The holidays are coming and we're all making plans. If Miami is on your bucket list, here's our top recommendations after we recently found ourselves in Miami for a few days. So, what's worth adding to your Miami ToDo, if you only have a short time?
Breakfast and a walk down South Beach's Art Deco District (Time Required: 1 - 2 hours)
If you visit Miami, of course you have to visit the famous art deco strip of Miami Beach. A busy party strip at night, and maybe we're showing our age, but we much prefered a morning walk down the strip to get our daily steps in, followed up with breakfast and coffee people watching. If a little more time and it's appealing, do the "Art Deco Tour". Be prepared the Versace Mansion is a little underwhelming and who knew it had party bars banked up on either side these days!
Beach Time - South Beach (Time Required: 10 minutes)
You need to stand on a beach if you come to Miami, even if for a few moments and South Beach offers the quintessential Miami experience and better still, it's free. The most scenic part is the southernmost section, around Lummus Park, which runs along Ocean Drive from 5th to 15th streets.
The Miami Hop On Hop Off Bus (Time Required: 2.5 hours)
When we're short of time and want to see a new city, we always try the Hop On Hop Off bus as a great way to orientate and to see as much of a place as we can. The main loop is about 2 and a half hours and you get to see much of the key landmarks in the city including Little Havana, Miami Beach, Downtown Miami and the Design District.
Celebrity Homes Boat Tour (Time Required: 2 hours)
Miami is home to a lot of big celebrities, who either have their primary or secondary home here. If you want to see some serious mansion candy, we recommend doing the Celebrity Homes Boat Tour - lots of companies offer this trip and it's quick and easy to pick up.
Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden (Time Required: 1-2 hours)
Spanning nearly 84 acres, these Botanical gardens are filled with tropical plants, flowers, and trees, including extremely rare species like the petticoat palm. Every square inch of the gardens is carefully designed and constructed. If you're limited for time, hop on one of the 30-minute tram tours, which run year-round, twice an hour.
Raccoon Island (Time Required: 2 hours)
No-one seems to know why, but in North Miami there is an island filled with raccoons. You can reach the island by boat or kayak and it's a fun thing to do for an hour. The raccoons are all very tame and used to their daily feeds of watermelon and other and we fell straight in llove
Wynwood Walls (Time Required: 30 minutes)
If you do the hop on hop off bus, you'll pass through, but if a little more time, do visit Miami's most Instagrammed place, Wynwood Walls. This is an outdoor "gallery" of artwork by graffiti artists and muralists that spreads across warehouses and shop exteriors. It can be a quick stop as it will only take about twenty minutes to hit all the art at Wynwood Walls, including murals by Shepard Fairey (the artist who designed Obama's "Hope" poster). There is now a ticket policy where adult admission is $12, students are $5 and children under 12 are free.
See a crocodile (Time Required: 5 hours)
If you want to visit the iconic Everglades and see a crocodile and plenty of nature, then you need to allow 5 hours really with travel time. The experience is worth it, if you have the time.
A Quick Shop at Brickell City Centre Mall (Time Required: 1 hour)
Of course, a bit of retail therapy is always needed when we come to the US. There are plenty of mall and shopping options in the city, but a good new central option filled with all our favourites and some great dining options is Brickell City Centre.
Dinner in Brickell (Time Required: 2 hours)
There are plenty of options for dinner in Miami as you'd expect, but the city area of Brickell is filled with all the trendy and must dine in eateries. For great food and bar options, head to central Brickell.
We flew direct to Miami with Emirates which takes 15 hours, 50 minutes. Explore all that is on offer in Florida, book a Carribean Cruise or use it as a hub stop into the wider US.