MIA-Fastest exit from Terminal J arrival
 

I will be arriving in Terminal J (LH) and will be taking the bus to get a Tri-Rail train north. Last year I did the same trip and got sort of lost after clearing customs.

Is there a map of some kind to show me the best way to get down and out (at Terminal E I believe) and then over to the bus outside? Most of the maps I have looked over are very basic with no levels shown or elevator locations.

I will arrive at 1:30 and wish to get the bus at 2:55. Baggage pickup, passport control, customs all considered, can it be done in that amount of time?

Metrobus:
The local bus service provides scheduled services to all areas of Miami-Dade County. The bus station at MIA is located on the Ground Level of Concourse E, directly across from Customs.
More info here:
http://www.miami-airport.com/bus_and_rail_info.asp
Route 133 Airport/Tri-Rail Shuttle
http://www.miamidade.gov/transit/rou....asp?route=133
PDF Map of route to Tri-Rail:
http://www.miamidade.gov/transit/library/routes/133.pdf

Yes, I do use the Tri Rail system and it is great (didn't know that this existed till last year) but how can one get around inside the airport? What is the best way to get from Terminal J to Concourse E. I got lost last year!!

Is it better to use the Sky Train to get from E to J?

The Sky Train is only in Concourse D (AA). Your best bet is to just get on the departures level and walk to the entrance of Concourse E. From the entrance to J to the entrance of E it should take only a few minutes.

Try to get on moving sidewalk on third level parking garage. You go straight E concourse to take elevator down to 1st floor Customs Hall lobby.

No, Skytrain does not have go through J to E. Instead, you have to take elevator up on third level parking garage to get on moving sidewalk from J to E.

I concur with newyorkgeorge. By the time you wait for the excruciatingly slow elevator to reach the third level, walk on the super-narrow, lumbering sidewalks, then take another slowpoke elevator down, you could have made it in the same amount of time by simply hoofing it.

As CokeandTaco has noted, when you reach the lower level of "E", you must exit the terminal building and cross the road (be careful, Florida drivers aren't always the most safety minded) to reach the bus stop (just a glassed-in waiting area). When you reach the Tri-Rail station area, don't waste any time - go immediately to the ticket booth and purchase your ticket, and walk around to the right to board the train. If the bus is late, as it often is, you may have very little time before the train departs.

The terms "lumbering" and "excruciatingly slow" piqued my interest. MIA seems to tout its upgrading of the facilities... guess it is not yet reached its goal, would you say?

My biggest concern when last I was in MIA (Oct 2010 which was my first time there) was after leaving customs I went to a set of elevators. I guess I did not know how far down I should go.... as in, what level. I thought I had reached level one but upon exiting I began to look for signs giving me directions. I had no idea what part of the airport I was in .. J or H or what. I was looking for signs for E. I asked what looked like airport security and was told to go down to the next level and go left. How far left was not mentioned but there was a wall after I had walked a short ways. That is when I exited the airport and began to look for the bus stop. Little did I know that it was quite a long way to walk and yes, I did cross the street and wound up walking with the cars :eek:
After wandering back across the street I asked another person where the bus stop was and after she blinked a few times as if she was not sure what I was saying, she just pointed. By then I was sweating and in fear of missing my bus.
Where did I go wrong? Should I have gone down in the elevator to a lower level? What signs should I look for?

Miami Central Station isn't due to open until 2013; when it's done, you'll be able to take a "MIA Mover" train from the (under-construction) station between the parking garages in the middle of the airport terminal to Tri-Rail, Amtrak, and MetroRail stations that are being built.

The "MIA Mover" will open in a month to take rental car customers between the airport and the new rental car garage, the first phase of the Miami Intermodal Center project that includes the train station.

MIA has been a work in process for years. The train to the rental car agency will be a godsend. You have people carrying streamtrunks onto the crowded shuttle buses and stand there waiting for the driver to lift their 200 pound bags (most of them look like they could really use the exercise themselves.)

At least with the train whatever they schlep along they will have to carry. It should speed the rental car process up and lower by blood pressure while because some nimrod prevents the bus from moving on.

By the way, each concourse is clearly marked outside. So if you get lost and not sure where your connecting concourse is just walk outside and start looking up.