Loews itself points you to the $20 garage across the street
Already have a car with you? Then the parking number to know is the city’s, not the hotel’s.
City of Miami Beach garages run $2 for the first hour up to $20 for 15–24 hours; the 42nd Street garage is $1 an hour, $8 maximum.
Loews’s own FAQ shows the gap. It lists its valet at $60 a night, tax included, and gives self-parking in the public garage across the street at $20 a day — a third of the valet price for the same night.
On-street meters in South Beach are $4 an hour, enforced 9 AM to 3 AM every day. At that rate a meter is for dinner, not for a car you’re keeping until the ship.
The valet, not the rental, is the expensive line
The five beach hotels in the table quote valet, and so do the two downtown ones we added for comparison.
| Hotel | Parking, per its own site |
|---|---|
| Fontainebleau Miami Beach | $58–$73 a night valet, plus tax — and a $59 daily resort fee |
| 1 Hotel South Beach | $65 valet, plus tax |
| Loews Miami Beach | $60 a night valet, tax included (or $20 a day in the public garage across the street) |
| The Setai | $60 overnight valet |
| Kimpton Surfcomber | $52 a night valet, plus tax |
| JW Marriott Miami (Brickell) | $76.29 a day valet |
| InterContinental Miami | $58 overnight valet, plus tax |
Each hotel’s own site, Sept 28, 2026 — tax is in some of these rates and not others, and the Fontainebleau adds a $59 daily resort fee on top. Checked Sept 28, 2026
| Two South Beach nights | Renting | Going without |
|---|---|---|
| Rental for 2 days from MIA | $110 | — |
| Hotel valet, 2 nights at $52–$76 | $104–$152 | — |
| Getting around | Fuel | Walk, taxi or rideshare |
| Total for the car alone | $214–$262 | — |
Our arithmetic, not a quote: $45 a day is an assumed rate, as is the 10% airport fee, with Florida’s $2 surcharge and Miami-Dade’s 7% tax added. Valet is from each hotel’s own site. Illustrative
Read the Fontainebleau line closely: valet runs $58 to $73 a night plus tax, and the room carries a $59 daily resort fee besides.
Two nights of valet can cost more than the two days of rental it’s parking.
Three brands on Miami Beach say in writing they don’t serve the port
The tempting workaround is to rent on the beach and drop the car at the ship. We couldn’t find anyone who offers it.
PortMiami says it has no rental agencies on site, and most of the beach desks say no on their own pages.
| Desk on Miami Beach | Where | What its page says about the port |
|---|---|---|
| Avis | 2334 Collins Ave, 7 AM–7 PM daily | Nothing about the port |
| Enterprise | 5th Street, and another on Collins Avenue | Doesn’t “service the Port of Miami for pickup or drop off service” |
| Alamo and National | Miami Beach | Identical wording to Enterprise’s |
| Sixt | 701 5th St | Nothing about the port |
| Payless | 959 West Ave | “Shuttle service is not available” |
From each company’s own location page, as of Sept 28, 2026. Checked Sept 28, 2026
So a one-day rental from the beach works fine, and there’s no trip back out to the airport to collect it.
A one-way that ends at the ship is the part that doesn’t — for a car you drop before boarding, use a downtown cruise desk or MIA.
Shark Valley or Key Largo: which day would you drive?
Both are proper drives, and a proper drive is what a rental is for.
Shark Valley, in the Everglades, sits about 30 miles west on the Tamiami Trail. Key Largo is farther — about 68 miles south of the port, by our estimate.
The longer version is here: the Keys, planned around your cruise.
Rent for that one day, park overnight in a city garage instead of with the valet, and hand the car back before sail morning.
Eight minutes over the MacArthur Causeway, traffic permitting
It’s 3.2 miles and about 8 minutes from Lincoln Road (our route estimate), across the MacArthur Causeway and into the port.
A Miami-Dade taxi on the meter comes to about $14 by our estimate — plus whatever the traffic adds. Rideshare uses the port’s designated drop-off zones.
On that morning a car is one more thing to hand back, not a help.
Cab to the beach, and keep any rental to a single day
From MIA, take a taxi or rideshare to the beach, then another out to the ship. Two days of rental run about $110 at our assumed rate, and two nights of valet add $104 to $152 — a lot for a car you’d mostly see from the pool.
Go without if
- You’re sleeping on South Beach or downtown
- It’s the beach, dinner and the ship
- You flew into MIA, 7.1 miles from the port
- Your hotel’s valet is $50 or more a night
Bring one if
- You drove down, or flew into Fort Lauderdale or Palm Beach
- The Everglades or the Keys are on the plan
- You’ll use a city garage instead of the valet
- You’re sleeping near the airport, where parking runs $12 a night
Driving your own car in? Sleep out by MIA instead — the two Comfort hotels near the airport charge $12 a night to leave the car and run a free morning shuttle to the ship.
The port’s own garages are the other choice, at $25 a day overnight in most port garages ($35 in Garage AA).
Shuttles and parking for every hotel we ranked: the full night-before ranking. Terminal by terminal: PortMiami parking, compared.
South Beach, a car and PortMiami
Do I need a car in Miami Beach before a cruise?
Not for a South Beach night. PortMiami is about 3.2 miles from Lincoln Road, the beach and downtown hotels we checked charge $52 to $76 a night for valet, and the taxi to the ship is a short one. If the Everglades or the Keys are on the list, rent for that single day.
How much is hotel parking on Miami Beach?
On the hotels’ own sites in September 2026, the Fontainebleau $58 to $73 a night plus tax, 1 Hotel South Beach $65 plus tax, Loews $60 with tax included, The Setai $60, and the Kimpton Surfcomber $52 plus tax.
Is there cheaper parking on Miami Beach than hotel valet?
Yes, the city’s. Miami Beach garages top out at $20 for 15 to 24 hours, the 42nd Street garage at $8, and South Beach street meters charge $4 an hour.
How far is South Beach from PortMiami?
By our route estimate, about 3.2 miles and 8 minutes from Lincoln Road with no traffic, over the MacArthur Causeway. Miami-Dade taxis run on the meter, and we put the fare at about $14.
Can I rent a car on Miami Beach and return it at the cruise port?
Not at the port itself: PortMiami says it has no rental agencies on site. Enterprise’s beach branches rule out Port of Miami pickups and drop-offs, Alamo’s and National’s Miami Beach pages repeat it, and Payless South Beach runs no shuttle. To drop a car before the ship, use a downtown cruise desk or MIA.
More on renting around a PortMiami cruise
Want the whole trip handled?
Tell us your ship and dates. A real advisor plans the flights, the night before and the ride to the terminal, at no extra cost.
Got it — thank you.
Seabound Journeys will follow up within one business day. In the meantime, feel free to keep browsing.
Want to talk sooner? Book a free 30-minute call.
Journey further.