Day in Miami-advice on getting around (Hialeah, Fort Lauderdale: rentals, mover, hotel)

[BobMcKelvin]

Hello all, I recently booked a somewhat impromptu "day trip" to Miami in a few weeks. I will be taking Amtrak from South Carolina all day on a Saturday and arriving in Ft Lauderdale around 6 pm where I will be staying. I plan to use any extra time that night to explore Ft. Lauderdale and then wake up early on Sunday to take the train (Tri-Rail I believe?) and spend the entire day exploring Miami before hopping back to FTL for the night and leaving via Amtrak on Monday morning.

My main decision is whether or not to bring my bicycle with me. I will be alone and relish in exploring new cities and have had no problem in the past going on a 6 hour walk in San Francisco or Boston so I do not expect to have much difficulty if I decide to go that route (and maybe jump on a bus or two to cover a larger distance). I have no problem reading maps/bus schedules in unfamiliar places to find my way around. However being a new resident to the South, I appreciate the flat topography and climate that are conducive to cycling. I'm comfortable riding on roads with moderate traffic although I avoid the truly treacherous routes and prefer to meander along the side streets when possible to take in the scenery (even if that scenery is considered unpleasant or "ghetto" to most people. During the day I trust my street smarts in all but the most unadvisable locales.)

I would also like to point out my interests based on only the most general knowledge of both cities and allow anyone to chime in with advice on where to prioritize my limited time. Thanks in advance for any and all responses.

Fort Lauderdale: chose to stay to save a few bucks on lodging and transport as well as to maximize my time by adding a second destination city to this hurried weekend. Plan on walking/biking from Amtrak station to downtown for a quick bite to eat (a la Chipotle) and a brief self-guided walking tour before checking into hotel for the night. Will skip the beach in lieu of a visit to South Beach on Sunday.

Miami: early train ride from FTL (appropriate acronym?) and probably head to the beach in the morning to get that out of the way as I am not a breakfast eater nor a fan of beaches. It would be awesome to ride my bike from the station out to the beach, at least one bridge appears to have bike lanes. From there I can imagine an enjoyable ride along the boardwalk. A 20 or so mile round trip ride on a safe route would be a great way to start the Sunday. From there I am thinking of exploring Little Havana and finding some good place for lunch. As a student of the language who has never lived somewhere with a significant population of native speakers, I look forward to the opportunity to test my skills, as foreign as that may seem to many of you I'm sure (no pun). I've no idea of the reputation of this area outside of its name on a map so any advice here would be appreciated. I'd also like to check out some of downtown Miami and a few classic examples of its architecture but this doesn't have to take several hours unless it should.

Beyond that I am really at a loss as to how to spend the rest of my day. I would like to get any off-the-beaten path type neighborhood exploring out of the way while the sun is still shining (again no problem catching a bus back to the train station later if I end up somewhere not conducive to walking/biking). Spanish is good. I am interested in nature/wildlife but only minimally for this trip-ie nothing that costs significant money/time/travel. I like taking in new scenes and cultural/ethnic experiences that I'm unlikely to find most other places. I'm a sucker for cheap local food, again especially if it's something a tad different than what I'm used to. And I'm convinced I don't have to pay for a single tour or go to a single museum to find that experience. I can always just go on a 5 hour walk if nothing else and still be content with the experience, I just wonder if I should bring my bike?

Thanks again for helping!

[croatbob]

not too much to see in miami. head to miami beach. south beach to be exact. if its a day trip you wont have much time to mess around on public transport so rent a car for the day off priceline.com for $25.

[perry335654]

Originally Posted by croatbob

not too much to see in miami. head to miami beach. south beach to be exact. if its a day trip you wont have much time to mess around on public transport so rent a car for the day off priceline.com for $25.

Are you kidding me there is plenty to see in Miami.

[perry335654]

Little Havana Miami neighborhood guide


Her is some information on Little Havana, places to see, places to eat. Brickell would be a great area to go as there is a lot of building going up there but it is too congested with all of the cranes, it will be some place to go once it is completed.


Head south from Brickell and there is Villa Vizcaya, there is the Deering Estate, Fairchild Tropical Gardens, Fruit and Spice Park in Homestead. There is the Art Museum Downtown, Bayside Park, Bayfront Park, Miami Riverwalk. The Parrot Jungle on the Causeway, Miami Seaquarium on Rickenbacker Causeway. This is just the Miami side and haven't named all there is to do

[croatbob]

Originally Posted by perry335654

Are you kidding me there is plenty to see in Miami.

if u got 10 hrs and thats it.... u go to south beach, park ur car and walk around. if you here for days yes u can leave the beach but on a day trip???u aint got the time

[SDPMiami]

I agree with CroatBob, if you have just 1 day, Miami Beach.

I have had couple people come visit me, and I usually show them around the Beach for the first couple days then maybe suggest Little Havana or Little Haiti as an alternate to experience 'real' Miami.

[oronzous]

Don't bring your bicycle. Use Broward B-cycle or Miami's Citibike rentals.

I would not try to do Fort Lauderdale AND Miami in such a short trip. Pick one.

Miami trirail station is located far from "the action", you will waste a lot of time going to/from trirail using weekend schedule public transportation. Metrorail waiting time to connect to trirail is 30 minutes on a Sunday, for example:

Hotel - Trirail
wait for trirail (0 to 60 minutes)
trip on trirail (40 minutes)
wait for Metrorail (0 to 30 minutes)
get to downtown (25 minutes ride, maybe more with sunday's maintenance schedule)
wait for the bus (??)
ride the bus to Miami Beach.

that sounds like a 2+ hours one way trip

[hurricaneMan1992]

Vizcaya Mansion, Bayside, and the whole downtown bay front area are easily accessible from Metrorail and Metromover. Bayside is actually pretty active on weekends nowadays, though it is quite touristy. There are some tiny Cuban pastelitos places in Bayside that are worth it if you haven't had it before. The new art museum is walking distance or short Metromover ride from Bayside. The Rickenbacker Causeway is the most popular place to bike in Miami, and is an easy bike ride from Vizcaya station and the mansion. South Beach of course is where most of the "action" is, but that is a half hour bus ride each way. Those busses are fairly frequent, but they often get stuck in traffic and delayed on weekend afternoons. The busses do stop in front of Bayside, so if you wanted to do Bayside + South Beach, it would be feasible. If you did decide to bring the bike, all of the busses and trolleys have bike racks, so it is possible to take your bike on the bus, for example, to get across the Causeway. If you do want to bike across, use the Venetian Causeway not the MacArthur--much more scenic and much safer. If you want to mostly bike around and get quick things to eat and not necessarily go "in" places, it would be possible to start at Vizcaya and work your way up the bayfront and across to South Beach, or vice versa.

As already mentioned Tri-rail's Sunday schedule is EXTREMELY limited (2 hour headways and doesn't run very late), and "green line" Metrorail trains are only every 30-40 minutes on Sunday. It may be worth it to take the Route L bus from the Tri-Rail transfer station which goes directly to South Beach (but it take forever...). Unfortunately, travelling back and forth this way will take up half of your day.

If you did get "stuck" at the Tri-Rail transfer station on the way back and have to wait 2 hours, Hialeah Park Casino is within walking distance, but use extreme caution with the traffic when walking or biking around there. Another option which could allow you to go back to FTL later is Route 3, S, or 120 to Aventura Mall and transfer to Broward County Route #1 to Fort Lauderdale.

Good luck!

And come back in two years after All Aboard Florida starts up--this will all be much easier and more convenient then.