Question About Areas Near Miami Airport (Hialeah, Fort Lauderdale: rent, mover, crime)

[checkmatechamp13]

I have a question: The last time I went to Miami, we decided to take public transportation to Downtown Miami. We heard that the MetroRail passes through some dangerous areas between Earlington Heights and Downtown Miami (Government Center), so we decided to stay on the #150 bus until South Beach and then take a bus to Downtown Miami.

Obviously, this was the safer route, but my question to you Miami natives is: Was it worth the time spent detouring to avoid these areas? I later heard that the more dangerous areas are the African-American areas, and the areas around there (Allahpattah and Santa Clara) have more Hispanics than Blacks (if it makes any difference, our family is Hispanic, and, since we live in NYC, we do have basic street smarts)

Thanks. I'm thinking of what route I should take if I go to Miami again.

[FlyMIA]

Daytime I would not worry too much, the area is not great but not terrible. Security on Metrorail is pretty good incidents on it are rare. Nightime though I wouldnt take it just to be safe.

[Coconut1]

If you are traveling in a group as well as without much luggage, take Metrorail from Earlington Heights. If you're going alone, at night or with a lot of luggage, do what you did last time.

The other option is to take the MIA shuttle to Tri-Rail (which now goes to Hialeah Marketplace station) and take Tri-Rail to the Tri-Rail/Metrorail transfer station to catch Metrorail there instead.

That last option could be more expensive and time consuming depending on your schedule and number of people you're traveling with.

[checkmatechamp13]

By the way, for future posters, when I said Downtown Miami (Government Center), I was just mentioning the station in Downtown Miami I would be getting off in (from there, we'd probably book a hotel near the MetroMover). I didn't mean that the Government Center area was dangerous.

Originally Posted by FlyMIA

Daytime I would not worry too much, the area is not great but not terrible. Security on Metrorail is pretty good incidents on it are rare. Nightime though I wouldnt take it just to be safe.

Thanks for replying.

One question: The last time, I remember officers being at the Government Center, Vizcaya, and Douglas Road stations. Are they at all stations or just a few, because I wasn't paying attention at the other stations? (And are there any that walk around the trains?)

Originally Posted by Coconut1

If you are traveling in a group as well as without much luggage, take Metrorail from Earlington Heights. If you're going alone, at night or with a lot of luggage, do what you did last time.

The other option is to take the MIA shuttle to Tri-Rail (which now goes to Hialeah Marketplace station) and take Tri-Rail to the Tri-Rail/Metrorail transfer station to catch Metrorail there instead.

That last option could be more expensive and time consuming depending on your schedule and number of people you're traveling with.

Thanks to you too.

I would probably avoid having to travel around on the Tri-Rail, considering how infrequent it is. We'd be travelling as a group of 3 (my mother, brother, and myself, both teenagers), so I just wanted to verify that we'd be safe between Earlington Heights and Government Center (By the way, how long is the trip once you get on the train?)

If we were coming from Fort Lauderdale, we might try that, since it isn't as circuitous.

By the way, would a big bag for each of us be considered a lot of luggage (in terms of being targets)? And after what time should we take the South Beach route?

[Chelito23]

I can't imagine going on vacation and having to rely on a public transportation system like Miami's in another city. Most locals avoid it...so I can't imagine why a tourist would want to use it. Just take a taxi and go with the flow here. It isn't necessarly dangerous, it is just inconvenient, cumbersome, time consumming and not pleasant. But if you in theory had to get from MIA to downtown, I would prefer the Metrorail from Earlington Heights vs. the bus, but that is more based on a preference for taking the metrorail, the views, faster, etc and the buses can get stuck in traffic and make stops at every corner.

[Reptoid Humidian]

What are you doing? You should just rent a car.

[hurricaneMan1992]

Personally, I would not even consider taking the 150 to the beach then another bus to downtown. Too slow, and the Beach busses are often too crowded for baggage. At Earlington Heights you have to walk less than 50 feet from the bus stop to the station entrance, and there is station security right at the front. There's probably a group of people to walk with who are also making the transfer, as well as those transfering to/from other busses. It's not like you're going to be walking around the neighborhood all by yourself. There is not much crime on the trains themselves, though the view won't be the most scenic. If you really want to avoid the bad areas, you can take route 42 or 37 through Coral Gables to Douglass Road Station, which would be faster than 150/S.

Hopefully, by the time you make the trip again, the airport link Metrorail extension will be done, and you could ride it (semi-)directly from the airport to downtown. It's supposedly around 90% completed!

[checkmatechamp13]

Originally Posted by Chelito23

I can't imagine going on vacation and having to rely on a public transportation system like Miami's in another city. Most locals avoid it...so I can't imagine why a tourist would want to use it. Just take a taxi and go with the flow here. It isn't necessarly dangerous, it is just inconvenient, cumbersome, time consumming and not pleasant. But if you in theory had to get from MIA to downtown, I would prefer the Metrorail from Earlington Heights vs. the bus, but that is more based on a preference for taking the metrorail, the views, faster, etc and the buses can get stuck in traffic and make stops at every corner.

Living in NYC, we're just used to taking public transportation. Actually, in the 2 times I went to Miami, we did alright taking public transportation. Both times, we stayed in Downtown Miami and most of our travel was between Downtown and South Beach (as well as some tourist attractions along the MetroRail).

I was strongly considering taking the MetroRail, but I decided not to because, like I said, I wasn't sure about safety. Next time, I'll follow your advice and take the MetroRail from Earlington Heights. (Fortunately, the #150 just got right back on the expressway and didn't get caught in traffic, and the wait for the bus to Downtown wasn't long either)

Originally Posted by Reptoid Humidian

What are you doing? You should just rent a car.

The only person who had a license was my mother, and it isn't valid in the U.S.

Originally Posted by hurricaneMan1992

Personally, I would not even consider taking the 150 to the beach then another bus to downtown. Too slow, and the Beach busses are often too crowded for baggage. At Earlington Heights you have to walk less than 50 feet from the bus stop to the station entrance, and there is station security right at the front. There's probably a group of people to walk with who are also making the transfer, as well as those transfering to/from other busses. It's not like you're going to be walking around the neighborhood all by yourself. There is not much crime on the trains themselves, though the view won't be the most scenic. If you really want to avoid the bad areas, you can take route 42 or 37 through Coral Gables to Douglass Road Station, which would be faster than 150/S.

Hopefully, by the time you make the trip again, the airport link Metrorail extension will be done, and you could ride it (semi-)directly from the airport to downtown. It's supposedly around 90% completed!

Thanks a lot for the info. I was thinking of taking the #37 to Douglas Road, but I felt it would be faster and more direct to go through Miami Beach. I guess we just got lucky with the traffic.

By the way, does the "J" stop at Earlington Heights or only Allahpattah?

[santiago33]

Originally Posted by Coconut1

If you are traveling in a group as well as without much luggage, take Metrorail from Earlington Heights. If you're going alone, at night or with a lot of luggage, do what you did last time.

My thoughts exactly.

Don't forget to take some pictures along the way, the MetroRail makes for some nice photos.

[wuaname]

Another vote for skipping public transportation when vacationing in Miami. If you need to cut the vacation short 1-2 days and use that money for taxis, then that's a better choice...if no one has a drivers license..