Hi there!

 

So you want to do a road trip across Southern Florida driving from Fort Myers to Miami!

 

How long is the drive from Fort Myers to Miami?

Driving directly, it might take around 2.5 hours of driving time from Fort Myers to Miami.

 

map of route for Fort Myers to Miami drive. Fort Myers to Miami road trip. I-75 alligator alley or tamiami trail. south florida travel blog
Explore the map.

 

So Fort Myers is not too far from Miami, and it’s very doable to drive from Fort Myers to Miami in one day.

And if you want to take all day to get from Fort Myers to Miami, there are some things to do along the way!

Or you can take a few days to get from Fort Myers to Miami!

Below will show some ideas of stops you can make as you make the drive to Miami!

 

 

Can you do a day trip to Miami from Fort Myers?

Being a 2.5 hour drive one way with minimal traffic, a day trip to Miami would mean 5 to 6 hours of driving from Fort Myers to Miami to Fort Myers… at least!

But if you are only in Florida once and you REALLY want to go to one of the most famous destinations in Florida (and the US! …and the world!)… and you really can’t/don’t want to spend more than one day… and you understand that it’s a lot of driving in one day…

Well then sure. Yes, you can do a day trip to Miami from Fort Myers, and you might think it’s well worth it.

It really just depends on how important Miami is to you!

If you are very interested in Miami, then once you get to Miami, even just going to South Pointe of Miami Beach and Ocean Avenue can be well worth it and it could have you leaving with a happy Miami experience.

 

 

And then you can save 1 or 2 of the stops below for the way back depending on how much time you have!

Miami is a major city, so do expect traffic.

 

 

 

Alligators between Fort Myers and Miami

There is an area between Fort Myers and Miami that can be one of the best places in Florida to see alligators.

 

 

So if you want a chance to see alligators, then you have a few places you can go!

But, emphasis on CHANCE!

Alligators are wild and they do what they want when they want!

There’s no guarantee to see them.

And, don’t feed the alligators!

While alligator attacks do happen, alligators are generally not interested in people.

It requires everyone’s help to keep it that way.

Feeding alligators is a way for alligators to become more comfortable with humans… and to learn to approach you (and other humans) for food!

And then alligators can become even more dangerous to humans!

When you see alligators, just observe!

Try not to do anything that would cause them to change their behavior.

 

 

See below for a potential driving route from Fort Myers to Miami!

 

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There are a lot of videos below. If you can’t see them, it may be because you have an ad blocker.

 

 

What is there to see between Fort Myers and Miami?

map of best route for Fort Myers to Miami drive. Fort Myers to Miami road trip. tamiami trail or alligator alley I-75. south florida travel blog
Explore the map.

 

 

1. Sanibel Island

Sanibel Island is known as one of the best spots for shelling in Florida.

And even more than that, Sanibel Island beaches are known for being the best beaches for shelling in all of the United States!

You can go to any of the beaches on Sanibel Island and you will find shells.

Along the shoreline, you can find tons of small shells, and the more you look, the greater your chances are for finding different types of shells!

 

 

To get you started, you likely will not be disappointed if you make Bowmans Beach your one and only Sanibel Island shelling beach to visit!

 

 

There is also Captiva Island for shelling.

 

 

There is a toll for driving the bridge to Sanibel Island. See current fees under Sanibel toll plaza.

The Sanibel Island beach parking fee is hourly. See current fees.

If you will be staying in Fort Myers for a few days, then you can make a day trip to Sanibel Island from Fort Myers.

 

 

 

See more about planning your drive from Fort Myers to Miami: Captiva Island beaches

 

Camping between Fort Myers and Miami:

 

 

2. Marco Island

If you want to add in another one of Florida’s best beach destinations as part of your drive to Miami, then there is Marco Island that you can stop off at!

The 2 main public beaches on Marco Island are South Beach and Tigertail Beach.

You will probably have an easier time with parking at Tigertail Beach.

