Perfect Miami Itinerary for 3 Days: Beach, Culture & Day Trip

Miami is one of my favourite places in the US, mainly because it has the vibe of Latin America – it’s basically as if US and Latin America had a baby. The city is clean, safe, vibrant and so beautiful. Honestly, I knew I was going to love Miami, but I didn’t expect it to be one of my favourite cities in the world. So, in this blog post I will share with you my Miami itinerary for 3 days.

The itinerary is a perfect combination of beaches, city culture and a day trip adventure to experience more of Florida. And yes, it’s perfectly doable to do it all in 3 days, especially if it’s your first visit to Miami.

✅ If you’re looking for a custom travel plan, find out more about my personalised itinerary service here.

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📖 Read my 14 Best Spring Break Destinations in the US blog post.

How to Get to Miami

Within the US, it’s very easy to fly into Miami. Plus, there are low-budget flights too. If you’re coming from overseas, Miami is also well-connected with most major cities worldwide, which also makes it easy to fly into.

Once in Miami, I recommend either taking a private transfer or ordering Uber, which is surprisingly very affordable in Miami.

✅ Check the flight prices here.

How to Get around Miami

Attractions in Miami are spread-out, which doesn’t make it the most walkable city in the world. Additionally, the public transport doesn’t have a good and well-connected infrastructure, which was very surprising to me.

Which leads us back to Uber again. As I said, it’s pretty affordable to take rides in Uber in Miami, so that’s how we’ve done it. If the distance was too long to walk (which in most cases was), we would just order an Uber, so that’s my recommendation to you too.

Where to Stay in Miami

I think the main question here is should you stay in Miami Beach or the city centre, and ultimately it really depends on your personal preferences.

I stayed in Miami Beach because I wanted to be at the beach, on Ocean Drive and it was a great decision because this place is so lively, especially in the evenings when all those Art Deco buildings lit up. The music is everywhere and ultimately, it’s such a fun and relaxing place to be.

But, the city centre is pretty cool too, there’s music there too, but the vibes are similar to any other big city in the US where skyscrapers surround you.

So, I would personally suggest Miami Beach over the city centre, but again, it’s really up to you.

When to Visit Miami

Fun story: we’ve actually visited Miami in the worst possible period – during summer! And before you think it was a bad decision, let me stop you – it was not. But, if you’re visiting in summer, be prepared for high temperatures, extreme humidity and possibility of hurricanes, because in the end, it’s when the hurricane season is.

We were lucky and only experienced one quick shower, but one week after we left, Miami was indeed hit by a hurricane, so there’s always that risk if you’re planning to visit in summer. And if you’re not reluctant or don’t love the heat, then it’s better to avoid it altogether.

We actually spoke with a local guy who told us that Miami is best to visit in April because the weather is warm enough for swimming and beach days, but it’s still not as hot and humid as in summers. That makes Miami a perfect spring break destination.

Winters are great too if you want to escape from colder places, but don’t expect you can sunbathe and swim as the daily average temperatures are about 24 C (75 F).

📖 Read my 14 Best Spring Break Destinations in the US blog post.

How Many Days in Miami is Ideal

The more, the better. But, as we are all limited with time, Miami is a perfectly doable destination for 3-4 days.

I was actually there for 4 days, but I was flying into and from Miami on day 1 and day 4, so basically I had 3 full days when you sum it all up.

And that’s why I will share with you how you can spend 3 full days in Miami, which to me is a good amount if you’re a first-time visitor because you can really do a lot and even relax in just 3 days.

However, if you have 4 full days that would be even better to really see it all (such as the design district and Wynwood walls which I won’t be mentioning as I didn’t have time for it).

✅ To save up on attractions, I recommend getting this Miami City Pass.

Day 1 in Miami

By now it’s not a secret that Miami Beach is my favourite part of Miami, so I recommend starting your first day of this 3 days itinerary exactly here.

There won’t be much sightseeing on the first day, it’s all about soaking up the vibes, relaxing and being (slightly) hedonistic.

Miami Beach

Miami Beach is about 14.5 km (9 mi) long, so there’s plenty of space for everyone. However, my favourite side of Miami Beach is the South Beach next to Ocean Drive, so I would recommend bringing your beach towel there.

You can also rent sunbeds and umbrella, which is what we did.

One thing to note: up until recently it has been illegal to drink alcohol on the beach, but it looks like a pilot program has been approved for alcohol sales on public beaches.

When we visited, I remember it was even difficult to find a canned beer in grocery stores at the beach, so we bought soda drinks. There were people selling home-made cocktails at the beach and we each got one, though legally we weren’t really supposed to.

If you go on forums, you’ll see people saying that they often bring canned beers, which seems to be fine with the local police as long as you’re not making a mess.

