Miami Layover Guides and Short Trips
Miami International sits about eight miles west of downtown, and the free MIA Mover links its terminals to a Metrorail station with trains into the city. From there, Biscayne Bay, Little Havana, Coconut Grove and the Art Deco streets of South Beach are all within reach by train, bus or a short ride.
Layover guides for Miami
Miami International Airport (MIA) layovers
8 hoursHow to Spend an 8 Hour Layover in Miami: MIA to Little Havana on Calle Ocho
Versailles has served Cuban coffee and pastries on Calle Ocho since 1971, a single bus ride from the airport's transit center. Eat there, then ride the free trolley east to a fruit stand, the domino tables at Máximo Gómez Park and a scoop of guava ice cream.
10 hoursHow to Spend a 10 Hour Layover in Miami: MIA to South Beach Art Deco
The Route 150 Airport Flyer runs from the airport's transit center across the Julia Tuttle Causeway to South Beach, where hundreds of Art Deco buildings line the streets near the ocean. See the Art Deco Welcome Center, spend an hour or two on the beach at Lummus Park, eat at Puerto Sagua and end on Española Way.
12 hoursHow to Spend a 12 Hour Layover in Miami: MIA to Vizcaya and Coconut Grove
James Deering's Vizcaya villa stands on Biscayne Bay a short walk from its own Metrorail station, on the Orange Line from the airport. Tour the house and formal gardens, then head south to Coconut Grove for lunch at GreenStreet, the 1891 Barnacle house and the bay at Peacock Park.
Short trip guides for Miami
City And Beach
3 hoursHow to Spend 3 Hours in Miami: Pérez Art Museum and the Bay
Vertical gardens hang from the roof of the Pérez Art Museum Miami, a Herzog and de Meuron building on Biscayne Bay with its own Metromover station. Spend most of the time on the art inside, then walk the bayfront lawns of Maurice A. Ferré Park next door.
4 hoursHow to Spend 4 Hours in Miami: The Bass and Collins Park on the Beach
A 1930 coral stone building in Collins Park, built as Miami Beach's library and art center, now holds The Bass, a museum of contemporary art steps from the ocean. Start in the free botanical garden nearby, walk out to the beach, then see the exhibitions inside.
6 hoursHow to Spend 6 Hours in Miami: Fairchild Garden and Matheson Hammock
One of the world's great palm collections grows on 83 acres at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables, and Matheson Hammock Park's bayfront beach lies just up Old Cutler Road. Ride the free tram, walk the gardens, then end by the water at the park.
8 hoursHow to Spend 8 Hours in Miami: Key Biscayne by Bus to Cape Florida
The Cape Florida Lighthouse, first lit in 1825, is the oldest standing structure in Miami-Dade County, and Metrobus Route 26 runs from Brickell to the park gate. Walk the beach and climb the tower, eat at Boater's Grill on No Name Harbor, then swim at Crandon Park.
Fitness guides for Miami
FitnessMiami Beach Boardwalk 8.9 km Run From Lummus Park With Beach Showers
A paved Beachwalk and a raised wooden boardwalk run behind the dunes of Miami Beach for miles, and this out and back of about 8.9 km follows them north from Lummus Park to Indian Beach Park at 46th Street. It starts and ends at the public restrooms at 14th Street, with free beach showers on the sand.
FitnessMiami Bayfront and Brickell Key 7.3 km Run From the InterContinental Spa
Brickell Key is a small island of towers joined to Brickell by one bridge, and this loop of about 7.3 km circles part of it after a stretch along Biscayne Bay through Bayfront Park. It starts at the InterContinental Miami, whose mySpa sells a day pass with locker rooms, a sauna and steam room.
About Miami
Miami was incorporated in 1896, months after Henry Flagler's railroad reached the mouth of the Miami River, and it grew into a city shaped by Biscayne Bay and by waves of arrivals from Cuba and the rest of Latin America. Downtown and Brickell rise along the bay, with Bayfront Park and the Pérez Art Museum on the water. Little Havana spreads west along Calle Ocho, Coconut Grove keeps its old trees and bayfront parks to the south, and Miami Beach sits on a barrier island across the causeways, with Art Deco hotels lining Ocean Drive. Metrorail, the free Metromover loop downtown and Metrobus cover most of these places, and an Uber fills the gaps. The weather is warm all year, with afternoon storms in the wet season from late spring into the fall, so carry water and a light rain layer.