Tigertail Beach is known as the best shelling beach on Marco Island, although you can look for shells along any Marco Island beach.

 

 

It’s also known for the lagoon water crossing to get to the beach, although there is also an alternative walking route that is not so bad.

If you want to walk normally to the beach, you’ll want to park at the far end of the parking lot as far as you can drive, and then start walking from there.

Then, after a few minutes of walking, you see a wide expansive white sand beach of Marco Island!

It’s possible you might walk around 10 minutes from your parking spot to where you want to set up camp on the beach.

 

 

And if you will be staying an overnight on Marco Island, be sure to catch a Marco Island sunset!

 

 

See more about planning your drive from Fort Myers to Miami: Marco Island beaches

 

Camping between Fort Myers and Miami:

 

 

3. Ten Thousand Islands, Everglades National Park

The best way to experience the Ten Thousand Islands can be through a boat tour!

You can consider Everglades National Park to have the Fort Myers side (Gulf side) and the Miami side (Atlantic side).

All land-based activities in Everglades National Park that you can drive to are on the Miami side. (More on the Miami side in a bit!)

On the Fort Myers side is where you will find the Everglades National Park Gulf Coast Visitor Center.

You will not actually be within the Everglades National Park boundary by going to this visitor center.

Instead, the way to experience this gulf coast side of Everglades National Park is by water.

You can do the Ten Thousand Islands boat tour that starts from the Gulf Coast Visitor Center.

You have a chance to see dolphins and manatees on an Everglades National Park boat tour in the Ten Thousand Islands.

You’ll want to book ahead as these boat tours can sell out. You can book through Everglades Florida Adventures.

 

 

4. Tamiami Trail

One of the best places to see alligators in Florida is along the Tamiami Trail!

 

 

There are several stops along the Tamiami Trail that you can make for a chance to see alligators. (Again, alligators are wild and there’s never any guarantee to see them!)

 

 

These stops are located in Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, and Everglades National Park.

If you are looking to make just ONE stop with the best chance to see alligators, you will want to stop at the Oasis Visitor Center in Big Cypress National Preserve.

The Oasis Visitor Center is one of the best places that I’ve seen tons of alligators in Florida.

The alligators are so close to the Tamiami Trail that you can actually see the cars driving along the Tamiami Trail as you are looking at the alligators!

So the alligators are pretty much laying right along the Tamiami Trail.

 

 

See more about planning your drive from Fort Myers to Miami: Where are the alligators on Tamiami Trail?

 

Camping between Fort Myers and Miami:

 

 

5. Everglades National Park

One of the best places to see alligators in Florida is in Everglades National Park.

Everglades National Park is known for alligators, wetlands, and airboats.

You can experience all 3 with just one day in Everglades National Park!

You might even be able to experience all 3 with just a few hours.

But again, there’s no guarantee to see alligators!

As you continue your drive from Fort Myers to Miami along Tamiami Trail, you will come across a turn-off for Shark Valley.

Shark Valley is one of the best places to see alligators in Everglades National Park by tram, by bike, or even by foot!

 

 

Then if you continue driving along Tamiami Trail, you will pass several spots where you can do an Everglades airboat tour.

 

 

One of the best places to see crocodiles in Florida is also Everglades National Park!

That will require a bit of a detour from going directly to Miami, as the spot to (maybe!) see crocodiles in an area called Flamingo in the Everglades that’s located pretty far out of the way.

 

See more about planning your drive from Fort Myers to Miami:

 

Camping between Fort Myers and Miami:

 

 

6. Miami

And you’ve made it to Miami!!!

To get you started, you can make South Pointe your first destination in Miami!

 

 

See more about planning your drive from Fort Myers to Miami: How to spend 2 hours at South Pointe in Miami Beach

 

Camping between Fort Myers and Miami:

 

 

And that’s a bit about some stops you can make driving from Fort Myers to Miami!

Where to next?!

 

HAPPY DRIVING TO MIAMI FROM FORT MYERS!

 

 

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