Things to Do in Miami

margalita4 · Jul 1, 2014

Hi Everyone,

We will be going to Miami in mid-July with our kids (18, 15, 8) for 1 week and will be staying at the Marriott Villas at Doral. I have not been to Miami since I was a kid so I'd like to ask for suggestions on things to do/sites to see to please almost everyone in this family. We plan to visit South Beach, Key Biscaye, Vizcaya Museums & Garden (will have to see about this one, might be too hot or too boring for the kids), Jungle Island, some sort of speedboat ride. It looks like there's a Publix near the Marriott Villas so we can buy groceries for the week. We're also open to restaurant suggestions near the villa that are not too expensive. Also, we'll have a rental car but what's the best way to get around.

We'll also take a drive to Key Largo and spending 2 days there since it's so close to Miami. Will be staying at the Hilton Key Largo. Read there are plenty of watersports on site--kids are excited about that. So if we don't venture out, there will be plenty to do on site at the hotel.

Thank you!

chriskre · Jul 1, 2014

margalita4 said:
Hi Everyone,

We will be going to Miami in mid-July with our kids (18, 15, 8) for 1 week and will be staying at the Marriott Villas at Doral. I have not been to Miami since I was a kid so I'd like to ask for suggestions on things to do/sites to see to please almost everyone in this family. We plan to visit South Beach, Key Biscaye, Vizcaya Museums & Garden (will have to see about this one, might be too hot or too boring for the kids), Jungle Island, some sort of speedboat ride. It looks like there's a Publix near the Marriott Villas so we can buy groceries for the week. We're also open to restaurant suggestions near the villa that are not too expensive. Also, we'll have a rental car but what's the best way to get around.

We'll also take a drive to Key Largo and spending 2 days there since it's so close to Miami. Will be staying at the Hilton Key Largo. Read there are plenty of watersports on site--kids are excited about that. So if we don't venture out, there will be plenty to do on site at the hotel.

Thank you!

A car is almost a must in Miami.
There are some hop on hop off buses now and free trolleys but you will still need to park to ride from Doral.
I don't think any of those services go to Doral. They are mostly Miami Beach, City of Miami and City of Coral Gables/Coconut Grove.
http://eng.bigbustours.com/miami/home.html

The free trolleys are here:
http://www.miamigov.com/trolley/index.html
They are not necessarily for tourists but for locals but nobody is going to ask.

Maybe you could include a day at Venetian Pool. It's a historic landmark that the kids can enjoy. http://www.citybeautiful.net/index.aspx?page=338

For Cuban Food (a must) I recommend Sergio's
They have one in Doral now.
http://www.sergios.com/

Shorty's BBQ is pretty good and is now in Doral.
http://www.shortys.com/

On Key Biscayne they can do kite surfing at the public beach Crandon Park.
http://www.miamikiteboarding.com/

You could do a day cruise to the Bahamas which is fun.
There is now a ferry to Bimini which has some beautiful beaches and up close marine encounters right on the docks.
http://rwbimini.com/

Vizcaya is beautiful but the kids will be bored and it's hot this time of year.

I haven't done the boat tours since we own our own boat.
http://www.speedboattours.com/

The museum of Science has a Planetarium with night time viewing on the rooftop.
http://www.miamisci.org/

margalita4 · Jul 2, 2014

Chriskre - Thank you so much for your very helpful suggestions and the links!! Venetian Pool is now a "must visit." I would not have known about it otherwise. Thanks for the restaurant suggestions as well.

chriskre · Jul 2, 2014

margalita4 said:
Chriskre - Thank you so much for your very helpful suggestions and the links!! Venetian Pool is now a "must visit." I would not have known about it otherwise. Thanks for the restaurant suggestions as well.

Glad to help.
Venetian Pool can be done in place of Vizcaya til the kids are older.

Joe33426 · Jul 2, 2014

I recommend the Miami Metro Zoo for the kids. It's a nice zoo and it's cheap. If you get there early in the morning and rent those pedal bikes and it won't be too hot. If you go in the afternoon, it's gonna be hot anywhere in S. Florida. I don't have any teenage kids, but when my niece used to visit this was a destination she liked. She also liked to visit Bayside in Miami which is a popular tourist spot and I think that there is live entertainment on fri/sat nights. We've done the speed boat thing out of Bayside and I also think that they have some harbor cruises and other stuff. There is dining and shopping at Bayside too.

chriskre · Jul 2, 2014

Joe33426 said:
I recommend the Miami Metro Zoo for the kids. It's a nice zoo and it's cheap. If you get there early in the morning and rent those pedal bikes and it won't be too hot. If you go in the afternoon, it's gonna be hot anywhere in S. Florida. I don't have any teenage kids, but when my niece used to visit this was a destination she liked. She also liked to visit Bayside in Miami which is a popular tourist spot and I think that there is live entertainment on fri/sat nights. We've done the speed boat thing out of Bayside and I also think that they have some harbor cruises and other stuff. There is dining and shopping at Bayside too.

