Beginner’s Guide To Miami

TMP 94 - Miami
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Jenn: Hey everyone. Welcome back to the Travel Mug Podcast. We are deep in winter here

Meggan: so deep.

Jenn: Scotia. It is currently snowing as we record, so that of course has me dreaming about warm places to visit. How

about you, Meggan?

Meggan: Definitely, we're not going anywhere warm this winter, but I do have dreams. I mean, everybody can dream about it nonetheless, and, and it's, it's a good dream to have.

Jenn: Well, and it's funny because as we're recording this episode, my Facebook memories are reminding me that I was actually in the place that we were talking about at this time. So I know. Kind of fun. So. This week we're going to give you a beginner's guide to Miami, Florida. So as usual, we are not experts and we just kind of wanna give you a jumping off point for your trip planning.

I visited Miami back in January of 2019, which doesn't seem like that long ago, but uh, here we are, 2024.

so we visited Miami before getting on a cruise, and I have to say I really did love it there and I'm planning to get back there one day. It would make an amazing friend trip destination, I think. I visited with my husband and my mom and stepfather. We had a great time too. But Meggan, before we get into what to do, why don't you give us a wee bit about the history of the city.

Meggan: Definitely. So a very long time ago, uh, way before us, before Europeans even arrived, actually South Florida, including where Miami is today, was inhabited by the Paleo Indians, a Native American tribe. This was like 10,000 plus years ago. So we're going back a long way. The Tequestas inhabited the land upon Christopher Columbus's arrival, they were another Native American tribe at that time that lived there, and Miami itself is named after Mayaimi and I'm sure I'm saying that incorrectly. A Native American tribe that lived around Lake Okeechobee until the 17th or 18th century. Miami itself was incorporated in 1896 with a total of 444 citizens. I know. This was spurred by the arrival of the railway, which as you can imagine, brought development to the city. It is situated on the Biscayne Bay and Miami grew quickly from this point of incorporation, um, with canals being built to drain the Everglades. Streets were built, infrastructure, and even a resort hotel, which arrived around the same time as the railway did. Florida as we know it, including Miami, has been a haven for people to escape the cold. Uh, and this was no different as the city grew through the late 18 hundreds and into the 19 hundreds as well. Everybody knew, like the secret always been out.

Jenn: It's never been a hidden gem.

Meggan: No, no, no. And Miami grew with many new residents in 1959 when Fidel Castro took over Cuba. And there is a neighborhood which we'll actually be discussing a little bit later in Miami, known as Little Havana, where the culture and traditions are kept alive for Cuba through its residents. Miami of course, has certainly had its issues. There were race riots in the 1980s and the uptick of drugs being brought in through the ports of Miami, which also brought crime, but inspiration as well for the hit TV show. Miami Vice

Jenn: I mean, there you go.

Meggan: Don Johnson turned things around. and finally, Miami of course, is richly diverse and international with a large Spanish population whose culture, languages, traditions, and food weave a beautiful tapestry in sort of what is today, Miami in the 2020s.

Jenn: God, the 2020 sounds so weird to say.

Meggan: I know, I know. It's like no man's land, but here we are living in it. So if you go to Miami, like how are you getting there and how are people generally getting around or what ideas do you have for them?

Jenn: Yes. So Miami, of course, does have an international airport, airport code MIA, which perfect, that you can fly into. We actually flew ourselves into Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport, because that is the direct flight that we could get from Halifax. But it was fairly easy actually to get from the Fort Lauderdale airport to Miami. On the way there, we did a tri rail train, which took about an hour, but it was less than $4 a person. So like.

Meggan: Okay.

Jenn: She on the way home, we took a private shuttle, which was much more expensive, but it was 35 minutes. So you know when you get there, you're like pinching your pennies and on the way home you're like, I don't care. Take my money.

Meggan: I just wanna get home. Let's go.

