Miami: your first hour after landing
You have landed where the Caribbean starts — Spanish at the coffee window, art deco on Ocean Drive, and water warm enough to swim in most of the year. It covers the landing, then South Beach, Wynwood and Little Havana, the Everglades and the drive down the Keys.
In this guide
You just landed in Miami. The airport sits minutes from downtown: Metrorail rides are $2.25 and the Route 150 bus runs straight to South Beach. Sort your Airalo eSIM before you land, and book an Everglades airboat day — the wild side of Miami fills up fast in season.
Quick facts
Airport
Getting in
Currency
Languages
Time zone
Emergency
Plugs
Tap water
Tourist tax
Best months
Map
Stays, sights, and landmarks in Miami — live hotel prices plus the key places from this guide.
Settle in
1. Get connected
International visitors should sort data before landing: an Airalo eSIM works across the US, and Saily is a good alternative. Miami runs on apps — rideshares, Brightline tickets, restaurant queues — and MIA's free Wi-Fi only gets you so far.
2. Set up your transit tap
Metrorail and Metrobus take contactless cards and phones at the gate for the $2.25 fare, with a daily cap of $5.65, or buy a reloadable EASY Card at the airport station for $2. The Metrorail never crosses to Miami Beach — expect to mix rail, the free Metromover and buses.
3. Eat something Cuban
Your first meal should be a Cuban sandwich and a cortadito from a ventanita window — see Where to eat first. It costs a few dollars, takes five minutes and teaches you how this city runs.
4. Walk Ocean Drive at golden hour
The Art Deco hotels glow, the lifeguard towers turn pink and the strip slows down before the nightlife shift.
Getting around
Times are airport to city centre.
Metrorail Orange Line to Downtown
Free MIA Mover from the terminal to Miami Airport Station, then direct trains to Government Center on weekdays. On weekends the airport leg runs as a shuttle to Earlington Heights, where you change trains. No service between about midnight and 5am.
Route 150 Airport Express bus to Miami Beach
The budget route to the Beach, from the Miami Intermodal Center beside the airport station, stopping along Collins and Washington Avenues. About every 30 minutes, 6am to 11:40pm.
Uber / Lyft rideshare
Door to door from the signed Ride App Pickup zone on the arrivals level. Prices surge hard during Art Basel, spring break and downpours — check the fare before you confirm.
Taxi
Miami's old flat airport fares were abolished in 2022 — every trip runs on the meter, with a $15 minimum from the airport. Expect roughly $35–45 to South Beach in normal traffic. Use the official taxi stand; decline unofficial offers inside the terminal.
The airport sits close in, so every way into town is quick. The choice that matters is your destination: Downtown and Brickell are a straight rail shot, while Miami Beach is a causeway crossing that no train makes.
The Metromover loops Downtown and Brickell fare-free and links Metrorail, PAMM and the Brightline station. Miami Beach's trolley is also free and runs the length of the island. Metrorail and Metrobus cover the mainland at $2.25 with contactless tap-to-pay. Brightline leaves MiamiCentral — beside Government Center — for Fort Lauderdale in about 35 minutes, West Palm Beach and Orlando in about three and a half hours; Tri-Rail commuter trains from Miami Airport Station reach Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach for under $10. Driving is the least fun visitor option: causeway traffic, pricey Beach parking and tow-happy enforcement. Late arrival or a cruise with the family in tow? Welcome Pickups runs fixed-price transfers from MIA to Downtown, the Beach and PortMiami.
In the city
Start with the free Miami.
South Beach's Art Deco district is an open-air museum: walk Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue between 5th and 23rd Streets for the pastel hotels, then Lummus Park and the painted lifeguard towers on the sand. Lincoln Road's pedestrian mall and the Beachwalk north to Mid-Beach cost nothing but time.
Do the two great interiors.
Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, a 1916 Italianate villa on Biscayne Bay in Coconut Grove, is $25 for adults — currently $20 while restoration work runs — right at Vizcaya Metrorail station. Across the bay in Museum Park, the Pérez Art Museum Miami charges $18 and is free on Thursday evenings after 5pm. Book Vizcaya and PAMM tickets on Tiqets
Ride Wynwood slowly.
The Walls are the headline, but the whole district is the artwork — warehouse after warehouse of murals along NW 2nd Avenue. Two wheels suit it: rent a bike through BikesBooking and roll from Wynwood down to the Venetian Causeway for the classic bay view.
Give Little Havana an afternoon.
Calle Ocho — SW 8th Street — is dominoes at Máximo Gómez Park, cigar rollers in the windows, salsa spilling out of Ball and Chain and a cafecito every block. Free to wander and best on foot with no schedule.
