Miami Has the Busiest Cruise Port in the U.S. Here’s What to Do When Your Ship Docks.

Bienvenidos to PortMiami. From the elegant swaying palms lining MacArthur Causeway alongside the port to the turquoise waters conjuring the Caribbean at every angle, the views might have you feeling transported before you even embark for points in the Bahamas and beyond.

And while you can walk from PortMiami to downtown Miami’s waterfront shopping and dining district, Bayside Marketplace (roughly 30 minutes/1.3 miles), it’s easier to hail a taxi or rideshare to reach points further afield in downtown as well as the surrounding beaches.

Near both city and beach attractions, the cruise port is ideally positioned for exploring one of the country’s most vibrant cities. Here’s how to do it.

Provided by the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau

Miami in a day

Miami’s beaches were once the city’s sole spotlight. But downtown Miami’s urban highlights give plenty of cause to skip the sand these days—after all, you’ll have plenty of beach time on your cruise.

Keymia Sharpe, owner of tour operator Key2Mia, says that spending a day exploring downtown Miami before cruising “can truly serve as a bonus vacation in the midst of your vacation.”

She says, “You give yourself an opportunity to soak in the city’s culture, history, sunshine, and energy.” From the open-air retail setting of Bayside Marketplace, consider setting off on a 90-minute sightseeing cruise with Island Queen Cruises & Tours past Fisher Island and Miami Beach’s Millionaire’s Row. Back on dry land downtown, Sharpe suggests crossing Biscayne Boulevard to board the city’s free Metromover, an elevated monorail with three loops, for a scenic tour above downtown’s crowded streets. You can hop off to visit spots like the Pérez Art Museum Miami, Phillip & Patricia Frost Museum of Science, 21-acre Maurice A. Ferré Park on the bayfront, and Brickell City Centre for upscale shopping.

Sharpe also suggests finding time to stroll the Miami Riverwalk from Bayfront Park through downtown “to take a visual journey through time and to honor the Tequesta,” referring to the area’s original Indigenous inhabitants. Follow the paved sidewalk path less than half a mile along the Miami River, then cross the Brickell Avenue Bridge to reach the Miami Circle National Historic Landmark, an ancient Tequesta archaeological site surrounded by gleaming skyscrapers where shells, bones, and ceramics point to centuries of human occupation.

You can ride a taxi from downtown to reach Little Havana, where it’s a rite of passage to grab a cafecito at the walk-up window (la Ventanita) at Versailles Restaurant and watch Cuban exiles clacking dominos in Máximo Gómez Park on Calle Ocho. Right across the street, Azucar sells delicious ice cream with flavors like Abuela Maria Café con Leche.

Finish the night with mojitos and music at the famous Cafe La Trova on Calle Ocho, and don’t miss jumping in on a free salsa dancing class at legendary Little Havana nightclub Ball & Chain, says Sharpe.

If you have two days . . .

With two days to explore, plan some beach time in the mix—whether to flop down on the sand or enjoy more active pursuits. The most obvious spot to go is South Beach, where you can join one of the guided, daily art deco walking tours led by experts from the Miami Design Preservation League before kicking back in a rental beach chair (Boucher Brothers hawks them and umbrellas, too, at kiosks all along South Beach) for some sun and surf in the area’s public stretches.

South Pointe Park, on the southern tip of Miami Beach, is another sweet beach spot for a swim—or walk along the 450-foot-long pier here to join the crowds waving off departing cruise ships. Hit Lobster Shack at the park for a casual lunch of fish tacos and lobster rolls. Don’t miss trying the sustainably harvested stone crab claws when they’re in season, from October 15 to May 1.

And Miami’s prettiest beaches await only a short-drive from downtown on Key Biscayne, where you can go horseback riding along the sand at Historic Virginia Key Beach Park during tours with Palomino Ranch. (Sharpe calls the tiny barrier island “an ecological gem.”) Then hit the long stretch (1.2 miles) of undeveloped beachfront at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park for vibes as tropical as the Florida Keys. Come golden hour, there’s no better place to enjoy sangria and a plate of ceviche than the Cleat, a breezy tiki bar fronting No Name Harbor with views of Stiltsville—a collection of grandfathered-in historic wooden houses on stilts in the middle of Biscayne Bay—on the horizon.

With two days, you can go deeper into Miami’s downtown neighborhoods, visiting spots like the Design District, with its luxe design and fashion boutiques, and up and coming Little River, just north of Wynwood (known for the graffiti-clad Wynwood walls). Sharpe suggests checking out Historic Overtown, once known as the Harlem of the South. Her Melanin Miami tours discover Miami’s Black history at Overtown’s iconic addresses like Black Archives–Historic Lyric Theater (where Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington once took the stage) and Red Rooster, beloved for its internationally accented comfort food like Guyanese oxtail pepper pot, fried yardbird, and grilled berbere rib eye.

Photo courtesy of Acqualina Resort

Stay longer

With a comfortable downtown base like the Elser Hotel or out at the beaches (choose the Setai for sophistication on the sand and oceanfront Acqualina Resort, 10 miles north, for a wellness-focused stay), you can dive deeper into South Florida’s spectacular nature during day trips into national parks and the Florida Keys.

Spend some time café-hopping in Coconut Grove and strolling the gardens at sites like the Barnacle Historic State Park (home to Miami-Dade’s oldest house) and the Kampong, the tropical backyard oasis of famed plant explorer and botanist David Fairchild, who introduced thousands of useful plants into the USA. (He died in 1954 in Coconut Grove.) Then head out on boat tours with the Biscayne National Park Institute to snorkel and kayak into Biscayne National Park. This lesser-known Florida national park sprawls across 173,000 acres (much of it within eyeshot of downtown Miami’s skyscrapers), with the largest marine area within the National Park Service. Certified scuba divers can even explore shipwrecks with guides along the park’s Maritime Heritage Trail.

Sharpe calls Homestead, south of Miami between Biscayne National Park and the Everglades, “a gateway to nature and adventure that’s perfect for soaking up Miami’s countryside.” She recommends visiting Everglades National Park, sipping avocado wine at Schnebly Redland’s Winery (the southernmost winery in the nation), and visiting Buddhist temple Wat Buddharangsi—just a few of the surprises that await.

From Homestead, you can continue 40 minutes (30 miles) south to find yourself in the northernmost of the Florida Keys, Key Largo, where John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park beckons with snorkeling and glass-bottom boat tours to the reefs.

When it’s finally time to board your cruise ship, prepare for a dramatic sendoff.

“Sailing out of Miami is like watching a movie unfold in real time,” Sharpe says. The downtown skyline glitters or glows, depending on the time of day, lavish mansions line the islands, and palm trees sway as if waving goodbye.

“South Beach, with its beautiful white sand and blue waters, stretches out in the distance, reminding you why Miami is a global destination,” she says.