When doing research for my trip it was admittedly difficult to find things to do in the area that weren’t focused around clubbing or drinking. Yacht drinking day trips & clubbing experiences are a dime a dozen here. I personally do not find this entertaining or a good use of my time, so you won’t see any recommendations of that nature. 

However, I was able to find a few things that more than made up for the fact that I don’t drink as a leisurely vacation pass time. 

Below you will find the items that were on my itinerary that I did, which I highly recommend if you’re ever in the area! 

A note: we had a rental car and drove into Miami, and I had no trouble finding parking in the area for the things I wanted to do. Make sure you do your research ahead of time to ensure that you can find proper parking. I imagine going during a busy season would influence this greatly! 

Located directly in downtown Miami, you can come and explore the winter home & gardens of a man named John Deering. 

Vizcaya

We started in the gardens, which were quite vast & lush. It seems to be a popular location for weddings and photo shoots- we saw many photographers snapping photos of young ladies in elegant ball gowns and one in a wedding dress throughout the grounds. 

Checking out the gardens.

There was well manicured trees, active water fountains & many little creatures present. Lizards and iguanas galore!

Green Iguana on the steps of Vizcaya.

We even managed to see a peacock in one of the trees!

A wild peacock.

This was where I learned peacocks roam free in Florida, we later saw one in someone’s front yard. These discovered along our journey never ceased to amaze me and my curiosity. The tour made me feel like I was visiting a European city, and not just because of the scenery and architecture. There was a less than desirable smell throughout the gardens, I’m not sure if this was intentional to add to the true European olden day experience, but it worked. 

We moved on to the rear of the property that backed up onto the ocean. The water was exceptionally blue, and we welcomed the strong breeze on this particularly hot day (28 degrees). A large stone patio had a tent erected, which later was set up for a dinner of sorts. The view showed the Miami skyline, boats passing through. There was a large stone pirate ship that appeared to be falling apart but was beautiful nonetheless. There was no access to this. On either end were added viewpoints. 

We looped around the opposite side, where we saw a beautiful yet eery swimming pool. We headed into the cafe to grab some cold water. It also hosted a gift shop and a cafeteria to grab a bite to eat if you get inclined. After finishing our sun break, we headed back outside towards the front to begin the inside portion of the house. 

The inner courtyard.

At this point you are able to explore at your pace, all the areas open to visitors. There are 3 floors to explore. Each room has a glass box that you step into, so you can view the rooms but aren’t able to actually access them to help preserve them.

Mirror selfie within the Vizcaya house.

One of the bedrooms on the third floor.

The formal dining area, used for special occasions.

The breakfast room.

I believe you can download an app that has auditory information relayed to you at points through the tour that are points with QR codes that can be scanned by your phone for additional information. There are also downloadable maps online & physical maps at the museum entrance. 

Vizcaya Museum & Gardens:

Rating: 5/5
Recommended experience. 
Tickets: 15-20$ ea.  Must be purchased online prior to arrival. Scanned QR code at gate.
Parking: Free on grounds or across the street, with adequate signage.
Address: 3251 S Miami Ave, Miami, Florida

The Wynwood district in downtown Miami is known for its artistic murals and the representation of the street art culture. The neighbourhood buildings are covered with a variety of graffiti, painting and beautiful images.

Beautifully depicted graffiti line the walls of the stores in the Wynwood District.

Even the parking garage in the area is impressive.

The sidewalks have spray painted quotes, symbols & inspirational pieces.

Sidewalk piece.

While it is free to walk the blocks and see the sheer beauty of it all, there is a space known as Wynwood Walls. It is a museum established in 2009 that showcases featured graffiti artists around the Miami area. It is known as one of the best venues in the world to see the work of street artists. 

Wynwood Walls Museum

It’s a smaller museum, but the art is vivid, invokes thoughts & emotions in the viewer and even someone who isn’t a painter, will be able to appreciate the talent required to create these pieces. 

Artist: Tristan Eaton

Artist: Farid Rueda

Artist: Ashop Crew

There isn’t just graffiti or paintings though, it also showcases mixed media throughout. 

There are also exhibits indoors that offer a reprieve from the hot Miami sun, and a more in-depth look at specifically selected and showcased artists. 

My favourite was the pieces showcased by Scott Froschauer.

Signs by Scott Froschauer.

Tunney Munney’s exciting also brought up some strong emotions within me, but I’ve always been very creative and artistic, and an appreciator of the arts more than just superficially. 

One of the pieces in the Tunney Munney indoor exhibit.

Even if you’re not “into” art, it’s still neat to take a stroll through the museum & around the blocks. I do believe maps are available at walls, or downloadable to your phone from their website. If you want a more laid back experience, you can rent a guided tour in a golf cart where you’re taken around the neighbourhood and shown the sights with some background information on the pieces and the artists. 

