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Taylor Swift fans book last-minute travel to Miami for Eras Tour

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Taylor Swift fans book last-minute travel to Miami for Eras Tour

Swiftmania is about to descend on Miami, and businesses are preparing to welcome the tens of thousands of Taylor Swift fans in town for three nights of Eras Tour concerts.

Resale tickets on StubHub are going for $1,100 to $11,550. Some fans are traveling to Miami without a ticket, hoping to get a last-minute deal, but prices in the South Florida city are skyrocketing as availability diminishes.

“We only have a few rooms left,” says Mutlu Kucuk, the complex managing director for Loews Miami Beach Hotel. “You’re not going to find a room in our hotel for less than $700 at this point.”

The hotel is sold-out on Saturday and Sunday. There is limited availability on Friday night.

“I’m pretty confident this could translate into the overall economic impact of what we might see in Formula One,” Kucuk says. The international auto racing sport signed a 10-year deal with Miami to host a Grand Prix in May every year. “We’re going to have a celebration of all things Taylor Swift.”

The hotel is hosting a pre-Eras Tour party with the hosts of “13 Podcast.” The podcasters don’t have tickets, but they’re hoping to travel to Miami and “figure the rest out later.”

For fans still looking for a last-minute room or apartment, AirBnb has quite a few options available in the Miami-area over the Oct. 18-20 weekend. Prices start at $45/night (before taxes).

Fans travel with hopes of nabbing last-minute tickets

Annie Lawrence saw Swift in Nashville, Tennessee, in May 2023, but after the singer made changes to the set list and added a “Tortured Poets” section, Lawrence knew she had to see her again.

“I wanted to go with my friend, and we were hoping to go to an international show because the tickets were a little bit more affordable and a little bit easier to get access to,” she says. “We weren’t able to make that happen so we decided to go to a U.S. show.”

Without a ticket, she reserved a Southwest flight using points, booked a Fort Lauderdale AirBnb with her best friend and rented a car. On a tight budget, they managed to pay less than $300 each.

“I’m nervous about parking near the stadium, but my biggest hope is getting a ticket,” Lawrence says. The Swiftie influencer runs the Instagram account @aswiftiestory. With more than 60,000 followers, she is looking forward to — at the very least — connecting with other fans.

“I just want to go to the show and even if we don’t get in, my next biggest hope would be that we have a great time during the weekend,” Lawrence says.

Hard Rock Stadium parking options

Only Eras Tour ticketholders can buy a parking pass. This also applies to fans doing the park and shuttle ride option.

According to the Hard Rock Stadium website, “A prepaid parking pass is required to park at the stadium and parking passes may only be purchased by ticket holders for the date that matches their concert ticket. Parking cannot be purchased on site and must be purchased in advance.”

The website also warns that fans without a ticket aren’t welcome, “Police and stadium security will patrol the parking lots and instruct fans without concert tickets to leave stadium property.”

Called “Taylor”-gating, many fans like to be near the stadium to dance and sing with other Swifties.

Swiftie trains and planes

American Airlines will operate more than 1,200 flight arrivals into Miami. The Florida city is one of the company’s hubs with service from more than 130 destinations. For the other four stops — New Orleans, Indianapolis, Toronto and Vancouver — American Airlines will host 440 arrivals around tour dates. The airline company did a thorough review of customers traveling to the Eras Tour and found these trends:

  • 75% of passengers are female
  • 60% of passengers are millennials
  • 70% of passengers are staying two to three days
  • 40% of passengers are traveling in groups

Due to increased capacity and demand, Brightline added a limited number of tickets on the Taylor Swift Sing-Along Train from Orlando to Miami. The decorated train will be a hub for fans to trade Little Words Project friendship bracelets and sing as they depart from Orlando at 12:50 p.m. and travel south picking up Swifties in West Palm Beach at 3 p.m. and Fort Lauderdale at 3:51 p.m. After being dropped off at the Aventura train stop, shuttles will take fans to the Hard Rock Stadium 25 minutes away.

Perfect Swiftie gift: Celebrate Taylor Swift’s unprecedented Eras Tour with USA TODAY’s enchanting book

“This is quite a unique experience,” says Barbara Drahl, the senior vice president of marketing at Brightline. “We have a photo op in each of the cars themed to each era. The train is more than 300 seats that are going to be packed with fans singing. We have a special Swiftie menu just for that day with things like the ‘Lavender Haze’ cocktail.”

Prices from Orlando start at $209 for business class and $309 for premium one-way. South Florida departures are available for $99 one-way. Make sure to book in advance. The price includes the Hard Rock Stadium shuttle.

Taylor Swift things to do in Miami

The Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau put together a Swift themed event guide.

Fans looking for things to do can find friendship bracelet stations, dance nights, a kids rock ‘n’ roll playhouse, cowboy hat pop-up station and hotels offering Swift experiences.

“I don’t know what to expect,” Lawrence says as she finalizes her itinerary, “but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime show.”

After Miami, Swift will head to New Orleans (Oct. 25-27), Indianapolis (Nov. 1-3), Toronto (Nov. 14-16 and Nov. 21-23) and Vancouver (Dec. 6-8).

Don’t miss any Taylor Swift news; sign up for the free, weekly newsletter This Swift Beat.

Follow Bryan West, the USA TODAY Network’s Taylor Swift reporter, on Instagram, TikTok and X as @BryanWestTV.

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