From $400 per vehicle: a private, one-way ride from Port of Miami to Sundown Hotel in a chauffeured SUV or van.
Every fare below is per vehicle, one way, with the driver, fuel and tolls inside the number. Pick the row that fits your group and luggage.
The driver is outside the PortMiami terminal when you come through, plans around the ship’s real arrival time, and loads the bags. The curbside greeting is covered by the fare and the Meet & Greet at the terminal is offered for $40. Then it is one private vehicle straight to the destination.
Sundown Hotel sits out on the Sanibel and Captiva islands, off Florida’s southwest coast, with the shoreline only steps from the door. It is the kind of address where the water is the whole point: plenty of guests set down their bags and trade the ship’s pool deck for real sand the same afternoon they walk off the boat. The stay reaches addresses across the islands, so wherever your room faces, the beach stays close.
What you locate on arrival is refreshingly low-key. There are no high-rise towers crowding the sand here. Instead the island keeps its lighthouse, its wildlife refuge, and long stretches of mangrove edging the water. The beaches are known for what washes up on them: Sanibel gives up more shells than almost anywhere else in Florida, and a slow walk along the tide line commonly fills a pocket before you notice.
The location also puts several island landmarks within simple reach of the hotel. The Sanibel Lighthouse and Bowman’s Beach are both close by, and Blind Pass and Captiva Village sit a short way along the same islands. It makes a simple base for a few unhurried days: sand in the morning, the refuge’s quiet mangroves in the afternoon, and a shoreline that stays the same distance away no matter how far you wander. If you are planning extra time around Sanibel and Captiva, there is ample here to fill it without ever feeling rushed.
This is a door-to-door private transfer that begins the moment you clear the cruise terminal. Your chauffeur is staged at the Port of Miami, timed to your ship’s actual disembarkation, so there is no scramble for a car once you are through customs. Bags go straight into your own vehicle, carried for you at the curb, and the group rides together with no strangers and no extra stops added along the way.
From the port the driver follows I-595 for the roughly 166.2-mile run out to the islands, a journey that normally takes 181 to 187 minutes depending on the hour and the traffic. On a drive this long, having the vehicle to yourselves changes the whole day: you set the departure time and the pace, and the fare is fixed at booking, so a hectic cruise morning never moves the price. The chauffeur is bilingual in English and Spanish and handles the luggage again at the hotel door.
From the Port of Miami, plan on about 2 hours 59 minutes and 166.4 miles to reach Sundown Hotel in Sanibel via I-595. Prices are per vehicle, not per seat: $400 for the Black SUV, $530 for the Van, $650 for the Van XL. Pickup is at your cruise terminal curb at PortMiami.
| Road distance | 166.4 miles |
|---|---|
| Black SUV, 1-5 | $400 |
| Drive time | 2 hours 59 minutes |
| Van, 6-9 | $530 |
| Main roads | I-595 |
| Van XL, 10-14 | $650 |
| Back from Sundown Hotel | $400 / $530 / $650 |
Going back works the same way. The driver meets you at the main entrance of the hotel and takes you to your cruise terminal at PortMiami, 166.4 miles away, in about 2 hours 59 minutes with light traffic. Fares for the return from Sundown Hotel are $400 (Black SUV), $530 (Van) and $650 (Van XL). The booking box below opens with the two points swapped. Book the return
Plan on about 2 hours 59 minutes for the 166.4 miles from the Port of Miami to Sundown Hotel via I-595 when the roads are clear. Peak hours can stretch the trip; it is a fixed fare per vehicle, no traffic or surge charges: $400 for the Black SUV.
Book the time you expect to walk out of the terminal with your bags, not the docking time. The waiting rules for slow disembarkation days are on the FAQ page linked below. The drive to Sundown Hotel then takes about 2 hours 59 minutes.
At the curb outside your own cruise terminal (the terminals are listed below). Before the pickup you get the driver’s name, car and plate; when you are outside with your bags, message us and the car pulls up for the ride to Sundown Hotel.
The Black SUV holds up to 5 passengers, with passengers plus big suitcases up to 10; on this route it costs $400. Six to nine travelers with their cases take the Van ($530), ten to fourteen the Van XL ($650). All three go door to door to Sundown Hotel.
We do. The driver picks you up at Sundown Hotel and takes you to your cruise terminal for $400 (Black SUV), $530 (Van) or $650 (Van XL). Plan on about 2 hours 59 minutes for the 166.4 miles, more at rush hour.
Every policy in full: FAQ
Traveling with our little ones, we arranged a private van to be waiting at the curb and take everyone over to Sundown Hotel. Booking was simple, we got clear pickup details, and everything went exactly as planned.
My husband and I came down the gangway at PortMiami and a private car was already at the curb to take us to Sundown Hotel. The night before, we got a text with the driver’s name and plate number, so there was no wondering which car was the right one on the way out.
I didn’t want to gamble on a ride the morning I disembarked, so I booked a private car from the port to Sundown Hotel. No scramble at the port — I just went straight from the curb into the car.
A group of us came off the ship together and booked one private van from the cruise terminal to Sundown Hotel. It was a private car for our party alone — nobody else to wait on — a relief after a week aboard. 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.
Minha esposa e eu saímos do navio no PortMiami e havia um carro privativo ali mesmo para nós para nos levar até Sundown Hotel. A tarifa estava fechada na reserva, exatamente o que foi combinado. O van estava limpo, fresco e confortável, com lugar para tudo.