FLL to MIA transit
 

If this needs to go elsewhere, go for it because I have no idea where else to put it.

So I'm having a debate with how to book a one way flight from Jacksonville, FL to MIA in order to catch a flight back to Europe. My options are flying JetBlue into FLL with either an 8.15am arrival time or 13.40 arrival time. The other option is to fly American direct into MIA arriving at 11.42 or 13.34. I have miles with JetBlue so it only costs me about $5 to fly with them whereas American wants around $150 or more for that direct flight. I'm leaning towards JetBlue.

The issue is the transfer from FLL to MIA. I've never made this transfer before so I don't know how bad it could be. My scheduled departure is 16.45 from MIA with TAP Portugal. Would arriving at 13.40 in FLL give me enough time to get to MIA? I'm 95% certain I won't have any checked luggage. I have TSA precheck though I don't think that will do me any favours in this case. Or am I best off with that early flight with JetBlue arriving at 8.15 (in which case, what the heck am I going to do all morning)

Alternatively, I'm open to ridiculously fun suggestions if anyone has some creative ideas.

If you have to be at MIA 2 hours before an international flight, that leaves you an hour to get from FLL to MIA. In the afternoon. Is it a weekday? It can be 40 minutes, it can be over an hour.

How were you planning this transfer? Uber? Limo? Cab? Bus?

I know I wouldn't. But my risk tolerance is low and I can always find fun things to do in S. Florida for a few hours. Most of my ideas would involve pigging out on Cuban food.

Was thinking Uber? I really haven't looked at this much - though a limo would be really appropriate on this trip. Uber or cab is most likely (sadly).

It'll probably be that earlier flight if I end up with the JetBlue direct flight and definitely gorging on the last chance for Cuban food (and hopefully trying to figure out how to bring some back to Denmark with me if at all possible!) Any suggestions on that last Cuban food run in that case?

My favorite Cuban chain ( I grew up about 2 miles from MIA) was La Carreta. The closest one to MIA is the original in Little Havana on 8th street (calle ocho). Its only a couple miles away. There is one in the airport too, but not sure as to its authenticity.

But its old school, and there are probably a lot more on that same street.

Well if it's about saving money (and making sure you make your international flight), take the earlier JetBlue flight into FLL and then take Tri Rail from the Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood station to MIA. The train takes about an hour to get to MIA and is easy to do, even with the shuttle to the station from FLL.

The question is not how to get from FLL-MIA but the consequences of a no show on the TATL flight. Presuming that OP is flying on a standard inflexible discounted ticket (he has not supplied the information about carrier or fare basis), if he no shows for the xMIA flight, his ticket will be cancelled and will retain whatever value it retains under the fare rules. OP will then need to purchase a new ticket at walk-up fares and perhaps have a credit from his cancelled ticket. The cost of that escapade will likely far exceed the cost of any form of transportation between FLL and MIA.

As a rule of thumb, I would allow triple the transit time required and also note that if the B6 flight is delayed into FLL, the risk created by that delay is purely on OP..

Risk tolerance is personal. I would, in a hearbeat, purchase the AA ticket for $150. If by some chance, OP is flying onwards on AA or OW, OP should also know that AA protects across separate tickets for such flights.

I did actually note the carrier (not fare class though). I'm on TAP Portugal out of MIA to LIS. There are no direct Star Alliance flights on the JAX-FLL or JAX-MIA route, so maintaining the same alliance for continuity sake isn't really advisable given I'm not flying Oneworld out of MIA.

The TAP flight is in their "executive" booking class, so business but not flex. I'm inclined towards the early morning route with JetBlue as my safe bet as it has both benefits of being cost effective (I have miles with them) and provides some 8 hours for transit between FLL and MIA which Google maps showed something like a 35 minute routing via car.

My reason for not taking the American flight is the cost prohibitiveness though I suppose by the time I factor in transit cost from FLL to MIA I'm not sure where I'll be. Given my flight on JetBlue will run me only taxes ($5.60), that would have to be a rather expensive Uber trip the likes of which I've only managed from Brooklyn to Newark with oversized luggage. Though the benefits of landing in the same airport as my international flight and closer to my departure time are nice...

Seriously, take the earlier flight and then take TriRail - cost won't be much more than the taxes for that JetBlue flight. Then you'll have money (and time) to take an uber to somewhere in Miami for a good meal before your flight.

yeah it sounds too close to risk that later flight with JetBlue. The benefits of flying directly into MIA and hanging out there for 4 or 5 hours really don't seem to outweigh the costs. 8 hours is a lot of flex time (driveable from Jax in 5 hours) so that's all good. Looks like that's my answer for flights. Then to figure out what to do in the morning at early brunch hours on a weekday... hrm

Transit from MIA to FLL - time needed
 

It SHOULD be enough, with a couple caveats. Assuming your flight is on time and you quickly clear customs. Customs can sometime take a long time. (Originally I forgot about that when I wrote this). If you get out of the airport by 3pm, you should be okay.
Whoever you ride with, they use the express lane on I95, which can cost $$$. And there is no accidents in the express lane.
I would Uber it, as the shuttles typically run on a schedule and may take more time. But I have never used a shuttle out of Miami, so there may be better options.

Personally, l would Uber or taxi and definitely pay the extra for express lanes.

At FLL, JetBlue's cutoff time is 60 minutes for international flights. If you are checking a bag, you must do it at least 60 minutes prior to departure. With just a carry-on, you should be able to check in online.

FLL Information Page at JetBlue Website: https://help.jetblue.com/SRVS/CGI-BI...case=obj(3271)

According to Bing Maps, the travel time without traffic between MIA and FLL is 39 minutes. Using historical traffic data, the estimated time for that trip on a Tuesday afternoon is 1 hour and 9 minutes. Using pbiflyer's suggestion of using the Express Lane might reduce that a bit.

Bing Map with Travel Time Estimate: https://binged.it/2Ad88Zt

If everything works perfectly, you'll probably make it. Any small delay is going to cause massive problems because there is only one daily flight from FLL to Lima, Peru. If you miss that flight because your BA is late, you get stuck at Customs, or get a lousy rideshare driver, you will have to wait 24 hours before continuing. If you miss your flight, JetBlue is not required to accommodate on the next flight. (Although, they probably will.) Keep in mind that if they do decide to be kind, there's no guarantee that there will be a seat available on the flight the next day. You may end up waiting 2 days, for example, to continue your trip.

Some people are more willing to take a risk like this one. Personally, that's far too risky for me.

I'd consider Brightline, the new train service in South Florida.

I've already done the trip

But for future reference (turns out, I'm probably making this connection more than once), I don't think Brightline runs direct airport to airport? There was a shuttle service to the Tri-Rail from FLL which dropped off at the terminals of MIA. Does Brightline do this?