Sat outside an Art Deco style hotel, sipping on a mojito, listening to 80s electro-funk beats it’s clear Miami has its own unique personality.

With big city sophistication, a vibrant nightlife scene, long stretches of pristine sand and deep Latin-American influences, Miami makes for a dynamic and interesting place. There’s many big shopping malls in Miami as well as local markets and areas like Coconut Grove have many small boutique shops. South Beach has Art Deco style architecture, great hotels, a bustling nightlife/clubbing scene and the beach here is a hit year-round. Another area to visit is Little Havana, you can see locals playing domino’s or dancing to salsa music whilst the bars and cafe’s serve up classic mojitos and Cuban fayre.

Miami has a tropical monsoon climate with hot and humid summers and short, warm winters.

June to August – summer temperatures around the low 30’s (90’s) with a lot of humidity and more rainfall, this is also the start of the hurricane season. Hotel rates are much cheaper during these months.

September to November – hurricanes are still a threat with temperatures and rainfall dipping only slightly.

December to February – there is little rainfall and high temperatures are in the mid 20’s (70’s) making it a great time to visit weather-wise — beware though hotel rates will be a lot higher during this time.

March to May – average high temperatures are in the high 20’s (80’s) and there is little chance of hurricanes so this is also a good time to visit. March is the busiest month due to the Spring Break in the US, but crowds will ease off towards April and May, which are good months for cheaper hotel rates.

Miami is a big city with wide and varied transport options.

Bus

You can get buses around town and to and from the airport, some of the stops include Miami Beach, Key Biscayne, Homestead or even as far as Fort Lauderdale and the Florida Keys. Bus rides start at as little as $2.25 and you can pay using an Easy Card or Easy Ticket purchasable online or at select stations.

Metro Rail & Metro Mover

The Metro Mover is free and travels through and around the city’s main shopping district. The Metro Rail covers a large area reaching the the city outskirts. The 22 station commuter line runs from Palmetto in West Miami, stopping at Downtown Miami then all the way down to Dadeland in South Miami, There is also an orange line that runs out to the airport. Trips also start at $2.25 and can be purchased using the same easy pay system as the buses.

Trolley

Miami also has a hop-on hop-off trolley system, the trolleys are free and air conditioned. The most popular tourist routes cover Downtown Miami and Brickell. Some other popular areas also covered include Coconut Grove, Bayfront park and Little Havana.

Taxis

Taxis are readily available around town although we recommend avoiding them during rush hour as you can sit in traffic for a long time at your expense with the meter increasing.

The currency is the US Dollar (USD) and note denominations are $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100.

ATM’s are situated all over the city and most places will also accept payment using major credit cards.

Average Costs (prices in USD)

• A mid-range hotel 3–4 star $90–$250
• A nights budget accommodation $40–$80
• A  three course meal for two in a mid-range restaurant $50–$90
• A budget dinner $10–$18
• A 3 km taxi ride in the city $15–$20
• A pint of beer in a bar $5–$8
• A beer in a local supermarket $2–$5
• A regular coffee $3–$5
• A bottle of water $1–$2

Ocean Drive

This iconic stretch of colourful beachfront street is what springs to mind when most people think of Miami. This promenade is in Miami Beach, an island city connected by vehicle bridges to mainland Miami. The Art Deco buildings that shine bright neon at night, the lively restaurants and bars and the eclectic mix of people (think men roller skating in nothing but a thong and people pushing along their Chihuahuas in a stroller) make this a great place to wonder and people watch or go for a coffee or a cocktail.

Vizcaya Museum & Gardens

This beautifully preserved house and gardens built between 1914 and 1922 is situated in the Coconut Grove area of Miami and belonged to industrialist James Deering. This huge mansion is an interpretation of an eighteenth-century Italian villa that its designers cleverly and efficiently adapted to suit a sub-tropical climate rather than Mediterranean. The interior rooms are elaborately decorated and filed with the finest furnishings, paintings and antiques, designed to suggest the passing of time and an accumulation of objects and memories. The sprawling, exquisite European-inspired gardens were designed to feel like outdoor rooms with fountains, sculptures, tree-lined corridors and low cut hedges. It is open everyday except Tuesdays between 9:30 am and 4:30 pm. Adult admission is $18.

Bayside Marketplace

A two-storey, open-air marketplace in Downtown Miami, located between Bayfront Park and the American Airlines Marina. There are shops, market stalls, eateries and bars, with many having an alfresco dining option in a waterfront setting on the bay. Lively performances are often put on by local musicians and there are plenty of cruises available for sightseeing or tours of the celebrity homes on Star Island. Water taxis are also available to take you Miami Beach or Sea Isle Marina.

