The various Miami Airport shuttle services on offer provide an excellent and crucial aid for the arriving visitor. It’s often said that the most stressful thing about flying is not the flight itself, but getting to your final destination once landed. Especially on those fatigue-inducing long-haul flights, landing tends to feel like arriving, and yet there’s inevitably more journeying to be done—from the airport to your accommodation. For passengers landing at one of the Miami airports, the Miami Airport shuttle may well make the difference between a definably good journey, and a bad one.

Miami Airport shuttle services can be split into two categories: public shuttles and hotel shuttles. The public shuttles prove a cheaper mode of public transport than the other option, a taxi. Public shuttles run to all areas in Miami, with an increased quantity of vehicles serving those districts that have a high density of Miami hotels and budget accommodations. The charge for taking one of these Miami Airport shuttle services depends on which area you travel to. Prices are published outside the shuttle rank at the airport.

A Miami hotel shuttle, meanwhile, is a little more personalized. These are services run by separate hotels; on arrival at the airport, you find the service that belongs to your hotel, hop in, and are whisked away directly to your accommodation. As a result, Miami hotel shuttle services are predictably popular, though some hotels do charge a fee, so it’s worth checking your booking or Miami vacation package to see whether or not you’ll be paying for the privilege.

Miami Map

Of course, Miami hotel shuttle services run in both directions; not only will you need a shuttle from Miami Airport to the hotel, you’ll also need a shuttle to Miami Airport from the hotel. Again, the same rules apply: some hotels will include the Miami hotel shuttle service in the room rate or offer it as a gratuity; others will levy a charge. A sample of some of the hotels that offer a shuttle to Miami Airport includes the famous Miami Delano Hotel, the Fontainebleau Hotel, and the Miami Intercontinental.

If you really can’t face the shuttle to Miami Airport, or the shuttle from the airport to a hotel in town, booking a stay at one of the city’s airport hotels is a good way to go about things. These hotels are within a stone’s throw of the airport, and while you may still have to hop in a bus for five or so minutes, the journey hardly amounts to a noticeable haul. Such hotels are especially handy for people arriving late at night or flying out early in the morning: The former can get to bed as quickly as possible after their plane has landed, while the latter can get that all important extra hour of sleep before waking to catch a flight.