How To Navigate Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport
2100 NW 42nd Ave.
Miami, FL 33142
(305) 876-7000
www.miami-airport.com
Familiarize Yourself With MIA's Layout
To understand Miami International Airport, it helps to first learn about its layout. MIA is designed in the shape of an inverted U. Its three terminals—North, Central and South—are divided into six concourses, with Concourse D in the North Terminal being the largest. All domestic flights into MIA arrive on Level 2 with passengers having to take an escalator or elevator down to baggage claim on Level 1. International passengers arriving into the U.S. first go through U.S. Customs and Border Patrol's passport center before proceeding to baggage claim. All departures and ticket counters are located on Upper Level 2. View a map of MIA's terminals here.
Know Where To Park
What's wonderful about MIA's U-shaped layout is that it allows all three of its terminals to connect directly to its parking garages, making it extremely easy to get from terminal to parking. There are two main garages at MIA: the Dolphin and the Flamingo. Both can be accessed via any of the three terminals, and via car from the airport's Central Blvd. The Dolphin serves North Terminal D and Central Terminal E, while the Flamingo serves Central Terminal F and G, and South Terminal H and J. Both garages offer a variety of parking options including valet parking (located on Level 2 at the North and South terminals), short term parking and long term parking. The garages are also directly connected to the MIA Mover Station, an elevated train on Level 3 that shuttles passengers from the garages and Main Terminal directly to the Rental Car Center and the Miami Central Station.
Learning How To Get Between Terminals Easily
While passengers can walk between any of MIA's three terminals either pre-security or post-security without leaving the Main Terminal building, the airport offers two alternate and more efficient options of traveling between terminals. Pre-security passengers can use the Skyride Connector, a system of moving walkways on Level 3 that links all three terminals as well as the two garages and the MIA Mover station. For passengers who have passed security, MIA offers a people mover called the Skytrain in Concourse D that takes passengers from one end to the other of the concourse.
Research The List Of Amenities And Services Available
Like many of the world's pre-eminent transportation hubs, MIA is akin to a mall, offering passengers a wealth of amenities and services ranging from a variety of retail stores like Brookstone, Coach and Victoria's Secret to personal services such as currency exchanges, banking, animal relief areas, a chapel, spa services, VIP clubs and lounges and a hotel, which is located on Level 2 at Concourse E in the Central Terminal. MIA also offers a buffet of dining options, which run the gamut from national chains such as Chili's, California Pizza Kitchen and Au Bon Pain to local joints like La Carreta and Café Versailles. You can read more about all of the amenities and restaurants at MIA by visiting the website.
Related: Best Airport Bars/Restaurants At Miami International Airport
Born and raised in Abu Dhabi to parents of Goan origin, Reuben is a blogger and film critic who found his calling as a cinema aficionado sometime in 1998 after catching Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan." An active voting member of the Florida Film Critics Circle since 2011, Reuben enjoys his free time devouring pop culture and world cuisine, being a soccer nut, a wine-drinking, Mad Men maniac and working as a Senior Advertising Account Executive at an advertising agency in Miami. He holds a bachelor's degree in Advertising and Journalism as well as a certification in Film Studies from Florida International University. He started his website TheFilmFrontier.com in 2012, and his work has also been published in the Miami Herald and Examiner.com among others.