City tours
Cycling tours
The Miami Beach Bicycle Center, 601 Fifth Street, organizes two-hour bike tours of South Beach and the Art Deco District. These take place every first and third Sunday of the month at 10.30 a.m. and start in front of the bike center. The rented bike is included in the price (participation should be announced in advance).
Phone: (305) 674 01 50 (Miami Beach Bicycle Center)
Boat tours
Island Queen Cruises, Bayside Market Place, 401 Biscayne Boulevard, host 90-minute boat tours of the Bay of Miami, past the harbor and the exclusive ‘Millionaire’s Row’ – home to famous people like Gloria Estefan, Bee Gees, Oprah Winfrey , Paul Newman and Whitney Houston. These boat tours start every half hour between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. at Bayside Market Place.
Tel: (305) 379 51 99 (Island Queen Cruises)
Website: http://www.islandqueencruises.com
Bus tours
Dragonfly Expeditions and the Dade Heritage Trust , 190 SE 12th Terrace operate the ‘Miami Magic City Bus Tour’, which takes four to five hours to explore the best-known historic areas.
Phone: (305) 774 90 19 (Dragonfly Expeditions); (305) 358 95 72 (Dade Heritage Trust)
website: http://www.historicmiami.com
Tours
The Miami Design Preservation League runs 90-minute tours of the Art Deco District twice a week (Sat at 10:30 a.m. and Thu at 6:30 p.m.). The meeting point for the tours is in front of the Art Deco Welcome Center , 1001 Ocean Drive. Cassettes can also be rented here every day, allowing you to take a 45-minute tour under your own direction.
Telfon: (305) 672 20 14 (Miami Design Preservation League)
Website: http://www.artdecoweekend.com
Trips
Key West
The most visited island in the Florida Keys, Key West, is the southernmost point in the United States and only 144 km from Cuba, which is further south. Key West consists of a 5 km long sandbar and is known for sunset celebrations, its key lime pie (lemon cake), a fairly large gay community and as the home of Ernest Hemingway. The Key West Information Center, 1601 North Roosevelt Boulevard, Key West, provides additional information.
Phone: (305) 292 50 00
Website: http://www.keywest.com
Florida Keys
This chain of small coral / limestone islands (‘Keys’) extends 180 km south of Miami across Florida Bay and is connected by Highway US-1. The unique atmosphere on the islands is more reminiscent of the Caribbean than the USA. The opportunities for fishing, diving, boat trips, swimming and snorkeling offered on the Keys are among the best in the world. For more information, contact the Florida Keys and Key West Visitor’s Bureau, 402 Wall Street, Key West.
Phone: (305) 294 25 87
Website: http://www.fla-keys.com
Fort Lauderdale
The city is only 40 km north of Miami, also on the east coast, and is a chic vacation spot with an international marina. Because of its numerous canals and waterways, it is often called the ‘Venice of America’.
Fort Lauderdale is easily accessible from Miami by train and has so much to offer that you can easily spend a whole day here. It has beautiful sandy beaches, excellent shopping and a great nightlife.
Attractions include contemporary art from the Museum of Art, the Museum of Discovery and Science, and the extremely impressive Hugh Taylor Birch State Park and Recreation Area.
Visitors can contact the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, Suite 303, 1850 Eller Drive, for more information.
Phone: (954) 765 44 66
Website: http://www.sunny.org
Everglades
Everglades National Park, south of Miami, is the second largest national park in the United States and stretches over 6,070 square kilometers with marsh areas, mangrove forests, fresh and salt water areas, and open grass plains. Watching alligators is one of the main attractions in this vast subtropical wilderness, which is also home to an abundance of rare plants, birds and animals, including wild orchids, Florida panthers, ospreys, manatees, loggerhead turtles, Everglades mink, Florida Black bears and America’s only saltwater crocodiles.
There are several entrances with associated visitor centers that organize tours with rangers, lectures, boat and small train tours and canoe tours.
The largest visitor center is located southwest of Homestead and can be reached via the Florida Turnpike (Route 821) southbound, which turns into Highway 1 at Florida City, where drivers turn right onto Palm Drive (State Road 9336 / SW 344th Street) and should follow the signs. The park is open around the clock all year round, the visitor centers daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Phone: (305) 242 77 00
Website: http://www.nps.gov/ever
