How to get to loanDepot Park
Traffic may be Miami’s least attractive quality, and unfortunately, it’s really difficult to avoid. If you can, try to avoid too much travel during rush hour (4pm-7pm) and always allow extra time for random traffic spikes so you can arrive where you want to be on time without any stress. As for what mode of transportation is best, you have three (really only two) options, listed below from most-to-least recommended.
- Renting a Car
- Rideshare
- Public Transportation
Keep reading to figure out which option is best for you, (and why, most often, it’s renting a car).
Renting a car
The best option by far for getting around Miami is renting a car. There are some trips and scenarios where other options are feasible, but even in those instances, renting a car will be more efficient. Miami is a city that you just have to drive to get around, and you’ll be glad to have the freedom this option affords you. Also, rental car prices are cheap in Miami, with some going for less than $20 a day; an entire weekend of rental car fees can easily be cheaper than one Uber ride at peak demand. And, it’s just easier.
The biggest concern you will have is parking. Parking at the ballpark can be reserved in advance for $30, guaranteeing you a spot in one of the garages around the park. Beyond that, garage parking is on a first-come, first-serve basis and will vary in price from $20-$40 through the PaybyPhone App. We recommend reserving in advance for peace of mind, and make sure to set time aside for traffic gridlock getting to and leaving the stadium. Spothero tends to have no parking spaces available near the park, while ParkWhiz seems to consistently offer just one or two. PaybyPhone is definitely your best option for reserving parking.
SpotHero
ParkWhiz
Parking may be a more significant concern at your hotel, especially if you are staying in Downtown/Brickell or Miami Beach. Especially on Miami Beach, overnight valet prices can be up to $50. This will still be around the price of an Uber to and from the park, and having a car will allow you to move freely about the city when you aren’t at the game.
Ridesharing
Using rideshare apps is, of course, a viable option to get to the park, but it can be pretty complicated if you want to be cost-efficient. If you’re staying in Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, or Miami Beach, your ride will likely cost between $20 and $30 each way depending on your location. However, if you’re going to a night game, you’ll likely be riding to the game during rush hour traffic and leaving from the game with post-game traffic. This means that you run the risk of high-demand surge pricing. Scheduling your ride in advance will cost more, but helps you avoid this unpredictability.
One of the big advantages of rideshares is that you won’t be paying for or worrying about parking, which will save you some headaches. If your trip to the game is your only real reason to drive – and you won’t be having to make additional rideshare trips for other activities – then avoiding this hassle may make ridesharing your best option.
If you are going to use ridesharing to get to the stadium, have them drop you off a few blocks away and walk the rest of the way on foot to avoid getting sucked into gameday traffic. If you want, you can even set your destination for Hotel Barlington (1350 NW 2nd St, Miami, FL 33125) a block southeast of the park or the Walgreens (1699 NW 7th St, Miami, FL 33125) on the Northwest corner of the park. On the way out, you will have to wait at the designated rideshare lot on the east side of the park (corner of NW 14th Ave and NW 6th St.) for your ride. This process has prescribed guidelines and staff presence to make it run as smoothly as possible, but the wait for rides can still be lengthy due to traffic around the park.
Suggested rideshare dropoff spots
Public Transportation
Miami MetroRail
Due to recent efforts from the city government, public transportation is actually easier than you’d think in Miami… for day-to-day commuters. But, due to excessive wait times and safety concerns, we do not recommend it as your go-to method of transport to get to a Marlins game.
However, if you are staying in Downtown Miami/Brickell, Coconut Grove, or Coral Gables, there is a way to get to the game for very cheap through public transportation, so we have to at least let you know how.
The first option only applies for people staying in Downtown/Brickell, Coconut Grove, and Coral Gables and is through a combination of the MetroRail system and the City of Miami Trolleys. This option requires you to take the MetroRail to the Civic Center station, and the trolley to the stadium from there. Both forms of transit are pretty safe and affordable (the trolley is free). The big problem here is that the trolley can have up to 20 minutes of wait time and, after 8pm the MetroRail will have up to 30 minutes of wait time, so any time you make up by avoiding traffic will be lost waiting around. The trolley system also doesn’t run on Sundays, so if you’re going to a Sunday game, you would need a different transit strategy.
However, if you choose to take this on another day, you just need to:
Step 2
Take the MetroRail to the Civic Center station.
Step 3
Hop the “Stadium” trolley to loanDepot.
The other option is the Miami-Dade Bus system. Buses run around the clock for most areas of the city and cover most of its geographical area, all for $2.25 a ride or a day pass for $5.65. However, the buses can feel pretty sketchy, especially at night, and the route system is incredibly difficult to decipher with no easy connections to the stadium other than from downtown, the airport area and other areas near the ballpark. And, you’re not getting any relief from traffic.
I’d just stay away. Miami is a driving city, and public transit is just a means of last resort more than something that a person would voluntarily choose.
Bottom Line
Getting around Miami can be a pain, so eliminating as many complications from your trip should be the goal here. Public transportation certainly won’t do that for you in Miami, and rideshare only accomplishes this if you’re not worried about spending a lot of money. Renting a car is the easiest way to rid yourself of unnecessary stresses, without spending too much money.
