Miami Travel Guide | My Life Trips

Miami

Information

Miami is a city in Florida state of the United States with a population of 400.000 and about 5 million in the broader metropolitan area. Miami is located on the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. The harbor of Miami has great importance for the city, as it has huge traffic and is the world’s first port in cruise ship service.

Miami is a city with close ties to Latin America, and many of the Miami residents are speaking Spanish. The climate in Miami is tropical and the weather is completely unpredictable. The winter here is mild and dry and the temperature rarely falls below 20 degrees Celsius, while during the summer the weather is very warm with many tropical storms and hurricanes formed in the Atlantic Ocean.

The US Dollar is the Currency of the United States and 10 US Dollars equals to 8,57 Euros. For the latest updated exchange rates visit the XE Currency Converter page.

What To See...

South Beach

South Beach is perhaps the most beautiful and most popular spot in Miami. Here you will find a huge coastline with fantastic exotic beaches in the Atlantic Ocean! Apart from the unbelievable beaches of South Beach, you will find some very beautiful neighborhoods that will take you back in time and will remind you of Latin America. Some of the most famous streets such as Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue are the ones that you will spend most of your time, as all the famous bars and restaurants of the city are here. In the evening, the entire area is transformed with the strange lighting in the buildings and the incredible cars that exist here, is truly a unique experience.

Downtown Miami

The center of Miami is the area where several businesses, hotels, shopping malls, offices, skyscrapers and the Port of Miami are located. The city center is huge and you will definitely need lots of walking to explore it.

Bayside Market

The Bayside Market is a huge open shopping mall, in which you can find several things to do. In this enormous area next to Miami’s harbor, you can go for shopping, dine in some of the great restaurants with spectacular views, or book some mini cruises to the famous Star Island, where you will see the residences of some Hollywood stars. Surely one of the most beautiful places in Miami.

Little Havana

As it is easy to understand by its name, this district refers to Cuba. In this purely Latin American neighborhood you will find many shops that make Havana cigars and you will have the opportunity to see the process closely and learn some secrets. An excellent experience that we highly recommend, as the whole area has a unique atmosphere and you will definitely feel like you are in Cuba for a while.

Ocean Drive

Ocean Drive is one of the most popular streets in South Beach and it is right in front of the Atlantic Ocean . On this street, is the famous Art Deco district with its very distinctive buildings, which certainly all have seen in a photo from Miami. In the evenings, this road is really impressive! Along the way you will find some unbelievable vintage cars that you will surely love.

Espanola Way

This pedestrian street just a few blocks from the beach of Miami will take you to another era. The incredible atmosphere combined with many Spanish restaurants, will really charm you. However, it would be best to book a table if you want to visit one of the restaurants in this area, as it is very popular and you will certainly have trouble to find one.

Star Island

The island of stars is a small artificial island in Biscayne Bay. On this island are some of the most beautiful houses in the world, and some huge personalities such as Madonna, Le Bron James, Enrique Iglesias, Sylvester Stallone, Jennifer Lopez and many others own a house here. This place is amazing and you can only visit it by a boat cruise that you can book from the Bayside Market that we mentioned above. As you understand the prices here are imperishable and if you want to buy a home on this island you must be at least a billionaire. In recent years many stars have sold their residences on the island because they could not easily keep their privacy due to the high traffic of tourists.

Coral Gables

Coral Gables is probably the most beautiful neighborhood in the entire city, and as it is normal, one of the most expensive. The characteristics of this area, are the incredible houses and the huge but very quiet streets with the enormous green trees. In this area is located also the University of Miami and the well known Biltmore Hotel which is a trademark of the area and of course Miami. As for the prices, it is not the cheaper in the city …

Nearby Excursions

The options for excursions and cruises if you find yourself in Miami are really endless. The best option if your budget allows it, is to make a cruise from Maiami to the Caribbean! Of course, because the cost will go up dramatically, we will suggest you two much more cheaper choices, which are amazing experiences whichever you choose.

The first excursion we highly recommend you, is the world famous Everglades! The Everglades National Park is only an hour drive from Miami and is consisted of 1.5 million acres of tropical ecosystem. In the Everglades National Park you will be able to see alligators swimming in the swampy waters but also have a breathtaking experience with the special boats that will get you close to them. The boat ride was really one of the most beautiful experiences we’ve ever had, and when the boat goes a little further, then we could figure out where we really were! Then you will be able to see alligators from even closer, outside the water but also you can see snakes, with the special trainers handling the situation with tremendous coolness. The Everglades excursion costs about 50 euros per person and you can book it at one of the many companies that organize similar excursions in Miami center or in the South Beach.

A second choice much cheaper and much shorter is a mini cruise on the Star Island. This cruise is quite short, and will give you the chance to see some of the most expensive and beautiful homes you’ve ever seen in your life! The cruise starts at Bayside Market in the Port of Miami and has a duration of about 1-1,5 hours. The cost is about 25 Dollars per person.

What To Eat

United States is really a paradise for those who love food, and it is impossible for anyone in this country to not succumb to temptations in every corner. Of course, Miami is no exception, since there are countless things to try out here, which of course have thousand calories and is not the best choice for those who want to eat something light on their holiday.

Two of the best restaurants we’ve visited in Miami are the awesome Cheesecake Factory, where you can try the best Cheesecakes in the world in huge variety. We guarantee that whatever you try, it will be an unforgettable experience! Our advice, is to visit it as many times as possible, so you can try many flavors! Cheesecake Factory’s food is just as good and everyone will find something they will surely like from the huge menu.

The second one is the Chili’s Restaurant on Bayside Market. With stunning views of the harbor of Miami and incredible dishes, is a great choice for those who love American cuisine. Those who love sweets will have to try the Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie. There is no need to describe it, just order it …

For the fans of good burgers, there some very interesting choices! We had visited many of them and three really stood out. Johnny Rockets at South Beach, the Five Guys, which is a very famous fast food chain in United States and Burgerfi on Washington Avenue in South Beach. The burgers we tasted in all of them were delicious and their common stuff, is of course, the thousands of calories they contain!

How to move

Miami is a very big city and you will definitely need to use different means of transport if you want to see every corner of the city. The distances are very long and for example the famous South Beach is 9 km away from the city center, so it’s quite difficult to move around just on foot. The easiest and most cheap way is the bus, with pretty good connections to the entire city of Miami. The ticket costs 2.25 Dollars per person for one route.

Miami International Airport is located relatively close to the city, about 15 km and access to it from the city center or from South Beach is very easy by bus or taxi ( taxi costs 25-30 $).

Where to stay

Accommodation in Miami is not very expensive. For example, a good double room in South Beach is starting at 70 $, and of course depending on your accommodation and your preferences can go much higher. Our suggestion is to stay for a few days in South Beach and for 2 or 3 days in Miami Downtown just to share the distances and save time by organizing your schedule properly. You can make your bookings via Booking.com

Booking.com