Miami travel itinerary

On 8th of October, we finally reached our last US destination – Miami. 🙂 This amazing city is mostly known for its hot tropical weather, lively nightlife, Caribbean-style white sand beaches, numerous bays, rivers and canals, Cuban culture, Mojitos and good-looking tanned people. 🙂 But Miami is so much more than that. It’s a major financial, commercial, cultural, entertainment and art center. It is a popular tourist destination, the cruise capital of the world, home to the world’s largest collection of Art Deco architecture and to more than 80 parks and gardens.

Our eleven-day Miami honeymoon itinerary (things to see and things to do)

Because life is slower in the south and because we were tired from all the sightseeing, we decided to slow down our travel pace, to ease up the itinerary and to simply relax.

DAY 1

First, we wanted to enjoy the things Miami is most famous for – warm weather, beautiful beaches, and cocktails and that is exactly what we did. 😉 We set off from South West Miami, where we were staying at the time, to Miami Beach. More than an hour later we arrived at Ocean Drive, the beachfront street in South Beach, known for its colorful architecture, Art Deco hotels, boutiques, popular restaurants and lively bars. After a quick cocktail stop, we went to the beach. Sunshine, palm trees, white sand, turquoise water, and tanned people – welcome to Miami. 🙂

DAY 2

The weather was bad on our second day in Miami, so we decided to visit the Miami Seaquarium – something we would never do again. We are big animal lovers and like many tourists, we were simply excited to see the beautiful orca named Lolita, the dolphins, seals, sea lions, and many other lovely animals. But we didn’t stop to think where do all these animals come from, why are they in captivity, if they really live in the best possible conditions. Now we realize that animal parks often neglect animal welfare. We were ignorant, we acted irresponsibly in supporting a facility like Miami Seaquarium and we are sorry. We urge you not to repeat our mistake and to place your support wisely. Moreover, we’d like to invite you to read about Lolita and her sad story and help PETA retire her and other animals to a seaside sanctuary. Thank you so much!

DAY 3

On our third day, we stayed in our hotel room, rested and well … honeymooned it. 😉

DAY 4

We packed our bags, took all of our luggage and went to Miami Beach. After a few hours in the sun, we took a cab to Dodge Island, where Carnival Cruise terminal is located. It was time for our first ever cruise through the Caribbean! 😀 😀 😀

DAY 5

After our delightful 7-day Caribbean cruise, we came back to Miami for just one night. On the next day, we were going on a second cruise. On that night we went to see an NBA game. It was a preseason game between The San Antonio Spurs and The Miami Heat and since those were the teams that played in previous year’s finals, it was quite a spectacle. 🙂

DAY 6

After our amazing 10-day cruise a day of resting and honeymooning was in order. 🙂

DAY 7

October 31st – Halloween. We know Halloween in Europe, but we don’t usually celebrate it as much as we celebrate Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday carnivals, for example. Therefore witnessing a Halloween celebration in the USA, where Halloween is most popular, was a particularly special experience. 🙂 We spent the day in Miami Beach, visited Bay Harbor islands and in the evening we went to Lincoln Road Mall, a busy street in Miami Beach, full of shops and restaurants. Almost everyone wore a costume and the whole street was one big Halloween party. We ended the day in a nearby nightclub. Overall it was a great day.

DAY 8

Another day of resting and honeymooning. 🙂

DAY 9

Laundry day. In our country, every household has its own washing machine and coin laundry services are not that common, therefore doing laundry in such a facility was an adventure in itself. 😀

DAY 10

Since Miami is the only major city in the US surrounded by two national parks, it was only right to visit at least one of them. We chose the Everglades national park – America’s most famous swampland, located just outside of Miami. We took a thrilling airboat tour through the River of Grass, where we enjoyed the sight of many alligators in their natural environment. The eco-adventure tour also includes a show, a walk through the jungle trail, and an exhibition. It was unforgettable and incredibly exciting. 🙂

DAY 11

On our last day, we went to Downtown Miami. We visited the Bayfront Park, Bayside Marketplace and Calle Ocho, the center of Cuban life and culture in Miami’s Little Havana. This lovely, vibrant neighborhood is home to many Cuban restaurants, festivals, music and other cultural events.

♥ Top romantic experience

Miami was recently voted one of the most romantic cities in the USA and it indeed offers a very long list of romantic things to do. You can take a food tour and enjoy the city’s many different flavors, have a candlelit dinner, drink some delicious Cuban cocktails, admire Miami’s beautiful Art Deco architecture, visit a museum or a concert, have a picnic in one of Miami’s numerous beautiful parks and gardens, go salsa dancing, sailing, boating, or simply take a romantic walk on the beach.

♥ Top adventure

Finding adventure in a city like Miami is ‘a piece of cake’. You can take a bay cruise, a day trip to Key West, a speedboat sightseeing tour, a jet boat, helicopter or a bike tour, go skydiving, snorkeling, diving, sailing, parasailing, surfing, standup paddling, flyboarding, jet skiing, kayaking or engage in any other watersports. The most popular adventure (and for a good reason) is probably the Everglades National Park tour, where you get to glide through the Everglades on an airboat and see alligators and other wildlife in their natural habitat. It’s a thrilling experience.

Are you wondering about the daily budget, the best time to go, visa and immunization requirements, local customs, currency, electricity standards, safety tips and where to stay? Here you can find out all you need to know before visiting Miami.

Have you already been to Miami? We invite you to share your top romantic experience and top adventure in the comment section below. 😉

Next adventure: cruising the heavenly Caribbean! 🙂

Next stop: funky Jamaica! 😉