Miami City Guide

The cosmopolitan city of Miami is often regarded as the official gateway to Latin America and is an important center for international business, tourism, fashion and nightlife. This vivacious city is a cultural melting point and renowned for its many distinctive neighborhoods and its stylish, glamorous lifestyle. Vacationers to Miami are often awed by the glamor and glitz this American city possesses.

The city of Miami is also known as the retirement capital of America and is a leading tourist destination. It is also a hub for a vibrant cruise industry. Further, Miami is also known for its miles of beautiful sandy beaches and many prominent resort towns like Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Pompano Beach and Palm Beach.

Almost every leading hotel chain in the world has an outpost in Miami, especially along world famous Miami Beach which is renowned for glitz and glamour. However, apart from Miami Beach, Miami is known for its varied distinctive neighborhoods as well.

This district, which is popularly referred to as ‘SoBe,’ is home to world famous luxury hotels, several hip and trendy restaurants, fashionable stores and nightclubs. South Beach is perhaps the most popular accommodation choice of visitors to Miami.

The Design district, which lies north of Midtown Miami, is home to more than 130 art galleries, showrooms, stores, bars and eclectic restaurants and offers myriad stylish hotels that cater to all tastes and budgets.

The neighborhood of Little Havana borders the Miami River and was originally a Cuban enclave. Today, it is populated by people who come from various countries in Latin America. Salsa and Merengue clubs and cultural fests abound in this colorful district that hosts the Calle Ocho festivities, which are a part of the annual Carnival Miami. For dance lovers, vacations to Miami timed around these festivals are the best options.

Key Biscayne is located south of Miami Beach and east of Miami and is home to attractions like the Seaquarium, luxury hotels and resorts as well as several public beaches.

The Coconut Grove neighborhood is a harbor front town that is affectionately known as ‘The Grove’ and is known for its many varied restaurants and excellent shopping options.

No matter where you choose to stay in Miami, you can be sure of acquiring cheap hotel rooms through the attractive hotel deals offered by us.

So if you are looking for hotel discounts for your trip to Miami, be sure to check out the cheap hotel rates and last minute deals that Fare Buzz has to offer.

Miami’s biggest attractions are its golden sand beaches but for those tourists who like bit of sight-seeing, Miami does have a few sights to offer as well.

The Miami Science Museum is located on the north of the city’s Coconut Grove neighborhood. This museum contains more than 140 interactive exhibits that include live demonstrations and collections of rare natural history specimens. The museum is also equipped with a Wildlife Center that has displays of 175 live reptiles and birds of prey. The Space Transit Planetarium is also a part of the Miami Science Museum that offers periodic astronomy and laser light shows. A visit to this museum is a must during any trip to Miami.

The Miami Seaquarium is the city’s most prominent attraction that offers immensely popular performances by killer whales, dolphins, sea lions and other marine inhabitants.

Jungle Island is a part of Parrot Island, which was established in 1963. The complex offers a whole host of wildlife attractions like the ‘Manu Encounter’ that features 200 parrots, the Parrot Bowl, which features macaws, cockatoos and parrots and the Serpentarium that features ferocious predators like alligators and crocodiles. Jungle Island is also equipped with a water park that has slides and rides for all the family.

This quirky museum which is located on Miami Beach has the largest collection of erotic art in America. The museum’s collection dates from antiquities to contemporary times and show cases exhibits from various cultures, art mediums and lifestyles in a tasteful historic time line. The collection includes paintings, tapestries, sculptures and art objects.

The 34 room Vizcaya bay front villa, which is an exponent of the Italian Renaissance style, was constructed as a winter retreat for wealthy industrialist James Deering. This huge mansion and its elaborate gardens took five years to complete. Today, this villa with its many magnificent antiques is a prominent attraction in Miami. This is a must visit place during vacations to Miami.

The complex that houses the Miami-Dade Cultural Center is not very attractive though it houses several gems within its interiors like the Miami Art Museum, which features a collection of modern and contemporary works by American, Latin American and Caribbean Artists.

The center also hosts the Historical Museum of Sothern Florida, which has displays of the history, and culture of South Florida and the Caribbean. This museum also offers several walking tours that visit the various neighborhoods of Miami, like Little Havana and the Design District.

