Many deeply discounted tickets to Miami plop you down in the shimmering new terminal at Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport. It's a great airport and there are plenty of rental car agencies, shuttle buses, taxis and limos ready to whisk you into Miami. These are more expensive, but definitely more convenient, than the two-hours'-drive by public bus. There's a regular Metrobus service between the airport and downtown Miami and Miami Beach. You can also take a Metrobus to the Greyhound station at the airport. From there Greyhound makes the 20-minute journey to the sleazy downtown station several times a day.
If you're over 25 and have a major credit card, the easiest way to get to Miami Beach Coral Gables, or Miami, and explore it, is to rent a car. Some of the rental agencies offer an hourly rate with no minimum charges.
Metro-Dade Transit's buses and the metro cover a healthy amount of the city. The 'Omni Metro-mover' and 'Government Center Terminal' in downtown Miami are the main bus depots. Using the metro is a good way to get a cheap tour of the downtown area.
The Metrorail is a heavy rail system with one line running through downtown Miami and then connecting with Tri-Rail Metro-mover and the Metrobus at the Government Center in the southern part. Tri-Rail is a commuter rail system that runs between three counties: Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach. The double-decker trains are a marvel of cleanliness and at least for the time being they're very cheap. However,longer trips take about four times longer to take Tri-Rail than to drive.
Miami's main international hub is Miami International Airport, which is one of the busiest international airports in the world, serving over 35 million passengers every year. Idenitified as MIA or KMIA by various world aviation authorities, it is a major hub and the single largest international gateway for American Airlines, the world's largest passenger air carrier; and is also served by many foreign airlines. MIA is the USA's third largest international port of entry for foreign air passengers (behind New York's JFK and Los Angeles' LAX), and the seventh largest such gateway in the world (bested only by those two airports; combined with London's Heathrow, Paris' Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam's Schiphol, and Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok international airports). Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL/KFLL) also serves the metropolitan area, and actually handles more total passengers who are originating or ending their trip in south Florida than does MIA.
The main seaport, The Port of Miami, is the largest cruise ship port in the world, serving over 18 million passengers per year. Additionally, the port is one of the nation's busiest cargo ports, importing nearly ten million tons of cargo annually.
Miami is connected to Amtrak's Atlantic Coast services.
Local public transportation includes Metrobus and Metrorail, a metro rapid transit system (both operated by Miami-Dade Transit). Furthermore, Tri-Rail, a commuter rail system, connects the major cities and airports of the South Florida metropolitan area. Several transit expansion projects are being funded by a transit development sales tax surcharge throughout Miami-Dade County.
The area is served by five Major Interstates and several Major Routes including I-95, I-75, I-195, I-395, I-595, US-1,
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