The Road East: I-10 Carries Most of the Trip
The trip from San Diego to Miami is about 2,655 miles by road, or roughly 37 to 40 hours of driving. That is road time only, not the delivery schedule for a shared freight load.
After a short opening on I-8 east to Casa Grande, Arizona, I-10 carries about 1,809 of the miles in all, two thirds of the trip: first across Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Louisiana, then, after an 86-mile stretch of I-12 north of Lake Pontchartrain, through Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. That makes eight states in all.
Two Ways Down the Florida Peninsula
Florida is where the two common driving paths split. The shortest one leaves I-10 for 107 miles of I-75, then rides Florida’s Turnpike for its last 264 miles before a short hop on I-95 into Miami. Staying on I-10 to the Atlantic and turning south on I-95 comes to about 2,684 miles, roughly 29 more.
Pickup on San Diego’s Beach Walks
Some San Diego homes face a walk instead of a street: Ocean Front Walk and Bayside Walk in Mission Beach and Pacific Beach, and the boardwalk at La Jolla Shores. City code (SDMC 63.20.7(a)) bars motor vehicles from beaches and the walks beside them, and park rules say vehicles are not permitted on park walks “at any time (this includes loading and unloading purposes).”
So the truck cannot back up to your patio. It has to park on the nearest street or alley it can legally use, and your things are carried from the walk to that spot.
When you book, say that the home fronts a walk and name the cross street or alley the truck can reach, so the crew knows where the truck can stop. If that curb needs a permit, Ship Smart arranges it.
Delivery in Miami and South Florida
By NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals, Miami International Airport averages 91 days a year at 90 F or hotter and about 67 inches of rain, 10.5 of them in June, while San Diego’s Lindbergh Field logs 3 such days, about 10 inches and a July high (75.3 F) below Miami’s average July low (77.5 F).
Ship Smart’s warehouses are climate controlled; its trucks are not. Delivery is by appointment, and a weekday window from 9 to 3 costs nothing extra, so pick a day when someone can open the door right away.
- Condo and apartment towers: a certificate of insurance is $100 per building, on a $1 million policy. You reserve the freight elevator or dock, and a missed slot is rescheduled with priority.
- Gated communities: the crew registers at the gatehouse.
- Streets a trailer cannot reach: curbside delivery is not offered there, so book inside delivery, which brings a crew and a smaller truck.
- Past the city line: addresses within 100 miles of Miami are included in the estimate, which takes in Broward County and most of Palm Beach County.
Furniture You Will Not Keep in Miami
Households on Miami-Dade County’s solid waste service get two bulky waste pickups per calendar year, up to 25 cubic yards each, and county code keeps bulky items off the curb until a pickup is booked. Extra yardage is billed per cubic yard. The City of Miami and Miami Beach run their own sanitation.
What Sets the Price
White glove pickup from the first floor is part of every estimate. A Ship Smart quote comes from the weight and volume picked up, not from a truck rental or an hourly crew, and with an accurate inventory it lands within a couple of percent of the final bill. No deposit is taken; a $75 minimum cancellation fee applies once the contract is complete.
A single small item carries a minimum of $600 to $700, and a shipment can run from one piece up to about 2,000 lb, with no hard limit. Delivery charges apply only when your move calls for them:
- Stairs: $100 per flight after the first floor in most markets, or a flat $100 for an elevator building above the 4th floor. Rates can vary by city.
- A tower COI ($100 per building) and any curb permit the city requires.
- Assembly in Miami at $100 an hour; simple bed frames are usually free.
- Extra stops in the Miami area, priced by distance.
- On-site packing of loose items at $150 an hour (2-hour minimum) plus materials, or pack your own boxes.
Valuation of $0.10 per lb is included. Full replacement coverage costs $25 to $35 per $1,000 of value, set by your deductible ($100, $250 or $500). The online estimator or (866) 333-8018 gives your exact price, and financing is available through Enhancify.
Who Moves Between San Diego County and Miami-Dade
IRS migration data counts 260 San Diego County households (398 people) moving to Miami-Dade County in 2022 to 2023, while 234 moved from Miami-Dade to San Diego County: for every ten that headed east, about nine made the reverse Miami to San Diego move.
A year earlier, 316 households (508 people) went east against 238 moving west, so the flow toward Florida fell 18% while the westbound flow barely changed. From the Florida side, San Diego County was the second most common California destination for Miami-Dade households in both years, behind only the state’s most populous county.