Jenn: Yes, so getting around Miami, you do have a lot of options. We walked a lot, but of course, Ubers and Lyfts are an option as well. You can also use their public transportation system. There's a free option called the Metro Mover around downtown Miami and Brickell, and low cost trolleys and buses as well. So lots of options for getting around.

Meggan: That's not bad at all. So I'm a first time visitor to Miami. Okay I know how to get around, where to fly into. Any ideas on where I should stay?

Jenn: Yeah, so where to stay definitely depends on the purpose of your trip, which is, you know, applicable to anywhere you go, but we stayed at the YVE or the Yve, Yve, I guess Hotel Miami , YVE in the downtown area. It was perfect for the purpose of our trip, which was to enjoy a little bit of Miami before heading out on a cruise.

We were only there for two nights. it was across the street from the Bayside marketplace, which had a lot of shops and restaurants. It was only a few minutes to the cruise to terminal, so perfect. If I was going on a trip that was more centered around Miami, I would personally stay in the South Beach area.

There are a lot of art deco hotels, which we'll talk about. They're beautiful and it's so easy to walk around to get to the beach and restaurants and cafes and such. So that's the area I would stay in.

Meggan: All right, definitely. So you mentioned the beach. So let's talk about things, uh, to do.

Jenn: Oh, we love things to do. So the beach, obviously the beach is a big draw for a lot of people and the most well known is definitely South Beach. So South Beach is a free public beach. There are kiosks where you can rent chairs and or umbrellas. Um, if we went in January, so it wasn't like super hot. It was definitely warm, so it, it was a beach day for us Canadians, probably for, for people

Meggan: So desperate. So desperate in January.

Jenn: Yeah, well I, I think it was like mid twenties Celsius, so like it was a perfectly fine beach day. I'm told it gets very hot of course in months that are not the winter. Um, so you will want to rent an umbrella 'cause there is no shade there. And of course they are not cheap that you could spend $50 or more just renting that kind of stuff.

But a pro tip. Many of the South Beach hotels, even those that aren't on the waterfront, offer free beach chairs for the day. So

Meggan: Ooh.

Jenn: save a little bit of money, you know?

Meggan: I love that.

Jenn: there's also north and mid beaches, so North, mid and South Beach are kind of, you know, all one, but divided up. those are great places to spend the day as well.

And I did see if you are traveling with your dog, you'll want to go to Haulover Dog Beach, which is a designated off leash beach, but it's also a great spot for surfing and body boarding as well. So there you go.

Meggan: I feel like that's a lot of insider information.

Jenn: I know. you know.

Meggan: I love that. Now, I've heard a lot about this, so talk about the next thing that people could do. 'cause this sounds really interesting to me.

Jenn: Yeah, so an art deco walking tour. This was one of my personal favorite things that we did in Miami. The Miami Beach Architectural District is a US historic district located in South Beach, and it contains 960 historic buildings. They're literally everywhere. . Um, most of the buildings were built in the 1930s and forties.

Many of them are now hotels or restaurants. There are guided walking tours that you can do, but if you wanna do something on your own timeline, I have a step-by-step guide on my blog, Will Save For Travel. I'll put the link in the show notes and basically it's, um, gives you step-by-Step directions. Walk here, look at this. This is the history. Turn this way. Walk here, look at this. if you're a fan of architecture, old buildings, it's honestly a must do. Like, they're just so beautiful. I love them so much.

Meggan: Oh, that's awesome.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: All right, well, what do we love here besides doing our own research on this podcast? Uh, we love food. So I'm gonna take a moment and talk about what I referenced earlier, which is Little Havana and a food tour. So lucky for anyone interested in this. There are Few different companies offering food tours, and I would say the overwhelming major majority are food walking tours.

So keep that in mind also about the food, but you will have to walk as well if that's in your purview. So what you can expect to pay from what I, I research is about 70 to $90 of course U US dollars per person. They usually last around three hours. from what I was able to find as well, most companies have small group experiences, so that's a nice feature as well.

