Miami is a beach town with a swamp, a reef and Havana next door.
Which airboat ride actually reaches open sawgrass, what a Millionaire’s Row cruise costs, and whether Key West is worth eight hours on a coach. Reviews of the tours you can book from Miami.
Cuban coffee on Calle Ocho, a gator, Biscayne Bay and the Keys reef.
Four days out that most first trips to Miami are built around, with what each one costs.
01Calle Ocho, on footLittle Havana Food and Walking Tour in MiamiCroquetas, guava pastries and a cafecito at a ventanita, then dominoes in Máximo Gómez Park. Come with an empty stomach.
02The sawgrassEverglades National Park Airboat Tour & Wildlife ShowAn airboat out across the River of Grass, then a gator handler at the park. Half a day, west on the Tamiami Trail.
03On Biscayne BayBiscayne Bay Millionaire’s Homes Sightseeing CruiseStar Island and Fisher Island mansions from the water, with the Brickell skyline behind you. Ninety minutes, not much money.
04Down the KeysHalf Day Snorkel Trip on Reefs in the Florida KeysThe only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States, an hour south of the city. Mask and fins on the boat.
Biscayne Bay has a boat for every budget. Pick yours.
Half the reason to come to Miami is the water between the city and the beach. Five ways onto it, and what it costs to step aboard each one.
1
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · Biscayne Bay Millionaire’s Homes Sightseeing Cruise · from $20
Millionaire’s RowStar Island mansions from the deck, about ninety minutes.
Sunset cruisesThe skyline going pink, a drink in your hand.
Private yachtsYour own captain, a sandbar stop, your own playlist.
Jet skisHalf an hour of spray across the open bay.
Reef snorkellingClear water over the reef off Key Largo.
All 251 boat trips around Miami →
Forty minutes west of Miami, the city stops and the sawgrass starts.
The River of Grass runs south from Lake Okeechobee in a sheet of water inches deep. Most airboat rides run on the sawgrass just outside the national park boundary, and nearly all of them end with an alligator.
- 1Everglades Airboat, Wildlife Show & Bus Transferfrom $49
- 2Everglades National Park Airboat Tour & Wildlife Showfrom $42
- 3Everglades Small-Group Tour from Miami with Transportationfrom $82
Miami by neighbourhood, from Ocean Drive to the Fort Lauderdale canals.
The barrier island and its pastel hotels, the Cuban streets west of the river, a warehouse district covered in paint, the bay off Brickell, and two cities up the coast. Six places to start, and the best day out in each.
The Miami tours more people book than any other.
Every Miami tour we have reviewed →The day trips and cruises that fill first, and what each one gives you for the money.
1
Little Havana Food and Walking Tour in Miami
Walk Calle Ocho with a local guide, stopping for Cuban snacks, coffee, juice, and a full-lunch’s worth of tastings. You’ll see Tower Theater, Domino Park, and cigar rollers at Havana Classic Cigar, with stories about Cuban life and Little Havana along the way. Guides have included Toni, Orlando, Mariela, and Ariel. The walk covers about half a mile.
From · $69
Read our review →
2
Everglades Airboat, Wildlife Show & Bus Transfer
from $49
3
Biscayne Bay Millionaire’s Homes Sightseeing Cruise
from $20
4
Everglades National Park Airboat Tour & Wildlife Show
from $42
5
Water Taxi All Day hop-on hop-off Venice of America Boat Tour
from $38
6
Hop-on Hop-off Open-top Bus Tour and Optional Cruise
from $45
7
Speedboat Sightseeing Adventure of Miami
from $45
8
2 hrs Miami Private Boat Tour with Cooler, Ice, Bluetooth Stereo
from $65
What a day out of Miami really costs.
Every tour on the site, grouped by what it costs. A bay cruise costs less than a South Beach brunch.
Bay cruises, Wynwood tickets, hop-on buses and the shorter airboat rides.
Food walks, reef snorkel trips, Key West by coach and the Everglades with hotel pickup.
Private yachts, helicopter flights over the beach and full-day charters.