Book the wild day.
The Everglades start forty minutes west. If you want the planning done for you, Klook runs Miami city and bay tours or book an Everglades airboat tour and let a captain find the alligators.
Where to stay your first nights
The Setai, Miami Beach.
Best for South Beach luxury2001 Collins Ave, Miami Beach. A serene, Asian-inspired tower behind a 1930s Art Deco façade: three temperature-controlled pools, a private stretch of beach and the calmest service on Collins. The splurge that feels like a retreat from South Beach rather than the middle of it.
Kimpton EPIC Hotel.
Best for Brickell and downtown270 Biscayne Blvd Way, Downtown. Bay-view rooms, two rooftop pools and the Metromover at the door. Downtown costs less than the Beach, eats better — Brickell is next door — and splits the difference between Wynwood, Little Havana and the causeway to South Beach.
Freehand Miami.
Best for Miami Beach on a budget2727 Indian Creek Dr, Miami Beach. A hostel in a restored Art Deco hotel one block from the sand, with dorms and private rooms around a courtyard pool and the Broken Shaker, one of the city's best cocktail bars, in the garden. Free bikes and beach gear seal it.
Where to eat first
Versailles Restaurant — the Cuban institution.
Map → 3555 SW 8th St, Little Havana. The self-declared world's most famous Cuban restaurant has fed exile politics and family dinners since 1971. Order ropa vieja or a Cuban sandwich, then a cortadito at the La Ventanita coffee window outside.
Joe's Stone Crab — the South Beach legend.
Map → 11 Washington Ave, South Beach. Selling seafood since 1913 and stone crab claws with mustard sauce — the season runs mid-October to May, and the dining room takes no reservations, so expect a wait or go at lunch. Finish with the key lime pie.
Coyo Taco — Wynwood's taco counter.
Map → 2300 NW 2nd Ave, Wynwood. Hand-pressed tortillas, al pastor off the trompo and guacamole made fresh all day, with a speakeasy bar hidden out back.
Order — a medianoche.
The Cuban sandwich's softer, sweeter sibling on egg bread — the late-night order that gave it its name.
Order — stone crab while it is in season.
Claws arrive chilled and pre-cracked; dip, don't drown. Outside the mid-October to May season, switch to whatever the chalkboard calls the local catch.
Skip — the Ocean Drive photo-menu traps.
Hosts waving laminated menus, giant two-for-one drinks and service charges already baked into the bill. Walk one block to Collins or Washington for better food at honest prices.
Day trips and more
Miami is a hub as much as a destination: the Keys run south, the Everglades west and Brightline north. Big-ticket days sell out in season — Everglades experiences and Zoo Miami tickets on Tiqets are worth locking in before you fly.
Everglades airboat and Shark Valley
Airboats skim the sawgrass from operators along the Tamiami Trail just outside the park; inside it, the Shark Valley tram rolls a 15-mile loop past alligators and wading birds. Park entry is $35 per vehicle for seven days; since January 2026, non-US residents aged 16 and over also pay a $100 per-person surcharge — budget for it.
Check availability →
Key West day trip
One hundred and sixty miles down the Overseas Highway, over 42 bridges, to the end of the road: the Southernmost Point buoy, Hemingway's house, Duval Street and sunset at Mallory Square. About three and a half hours each way — a long, glorious day, or the excuse for a night away.
Check availability →
Wynwood Walls art district
The outdoor museum that turned a warehouse district into Miami's creative heart: forty-plus murals and sculptures inside the Walls for around $12 admission, and block after block of free street art beyond the gate. Pair it with Coyo Taco and the Design District next door.
Check availability →Staying longer? Brightline makes Fort Lauderdale's Las Olas a 35-minute evening out. Coral Gables adds the Venetian Pool and the Biltmore's tower, Biscayne National Park runs boat trips to the stilt houses of Stiltsville, and the ferry from Key West reaches Dry Tortugas National Park and Fort Jefferson given a full extra day.
When to go and what it costs
December to April is the season: highs in the seventies and low eighties Fahrenheit, low humidity, almost no rain — and peak prices to match. Early December's Art Basel and Miami Art Week spike hotel rates city-wide, and March adds spring break. May and November are the shoulder sweet spots. June to November is hurricane season: hotter, wetter, cheaper, with a real storm risk and daily afternoon downpours — if a storm or an airline meltdown wrecks your flights, AirHelp can pursue compensation for serious delays and cancellations. Summer sargassum sometimes piles onto the beach; the city rakes daily, and bay-side and northern beaches often stay clearer.