It won't be you and 50 of your closest friends. It's definitely a little bit smaller than that. So if you wanna take one of these tours, you can expect, with most of them to have, of course, Cuban food. Drink, learn about the culture. I saw some of the visits, uh, have cigar factory visits as well with a complimentary cigar included as well. most tours are offered in either English or Spanish, and you will likely get to hear some traditional Cuban music along your travels. So really overall sounds like a really fun and culturally rich few hours including sort of food, drink and traditions, which I think, uh, is really important to sort of learn those things when you're traveling as well.

Jenn: Yeah, I, if we had been there longer, this is definitely something I would've wanted to do, so I'll file that information away for my next time.

Meggan: now, now, when I think of food, sometimes I think, well, after my belly's full, I'd like to maybe buy a few things. So let's talk shopping.

Jenn: Let's talk shopping. There are plenty of opportunities to shop in Miami, so we checked out Bayside Marketplace. It is an open air, two story shopping mall, lots of stores and restaurants to choose from. It was in a really convenient location for us. It was across the street from our hotel, so very convenient.

Um, but yeah, really good place. It had kind of your, your normal stores, your gap, your, that kind of stuff. So, not too, too fancy. So if you wanna do some high-end shopping, check out the Ball Harbor Shops or the Miami Design District. You can find Louis Vuitton, Versace Dior, Gucci, Sacks Fifth Avenue, and more. All of the, all of the fanciness.

Meggan: Right, right, right. That's where I'd window shop.

Jenn: Yes. Yeah. Window shopping's fun too.

And Lincoln Road is one of the most iconic shopping destinations in Miami. It's a pedestrian friendly open air mall that lies between 16th and 17th Street in Miami Beach. So maybe once you're tired of the beach, just go in and do some shopping. Why not?

Meggan: not get out of the sun? You know

Jenn: Mm-Hmm. . Mm-Hmm.

Meggan: what's next?

Jenn: So our next, stop is the Philip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science. I, we didn't go in, we did drive by. So it is a 250,000 square foot. Building

and it has, it's divided into four distinct buildings. So the aquarium, the Frost Planetarium, and then the north and West wings. You can learn about the ocean, you can learn about the Everglades, a human cell, an outer space, all in one building.

Meggan: Wow, that's.

Jenn: lot. It is. So they do recommend purchasing your ticket in advance. Prices range from $29. 95 to $37. 95 USD. Uh, for an adult, it depends on the day. They do have peak pricing. To me, the planetarium looks particularly amazing. It has different shows throughout the day where you can explore earth or black holes.

Both of the shows right now are narrated by Liam Neeson, but basically you're in a kind of a reclined chair and the whole ceiling is, planetarium and it's basically like 360 degree view. I would probably get motion sick, but it does look really cool.

Meggan: Yeah, that does look really cool. I'm sure Peter would love that too. Awesome

Jenn: Where are we going next?

Meggan: We're gonna talk about the Vizcaya Museum and garden. So this attraction is located in the Coconut Grove section of Miami, right on the Biscayne Bay of course, as well. It's made up currently of two parts. However, a third part is in the works, which I'll explain in a second. So the main house, it is beautiful design. It's the interpretation of an 18th century Italian villa. its interior is designed around objects obtained in Italy and meant to demonstrate the passage of time and the accumulation of memories as you go from room to room. So visitors are encouraged to visit the three floors of the home and be immersed in Italian objects and furniture, as the villa boasts one of the most significant collections of Italian furniture in the United States now also, besides the house, the gardens.

So they're very elaborate. Reminiscent of gardens in the 17th and 18th century in Italy or France. So visitors can enjoy fountains, columns, hedges, as well as antique and commissioned sculptures. Um, and you can see anything from 400 year old trees, uh, to an orchid collection with over 2000 specimens. Again, Miami likes variety. There you have that. Now the third section currently in the process of being created and open to the public is Vizcaya Village. So it was the working part of the estate and it's being revitalized. So it has 12 buildings and the village there was built in 1916, so it had staff quarters, a garage, barns, greenhouses, and more so essentially where the staff lived and worked, when they weren't at the house or the gardens, I suppose. Now the process to bring this back to life for community space, like I said, is in the works, and they hoped to have phase one completed in 2024. Now to visit this, museum and house, essentially you have to reserve tickets in advance online, as most places are now. And as of this recording, they're open Wednesday through Monday, daytime hours, so essentially closed on Tuesdays. the cost is $25 US dollars per person as an adult. And we'll include the website in the show notes for any additional details you'd like to learn.

