Miami Things to Do Tips by grandmaR Top 5 Page for this destination

North of Miami

South Beach is actually in Miami Beach which is north of Miami. I find this kind of geography very confusing.

I'm not a beach person or a party hearty person, so I haven't been to South Beach, or at least not in a long time, and I've not been to Miami Beach much either.

The Miami Beach website says:

"Miami Beach has a rich history as a trend setting arts center, from the world famous nightclubs of the 50's, to the rich cultural life of today's modern South Beach. The City of Miami Beach has an identity that is intrinsically linked to the arts, and today our entertainment, production and arts communities are stronger than ever. Miami Beach is truly a major international entertainment and cultural destination."

Address: Miami Beach

Directions: South Beach: I-95 North or South to 395 (MacArthur Causeway) over Biscayne Bay. 395 turns into 5th Street. For Ocean Drive, Washington Avenue or Collins Avenue areas, continue on Fifth Street to the end and turn left on the appropriate street.

Holiday Funland at Miami Metrozoo Metro Zoo Review

In December of 2000 on our first visit to Miami by boat, our daughter and her friends went to the zoo for the holiday decorations and lights. We couldn't see much of the animals at night (the main picture is of sleeping birds), but we walked along the paths and ate at the various food booths (photo 2). The children all took pony rides (photo 3, 4 and 5) and there was a miniature winter village, complete with train rides

WEEKENDS, December 7-22

Santa was available for photos and local school choirs sing twice daily on the weekends.

General Admission: Adults $8.95 plus tax; Children (ages 3-12) $4.75 plus tax; Children 2 and under FREE. Free admission for Zoological Society of Florida members. FREE PARKING.

You can now get a bus called the CORAL REEF MAX to the zoo if you don't have access to a car. Catch the bus at Metrorail’s Dadeland South Station. It is an approximately 20-minute ride each way. For schedules and fares, call Miami-Dade Transit at
(305) 770-3131.

Address: 1 Zoo Boulevard, 12400 SW 152 Street

Directions: From I-95 Heading South
South to end of I-95. It feeds into U.S. 1 on the right. Continue south on U.S. 1 to 152 Street (Coral Reef Drive). Make a right onto it. Proceed west for 3 miles. Enter Zoo on the left at SW 124 Avenue

Phone: (305) 251-0400

Website: http://www.co.miami-dade.fl.us/parks/Parks/metrozoo.asp

Crandon Seaquarium Seaquarium Review

To get to the Seaquarium on the land, you have to go over the Rickenbacker toll bridge. We haven't been here since the mid 60s. My Miami SIL is a big aquarium fan, and I think my grandchildren go here fairly often. Annual passes are available.

Miami Seaquarium opens at 9:30am every day.

From their website: "Food outlets and gift shops are available throughout the park. Admission ticket booths and in-park shops gladly accept Visa, Mastercard and American Express cards."

OPERATING HOURS • 9:30am - 6:00pm
7 Days a week
Ticket booth closes at 4:00pm
Last series of shows begins at 2:30 PM

ADMISSION PRICES
Daily Rates
General Admission $24.95
Children (3 to 9) $19.95
Plus 7% Florida sales tax

Upgrade your Admission Receipt to an Annual Pass for only $8.00* (plus tax)

ANNUAL PASSES
Daily Rates
General Admission $32.95
Children (3 to 9) $27.95
Plus 7% Florida sales tax

Address: 4400 Rickenbacker Causeway

Directions: Take I-95 South, Exit 1 (Miami Seaquarium), and follow the signs to Key Biscayne and Rickenbacker Causeway

Phone: 305-365-2507

Website: http://www.miamiseaquarium.com/

Swimming Monkeys Monkey Jungle Review

We went to the Monkey Jungle (which is advertised as "Where Humans Are Caged and Monkeys Run Wild!") on a trip from Key West to Miami sometime in 1967 when this picture was taken. I do not remember much about it, but the kids enjoyed it. In addition to many species of primates, they also have birds.

Currently, Hours of Operation are 9:30 am until 5:00 pm but the ticket office closes at 4:00 pm

Admission Rates

- Adults: $17.95
- Children ( 3 - 9 ) : $11.95
- Senior Discount 65+: $14.95

Prices do not include tax which is 7.5% in Florida.

There is no charge for children under the age of 3.

Presentation times at the wild monkey swimming pool are:

10:00 am 12:15 pm 2:30 pm 4:30 pm

Address: 14805 Southwest 216th St. Miami, FL 33170

Directions: From Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale or West Dade, follow the Florida Turnpike South to exit 11 labeled Cutler Ridge Boulevard and Southwest 216 Street. After exiting, follow Southwest 216 Street 4 miles west. Monkey Jungle will be on your right hand side.

Phone: (305) 235-1611

Website: http://www.monkeyjungle.com/wild.htm

Vizcaya - Photographer Unfriendly Vizcaya Mansion Review

I visited Vizcaya when we lived in Key West with the antique car club. We had the cars on display in the courtyard (toward the street) for some kind of festival. I toured the house at that time and took pictures (two of which are included)

We went back this past visit and no photography was permitted inside the mansion - not even by professional photographers. So I took some pictures through the window.

