1 Day in Miami Pre Cruise...What To Do?

[trishaedge]

My husband and I will be flying in and renting a car a day before our November cruise on NCL Jewel out of Miami. Neither of us have been to southern FL before. What should we do for that day? We don't drink and are pretty calm folk that enjoy nature and the like. Any suggestions? How about the Keys, are there any not to miss sites there? Thanks.

[trish1c]

From Miami the keys are a L . O . N . G drive. I wouldn't recommend it for 1 day.

 

I'd say go to South Beach, maybe take an everglades tour. I enjoyed strolling through the Miami zoo. Check out the local chamber of commerce's web site & perhaps the tourism board. If you are a member of AAA get a tour book from them. All will be chock full of suggestions.

[BlueHerons]

If they are offered, take one of Dr. George's tours from the Historical Museum of Southern Florida.

 

http://www.historical-museum.org/

 

In particular if the Stiltsville Tour is offered, jump on it. Stiltsville is/was a community built on Key Biscayne about a mile offshore. The US government took the houses back in 1999 and decreed no one else could build there in the late 1980s. Pre Hurricane Andrew there were 22 houses and now only seven.

 

www.Stiltsville.org

[mcfaddensfarm]

I don't know when you're taking you're cruise, but we just found out that the Miami Museum of Science has a Titanic exhibit through October 2006. Several of us in our Meet & Mingle thread have decided to go see this the day before our cruise. We thought it would be a unique experience to see a Titanic exhibit the day before we get on a cruise. One of the people in our group lives out there & went to it & said it's very interesting. She said that when you first enter the exhibit, they give you a "boarding pass" and when you're all done with the exhibit you find out if you "survived". Check out their web site here: http://www.miamisci.org/

[trishaedge]

Thank you all for the ideas. I am going to do some more research and look further at attractions close to Miami.

[shipty2]

I just checked the Titanic exhibit. The tickets are $20 for adults and $13 for kids. Looks very interesting.

[RHefley228]

We don't drink and are pretty calm folk that enjoy nature and the like.

 

South Beach is worth seeing for the Art Deco hotel architecture and general ambience, and I second the recommendation for the Everglades tour. If you drive west out the Tamiami Trail (US 41) there are several airboat tour places on the Miccosukee reservation. There's also alligator wrestling--yes, it's a tourist thing, but--well, you are tourists. I would suggest Everglades National Park, but--like the Keys--it's a pretty long drive.