Jenn: It sounds very interesting.

Meggan: I know and Miami is like on the water, so could we do anything in that regard?

Jenn: We can, you can do a boat tour. Of course.

It is a way to see Miami from the water. So we took a Houses of the Rich and Famous tour. Um, we took our, our tour with Fiesta Cruises of Miami. My suggestion is to check Groupon. This was a insider tip from our Uber driver, when we were in Miami. He was like, do not buy from them at the dock. Go on Groupon. And it was a great tip because we paid $62 for four people instead of the regular price of $136.

Meggan: Those are deep savings.

Jenn: Deep savings. So check Groupon, the tour is fun. It was a great way to spend an evening. We did it. Uh, like I said in the evening, I can't remember what time we left, but unfortunately it was dark, so it was harder to see the houses, right, of the rich and famous.

So I would recommend doing it earlier in the day if you can. I didn't think of that when I booked the tour. But anyway, there are tons of good different companies, so do a little bit of research in advance to find the one that most appeals to you. There's everything from pirate themed to adults only to speedboat tours and more like there's so many, so just do a little bit of research or just go on Groupon and see what you can get for cheap

Meggan: I love that. I love that. So you, when at nighttime you could have got off the boat and done a little something, something in town. So what can people do in terms of like nightlife? I've heard all about nightlife in Miami.

Jenn: Yes, obviously Miami is known for its nightlife and whether you wanna check out nightclubs in South Beach or go salsa dancing in little Havana or relax in a nice artsy cocktail bar, which sounds way more my speed. This you can fact .

cannot.

Meggan: I think we are on the same page.

Jenn: Yeah, we're relaxing in the cocktail bar, you and me. I can't give you any personal recommendations. Um, I did not partake. I was there with my husband and my mom and my stepdad, so we had a drink in the bar at our hotel . But I would suggest doing some research in advance. , of course. That's our tagline.

Um, , some places you have to buy tickets ahead of time, which could be $60 to a hundred dollars or more a person.

And I mean, that's getting into the fancier nightclubs with the big names, um, DJs and that sort of thing. So it depends on what you wanna do, but just know that you may not be able to just show up at a door and walk in somewhere.

Meggan: But it does certainly sound like there's something for, regardless of whatever speed you're at, you can, you can find it, which is really great.

Jenn: I think so. All right, Meggan, talk to me about something that I really want to do.

Meggan: I will do that. I happen to know what that is.

Jenn: Okay.

Meggan: Um, it's Everglades National Park, so it is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States and the third largest park in the lower 48 states at 2,400 square miles. It's quite a statement unto itself now, it's a world heritage site. We love that.

Jenn: We do.

Meggan: A wetland of international importance amongst other accolades as well as protections as you can imagine.

it's important to understand if you are visiting, there is a wet season

So we're in the Everglades. It's something to keep in mind. So wet season there is may to November, so like, I guess spring, summer, fall-ish, and then dry season December to April. And of course that can vary slightly year to year. As you can imagine during wet season, there are more mosquitoes and due to the fact there are also less ranger led programs, so things happening in the park with Rangers as your guide, although there are still tours, but it's likely just a little less enjoyable. In general.

Jenn: that's fair

Meggan: maMay to Novber timeframe.

I can only imagine how muggy it would be in rainy season in Florida in the Everglades.

Jenn: I can't. I literally, I think the wettest I've ever been in my life is in Florida. So , I feel like I can, I.

