From $485 per vehicle: a private, one-way ride from Port of Miami to Waterside Inn on the Beach in a chauffeured SUV or van.
These are fixed one-way fares for the whole car or van, tolls and fuel included, so the total is known before anyone gets in.
On disembarkation morning the driver plans around the ship’s arrival and waits at the curb outside your terminal at PortMiami. Meet-and-greet at the terminal is included; a name-sign welcome is available for an extra $20. Luggage goes straight from the terminal into the vehicle and the ride leaves private and direct.
Waterside Inn on the Beach sits where Sanibel and Captiva bend into the Gulf, on a shore that shell collectors treat like a private dream. This is the quiet end of Florida’s coast, far from the noise of the city you left at the pier. You step out of the vehicle and the beach is right there, the kind of place people come back to year after year for the sand, the water, and the slow pace.
The setting is what makes the stay. Sanibel is laced with bike paths that run past the J.N. ‘Ding’ Darling National Wildlife Refuge, a stretch of protected wetland and mangrove where the birds and the light are the whole show. The Sanibel Lighthouse stands nearby, an old marker at the island’s tip that has watched over these waters for generations. You can walk it, ride it, or simply sit and let the Gulf do the talking.
Then there are the beaches, which is really why anyone chooses this corner of the coast. Bowman’s Beach and Blind Pass are both within reach, and the shelling here is famous, drawing people who bend low over the tideline for hours. Waterside Inn on the Beach puts all of it a short step from the door, so the moment your bags are down you are already in it, salt air and open water, the island unfolding at whatever speed you please.
The trip is one clean run across the state. From the Port of Miami it is roughly 166 miles along I-595, a drive that normally takes 180 to 187 minutes, ending right at the door of Waterside Inn on the Beach. There are no stops and no detours, just your own vehicle carrying your group and your luggage the whole way. The chauffeur handles the bags from the terminal curb to the entrance, so you are not wrestling suitcases across the country.
Disembarkation mornings pile up fast at the terminal exits, so your driver is staged before you even clear the hall, with 30 minutes of courtesy wait built in to cover customs and the luggage claim. You walk out, the car is already there, and the group settles in for a single ride west. When you are heading back to the ship, the chauffeur meets you at the entrance, loads the bags, and I-595 does the rest.
Rideshare lines and shared shuttles add waiting and extra stops; a private vehicle leaves when you are ready and goes only where you are going. The fare covers the whole car, the tolls and the fuel.
Reserve with a 50% deposit; hand the balance to the driver on the day by cash or card. Fares are quoted per vehicle, one way, with tolls and fuel included.
A child seat can be installed for $15 when you book. Night service, meaning 9 PM to 7 AM, adds $20 to the SUV inside Miami-Dade and Broward and $50 beyond. Extra stops are metered at $45 per 30 minutes.
Black SUV for up to 5 passengers, van for 6 to 9, van for 10 to 14: the choice is made from your passenger and luggage numbers so nobody rides squeezed.
Send any change to the party or extras at least 12 hours before the pickup. The booked date is final.
Message us on WhatsApp at wa.me/17866828748 or call 786-682-8748 with your date, passenger count and luggage, and we confirm the vehicle and the pickup details.
Reserving a few days ahead is ideal, and in peak season (holidays, spring break, big cruise weekends) a week or more keeps your first-choice vehicle available. Requests inside 24 hours are welcome but depend on availability, and those bookings are non-refundable once confirmed.
We run on reservations rather than on-demand pickups. A same-day request may still work if a driver is free: message us on WhatsApp with the pickup time and we will confirm quickly. Keep in mind that a ride booked within 24 hours of pickup cannot be refunded.
No. A 50% deposit holds the vehicle when you book online, and the other half goes to your driver on the day of the ride, in cash or by card. If you prefer to settle everything at once, choose Pay in full at checkout.
Yes. After the deposit, the remaining half is paid directly to your driver when the ride is done, cash or card, whichever you prefer. There is nothing else to pay unless you added an extra service.
Cancellations are free up to 24 hours before the pickup. Inside that 24-hour window the ride is non-refundable, and no-shows are treated the same way. Booking details such as an extra passenger or a child seat can still be updated until 12 hours before pickup.
The pickup time and other details can be adjusted until 12 hours before the ride, subject to driver availability; write to us as soon as your plans change. The travel date itself is fixed once booked, so double-check it before you confirm.
Payments run through Stripe over an encrypted checkout; we never see your card number. Card payments carry a 3% processing fee that is shown before you pay. Zelle is also accepted for the deposit with no fee: ask us on WhatsApp.
