Hotels Near Miami Amtrak

[manchacrr]

I will be visiting Miami via the Silver Service trains in October and have a couple of questions.

1. Are there any hotels near the Miami Amtrak Station?

2. Is the area around the station safe and is it safe to walk from the Amtrak Station to the nearby light rail station?

 

[blueman271]

I grew up in Miami and even though it has been awhile since I've been there I will do my best to help.

1. No there are not. Your best bet would be to go to the airport and find a hotel there, where there are quite a few options.

2. Yes it is relatively safe to walk to the Metrorail station. The walk is right around a 1/4 mile and if you don't make any detours you should be safe. I plan on making that walk in September to catch the Silver Star back to NJ. If you don't feel safe you can always catch the L, which I think will take you to the Northside Metrorail station.

 

[RampWidget]

I will be visiting Miami via the Silver Service trains in October and have a couple of questions.
1. Are there any hotels near the Miami Amtrak Station?

2. Is the area around the station safe and is it safe to walk from the Amtrak Station to the nearby light rail station?

1. No. Nearest decent lodging is, as blueman271 said, is at the Miami International Airport. You can get there via Tri-Rail commuter trains by either walking to the 79th Street station (also served by Metrorail, which is not light rail, but heavy transit) and riding to the Hialeah Market station where a free shuttle takes you to MIA. Or, you can disembark Amtrak at the Hollywood or Ft. Lauderdale stations, which are shared with Tri-Rail, make a same-platform connection to Tri-Rail, and save yourself the walk.

2. Not in my experience. I used to live in the Miami area from 2005-2008 (my office was in Hialeah). I would not make that walk, particularly in the evening, carrying luggage that immediately identifies you as a tourist. Hialeah isn't a war zone, but it's not a place for tourists to be walking around. It may seem foolish to take a cab for a half-mile trip to the 79th Street station, but it would be a wise investment, IMO.

 

[battalion51]

Depending on what your final destination and goal is, there are quite a few hotels near the tracks further up the line. There's a Holiday Inn and La Quinta near Tri-Rail's Sheridan Street Station (Holiday Inn is walking distance, LQ has a shuttle). At Tri-Rail's Ft. Lauderdale Airport Station there's a Courtyard in walking distance (and with rooms that face the tracks). At Amtrak/Tri-Rail Deerfield Beach there's a La Quinta in walking distance.

 

[Steve4031]

I just took a cab to the courtyard by the airport. Iirc it was about 15 dollars.

 

[manchacrr]

Thanks for the replies. I am taking the train all the way into Miami Hialeah Station because I have never ridden on the Silver Service Trains before and want to experience the entire route in both directions. I'm taking the 91 Star southbound and the 98 Meteor northbound the next morning.

From the replies, it sounds like the nearest hotels are near the airport. How far is the airport from the Amtrak Station? Also, it seems like a cab would be my best bet on getting to the nearest MetroRail station rather than walking the short distance. About how much would that cost and how long is the ride on MetroRail to downtown?

 

[battalion51]

Personally, I would say your best bet hotel wise is the Sheraton Miami Airport. Its immediately adjacent to MIC, which has a Metrorail stop that will take you into downtown. The airport isn't far away at all, its 4 miles on the railroad, so maybe 5-6 on the roads. I believe Metrorail is $2/trip. I will advise you though, most of Downtown Miami is abandoned/not a good place to be at night, especially near Metrorail. The only place I would recommend venturing to down there at night is Bayside, which has some shops/restaurants. You can take Metrorail to Government Center and make a free transfer to Metromover which will get you to Bayside.

 

[chakk]

Take note that October is still near the prime hurricane season for the southeastern USA, and so there is some risk (albeit rather low) of really nasty weather in Miami around the time of your proposed visit.

 

[manchacrr]

Take note that October is still near the prime hurricane season for the southeastern USA, and so there is some risk (albeit rather low) of really nasty weather in Miami around the time of your proposed visit.

I already know about hurricanes. I was born and raised in south Louisiana. I still live there about half of the year. From May-October, however, I live and work on the live steam trains at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio.