One full day in Miami, what to do?

[pompey8]

Hi all, this will be our very first cruise and we're excited like crazy! We'll be going on an Eastern Carribean cruise which will depart from Miami. Our flight arrives on Friday night and the ship departs Sunday, therefore we'll have a full day in Miami.

 

Can anyone recommend some things to see and do in Miami for this one day? Our hotel is located in downtown so something walkable or accessible by public transporation and/or taxi.

 

My wife wants to go shopping - hoping there will be an extension of the Black Friday sales. I googled some outlets but they all seem to be quite a distance from where we are staying. Are there any shopping centers nearby downtown?

 

For me, I'm more into the sightseeing. So any suggestions on locations or tourist traps would be good!

 

Thanks!

[JohninDC]

And what would she do with that great deal on a 50" HDTV - take it on the cruise?:confused:

 

Not much shopping in downtown, but there are things to do. Taxi over to Miami Beach and enjoy great dining, people watching, some expensive shopping :eek:, and a great beach. Other options include:

Miami Seaquarium: Enjoy live entertainment, sea lions, dolphins, manatees and the famous killer whale, Lolita.

Metrozoo: Features rare, endangered animals in a cage-free environment. The “Wings of Asia Aviary”, one of the largest free-flight aviaries in Florida, shows off more than 400 birds.

Art deco District: Includes 800 historic buildings that were constructed during the 1920s and 1930s, and is the nation's largest 20th-century National Register Historic District. Some good nightlife and dining options in this area of downtown Miami

Vizcaya Museum and Gardens: This National Landmark Renaissance-style villa adorned with formal gardens is located on Biscayne Bay; the villa is filled with ornamental 15th- to 19th-century antique furnishings and decorative arts, and is surrounded by more than 10 acres of formal gardens and fountains.

Good luck!:)

[RuthlessBunny]

To add to John's suggestions,

 

Mary Brickell Village is a new development downtown within a mile of most of the downtown hotels. More upscale shops and eateries.

 

Tourist traps? What's the point? Just go ahead and do the tourist traps where you live and call it a day!

 

Dolphin Mall would be the closest mall as described, it's about 5 minutes from the airport, so about a $30 cab ride from downtown, provided there's no traffic.

 

Rent a car for a day and go to Sunrise and see Sawgrass Mills Mall, a HUGE outlet mall. I used to haunt the place every Saturday when I lived in Flordia.

 

Another thing to do would be to go to Bill Baggs State Park, you can get there via public transportation. Check out the lighthouse:

 

http://www.floridastateparks.org/capeflorida/

 

A shopping, Miami Beach thing would be to go to Lincoln Rd. They have stores, galleries, cafes and etc. It's outdoors so you can really enjoy the day and get some color (I wear sunscreen, but I'm as white as Casper and only burn.)

[FLAHAM]

Just to be clear, the Art Deco District is in the City of Miami Beach, not downtown Miami. I suspect that John in DC meant to refer to the Design District, which is somewhat North of downtown Miami...or, possibly, the MiMo mid-century modern historic district on Biscayne Blvd, also North of downtown.

[Cozzette2]

Not to steal this thread but how do you find out about an everglades tour?

Kris

[RuthlessBunny]

Ask at the front desk at your hotel.

[sjcruiser]

RuthlessBunny, the Sawgrass Mill Mall, is the driving distance roughly 40 miles from Downtown Miami? So, since I have a car reserved for arrival at FLL, it would be better to go to the outler mall first, then head for the hotel in MIA?

[sjcruiser]

Woooohooo, the have Brooks Brothers!!!

[pompey8]

Thanks all for the input!

 

JohninDC, no I will not let her buy a huge screen TV and bring it on the ship :p. She's looking for some good deals from the clothing stores. I really like the sound of the art deco district, so I'll be sure the venture towards Miami Beach (<- thanks FLAHAM for the correction)

 

RuthlessBunny, Dolphin Mall looks like a good place to satisfy my wife's shopping appetite! On Google maps it also shows Miami International Mall located nearby, so that gives us more options.

[Mooloo]

Is the Dolphin mall an outlet mall?

[RuthlessBunny]

Is the Dolphin mall an outlet mall?

 

Not as much as Sawgrass Mills. That's the real deal out there. Dolphin has a lot of stores though.

 

International Mall is sad.

 

If you're flying into FLL, head straight out west on 595, exit at Flamingo to the right (north) and you'll see Sawgrass Mills. You can head back to Miami on the Turnpike, or Sawgrass/75 to 836 (more than one way to skin a cat, highly dependent on traffic, time of day--Get a GPS!)

[ricew001]

We did the Everglades tour post-cruise and it was our most favorite part of the entire trip. I HIGHLY recommend it!

[Mooloo]

Not as much as Sawgrass Mills. That's the real deal out there. Dolphin has a lot of stores though.

 

International Mall is sad.

 

If you're flying into FLL, head straight out west on 595, exit at Flamingo to the right (north) and you'll see Sawgrass Mills. You can head back to Miami on the Turnpike, or Sawgrass/75 to 836 (more than one way to skin a cat, highly dependent on traffic, time of day--Get a GPS!)

 

Sawgrass sounds a little much when we're only there for a couple of days (IYSWIM), what about Aventura mall?

 

Problem is that we may not get a car given the short time to get used to traffic and will end up using a shuttle:(

[Dolfan-Neil]

Sawgrass sounds a little much when we're only there for a couple of days (IYSWIM), what about Aventura mall?

 

Problem is that we may not get a car given the short time to get used to traffic and will end up using a shuttle:(

 

I will say, that every time I go to the Miami/FLL area and I am not doing a same day cruise in/out, I always make it over to Sawgrass. Just feels like a right of passage.

 

Aventura from my memory was an upscale mall with nothing that I specifically remember significant. But take that with a grain of salt as it's probably been 15 years since I've been there and a totally different age bracket.

 

In my opinion, buy you can guess that by my alias, one's trip to Miami is not complete unless you drive by Joe Robbie Stadium (yes, I know it has a new name now, but I refuse to call it anything else) and get a picture of yourself trying to climb the fence to get in :-)