I thought perhaps I could buy a picture of the things I wanted to record, but what I really wanted was a weather vane which showed the speed and direction of the wind inside the room, and I could not find that in any photos or postcards.

Professional photographers pay a whooping fee just to take photos outside.

Address: 3251 South Miami Avenue

Directions: From north, I-95 S to Exit 1A and follow the signs. From south, U. S. 1 (South Dixie Highway) N to S. W. 17th Avenue, go east and follow the signs

Phone: 305/250-9133

Website: http://www.vizcayamuseum.org/rentals-permits.asp

Chihuly at Fairchild Coral Gables Review

Fairchild Gardens in Coral Gables is always a good place to go. It is even better now - from December 06 to May 31, 2007 there is an exhibit of Chihuly Glass there in the gardens.

Admission is $20 for adults, $15 for senior citizens 65 and older, $10 for children 6-17, and free for Fairchild members and children 5 and under.

Tropical Chihuly Nights

Every Thursday from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. Experience the magic of Chihuly at Fairchild and art & flowers after dark!

Admission is $20 for Fairchild members, $15 for member children 6-17; $30 for non-members, $20 for non-member children 6-17, and free for children 5 and under.

Extended hours for Tropical Chihuly Nights starting March 15: 6:00 - 9:30 p.m.

Hours
Fairchild is open daily from 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Closed Christmas Day.

The Chihuly exhibit will be there until the 31st of May 2007

Address: 10901 Old Cutler Road, Coral Gables (Miami), FL 33

Directions: from the north
I-95 S, SR 836 W, LeJeune Rd S, cross US 1 (S. Dixie Hwy). Continue on LeJeune Rd. to roundabout. Enter roundabout and take 2nd right onto Old Cutler Rd. Fairchild is exactly two miles from the roundabout. Entrance will be on your left.

Phone: 305/667-1651

Website: http://www.ftg.org/index.html

Dodge Island Cruise Ship Berths Cruise Ships - Port of Miami Review

Cruise ships dock on the north side of Dodge Island. Most of the cargo ships are on the south side of Dodge Island. The Port of Miami has over 30 deepwater berths adjacent to the Miami Harbor Channel; these include the berths at the Port of Miami on Dodge Island and Lummus Island

Since 9-11, all boats have to observe a security zone around particularly around passenger ships. So when we come in Government Cut (the Miami ship channel which is between South Miami Beach and Fisher Island), we go south of Dodge Island (pictures 4, and 5)

We can see when the ships are in, but we rarely get closer than this on our own boat. We did come in to Miami on the NCL Crown in 2005 (second picture). In the third picture which I took from the air, Dodge Island is on the far left side with one cruise ship on the closer edge.

Website: http://www.miamidade.gov/portofmiami/

Lake Buena Vista Disney Disney World Review

Orlando is the location that most folks think of when they think DISNEY. But actually WDW is located in Lake Buena Vista.

Walt Disney World and the other theme parks are NOT really that close to Miami. It is almost 250 miles and takes more than four hours to drive up the road. The beginning of the Keys is closer.

I do not think that Disney is a Must -See location either. But since some folks do, I'm putting it here.

Address: Orlando, Florida

Directions: Take FLORIDA'S TURNPIKE N (Portions toll). 132.34 mi. Take the OSCEOLA PKWY exit number 249. Turn LEFT onto E OSCEOLA PKWY. E OSCEOLA PKWY becomes - DART BLVD becomes W OSCEOLA PKWY (Portions toll). Take the ramp towards DISNEY. Merge onto WORLD DR.

Website: http://www12.virtualtourist.com/m/4a9c6/ba53e/

The Grove Coconut Grove Review

Coconut Grove is mainly of interest to us because we drive through it on the way from Miamarina to our daughter's house. We ate at Hooters for the first time here, when my daughter took us to see the sights.

They have a big shopping mall called Coco Walk there, and a lot of upscale stores.

It is very hard to park in the Grove. I've been interested in seeing the Barnacle Historic Site, and I've tried to go to Dinner Key Marina a couple of times (to stay there on our boat or to eat dinner there), but without success in all cases.

Website: http://funandsun.com/1tocf/allgosf/ccgrv/cgrv.html

West and South but Mostly West of Miami Florida Keys Review

The Florida Keys are definitely a Must See, but they aren't really in Miami. Miami is an hours drive from the farthrest north of the keys - Key Largo. Going all the way to Key West will take 4 hours or more by road.

Key Largo is advertised as the Dive Capitol of the World (which is a bit hyperbolic) and Islamorada is advertised as the Sports Fishing Capitol of the World (ditto), and Key West is the Southernmost City in the Continental US (which is true but the continental part is because Hawaii is farther south). It's a sub-tropical climate (not tropical in spite of what some advertising says).

Directions: from Miami International Airport , take LeJeune Road south to 836 West. Take the Florida Turnpike south toward Key West. The Turnpike ends at US 1 in Florida City. Follow U.S. 1 south about 22 miles to Key Largo and you are now in the Florida Keys

Website: http://www.fla-keys.com/