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| FEATURES |
MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT |
| Curbside check-in |
This service, for domestic flights only, is generally easy to use, at least when the airport roadway isn't jammed. Because of federal security guidelines, all international flights require check-in at the airline counter. |
| Counter check-in |
Despite MIA's hustle and bustle, check-in for both domestic and international flights is relatively fast during most weekdays. On weekends, lines can be overwhelming, particularly on international flights. |
| Airport parking |
For an airport that sees up to 90,000 passengers per day, short-term parking is a joke. It is hard to find and squeezed into a small area. Motorists line up, waiting for someone to exit before they can enter. Attendants do little to help. Long-term garages are sprawling and unwieldy. Signs that point you toward the appropriate garage, based on your airline, are hard to decipher. Plan on a long hike from the garage to check-in. |
| Parking costs |
Short-term parking:$2.50 per half hour up to $25 per day. Long-term parking: $4 per hour for the first two hours; $2 per hour for the next two hours up to $12 per day. |
| Private parking |
Several off-airport private parking options are available. Miami Airport Fast Park (305-871-4669), CBM Airport Parking (305-635-0805), Continental Valet Parking, (305-871-9339), the Wyndham Airport Hotel (305-871-3800) or the Embassy Suites (305-634-5000). Most offer rates of $6 to $8 per day and free shuttle service. Build in plenty of time to be delivered back to the terminals because shuttle service can be slow to the point of frustration. To make an advance parking reservation on-line: www.airportparking
reservations.com
/airports/miami |
| Security |
At any given concourse, at any time, long lines can form when several flights depart close together. However, in general, security lines move quickly on weekdays. On weekends, watch out. If you're on an international flight, check with your airline, which might require you to be at the airport three hours before departure. |
| Baggage carousels |
Some of MIA's carousels feel like they are hidden in a cave, with low ceilings and cramped surroundings. The newer areas have easy-to-read signs for arriving flight numbers. |
| Killing time |
Modern airports increasingly have interesting shops and arcades. Not so at MIA. There's a $10 gift shop, some newsstands and a sundry shop. If you have a long wait before a flight, bring along entertainment, particularly for the kids. |
| Terminal layout |
The newer portion of the terminal, notably Concourse A, is gorgeous, with lots of open space, giant windows and high ceilings. The rest of it, originally built in the mid-1950s, feels cramped and jumbled with security line mazes. One saving grace: On an upper level, at the entrances to the various garages, a "moving sidewalk" makes getting around easier. |
| Restaurants |
MIA has a plethora of restaurants and places to snack. Just to name a few: Café La Carreta, Café Versailles, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Starbucks, Nathan's, California Pizza Kitchen and Top of the Port, which is at the top of the Miami International Hotel. |
| Lounges |
You might think an airport as big and busy as MIA would have plenty of lounges. But it has only four, and one of those is a sushi bar. Others include the Habana Bar and the Hotel Lobby bar. |
| Restrooms |
Restrooms are plentiful and for the most part clean. |
| Rental cars |
Rental car counters are found near the baggage carousels and a bus ride is required to a central area, where you pick up your car. |
| Passenger drop off and pick up |
Dropping passengers off isn't so bad. Picking them up can be difficult but the airport soon plans to open a free, 60-space cell phone lot on the west side of LeJeune Road at Northwest 31st Street. Signs directing motorists to the airport from the main highways are adequate but those on the exterior of the terminal building are archaic. |
| Airport transportation |
Cabs, buses and shuttles are readily available. |
