Palm trees, ocean breeze, salty air and endless sunshine – that’s Miami for you! 🙂

Life in Miami is powered by the sun. It is blessed with warm weather all year round. A city filled with picture perfect beaches, hip urban culture and laid-back seaside vibes, there’s really not much to complain. 😀 Everyday is beach day in Miami! 🙂

Miami is also known as ‘Magic city’. It boasts a unique and exciting mix of Latin and American traditions. I have been to Miami 4 times now and each time we have explored different parts of the city. There’s so much to see that one visit would not be enough. 

Based on how much we have seen till date, the following are my recommendations for your next vacation to the Magic City! 😀

Things to Do and See

There’s way more to do in Miami than one could ever possibly list! From catching a concert or a Miami Heat game at the American Airlines Arena to sunning yourself on the shores of Miami Beach, there’s something for everyone here. Leaving aside the obvious, here are the things every traveler should do while visiting Miami:

Walk down Ocean Drive

When you think about Miami, you think about beautiful art deco buildings made famous by Miami Vice. Ocean Drive is home to some 800 such buildings mostly built between the 1920s and the 1940s. Picking up Ocean Drive from 5th Street should put you right in the heart of things. Also, who can forget the incredible flash mob dance shown on this very road in Step up Revolution! 🙂 I absolutely loved the vibe of this street and highly recommend you to take a walk down Ocean Drive.

Visit the picture perfect beaches of Miami

Now if you are already on Ocean Drive, heading over to the beach is an absolute necessity! 😀 There are only a few beaches in the world that can compete with Miami’s beautiful sandy shores. Best place to people watch and just walk around the pristine coastline.

Pay a visit to Miami Seaquarium

Ask anyone who’s visited or lived in Miami, and they’ll tell you to visit the Miami Seaquarium. 😀 In addition to regular aquarium-style exhibits, they also have a variety of shows to watch, from those involving dolphins to even killer whales. You can even sign up for a swimming with the dolphins experience, which some say is really incredible!

Visit Jungle Island

I had not even heard about Jungle Island before my husband mentioned it on one of our visits to Miami. We made a plan on the go and decided to pay a visit to this place. And we really loved it! 🙂 We got to see so many beautiful birds and animals here that we previously hadn’t had a chance of seeing. We got a chance to learn so much about different species and also saw a few bird shows along the way! It was a super fun day and I highly recommend you to pay a visit the next time you are in Miami.

Go on a Cruise 

Going on a cruise has kind of become our thing! 😛 We have been to multiple cities and cruises till date and thoroughly enjoy this experience every single time. The Miami cruise takes you around various islands along the coast and the captain also shows you various celebrity owned homes and islands along the way. It was a nice experience and should definitely not be missed.

Explore the vibrant Bayside Marketplace at Biscayne Boulevard

Most cruises start and end at Bayside Marketplace and since we had opted for a sunset cruise, we got off here at sunset and spent a whole evening. You can grab a bite to eat, shop around, people watch and listen to live music. This place especially comes alive after sundown and we thoroughly enjoyed exploring this place couple of times during our stay!

Where to Eat and Drink

When you’re visiting Miami, you’re going to spend a lot of time walking through the Art Deco District and sunning yourself on its pristine beaches. But all that walking, sunning and swimming will work up your appetite! 😀 Thankfully, Miami has an amazing food scene, so you’ll never have a shortage of options.

We particularly loved restaurants on Ocean Drive and since Miami is quite famous for Cuban cuisine, you should definitely check out Little Havana as well. Biscayne Boulevard also has multiple foodie options but we felt Ocean Drive was the best since it has something for everybody! 🙂

Where to Stay

Being one of the hottest travel destinations in America and possibly the entire world, Miami has no shortage of places to stay. In fact, they say Miami is home to some of the best boutique and luxury hotels in the entire world.

In the city, you’ll find many of the standard hotel and motel options that are usually available throughout the United States. However, I recommend you to try staying at some of those famed boutique hotels that Miami is popular for. You can also rent an apartment in one of those famous high rises that offer wonderful views of the ocean and are also at walking distance from most tourist spots. 

Transportation and How to Get Around

With the exception of its Metromover, they say most of Miami’s public transportation system is largely underutilized. We mostly rent a car since we stay around Fort Lauderdale whenever we visit.

That said, modern conveniences like Uber/Lyft mean that renting a car isn’t as necessary as it once was. In fact, depending upon where you’re staying and what you might want to do, you may not need anything other than your own two feet to get around! 😛

So there you have it… 🙂 Those are some of my recommendations for Miami. It’s obviously based on what I have seen and experienced so far. I’m sure there are a lot more places to see and explore. I have in fact heard so much about ‘Little Havana’ that I’m quite looking forward to paying this place a visit the next time I’m there! 🙂

Hope you guys enjoyed your virtual tour of Miami. 🙂 I would love to hear some suggestions and travel recommendations from you as well.

Until next time…. Keep traveling! 🙂