Meggan: Yes, exactly. So the Everglades are 1.5 million acres and there are three main ways to enter. So be sure for yourself to understand what your best Entrance is going to be based on where you are coming from, uh, be prepared. As you can experience many different types of landscapes such as coastal lowlands, mangroves, there's gonna be distinct flora and fauna that you're probably not used to seeing. Lots of birds and other types of creatures. You can encounter it all here in the Everglades. I tell you, activities of the park can include bicycling, birdwatching, uh, which now that I'm in my forties, Birdwatching is where I'm at. Um, there's also boating, camping, geocaching, hiking. Those are literally just to name a few activities.

You could spend either a bit of time here or you could spend a lot of time here. So to enter private vehicles, pay $35 per vehicle. If you're entering via foot, it's 20 per person and there is a year round pass, which is $70 as well. You can purchase passes online or at any of the three entrances. It does sound like a really amazing spot to spend some time and something that you should really plan out in advance in terms of the duration of your visit to the area, and then of course your visit to the park and what you wanna do while you're at the park because you might have to plan ahead for the conditions.

Jenn: Mm-Hmm. . good good point. For sure. I did notice when I was researching tours that there are tours from Miami. Let's say you don't have a, a rental car when you're in Miami, there are tours that you can take that will like pick you up and take you there and tour you and take you back. It. It's an option if you don't have a rental car.

Uh, 'cause obviously it's not walking distance from downtown Miami.

Meggan: Excellent point. Excellent point.

Jenn: All right, so sports events. I love live sports. Even if it's a sport I'm not particularly into or knowledgeable about the atmosphere of a live sports game. It just can't be beat.

Meggan: I love it too.

Jenn: You have a few options in Miami, so Miami Heat, heat, NBA team. So basketball, their stadium is in the same area as the Science Museum and Bayside Park.

We walked by it a couple times, so it's super easy to get to. So the NBA season is usually October to May. Ish if you're looking for tickets. Um, now there's also the Miami Marlins MLB team. So baseball, they play at Lean, Loan Depot Park.

Meggan: Oh, it's a terrible name.

Jenn: List rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it? Um, it's a bit more out of the way, but it is still easily accessible by public transportation.

So the MLB season is late March slash early April to late September, early October-ish. Um, you can also get spring training tickets as well. So those are an option. Miami Dolphins, NFL Team Football. They play in Miami Gardens, which is about 25 minutes outside of downtown Miami. And the NFL season is usually September to January.

And last but not least, the Florida Panthers NHL hockey team. They're not really in Miami. That I love that there's just Florida general Florida. Um, it's about a 45 minute drive outside of d downtown Miami, up closer to Fort Lauderdale. The NHL season is October to April. So those are all options. I feel like the basketball is the easiest when you're there and also the, the baseball, but, uh, yeah, it can't go wrong in my opinion.

Meggan: I love that. I would definitely do at least one of those and those kind of span the whole year. So def, you can hook something for sure. Now, unbeknownst to you, maybe I spent a very short time in Miami myself. I also , caught a cruise there, uh, a few years back, but we did arrive same day.

So talk to us about Actually being able to have this as your port, get on a cruise. Talk to us about that. 'cause that is why people usually either plan a little bit before or a little bit after because they are going for a cruise.

Jenn: Yeah, it's a super popular cruise port. So we left Miami for a short cruise. We just did a four night cruise to The Bahamas. Um, but leaving from Miami, you can literally go, it feels like anywhere. So Southern Caribbean, Western Caribbean, Eastern Caribbean. All the Caribbeans, as far as away as the Canary Islands, Panama Canal, Spain, like

Meggan: Wow.

Jenn: wild. Yeah. I saw a, a repositioning cruise that went from Miami to San Francisco. . So like. Yeah, going around, so literally anything. I actually saw a 150 night around the world cruise, although the price tag, Meggan was a bit high on that one. It was just $95,000 per person.

Meggan: Oh my goodness. Oh my. Well, right now, right now in the world, there's a nine month cruise happening, so I, I, I don't understand, but it fill your boots if that's your dream, you know?