If you are going to Bayside check out Los Ranchos.
Another great Miami restaurant.
http://www.beststeakinmiami.com/

margalita4 · Jul 2, 2014

Great Suggestions!

Hi Chris & Joe,

I'll add Bayside to our itinerary. Looks like a cool, touristy place to visit. Reminds me of Baltimore Inner Harbor. Getting excited about my trip! :cheer:

pedro47 · Jul 2, 2014

Go to the major league ball park.

MULTIZ321 · Jul 2, 2014

Hi Margalita,

If you look under Tug Resort Regions, open the US-Florida link. At the top of the US-Florida Webpage you will see two 'Sticky' links: 'SE FL Website Links' and 'SW FL Website Links'. Click on the 'SE FL Website Links' and you will get a lot of suggestions of things to do in greater Miami (Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties).

To save you some time here is the SE FL Website Links

The list was compiled by the late KenK - RIP Ken. Some of the info is outdated
but overall you will find it very helpful.

Have a great trip.

Richard

mhernandez0421 · Jul 2, 2014

Hi,

I was born and raised in Miami and I am sure I can help you out.

Food - You need to try cuban food. If you are I suggest a very famous and authentic cuban restaurant called Versailles. http://www.versaillesrestaurant.com or La Carreta http://lacarreta.com

Culture - Besides South Beach. If you really want to experience Miami I suggest driving by Calle Ocho (http://calleocho.com) and Wynwood.

Attractions:

www.zoomiami.org/ ( for kids)
http://www.pamm.org
http://www.miamichildrensmuseum.org ( for kids)
http://www.jungleisland.com
http://www.miccosukee.com/indian_village ( a must to see an experience the everglades)
http://lincolnroadmall.com ( In South Beach)
http://www.coralgables.com/index.aspx?page=167

You will be in Doral and this is West of the City of Miami and the Beaches. I highly recommend renting a car. A taxi will be far too expensive.

Have fun and I hope you enjoy the beautiful city!

:wave:

margalita4 · Jul 3, 2014

Thank you!

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for all the links and information! More than enough for us to do for a week. Looking forward to trying these restaurants and they're not expensive which is a big plus!

b2bailey · Jul 13, 2014

MIA airport can be very difficult at times...

We recently had a very difficult time at MIA. We flew United, so the terminal may have had something to do with it. Our flight landed at 6:00 pm. After starting our walk to baggage claim I noticed it was going to be a VERY LONG walk, probably more than my disabled husband could handle. I looked around for a United person to request a wheelchair. No one in site. Literally, as we proceeded to walk it was like an 'airport ghost-town'. I then tried to use the phone to reach a human and request a wheelchair. Could only reach a recording. The trip to reach the Rental Car Train was exhausting, even with help. Then, problems with the Hertz people. We left in our rental car at 8:30 pm.

I hesitated to write this, but after looking at reviews on Google I see that many others have written negative comments about MIA.

My purpose is to just give you a 'heads up' to be prepared -- perhaps study a map of the terminal in advance. Your kids are old enough to help themselves, but I could imagine a family with small children and lots of luggage could have a struggle like we did.

silentg · Jul 13, 2014

We stayed at Doral a couple of times, during business trips with my husband. The resort itself is beautiful. They have a family pool and also an adult pool. Our son lived in the area and came over to visit. There is a large lounge area with tables that we used to play board games and eat our take out lunch from McDonalds. I heard the resort was sold to Marriott so we are not staying there for business trips anymore, and our son moved out of Miami, so I do not have a reason to visit. But just the same, it is a nice place!
TerryC

margalita4 · Jul 14, 2014

b2bailey,
Thanks for the heads up. We're actually flying into the Ft. Lauderdale Airport. Hope it's not as crazy as the Miami Airport. We'll be picking up a rental car there. I also hope the drive to Miami from the Airport is manageable. I heard that traffic can be bad in Miami, especially during rush hours.

chriskre · Jul 14, 2014

margalita4 said:
b2bailey,
Thanks for the heads up. We're actually flying into the Ft. Lauderdale Airport. Hope it's not as crazy as the Miami Airport. We'll be picking up a rental car there. I also hope the drive to Miami from the Airport is manageable. I heard that traffic can be bad in Miami, especially during rush hours.

Ft. Lauderdale airport is much easier than MIA but if you come during traffic hour then use the speed lanes on I-95, there is a toll by plate charge.