From Palm Beach to Key West: Miami sits in the middle of the run.
North on I-95 for the Gold Coast cities, south on the Overseas Highway for the Keys. Distances are from downtown Miami.
West Palm Beach
Boca Raton
Fort Lauderdale
Miami
Islamorada
Key WestThree South Florida things you will not find anywhere else.
Plenty of cities have a beach and a skyline. Only this stretch of coast has a whole district of 1930s hotels, a living coral reef offshore and a road that hops island to island for a hundred miles.
South Beach Art Deco
Hundreds of hotels and apartment blocks went up in South Beach in the 1930s and 1940s, all porthole windows, racing stripes and neon. By the 1970s they were due for demolition, until the Miami Design Preservation League fought to have the district listed. The walking tours start where that fight started.
- 1The Official Art Deco Walking Tour by The Miami Design Preservation League★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,580 reviews
- 2Miami South Beach Art Deco Walking Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,039 reviews
- 32-Hour Art Deco Bike Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.6 · 155 reviews
The Florida Reef
Off Key Largo runs the only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States, protected inside John Pennekamp, the country’s first undersea park. The water over the shallow patch reefs is a few metres deep, which is why snorkellers get the same view as divers here.
- 1Half Day Snorkel Trip on Reefs in the Florida Keys★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,699 reviews
- 2Key Largo Two Reef Snorkel Tour – All Snorkel Equipment Included!★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,520 reviews
- 3Key Largo Coral Reef Glass Bottom Boat Adventure★★★★★★★★★★ 4.0 · 1,048 reviews
Key West
The Overseas Highway runs 113 miles across 42 bridges, including the Seven Mile Bridge, before it stops at a painted buoy marking the southernmost point of the continental US. Day trips from Miami spend most of the day on that road, and the views are the reason to go.
- 1Key West Day Trip with Pickup at Selected Hotels★★★★★★★★★★ 4.3 · 2,918 reviews
- 2Key West Day Tour by Motor Coach Bus★★★★★★★★★★ 4.2 · 2,483 reviews
- 3Key West Day Trip from Miami with Activities★★★★★★★★★★ 4.0 · 1,296 reviews
Four Miami bookings that will not wait for you.
Most of this city can be booked the night before from a hotel bar. These four run on fixed departures, timed tickets and weather, and none of them care when your flight lands.
- 01Key West Day Trip with Pickup at Selected HotelsCoaches leave Miami early and spend close to four hours each way on the Overseas Highway. There is one departure a day and no later one to catch.from $39
- 02Wynwood Walls Skip-the-Line TicketThe Walls are a gated, ticketed garden now, with entry by time slot. Weekend afternoon slots go first.from $12
- 03Half Day Snorkel Trip on Reefs in the Florida KeysReef boats out of Key Largo run a few fixed departures a day and stay in port when the wind is up. Book the morning boat and keep the afternoon spare.from $75
- 04The Official Art Deco Walking Tour by The Miami Design Preservation LeagueThe Preservation League’s walk sets off from the Art Deco Welcome Center on Ocean Drive at a fixed morning time. Arrive late and the group has gone.from $40
Miami’s afternoon thunderstorm keeps a timetable. Plan around it.
From May to October the clouds build over the Everglades through the day and break over the city in the mid-afternoon, then clear for sunset. Put the boat, the reef and the airboat in the morning, and keep the afternoon for places with a roof: a Cuban lunch that runs long, a museum on the bay, a gallery in Wynwood.
By place, from the Palm Beaches to the Keys
Miami by kind of day: boat, airboat, food or flight
Our newest Miami tour reviews.
Every review added lately →
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Adults Only Party Cruise with Two Drinks Included
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Everglades Alligator Airboat Tour with Bus transfer from Miami
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Everglades Wildlife Tour: Airboat & Alligator Habitat Experience
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Everglades Express From Miami with Safari Airboat Ride
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Everglades at Night with Airboat and Alligators Tour From Miami
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Everglades Airboat Tour with Roundtrip Transportation from Miami
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