Things to Do in Miami
Things to do across Miami, Homestead and the edge of the Everglades, with who each one suits, the real catch, and a path to the live price.
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Landmark
Museum & fun
Wildlife & nature
Wildlife & natureEverglades Alligator FarmHomesteadSouth Florida's oldest alligator farm, home to more than 2,000 alligators, with feeding and handling shows on a posted schedule and a 20 to 25 minute airboat ride attached.See tickets →
Wildlife & natureZoo MiamiMiamiFlorida's largest zoo spreads more than 2,000 animals across a 740-acre site, 346 acres of it developed, and the monorail that used to shorten the walk between them was decommissioned in 2022.See tickets →
Airboat tour
Attraction pass
How to plan a Miami day
Miami spreads out, and the driving decides your day more than the opening hours do. The downtown cluster is the only walkable one: the observation wheel, the Biscayne Bay boats and the hop-on bus all leave from around Bayside Marketplace, so you can stack those without moving the car. Everything else is its own trip. Little Havana sits a few miles west along Calle Ocho, Vizcaya is south toward Coconut Grove, and Zoo Miami is a long way further south in Miami-Dade. Pick a direction each day rather than crossing the city twice.
The Everglades is the trip most people come for, and there are two different versions of it that are not on the way to each other. Heading west on Tamiami Trail puts you at Everglades Safari Park in about 35 to 40 minutes from central Miami. Heading south instead takes you to Everglades Alligator Farm in Homestead, near the road into the national park's main entrance, which makes sense if a park day is already on your list. Both run airboats on their own water. Choose one and give it the morning.
The weather sets the shape of the day from roughly June through September, when afternoons bring heat and frequent thunderstorms. Airboats keep running in rain and stop for lightning, so a storm means waiting rather than a refund. Miami has fewer genuinely indoor attractions than Tampa Bay does, so the safer pattern is outdoor in the morning and something with a roof after lunch. A multi-attraction pass can pay off across several days, though the distances here work against cramming stops into one.
Where to stay in Miami
Pair your plans with a base near the parks: who each hotel suits, the fee stack, and the all-in cost before you tap through to the live rate.
Browse Disney World hotel deals →Miami questions
Do you need a car in Miami?
For most of this, yes. The downtown attractions around Bayside are reachable on the free Metromover, but Vizcaya, Zoo Miami and both Everglades venues are real drives with no useful transit. The hop-on bus covers some of the city, and organized Everglades tours include transport if you would rather not drive out to the sawgrass yourself.
Which Everglades airboat trip should you pick?
It depends on which way you are already heading. Everglades Safari Park is west on Tamiami Trail, about 35 to 40 minutes from central Miami, and runs the longer ride on big shared boats. Everglades Alligator Farm is south in Homestead with a shorter 20 to 25 minute ride, and it pairs naturally with a day at Everglades National Park's main entrance. Neither goes deep into the national park itself.
How many days do you need for Miami's attractions?
Two full days covers the headline list without rushing: one downtown around Bayside for the bay, the wheel and the bus, and one pointed either west or south for the Everglades. Add a third if you want Zoo Miami or Vizcaya, both of which are half-day commitments once the drive is counted.
Is a Miami attractions pass worth buying?
It works when you are doing several paid attractions across several days. The catch is geography rather than the pass itself: the included venues are spread from downtown out to Homestead and beyond, so the two or three attractions a day that make a pass pay off are hard to reach without spending the day in the car.
When is the best time of year to visit Miami?
Roughly November through April is the drier, cooler stretch and the easiest for outdoor attractions. Summer brings heat, humidity and near-daily afternoon storms, which matters most for the airboats, the open-top bus and the zoo. Book outdoor things for the morning in those months.