Wynwood Walls Museum:

Rating: 5/5
Recommended experience. 
Tickets: 12$ ea.  Must be purchased online prior to arrival. Scanned QR code at gate.
Parking: Paid street or garage parking (price variable).
Address: 266 NW 26th St, Miami, Florida

And now, for the highlight of my vacation! The Miami Beach boardwalk! 

This boardwalk stretches from the southern point of South Beach northbound for around forty blocks. Also known as the South Beach Boardwalk, it is a popular destination lined with resorts and hotels, shops to stop and grab a drink and some food. This boardwalk follows the beach and allows multiple access points to reach the whitest beach with the finest sand.

You’re able to walk, jog/run, rollerblade or ride a bike on the smooth, well maintained paved surface. There is also a well maintained path along the beach where sand is flattened into a sort of path that you can walk and run onto, without sinking into the sand. This is where service vehicles roam for maintenance purposes, and police presence is often parked or seen going up and down the beach.

Along the boardwalk you can find the world famous muscle beach, where there is a popular outdoor gym. When we went by, there were storage containers that were open, allowing access to use of barbells, plates and dumbbells for rent that you could take out onto the sandy area for a complete body work out! We were already cycling, so we didn’t stop to experience this aspect, haha.

A really cool observation is that along the boardwalk there are stop points where you can rest, and sit. There is often times full on showers lining the boardwalk at beach entry points and drinking fountains galore. For cyclists, there are bike maintenance stands that have all the tools you might need if your bike runs into trouble, free to use! The tools are on a wire so they can’t be stolen.

We started out journey by parking at one of the parking garages near the north most point of the boardwalk. We walked to Miami Bike & Roll Segway Tours & Bike Rentals. We picked up two city cruising bikes and rented them for the day as the price difference for four hours versus the entire day was 5$. They came with a bike lock and a bag attached to the front to carry your belongings. Thankfully I had a trusty fanny pack so I used my bag to carry my Starbucks as we rolled along after taking a break.

Bike & Roll rental shop located on 10th Ave in downtown Miami.

We walked our bikes up the block to reach boardwalk access. In Miami it is marked that bikes have the right of way and complete use of the right lane, however I didn’t feel comfortable biking to the boardwalk with these rules as it seems to be a completely different way of travelling that I am not used to. There isn’t a dedicated cycle path where I’m from, and most of the times cars on the road aren’t respectful to cyclists. It appears they are here, but it wasn’t something I wanted to risk. It was a quick walk so it really wasn’t an issue for us.

Ocean Ave.

The beauty of it is the ability to join the boardwalk at any point on Ocean Ave.

The Miami Boardwalk

We started heading north with the intent of completing the entire boardwalk start to finish. It was an incredibly beautiful day- minimal wind, sun shining above. We had lathered ourselves in sun block prior to leaving the parking garage, so we knew we’d be set for a little while. We had a two hour drive back to our airbnb in Port St. Lucie so we knew we wouldn’t be at it all day.

There were points where there was lines to separate left from right, but people typically tended to adhere to the traffic rules and we didn’t have any trouble passing pedestrians.

We were about 7 km northward when I opted to stop for a drink at the fountain and check in with my partner. Due to the traffic it was hard to cycle side-by-side so we mostly enjoyed the ride in silence, enjoying the scene.

I was starting to get a bit hangry, so we decided to head back and hit up the Starbucks that backed up onto the boardwalk, took a half hour break enjoying the sunshine and checking out the beach before we continued on. At this point we had completed 15 km. We still had the entire south side to go.

Packed down section of Miami Beach for jogging, walking and service vehicles.

We headed down to the southern most end, which followed the ocean along the marina and some condo buildings. It was simply stunning.

Southern end of Miami Boardwalk.

We came back the same way, and then opted to cycle down Ocean Ave’s dedicated bike lane to view the hotels, and see the boardwalk from a different angle.

Dedicated bike lane on Ocean Ave.

Well known Art Deco hotels lining Ocean Ave.

When we reached 11th aveneue we returned out bikes and headed back to the parking garage. If I had known this was going to be the most exciting part of my trip, I would have put it earlier in the week and ensured I had the time to complete the entire thing, maybe even twice over!

I highly recommend checking out the boardwalk. If I ever return I would be interested in renting rollerblades and trying that method!

In the end, we completed 26 km and we hadn’t even done the entire boardwalk! It was a great day and I am so glad we squeezed it in as our final adventure prior to departure.

Miami Ocean Beach Walk:

Rating: 5/5
Recommended experience. 
Price: Free!
Parking: Paid street or garage parking (price variable).
Address: Miami Beach, Florida