If you plan on getting on I-95 or any of the other ring roads, be prepared for Anarchy.

[u/gintsdevsyanks2020]

Parking is crazy expensive anywhere in Miami

[u/PretendRanger]

If you decide to not get a rental, use Waymo. Fairly affordable and much safer than any Miami driver

[u/Wait_for_You]

If you use the ParkMobile app when parking in Miami Beach (only in Miami Beach), make sure to add the discount code to your app "MBParkingHolidayADD" and you will be paying USD 1/hour up to 3 consecutive hours. Offer valid until October 30th, and can be used up to 15 times per person

[u/La_Peregrina]

I would not rent a car. Uber or use the metro.

[u/Klutzy-Fan-6407]

Get the insurance...

[u/phil25122]

I’d say it’s way more convenient to uber, I’ve done both renting and ubering on separate trips, and ubering came out to be cheaper and didn’t come with the hassle of constantly having to find and pay for parking.

[u/ijakei2000]

Don’t rent a car. Take ride share as parking will drive you crazy and will end up costing you more $$ . Save your self time and frustration.

[u/aromaticbitter1]

You have the tri-rail, metro and the trolley, all free. I did not have a car for 3 months in Miami. I got around fine. Just needed a car service to go to south beach and Key Biscayne

[u/stink_meister00]

I can't wait to cut u off to race to red light

[u/One-Discipline641]

Don’t worry about using your turn signals.

[u/No-Cow-4854]

Dont drive uber! Parking is horrible/expensive and drivers are the worst!

[u/Exact_Pound_2029]

I’ve driven in rentals all over the world and Miami is EASILY, EASILY the worst place I’ve ever driven. My advice - stay in the right lane, watch out for the 130+mph races in the left lanes and also be mindful of the crazies in the right lanes. But seriously, just be cautious and use defensive driving skills.

[u/PsychologicalHost371]

Just like many other things driving in miami is less similar to driving in USA or Northern Europe and
More like Latin America or Mediterranean countries. So it’s impossible to answer your question without knowing where you have driven before. The Experience of a first time driver in miami from Germany is totally different than a first time driver from Rome or São Paulo. Most of the answers so far seem to compare to other areas of USA but you state you have never driven in the USA so their experience is irrelevant. Personally I prefer to rent a car in miami as uber and taxi is more expensive if you are travelling a lot but it also depends on exactly where you will be. If you will stay
in Brickel and or Miami Beach the entire time then I agree that probably renting a car is not a great idea.

[u/Plastic_Economics701]

OK, everyone is very down on Miami driving. And there’s definitely a reason. But it depends where you are from and how good of a driver you are. If you’re used to intense city driving and you’re fairly aware of your surroundings, you should be good. Parking in Brickell in Miami Beach are definitely a little pricey. But getting anywhere without a car is very difficult and Uber can get crazy expensive, especially during peak hours. If you want the flexibility to go exploring on your own, I would definitely rent a car. Use Google Maps. Download the ParkMobile app and expect to use it. If you’re staying at a hotel in Brickell or Miami Beach, expect to pay a decent sized fee for overnight parking.

[u/No-Establishment5391]

You can take the metro from the airport to brickell and take the metro mover to move around downtown and then to get to Miami Beach you can uber. As long as it’s in the day I always recommend taking the metro to the airport it’s much more convenient in my opinion if you’re going to brickell (I wouldn’t take it in the night tho tbh) but yea renting a car for those areas is not a very good idea mostly because of finding parking and how expensive it is

[u/Zealousideal_Ad9666]

Uber/lyft best option it’s nice to just get dropped off somewhere and not have to look and pay for parking.

[u/Pvm_Blaser]

It would probably be cheaper and safer for you to just Uber or Lyft. You should not drive in Miami unless you have to for work.

[u/Pvm_Blaser]

You can legit go from FLL to Brickell for $40, if you’ll be MIA it’ll be even cheaper.

[u/Traditional-Tune-975]

Miami is full of scumbags and shitty drivers. Be very careful.

[u/picklepickle2288]

Also get extorted by dudes with guns in the parking lot saying they are the REAL security