It actually won't be too bad going south during traffic until you hit the 836 west ramp where the downtown traffic backlog begins going west. Doral is West of the airport so you may sit in an hour or so of stop and go. Maybe longer if there is an accident.

There is alot of construction when you finally get to the 836/826 ramps and you need to really pay attention to the signage and lettering painted on the roads as it's very confusing. I even get in the wrong lanes and I go by there weekly. Seems every week they are re-routing us again. :annoyed: I'd stay on the 836 going west instead of trying to go north on 826. Not sure how the GPS will route you but you can get off on NW 87th Ave. from 836 and just go north to Doral. It's near the Wal-Mart and you'll be in Doral quicker than going north on 826. Good luck to you. Miami really isn't too bad if you avoid our peak traffic hours. Don't leave Doral in the morning until after 9:30 or 10:00 am and then don't return home before 7:00 pm or later and you'll be just fine.

Eat dinner outside of Doral wherever you happen to find yourself. Miami is a foodie heaven. Be adventurous and use the yelp app to find some local jewels. We have lots of them. Mostly latin food though, but every latin american country you can think of is here in Miami. And don't miss Pollo Tropical. Best Cuban fast food at a cheap price around. They even have drive thru.

MULTIZ321 · Jul 14, 2014

chriskre said:
Ft. Lauderdale airport is much easier than MIA but if you come during traffic hour then use the speed lanes on I-95, there is a toll by plate charge.

It actually won't be too bad going south during traffic until you hit the 836 west ramp where the downtown traffic backlog begins going west. Doral is West of the airport so you may sit in an hour or so of stop and go. Maybe longer if there is an accident.

There is alot of construction when you finally get to the 836/826 ramps and you need to really pay attention to the signage and lettering painted on the roads as it's very confusing. I even get in the wrong lanes and I go by there weekly. Seems every week they are re-routing us again. :annoyed: I'd stay on the 836 going west instead of trying to go north on 826. Not sure how the GPS will route you but you can get off on NW 87th Ave. from 836 and just go north to Doral. It's near the Wal-Mart and you'll be in Doral quicker than going north on 826. Good luck to you. Miami really isn't too bad if you avoid our peak traffic hours. Don't leave Doral in the morning until after 9:30 or 10:00 am and then don't return home before 7:00 pm or later and you'll be just fine.

Eat dinner outside of Doral wherever you happen to find yourself. Miami is a foodie heaven. Be adventurous and use the yelp app to find some local jewels. We have lots of them. Mostly latin food though, but every latin american country you can think of is here in Miami. And don't miss Pollo Tropical. Best Cuban fast food at a cheap price around. They even have drive thru.

Hi Margalita,

Here's an alternative route to consider that timewise may be slightly longer because of traffic lights but won't give you the hassles with making proper freeway connections, and being in the proper lane, and dealing with construction.

When you leave FLL you will be getting on I595 heading west. You go a short distance, probably less than 2 miles, and exit to I95 heading south to Miami.
Travel south on I95 to the N.W. 36th street exit (N.W. 36th Street West exit). Proceed west on N.W. 36th street to N.W. 87th Avenue. Turn Left and head north on N.W. 87th Ave for one block to N.W. 41 Street. Turn Right on N.W. 41st Street on the Marriott's Villas at Doral will be a short distance on your left. Check this route out on maps.google.com and see if it's to your liking.

Whatever route you take, enjoy your trip.

Richard

margalita4 · Jul 16, 2014

Thanks for warning about construction. Will pass it along to my husband as he'll be driving. Will be using our own GPS to get around. We'll be landing in Ft. Lauderdale at 3:55 pm on a Friday. Guess it'll be the start of rush hour traffic. Hope it won't take that long to get to Marriott Villas in Doral.

chriskre · Jul 16, 2014

margalita4 said:
Thanks for warning about construction. Will pass it along to my husband as he'll be driving. Will be using our own GPS to get around. We'll be landing in Ft. Lauderdale at 3:55 pm on a Friday. Guess it'll be the start of rush hour traffic. Hope it won't take that long to get to Marriott Villas in Doral.

If you get off at NW 36th from I-95 during the day you'd be okay but I wouldn't want to take that road at night. Goes straight thru the hood if you know what I mean.

Things to Do in Miami

margalita4

chriskre

margalita4

chriskre

Joe33426

TUG Review Crew: Veteran

chriskre

margalita4

pedro47

TUG Review Crew: Expert

MULTIZ321

mhernandez0421

margalita4

b2bailey

TUG Review Crew

silentg

TUG Review Crew: Expert

margalita4

chriskre

MULTIZ321

margalita4

chriskre