Jenn: pals, I listened to an audiobook over Christmas and it was about a shipwreck, and I don't know if I'll ever get on a boat again.

Meggan: But if you want to, Miami's a great place

Jenn: I mean cruise

ship and 1700s pirate ship, different Vessels.

a smidge. So we did Grand Bahama Island and Nassau. I really enjoyed Freeport on Grand Bahama. I wouldn't be surprised if we found ourselves back there at some point in our lives. Um, if a several night cruise isn't your thing, there are actually day cruises to The Bahamas. As well. It's, it's really not far, so it's an option.

And honestly, there's so much to know about cruising and like Meggan and I said we, we haven't done many cruises ourselves. I would really recommend connecting with a travel agent who is well versed in cruising before you book anything. we have an amazing travel agent. Her name is Michelle McKnight, and, uh, she. She has a cruising podcast. Okay. She loves cruising so much, so I'll put her, um, her information in the travel, in the show notes so that people can check her out if they are interested. Alright, Meggan, bring us to the fun facts.

Meggan: I mean, let's do it.

So some fun facts about Miami, Florida. So the city was founded actually by local business woman.

Whoop Wow. whop. Julia tuttle. So she is actually the one that owned property in the area and convinced a railway tycoon to extend what is now extend like the railway itself into what is now Miami. She gave him land for a hotel and the railway station land for free in return.

Jenn: look at her. I love

Meggan: I know we love Julia Tuttle. You go, girl. Now, Miami Beach, as you referenced earlier, is actually manmade by importing sand from the Caribbean to keep it in tiptop shape, which can also, from what I read, be a costly venture.

Jenn: I can imagine.

Meggan: Yes, yes. As you just referenced, Miami is the cruise ship capital of the earth.

Jenn: Wow.

Meggan: I know.

I know.

Jenn: not know that. It is a really nice cruise ship terminal. I mean, I, it's the only cruise ship terminal I've been in, so.

Meggan: I really liked it though, guys.

Jenn: I guess that's not true. I've been like to halifax's kind of, but you know what I mean. It is really nice.

Meggan: Yes, yes, definitely. It has to be. It's, it's the, you know, it's, it,

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: it's the one. Um, so Miami is home to the first Burger King, which opened in 1954. Hmm, it has only snowed once in Miami, and that was on January 19th, 1977. So the anniversary's coming up, um, it likely won't happen again with the way things on earth are really heating up. so hope people enjoyed it back and

Jenn: I, uh, funny story, when we were on our cruise, the day we got off our cruise, I think it was probably. 15 degrees Celsius and I am really bad at the Fahrenheit,

Meggan: Yeah.

Jenn: but it was not that cold, especially for us Canadians. It was like, I think I wore shorts and like maybe a little sweater or something like that.

The people working at the cruise port were wearing like puffy down winter jackets and toques , and I was like, why do you own this? It's not that cold.

Meggan: Things must have been really rough in January of 77 then

Jenn: Yeah, they're permanently traumatized from that

Meggan: apparent, people probably moved

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: And then finally, Miami boast the third tallest skyline in the United States with over 300 high rises and the city's tallest building, the Panorama Tower stands at an impressive height of 868 feet.

Jenn: There you have it.

Meggan: There you have it. Well, podcast fam, that is this week's episode. So we hope, and our goal with these is always to give you enough information to help you get started on planning your trip this week, of course, to Miami, Florida. Um, let us know if you've been and what you love about Miami or if you end up going based on our inspiration, we would love to hear from you. if you're enjoying the show in general, we would love it if you, uh, left us a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify to support this show. You can buy us a coffee. Um, the link is in the show notes. It really helps us do what we're doing here or share the show with a friend. We would love to have more travel friends tuning in. Why not? And as always, you can find us on socials, including YouTube at Travel Mug Podcast and our website, travelmugpodcast.com. And until next time, happy travels and bye.