Miami to Orlando by Care

We will drive from Miami International Airport to Orlando. The directions I am getting show a toll route. Can you help with the estimated amount of toll? Also is there an alternate toll free route and how much longer does it take?

Miami to Orlando by Care

The toll is about $13 US, for the whole distance. You can reduce this by a few dollars by taking I-95 from Miami to Fort Pierce and then getting on thre Florida Turnpike, but don%26#39;t. The traffic on I-95 is always a lot heavier, the speed limit lower, and you would save at most about $4 to 5.00

From the airport follow the signs to SR 112 East to I-95, take I-95 North to Golden Glades and get on the Florida Turnpike North. Stay on it until you get to I-4 in the Orlando area.

The time saved could easily be as much as an hour or more of rush hour bumper to bumper traffic.

Miami to Orlando by Care

At what point is the toll collected? I will be driving a rental car. Can you pay by credit card? Otherwise it will be a lot quarters........

Here is the link to the turnpike toll calculator link. It shows where all the location of all the toll booths. http://www.floridasturnpike.com/

They do not accept credit cards. There is a section that explains the signs at the toll booths so you can be prepared to get into the correct lane. You will want to avoid the e-pass lanes as they are set up for electronic pre-pay. You should check with the rental car company as I here there are some rentals that now have the e-pass / sun pass which saves you time. As previous poster stated I-95 does not charge tolls but it%26#39;s very congested and is a nightmare in Miami, once north of Ft. Lauderdale it%26#39;s not so bad but you would have to re-enter the turnpike at Ft. Pierce or take I-95 all the way to either Melbourne or Cocoa/Port Canaveral. From Melbourne you can take 192 to Kissimmee, no tolls or the Beachline from Cocoa which is an expressway with tolls. I-95 will take you much longer as it follows the coast.

Born seems to agree with me about I-95 NOT being worth it.

As for the toll calculator on the Turnpike Website, I think it is one of the most user-unfriendly devices I have ever seen!

I spent ten minutes trying to figure it out this afternoon, and I am a teacher who has lived here most of my life and uses the Turnpike almost weekly! A visitor from out of state would have a horrible time deciding between the choices in the little green boxes!

Anyway, unless you need it to the penny, know that it will be under $15 from Miami airport to Orlando, and that using I-95 to Fort Pierce would save a few bucks, but not enough to justify the hassle on a vacation!

For the first 50 miles or so, they will collect about $2.50 at tool booths. Having the exact change will save you a bit of time - head for the Exact Change lanes. If not, they have toll takers who will cheerfully take your bills and give you change.

After Lantana - North of Fort Lauderdale and south or West Palm Beach -you will get a ticket - sort of a mini IBM card type of thing. You will turn that in when you get to your final exit and pay 11-12 bucks to the person at the toll plaza. That person will also be happy to give you directions to wherever you are going - Disney, Universal, Orlando city, or whatever.

I will be very surprised if any rental cars come equipped with Sunpass transponders. Charging the right customer the correct amount spent during their rental period would be a bookkeeping nightmare for the company.

Happy Trails!

Your final toll before arriving in Orlando will be $4.90 near Canoe Creek. I%26#39;ve been driving regularly from Vero Beach to Orlando. The Turnpike is easily worth that toll.

Southward, the Turnpike lacks Palm Beach County%26#39;s unending construction and seems to have better-behaved drivers. Nevertheless, things happen, this past Sunday morning the Turnpike was simply closed in much of Broward County. Do bring a map.

Every Fla. auto rental company I know of furnishes transponders that automatically charge the toll to an account as you drive thru the ';Sun-Pass'; lane. Many rentals have them permanently installed. To be certain, at the rental desk, or when you reserve the car, tell them you%26#39;ll need one. There should be no extra charge (tho%26#39; who knows what new ways they have to squeeze $$ out of customers). The tolls will be added to your final bill.

Thanks all for your help...it is really helpful...

My apologies to all for my ignorance, and thanks to MattFL, who is obviously more on top of things than I. It seems that technology has once again zoomed past me. I haven%26#39;t rented a car here for several years and didn%26#39;t know that some rental car companies were including Sunpass transponders.

As a caveat, however, Matt, two calls to the following companies gave me the following information, which might be of interest:

Alamo does NOT have them available at Miami airport, though they have been getting memoranda about them coming in the future.

Hertz has them available for all cars, but there is a $2.50 surcharge (over and above the actual toll) for each day they are used.

I advise checking with your rental car company to see what is available at MIA.

Thanks Matt, for dragging me kicking and screaming further into the 21st C.

TT