But, as I said, for now it looks like this has been regulated.

Ocean Drive

Ocean Drive is the heartbeat of Miami and I recommend experiencing it both during the day and at night when Art Deco buildings are lit up with neon lights.

There are many great restaurants there, but my favourite was Mango’s – Miami where we had food and drinks multiple times. It’s a restaurant and night club/cocktail bar with Latin American live music.

✅ If you want to learn more about Miami Beach Art Deco architecture and history, I recommend taking this best rated bike tour.

Versace Casa Casuarina

I definitely recommend you treat yourself with dinner at Casa Casuarina, a former Versace mansion.

The food was delicious, but the ambience was amazing.

✅ The villa has been turned into a hotel today, so you can book your stay there too.

Day 2 in Miami

On your 2nd day in Miami, you’ll be exploring downtown Miami, visiting museums and the most famous neighbourhood – Little Havana.

I also planned to visit the Wynwood Walls, but once we were there, we realised it doesn’t open before 10:30 am and we came half an hour-hour before. Initially we wanted to wait for it to open, but the area felt dodgy and unsafe, and from what we’ve seen from the outside, it didn’t seem anything extraordinary, so we decided to leave for our next stop.

If you’d really love to see its street art, it’s doable to do it on the 2nd day, just don’t plan it as the first thing in the morning like I did.

Vizcaya Museum & Gardens

To me Vizcaya Museum & Gardens were the must do in Miami.

It was built between 1914 and 1922 and was owned by James Deering who wanted that villa to resemble the villas in Italy.

You can explore both the villa and the gardens and definitely plan to be there for about 2h because it’s such a wonderful place, but also, there’s a lot to see and do!

Gardens were my favourite part, but the villa itself is beautiful too and it definitely reminds me of beautiful villas in Lake Como in Italy. Also, I felt like I was in The Great Gatsby world.

✅ Get your tickets for Vizcaya here.

Brickell Key Park

Brickell is a modern downtown area in Miami surrounded by water and skyscrapers. I definitely recommend a stroll through the Brickell Key Park.

Little Havana

The most unique neighbourhood in Miami is Little Havana that has the largest Cuban community in the United States.

The most popular street is Calle Ocho where you can find authentic Cuban eateries, cigar shops and Domino Park.

In terms of food, I recommend going a bit further away from the centre of Little Havana and have lunch or dinner at Versailles, which is the most popular Cuban restaurant in the world and which has been serving food since 1971. The reservation is not required, but you’d probably have to queue for the table.

✅ Additionally, consider taking this Little Havana Food and Walking Tour.

Day 3 in Miami

On your third and last day in Miami, I recommend taking a day trip to Key West.

While it’s completely doable to do the day trip all the way to Key West, one thing to note is that it may take you longer to/from there depending on the traffic. In our case, it took us almost 6h to get to Key West due to heavy traffic, but the return trip was about 3h.

My recommendation is to rent a car. If you want to drive in a specific car, like I wanted with the Red Mustang, then I recommend Turo. Just make sure you book a car with unlimited mileage, so you don’t get charged for additional mileage you’d make. This was the only time I booked a private car rental over car rental companies and the experience was great.

If you’d better stick with rental car companies, then my recommendation is DiscoverCars for best rates and flexible policies.

✅ Additionally, you can also book a Key West guided tour.

Hemingway House

I’m a huge fan of Ernest Hemingway, so the main reason why I wanted to drive to Key West was to visit his house, especially when I heard that there are several cats there, some with 6 toes, and descendants of his cat Snow White.

The experience was really great, so if you’re a fan of his work, then don’t miss this place.

✅ You can explore Hemingway’s House on your own or on this best rated guided tour.

Southernmost Point

Of course, Key West is also popular because it is the southernmost point of the US and there’s a buoy that marks that.

The queue for the photo is very long, and because it was very hot and humid, I didn’t feel like standing for half an hour for it, so I just took it on the side.

Food

You can’t come to Key West and not experience the delicious food there, especially the key lime pie.

My recommendation is Rams Head Southernmost restaurant.

✅ Additionally, you can also join this best rated Southernmost Food & Cultural Walking Tour.

Is Miami worth Visiting

I wasn’t so sure even if I needed this paragraph because it’s been obvious for now that I really love Miami and that we had such a great time there!

I mean, what’s not to love: the food is great, the weather is amazing, the city is cool, the beaches are amazing, the vibes are awesome.

It’s pretty safe to visit and it also costs less than cities like New York. Overall, Miami is pretty much worth visiting.

P. S. Knowing a little bit of Spanish won’t hurt you.

✅ If you’re looking for a custom travel plan, find out more about my personalised itinerary service here.

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