Help route planning and toll charges

purplejam

Mouseketeer
Joined
Dec 27, 2009
Hi

I will be travelling to Florida in August from England and this trip there is only going to be me and dd(14).

Sadly DH can’t come due to work commitments and I have mixed feelings about the trip as it will be the first time we have travelled so far and for so long without him but when I found some extremely cheap flights - it seemed too good an opportunity to miss, but as the trip gets nearer I am getting more anxious than normal about the planning and know that I’m probably over thinking and wondering if I’d of being better with a less adventurous trip to Spain lol!

Anyway, we will be flying into Miami and are staying the first night at the airport. I’m picking a rental car up the next morning and driving to Cocoa Beach for a week. After that we are driving to WDW and staying at Saratoga Springs for a week.

My original plan was to drive down to Fort Lauderdale for the last 4 nights to break up the journey back to Miami Airport but I’ve changed them because of trying to get the maximum value I can out of my park tickets. Disney are very clever at marketing to brits and sell us a 14 day ticket for the price of 7 days (including park hopper and memory maker and water parks and other bits and pieces) for approximately $470 and as I’m getting extra days for free (I only wanted a 7 day ticket) I’ve decided to use some of them! So we are now staying the last 4 nights offside in the Disney Springs area.

This means that I will have to drive back to Miami Airport on the day we fly home. Our flight leaves at about 5pm so will need to be at the airport at about 1:30 to 2pm.

I’m guessing that the quickest way will be to travel on the toll roads and I have no problem paying the toll fees but I’m concerned about identifying and avoiding the cashless tolls.

As I will be renting a car for 19 days I dont want to pay to rent a transponder from the rental company as I’m only planning to go on toll roads for one day (possibly 2 if go on them on the drive to Cocoa but happy to take our time and avoid them on that day). I’m renting from dollar (cheap rental cost but high cost for add ons!) I think it will be nearly $150 to rent a transponder from dollar which seems a bit steep!

I have driven round Miami / Airport area before and know that it can be hard to avoid the tolls and am trying to work out the best way to avoid them.

I’ve seen people say to buy a Sunpass from Publix but I’m really unsure how this will work if the rental car already has a transponder fitted to it ?? How does the toll know which transponder to read - or am I being a bit thick lol!

I’m guessing that I can just pay cash tolls as I go and that will have no impact on whether I rent a transponder from dollar ?

Sorry for the ramble - just looking for advise on my quickest / easiest route and how to ensure I don’t incur a lot of extra cost / penalty charges !

Thanks in advance
 
I have driven round Miami / Airport area before and know that it can be hard to avoid the tolls and am trying to work out the best way to avoid them.

I had a job that was based in a warehouse that was right next to the Miami International Airport. It was very difficult to get there without paying a toll. You really need to plan ahead and study a map in order to avoid the toll.

All of the major mapping websites (Bing, Google, MapQuest) have options that let you avoid toll roads. Plan your route in advance and you should be able to make it work.

I’m guessing that the quickest way will be to travel on the toll roads and I have no problem paying the toll fees but I’m concerned about identifying and avoiding the cashless tolls.

You shouldn't have any problems with tolls on the Florida Turnpike. That's the main toll road that people us to get between Orlando and South Florida. All tolls on that part of your trip can be paid with cash.

The area around the MIA airport is where you'll potentially stumble into a cashless toll gate. So, definitively plan ahead.
 
Tolls in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties are completely cashless on both the Turnpike and any local tolled highways – including SR-836 and SR-112 (Dolphin and Airport Expressways, respectively) which are directly connected to MIA. So if you want to pay cash tolls only then make your way to I-95 (stay out of the express lanes!) and head north from there. To get to/from I-95 via non-tolled highways you'll need to use SR-836 (Palmetto Expressway) via NW 36th St using the Hialeah exit from MIA. Use caution when you make the transfer to I-95 as the Golden Glades Interchange is a bit complicated. The Turnpike starts accepting cash in Palm Beach County – I think! try and double-check that if you can in case some portion might be cashless – and there are easy I-95/Turnpike transfers in Jupiter (northern Palm Beach County) and Fort Pierce (St. Lucie County) at SR-70. Note that Ft. Pierce is the Turnpike's last exit before it turns west toward Orlando (or the first one back on the coast if you're driving south).

I don't have any answers for Sunpass for rental cars (I just stuck mine on my windshield and don't think about it), unfortunately, but I'm sure if you browse www.sunpass.com you will be able to get some answers on that.

Enjoy your trip!
 
some rental companies only charge a daily fee for their toll program on DAYS YOU USE IT .. examples Hertz Alamo National Enterprise

others charge for every day of the contract regardless of use .. examples Dollar Thrifty

I factor that in when choosing a rental company if I must drive in the greater Miami area because as mentioned ALL TOLLS are cashless in the greater Miami area and there are MANY toll roads .....

also most rentals don't use a physical transponder at all anymore ... they use a system called 'plate pass' where all their cars are know BY PLATE # and charged by the plate being electronically read ... if you put your own physical transponder in a rental this overrides the plate pass system. {technically plate pass, or toll by plate, works as a backup system to the transponders trying to avoid false bills in the case of a transponder malfunction}

much information at: https://www.sunpass.com/rentalcar
 



GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top