Miami vs Fort Lauderdale: which one to base your trip in
Miami and Fort Lauderdale sit 21 miles apart. Compare the airports, room tax, beach parking and feel, then pick the base that fits your trip.
Kurz gesagt
- Distance: About 21 miles; Brightline, Tri-Rail, Greyhound and I-95 connect them.
- Bigger airport: MIA: 55.3 million passengers in 2025 and 164 nonstop destinations.
- Room tax: 13% in Broward and most of Miami-Dade, 14% in Miami Beach.
- Beach parking: $4 an hour at Fort Lauderdale Beach Park and on South Beach streets.
- Pick: Miami for food, nightlife and culture; Fort Lauderdale for canals and a calmer base.
Base yourself in Miami if the trip is about restaurants, nightlife, museums and international flights; choose Fort Lauderdale for a quieter beach and boat-on-the-canal days, and treat the other city as a 21-mile day trip.
Miami and Fort Lauderdale side by side
| Point | Miami | Fort Lauderdale |
|---|---|---|
| Main airport | MIA: 55,314,661 passengers in 2025, 92 airlines, 164 nonstop destinations | FLL: 32,208,419 passengers in 2025, about 3 miles from downtown |
| Brightline station | MiamiCentral, 600 NW 1st Avenue, downtown | Fort Lauderdale, 101 NW 2nd Avenue, downtown |
| Tax on a hotel room | 13% in the City of Miami, 14% in Miami Beach | 13% across Broward County |
| Beach parking | South Beach meters $4 an hour; city garages $2 first hour, $20 a day | $4 an hour at Fort Lauderdale Beach Park; Las Olas Garage $4 an hour, 10-hour max |
| Water | Biscayne Bay, with Miami Beach across the causeways | Over 300 miles of navigable inland waterways and 24 miles of coastline in Greater Fort Lauderdale |
| Free transit | Metromover downtown, City of Miami trolleys, Miami Beach Trolley | Not covered here; check the city's transit pages |
MIA figures are the airport's own; FLL figures are Broward County's as reported on Wikipedia, since the county's statistics PDF refused our request. Tax totals combine the 6% state rate, the 1% county surtax in both counties and each area's local room taxes.
miami-airport.com, Florida Department of Revenue, City of Miami Beach, City of Fort Lauderdale, Visit Lauderdale; checked October 2026
Pick Miami if
You want the bigger menu of everything. MIA ranked second in the United States for international passengers in 2025, with 97 international nonstop destinations as of September 2026, so it is often the simpler airport from Latin America and Europe. Miami also has the museums, the Michelin-starred restaurants, the clubs and the neighborhoods, from Little Havana to Wynwood, that people fly in for.
Inside Miami, you then choose between Miami Beach and the mainland. A Miami Beach room carries 14% tax against 13% in the City of Miami, and the Beach has the sand on the doorstep. Downtown and Brickell have the free Metromover, which runs from 5:30 am to 10 pm, and Metrorail to the airport for $2.25 until the fare rises to $2.75 on January 1, 2027.
Pick Fort Lauderdale if
You want the water without the scene. Greater Fort Lauderdale counts over 300 miles of navigable inland waterways, from the Intracoastal to the rivers and canals that earned it the Venice of America nickname, and 24 miles of coastline. Las Olas Boulevard is the walking street for galleries, boutiques and outdoor cafés, and the visitor bureau points to the Water Taxi for a narrated ride past mansions and megayachts.
Fort Lauderdale also suits a cruise out of Port Everglades or an early flight from FLL, which sits about 3 miles from downtown. Beach parking is simple: the city charges visitors $4 an hour at Fort Lauderdale Beach Park, 700 Seabreeze Boulevard, from 5 am to 2 am, and $4 an hour at the Las Olas Garage, open around the clock with a 10-hour maximum.
The room tax is the same 13% as mainland Miami. What you give up is variety: fewer big museums and far fewer late nights than Miami, which is why many visitors stay in one and ride to the other.
Doing both from one base
Greyhound puts the two cities 21 miles apart and runs 17 buses a day, from $8.48, in about 35 minutes at best. Brightline links its downtown stations in each city, and Tri-Rail, the regional commuter train, also runs between the two counties. Brightline's own pages refused our checks in October 2026, so look up current fares and times on gobrightline.com.
Driving means I-95, and the express lanes charge by toll. The full comparison of train, bus and car is in our Miami to Fort Lauderdale guide.
Which base, by trip
| First trip, want the famous Miami | Miami; split nights between Miami Beach and Brickell if you can |
| Cruise from Port Everglades | Fort Lauderdale, then a day trip south |
| Cruise from PortMiami | Downtown Miami, which faces the port across Biscayne Bay |
| Nightlife and late dinners | Miami Beach or Brickell |
| Boats, canals and a slower pace | Fort Lauderdale, around Las Olas and the beach |
| Flying in from Latin America or Europe | Miami; MIA has more international nonstops |
Häufige Fragen
How far is Fort Lauderdale from Miami?
About 21 miles between the downtowns, per Greyhound, whose fastest bus takes about 35 minutes. Brightline and Tri-Rail also link the two cities.
Is Fort Lauderdale cheaper than Miami?
The hotel tax is the same 13% in Broward and mainland Miami, and 14% in Miami Beach. Beach parking costs $4 an hour in both Fort Lauderdale Beach Park and on South Beach streets, so compare room totals on your dates.
Which airport is better, MIA or FLL?
MIA is bigger, with 55.3 million passengers in 2025 and 164 nonstop destinations, 97 of them international. FLL handled about 32.2 million in 2025 and is about 3 miles from downtown Fort Lauderdale.
Can I stay in Fort Lauderdale and visit Miami?
Yes. Brightline runs between the two downtowns, Tri-Rail links the two counties, and Greyhound has 17 trips a day. Allow a full day for Miami Beach or Wynwood.
Mehr Guides
Miami to Fort Lauderdale: Brightline, Tri-Rail, the bus or I-95Fort lauderdale · Train · 3 Min. LesezeitFort Lauderdale airport to Miami Beach, downtown Miami or MIA: train, shuttle, taxi or ride appAirport · Transit · 5 Min. LesezeitHotels near Port Everglades: cruise shuttles, prices and the hotel next to the terminalsCruise · Hotels · 4 Min. LesezeitAirport figures from miami-airport.com (2025 final) and Broward County data as reported on Wikipedia; room taxes from Florida Department of Revenue rate charts; Fort Lauderdale beach parking from fortlauderdale.gov; waterways and Las Olas from visitlauderdale.com; distance and bus from greyhound.com; Brightline station addresses from gobrightline.com as shown in search results; Metromover and Metrorail from miamidade.gov and WLRN; checked October 2026.