Miami enjoys a subtropical climate, which bestows the city which much sunshine all year round. The city additionally receives much rainfall during the summer and early fall. Summers in Miami can be especially humid with relative humidity levels of 85-90%.

The city also experiences a rather active hurricane season that tends to last from June to November. Most tourists like to head to Miami during the winter months of November to February, which is the most pleasant time to plan vacations to Miami. However through our efficient services at Fare Buzz, we will make sure that you have access to attractive Miami hotel deals at all times.

Getting to Miami from around the world is extremely convenient, given its multiple airports and frequent air flights. Miami is well served by Miami International and Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport. If air is the way for you, do explore our multiple cheap air tickets to Miami and save money.

Most tourists who come to Miami choose to hire a car and we at Fare Buzz also offer a wide variety of Miami car rentals that cater to all travel budgets.

However, if you don’t wish to hire a car, you can elect to use Miami’s public transport system that is made up of several modes of transport like the Metrorail, which is a 21 mile elevated rail system that serves Downtown Miami and extends west to Hialeah and Kendall with stops on every mile.

Also part of the system is the Metromover, which features individual motorized cars that run on an elevated loop track that covers Downtown Miami and the Brickell and Omni business districts and goes on to connect with buses and trains.

The mainstay of the public transport system in Miami is, however, the Metrobus that serves more than 60 routes in Miami-Dade County. The city also has a Tri-Rail commuter rail system that serves 15 stations in the Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Sunny Miami offers a plethora of shopping options at its many diverse shopping locales. A popular shopping haunt for visitors to Miami is the Dolphin Mall, located five minutes North West of Miami Airport. This bustling retail haven offers more than 250 stores like Neiman Marcus Last Call, Brooks Brothers, the Gap, Ann Taylor Loft, Burlington Coat Factory and many more along with restaurants and other entertainment avenues. The mall awards visitors with a discount card which offers attractive rebates at the various retail stores located within the mall. A shuttle bus operated by the mall provides easy access to its premises as it provides a pickup and drop off service for most hotels in Miami. Other popular Miami malls include the Falls Mall, the Aventura Mall and the upscale shopping enclave of the shops at Ball Harbor. However the hippest retail area in Miami is the Lincoln Road, an open-air mall, located within the city’s über-trendy South Beach district. The Lincoln Road mall offers an assortment of stylish, shopping outlets and al fresco cafes and affords great opportunities for people-watching in a city that is renowned for its attractive inhabitants. A similar shopping experience can also be had at another outdoor mall called Coco Walk which is located in the historic, Miami residential area, Coconut Grove.

Aside from these upscale shopping options, Miami also offers much outlet shopping at destinations like the Sawgrass Mills Mall, which is located in the area of Sunrise outside Miami and is accessible via a half an hour drive from Miami International Airport. This immensely popular shopping destination is open daily and hosts more than 400 outlets stores of popular brands like Tommy Hilfiger, the Gap, Kenneth Cole, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and much more. Visitors to the mall can also avail of a discount coupon book for rebates at the many stores located in the mall. This discount coupon book is available for free from the mall’s information counter. The Sawgrass Mills mall, like various other Miami malls also offers a round-trip shuttle bus facility that serves most Miami area hotels.

Miami is littered with many great restaurants, bistros and cafes. This cosmopolitan city offers a wide array of restaurants that serve a good assortment of local and global eats. The list of ‘best’ restaurants in Miami changes frequently, though currently this list includes eateries like Zuma (Japanese) Ni Do Café and Mozzarella Bar (Italian), Bonding (Sushi, Thai), Blue Collar (New American), Truluck’s (seafood and steakhouse), Lo de Lea (Argentinean), Nemesis Urban Bistro (New American) Islas Canarias Restaurant (Cuban) and Azul (fusion Asian).

Miami’s nightlife scene is legendary beachside bars, hotel bars, cocktail lounges, dance clubs and other entertainment spots thrive in the city that seemingly ‘never sleeps’. Popular Miami night-spots currently include joints like Blackbird Ordinary, LIV, Fat Tuesday, Club Space(all dance clubs), Treehouse Lounge, the Electric Pickle, RedBar Gallery, Plunge, the Vagabond, Chalk Lounge, Skybar at Shore Club (all lounges), Tobacco Road, Churchill’s, PAX(live-music venues), Score on Lincoln Road, Jelsomino Miami and the Corner (all bars).