Daily budgets: budget travellers in a hostel with ventanita lunches and transit days land around $100–150; mid-range, with a Downtown hotel, one paid sight and a proper dinner, runs $250–400; South Beach in season, with resort fees and Joe's on the itinerary, passes $700 a day.
What to pack
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Pack for heat, water and sudden rain.
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Language, visa and entry
! Check visa requirements before you fly
Miami speaks two languages at once. Spanish is the mother tongue of the majority of the county. English is universal in hotels, sights and transport, and nobody expects visitors to arrive fluent — but a greeting and a thank-you in Spanish are noticed and warmly received.
Tipping is the other local language: 18 to 20 percent in restaurants, a dollar or two per drink at bars, and a few dollars for hotel housekeeping each day. Check the bill first — some Miami Beach restaurants add a service charge automatically, and there is no need to tip twice.
Entry follows standard US rules. Citizens of Visa Waiver Program countries apply online for an ESTA before travelling, only through the official CBP site at esta.cbp.dhs.gov — copycat sites charge far more. The ESTA fee rose from $21 to $40.62 across late 2025 and October 2026; an approval lasts two years and covers stays of up to 90 days. Everyone else needs a B1/B2 visitor visa arranged through a US embassy in advance — interview waits can be long, so start early. Your passport must be valid for your whole stay, and many nationalities need six months of validity beyond the trip — check the expiry date before you book, and expect a customs declaration on arrival at MIA.
Safety and health
Heat and sun
Heat indexes pass 100°F in summer, with humidity that stops sweat working. Sightsee early, take midday indoors or in the water, drink far more than you think you need, and treat dizziness or nausea as a stop signal. Reapply sunscreen after every swim.
Ocean safety and rip currents
Swim near a lifeguard stand and read its flags: green is calm, yellow is caution, red means hazardous water, purple warns of stinging marine life. If a rip current pulls you out, do not fight it — swim parallel to the beach until it releases you, then angle back in. Shuffle your feet in the shallows to warn off stingrays.
Hurricane season
Hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30, peaking from mid-August to October. Keep bookings refundable in those months, watch the National Hurricane Center forecast before you fly, and follow local instructions without debate if a storm approaches. Summer thunderstorms bring serious lightning too — when thunder roars, get indoors and wait the half hour out.
Cars and beach theft
Rental-car break-ins are Miami's classic visitor crime: never leave bags, electronics or anything valuable visible in a parked car, especially at beaches, Everglades trailheads and Wynwood lots. Take valuables with you or leave them at the hotel; lock phones away while you swim and use a waterproof pouch, not a towel pile, as your safe.
Related destinations
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Frequently asked questions
The facts that matter after you land in Miami.
Verified against Miami-Dade Transit, MIA and county sources, October 2026.
The Miami Beach Bus (Route 150) runs from the airport transit hub straight to South Beach - the cheapest ride in town.
Taxis and rideshares take 20-35 minutes depending on causeway traffic.
A single ride is $2.25, and the EASY Card caps daily spending.
The Metromover loop downtown is free and the best way to cross the centre.
About 13% in Miami and 14% in Miami Beach - a 7% sales stack plus county tourist taxes, with the Beach swapping in its own 4% resort tax.
Resort fees are separate and common on the Beach - check the full total.
Yes - Brightline runs from MiamiCentral to Orlando in about 3.5 hours, fares from around $79.
Book ahead; weekend trains sell out.
Yes. Miami tap water is safe.
Refill before beach days - the heat index does the damage, not the water.
December to April is dry, warm and storm-free - and priced like it.
June to November is hurricane season with daily summer downpours; Art Basel lands in early December and spikes the whole city.
Metrorail and Metromover rides $2.25 with a daily cap; hotel tax about 13% in Miami and 14% in Miami Beach; tap water safe; Type A/B sockets at 120V; ESTA $40 for Visa Waiver visitors.
Miami, in your pocket
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Sources and last verified
Fares, fees and hours verified October 2026 against Miami-Dade Transit (Metrorail and Metrobus fares, EASY Card and daily cap), MIA's ground transport pages, Miami-Dade County taxi rules (metered fares and the $15 airport minimum), Miami-Dade County Tax Collector and Florida Department of Revenue hotel tax schedules, US Customs and Border Protection's ESTA fee notices, National Park Service Everglades entrance fees including the 2026 non-resident surcharge, and the official sites of Vizcaya, Pérez Art Museum Miami and Wynwood Walls. Found something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.
Affiliate disclosure: hotel names, transfers, experiences, and products linked in this guide may earn After You Land a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices and times were checked in Oct 2026 and change often — confirm before you book.