Lincoln Road Mall

An outdoor, palm tree lined, pedestrian-only shopping, dining and entertainment promenade just a few blocks from the beach. You will find heaps of mainstream, high street stores, with many open from 10:00 am till 11:00 pm. There’s an array of dining options, including amazing Cuban food at Havana 1957 — we ate here on our first night in Miami and it was great for a taste of Cuba and delicious cocktails. Many of the eateries take advantage of the endless sunny days here by offering alfresco dining underneath huge umbrellas and these are great places to enjoy a drink, some food and watch the world go by.

Beaches

Head to one of Miami’s beautiful, white, sandy beaches if you’re looking to relax, sunbathe, surf or swim. You’ll find busy, touristy beaches or those with a more laid-back vibe so there is a Miami beach to suit all tastes. Some of the best beaches are Lummus Park Beach, South Point Park Pier, Surfside, Sunny Isles Beach and Haulover Beach. Many of the beaches have lifeguards as the strong winds and tides can get dangerous so the lifeguard stands have a flag system to warn of the sea conditions. There are also plenty of public parks along the shore offering picnic areas and on-site grills and most beaches will have bars and restaurants nearby.

South Beach

This bustling, ‘look at me’ neighbourhood in the city of Miami Beach is a must see on any trip to Miami, but due to it’s location, glamorous scene and popularity it is not a cheap area to stay in. Here you will find Ocean Drive, Lincoln Road Mall, Art Deco buildings and a huge number of cafes, restaurants, bars and nightclubs just steps away from a beautiful, but busy beach. No matter what time of day you visit there will a buzz around this area with people enjoying an alfresco breakfast, rollerblading down the wide, palm-tree lined paths, sunbathing on the white, sandy beach, fine dining in a top restaurant or partying the night away.

Little Havana

Just west of Downtown Miami lies this vibrant Cuban neighbourhood, with the bustling Calle Ocho strip being the heart of the area and the most popular place to visit. Here you will find authentic Cuban food, strong, aromatic coffee and hand-rolled cigar shops. There is also interesting art work on many of the building walls, giant statues of brightly, coloured cockerels and you can see locals come together at Maximo Gomez Park to play dominoes and discuss politics. After dark there are plenty of bars to visit to try a classic Mojito cocktail and enjoy the fantastic live music.

Key Biscanye

Just a short drive over the amazing Rickenbacker Causeway takes you to this small, but gorgeous island town in Miami. There are gorgeous beaches and plenty of activities, such as cycling, canoeing and snorkelling to keep you entertained. It is also sandwiched between Crandon Park and Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park with even more beaches and activities on offer, including Crandon Golf, an 18-hole golf course. There is a separate walkway on the causeway where you can walk or cycle and this offers great views of the Key and looking back over Downtown Miami. Bear in mind though that the ascent up the bridge is very steep and it is about 6 miles (9.5 km) from the beginning of the causeway to Key Biscanye so it takes longer than it looks if you aren’t in a car. There are several other beaches and parks — some with shaded areas from the abundance of palm trees along some of the causeway — including on Virginia Key, that you reach before Key Biscanye.

Downtown

The urban heart of Miami has an impressive skyline of skyscrapers and is home to the beautiful, waterfront Bayfront Park on Biscayne Bay, the huge American Airlines Arena (home to the Miami Heat basketball team), Freedom Tower and the Bayside Marketplace. Although this is a business area, it is also so much more and new restaurants and bars are opening all the time as more entrepreneurs are seeing the huge potential from being located here. There are also museums, such as the Perez Art Museum Miami and theatres, such as Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts that shows concerts, Broadway shows and ballet.

Coconut Grove

This inviting, laid-back, tropical neighbourhood is a gorgeous, peaceful area just a short drive south of Downtown Miami. We rented bikes to get there and it was an easy cycle along palm tree lined streets. There is a huge marina, with boats of all sizes, boutique shops, restaurants, CocoWalk, galleries, cafes and a distinctively bohemian vibe. This is also where you will find the gorgeous Vizcaya Museum and Gardens.

Wynwood

Most famous for the Wynwood walls, where vibrant, colourful art, by well-known street artists adorns a huge number of the walls of the cafes, restaurants and bars in the area, just north of Downtown Miami. This is a hip and happening neighbourhood, with craft breweries, boutique clothing shops and fashionable art galleries.

• Miami gets it’s name from a Native American tribe called the Mayaimi. They lived near the area until the 17th or 18th Century.
• The city of Miami was founded in 1896 by a woman, Julia Tuttle and it is believed to be the only major American city founded by a woman.
• Miami Beach is largely made-made so its beaches have to be frequently replenished.
• There are more than 800 buildings with Art Deco architecture in Miami Beach.
• Port Miami is the busiest cruise ship port in the world, gaining it the nickname ‘Cruise Capital of the World’.
• The first Burger King opened in Miami in 1954 and the first Whopper burger sold for 37 cents.