Not at all. Travelers reserve from all over the world, international cards are accepted at checkout, and we answer on WhatsApp and email in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Yes. Give us the flight number when you book and your driver tracks it in real time, so the pickup follows the actual landing rather than the scheduled one, at no extra cost.
Message us the moment you know. We reschedule around the new arrival whenever a driver is available; because that counts as a change to the booking, the cancellation terms above still apply if the ride cannot be rebooked.
Your driver meets you at the MIA arrivals level at the curb, and that meet-and-greet is included in the fare. If you would rather be greeted inside the terminal with a name sign, add the name-sign welcome for $20 when you book.
You receive the meeting instructions in advance, and the driver contacts you the day before the ride to confirm every detail. On landing, head to the agreed curb; connect to the airport Wi-Fi and message us on WhatsApp if anything is unclear.
The day before the ride we send the driver’s name and phone number, and the vehicle details you need to spot the car. Vehicle photos on the site show the category booked; the exact model can vary.
Call or WhatsApp us at +1 (786) 682-8748 and we connect you right away. The pickup is always coordinated at the confirmed spot, and the courtesy waiting time keeps running from your landing or your scheduled pickup.
At the airport we wait up to 60 minutes after landing on domestic flights and up to 2 hours on international arrivals; at hotels, homes and the cruise port the courtesy wait is 15 minutes. Beyond that, waiting is billed like an extra stop, $45 per 30 minutes.
The distance and the usual driving time for this exact route are listed on this page. Real timing depends on traffic and the hour, which is why the driver plans the pickup around your actual landing or ship arrival rather than a fixed clock time.
Yes. Your driver loads and unloads every bag at the curb. Drivers do not go inside the hotel or terminal to collect luggage, so have it with you at the meeting point.
Each passenger can bring one large suitcase plus one carry-on. The black SUV carries up to 5 passengers as long as passengers plus large suitcases total 10 or fewer; larger groups or extra bags move to a van. Surfboards, bikes or many extra cases need a custom setup, so tell us before booking.
Yes. Add them when you book: a child seat for babies and toddlers up to about 3 years, or a booster for ages 3 to 5. Each seat is $20 and is fitted before the driver leaves for the pickup.
Planned stops are fine when you add them at booking, priced at $45 per 30 minutes with a 30-minute minimum, then $1.50 per extra minute. Unplanned detours on the day are not part of the fare.
Never. Every transfer is private: the vehicle carries only your group, door to door, with no other pickups and no waiting for strangers.
A black SUV for up to 5 passengers, a van for 6 to 9 and a larger van for 10 to 14. The fare table on this page shows the price for each. For groups above 14 we arrange several vehicles or a minibus on a custom quote.
No. We pick up and drop off at Miami International Airport, PortMiami and the other cruise terminals, hotels, private homes, offices and event venues across South Florida and beyond.
Yes. Wedding parties, corporate groups and private events get a tailored quote with the right mix of vehicles; message us with the date, head count and schedule.
Between 9 PM and 7 AM the black SUV adds a night fee of $20 inside Miami-Dade and Broward and $50 farther out. The fee is shown in the quote before you book, and daytime rides carry no surcharge.
The fare shown is for the exact route named on this page. For a different pickup or drop-off address, use the ride search on this site: it prices the real road distance instantly and lets you book on the spot.
The fare includes the driver, fuel and tolls, with no hidden fees. Only optional items add to it: the 3% card fee, a name-sign welcome, child seats, extra stops or the night fee, each shown in the quote before you pay. Tipping is at your discretion.
We reserved one van for the entire crew from the terminal to Waterside Inn on the Beach so the whole group stayed together. There was plenty of room for the whole group and everyone’s bags in one van to Waterside Inn on the Beach. The night before, we got a message with the driver’s name and plate number, so there was nothing to figure out on the way out.
Tras el crucero, mi pareja y yo no queríamos arriesgar un transporte en la terminal, así que reservamos un auto privado a Waterside Inn on the Beach. El conductor se ocupó de las valijas para que no tuviéramos que hacer fuerza.
Took all the worry out of getting off the ship — so easy. For a stress-free way to get from the ship to Waterside Inn on the Beach, it was absolutely worth booking.
My partner and I finished a wonderful cruise and capped it off with a private car waiting right at the terminal to take us to Waterside Inn on the Beach — not one worry at the terminal. Honestly the smoothest part of the whole trip — ship to hotel door with zero stress.
The two of us sailed out of PortMiami and having a private car waiting curbside for the ride over to Waterside Inn on the Beach was the best part of the day. The ride from the terminal to Waterside Inn on the Beach was quiet and relaxed, and we could just settle in.