Looking for Suggestions for Traveling from The Villages to Fort Lauderdale/Miami
 

Hi All, A friend will be visiting me next month flying in from the Northeast. From here she would like to go to Ft. Lauderdale/Miami to visit family. Does anyone have experience or knowledge of the best mode of transportation? Options we discussed were car service, bus, rental car and Uber. She understands cost will be high. Many thanks for your suggestions/advice/recommendations.

I would think a rental car would be the easiest and cheapest way to go.

Fly,then rent a car.

Take Amtrak.

Would you get it in Sanford?

Just heard rental car prices are sky high because rental agencies sold off most of their inventory because of Covid and now demand is high and their inventory is very low. Don’t assume prices will be reasonable.

You will need to contact Amtrak, but there was a "terminal" in Wildwood for a while, it was actually a bus that took you to the closest Amtrak station. Not sure if this is still available.

I just did a check on this - you can rent a car from the Orlando airport, standard size car (VW Jetta, Camry, or similar) at Budget for around $500 for 7 days, starting May 9 at noon and ending May 15 at noon. If you pay online in advance you save $20. The same is true for Alamo. Thrifty is the same if you pay at the counter, but you save $40 if you pay in advance.

So it's definitely more expensive now than it was the last time I rented a car, but it's less grueling, and you have much more freedom to come and go as you please, if you rent. If you take Amtrack you're at the mercy of their scheduling, plus once you get to your destination station, you still need some way to get around.

Try cruise connections.travel which has regular buses daily to both destinations from The Villages, and you could take a local cab from the teeminal when you get there. Rates very reasonable for return trips or one way.

Just rented a car from Budget in Leesburg, dropped off at Miami Airport for $59. Paid $13 tolls and $36 gas. Great drive on Florida Turnpike.

Looks like its still available.
https://www.amtrak.com/stations/wwd

I travel between lauderdale and the villages quite often. Easiest and cheapest is Red Coach bus. They even have pick up spots in Ocala and another just 15 min north of where Nancy Lopez is, or 2 locations near orlando airport. They are new, clean, comfy, and have wifi. Drop off can ge right at lauderdale airport. Costs are from $39 to $89 depending on class but all are fine. I’ve also looked for good rates on SW airlines and flown as low as $49.

CAPRI Transportation service. Based in The Villages. 353-268-2609
Ask for David A.
352-268-2742

And ask for David A.

Rent a car
 

..
She should rent a car..
Its close to a 4 hour drive or more depending on where she is going

Where would they pick up amtrak to get to Ft Lauderdale? If you say Orlando or Kissimmee,then its better to just drive

Megabus. Nice, with wifi, 3.5 hrs. Her relatives can pick her up at the end point, or she can take an Uber from there. Bus from Fort Lauderdale / Hollywood to Orlando with megabus

If you, or your friend, are Costco members, check with them (Costco Travel) for rental cars. When we came for our Lifestyle Visit last year in Sept, Costco was much cheaper for a rental car. We rented an intermediate SUV for a week for $320, plus received a $20 Costco cash card. Plus, if you lock in a rental with them, and the rate goes down prior to your travel dates, they will give you the lower rate. If the rate goes up, you keep the lower price you originally booked.

If you rent a car, you should rent the car through Costco. Costco resells four major rental car companies at a discount. They also give you the second driver for free. Sometimes we’ve saved hundreds of dollars on the car rentals through Costco, enough savings to pay for years of the Costco membership fee.

If you fly into or out of the MIA airport, be aware that airport is a totally trashy airport! Almost no seating in the waiting areas. The seats were ripped up and taped together with duct tape! There were almost no signs, so it was hard to nativgate around the MIA airport. The MIA airport is totally different than Orlando, Tampa, and Ft Myers, which are all nice. The MIA airport is far worse than any third world airport we’re traveled through.

Once again solid advice from the village tinker. This forum is a great resource.

I’ll confirm that Dave. Back in the mid 90s I flew into Miami quite late at night. Somehow made it to the offsite rental car office but had to make three stops for directions in English. Mi espanol no es bueno.

We lived in Fort Lauderdale for a while and their airport is great. Clean, efficient, small enough to navigate quickly, flights on time (unless weather got involved) Use Uber in the FtL area. Cheap & easy

If you fly from MCO to FLL Spirit Airlines fare is $55 round trip weekdays and United $81 r/t weekdays too!

Take the train from Orlando to Miami. Pleasant ride and very reasonably priced.

Best site for this or any transportation comparison:
Rome2rio: discover how to get anywhere
Put in two cities .

Rent a car 🚗

PS we drive it alot
3.45 hours to ft Lauderdale
From rt 44 morse to aventura area . If no stopping. Mostly no traffic except within last 40 miles of south end .

Car rentals are very expensive right now if available.

Don't use an airport rental company. They add an additional airport tax to their rentals. There is an Enterprise office in Lake Sumter.

I drive that trip often. 75 all the way. There are a lot of rest stops along the way, clean bathrooms, good coffee and gas fill-ups. Toll’s apply, but it’s worth it.

My son took Redcoach from the pickup station behind a gas station at I75 and 484 intersection to Miami airport. $57. 5 hours & 40 minutes. The Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing is on the other side of I75.

Free wifi. Comfortable seats.

RedCoachUSA.com

That is a loaded question, Miami Beach is lively Fort Lauderdale is different, which place and why are they going? Car service is better private ride and then use Uber to get around. Personally If you stay in Miami Beach you can safely walk to everything. But it is very hot. Personally I like Tampa better, go there and get a city pass stay in the city it is spectacular.

www.turo.com
We've used turo several times and have been pleased. I see a 2021 Sonata and other similar cars for $55/day.

That's not 75, that's the Florida Turnpike.

It want help for next month but would help for future Travel. There is a Travel Club starting that would give you the ability to fly out of the Leesburg Airport just minutes away and fly direct to Ft. Lauderdale. The flight would be about 1 Hour 20 Minutes. You can find info in The Villages Daily Sun under Recreation & Parks Publication Clubs Page 41. It is listed under Other or Speciality. Look for Travel-Unique Travel Club.

Silver Airways (silverairways.com) has two flights a day from Orlando (MCO) to Ft. Lauderdale (FLL) for $112 round trip.

If Amtrak is still on the same schedule, an Amtrak shuttle bus picks up at Wildwood (WWD) at the old train depot on Main Street, delivers you to Lakeland, where you board the train, stops briefly at Sebring, then on to West Palm Beach and stations south to Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

There is supposed to be a railway under construction from Orlando to Miami. Has anyone heard any update on that?

Try your Waze app....punch in passenger and see if anyone is heading down...use the carpool section....

I just looked at the Amtrak schedule and rates. Amtrak That is quite a deal. I used May 10th as a test and looked at Wildwood to Ft. Lauderdale. For that date, the Bus leaves the Wildwood station (which is at the intersection of 466A and 301) at 10:55 am and goes to the Amtrak Lakeland station. At Lakeland, you get on the train to Ft. Lauderdale which arrives at 5:17 pm. And for a coach ticket, the cost is $63. Much better than renting a car plus gas plus tolls. And has to be MUCH better than Uber or hiring a car & driver. For that price, I might just take a quick trip to the Miami area. :coolsmiley:

The few times I did it, the train traveled fast and the seating was very comfortable. Each seat had a place to plug in various devices.