Miami

Overview

Miami, known as Magic City is located in Southeast Florida. Home to the popular sports teams the Miami Dolphins and Miami Heat, it has become a hot spot for all types of travellers including Sports fanatics. Miami’s great climate and winter temperatures draws many vacationers from colder climates. Winters in Miami are mostly warm and hot, comparable to Canada’s spring and summer weather.

Documentation Required

Passport is required to enter the United States of America. If your home country is under the Visa Waiver Program (United Kingdom, France, Spain, Japan and Germany etc.), you don’t require a Visa. If your home country is not included in the VISA Waiver Program, you will need a nonimmigrant Visa to visit Miami.

Language and Culture

Miami has a strong Spanish presence, however English is still legally the official language in Florida.

Currency

Miami uses the American Dollar ($). Foreign currencies can be exchanged in many stores across the city.

Getting Around

If renting a car in Miami, you must know the traffic is heavy, and there are many stop lights. Driving is on the right side of the road, and you only need a license from your host country to be able to drive in Miami. To rent a car, you must have a license, passport, credit card, be 21 years of age. If you are under 25 some companies charge you more for your rental.

Weather and Clothing

Depending on what season you visit Miami, you should pack accordingly. Miami is a casual city, where you can wear beachwear like shorts, tank tops, and flip flops everywhere you go. There are some fine dining restaurants where you will need to dress fancy, but for the daily life in Miami you can dress casually. Early summer is the rainy season and you should pack an umbrella and light layers for when it rains, or for some chilly Miami nights.

What to do in Miami

Booze Cruise Snorkeling- Miami to Keys West (miamitourcompany.com): Ride a large catamaran in style to your snorkeling destination of Keys West. The spacious boat has freshwater showers, a staircase into the ocean, free water, soft drinks, wine, and beer to enjoy on your ride back to your hotel. Swim along with bright neon fish in the Keys or just sail and enjoy the lovely Miami weather. Legal drinking age in Miami is 21 but it is not necessary to drink alcohol on your boat ride.

Jungle Island VIP tours: Jungle Island is a zoo where people can interact with some of the animals. Interact with kangaroos, tiger cubs, monkeys, feed parrots, and play with lemurs and kangaroos. Step into their habitat to see how the animals live. There are shows including a bird show where birds can be seen flying overhead. The shows are family friendly and enjoyable for all ages.

Viscaya Museum and Gardens: A 34 room European style mansion with beautiful garden grounds. Owner James Deering bought the land and property and transformed it into his dream house, overlooking the Bay. He had about a thousand people contributing to the success of Viscaya. Authentic European materials and workers were used to recreate the whole property. After several million dollars and the work of a thousand workers, you can now enjoy the gorgeous fountains, pools, hidden gardens, mazes, and fauna of Viscaya.

Wynwood Walls: Wynwood Walls was once an abandoned warehouse district. Until artists started painting on the walls of the buildings and using empty warehouses as art galleries. You can find sculptures, paintings and unique art and graffiti you can’t find anywhere else. They even have 3-D life size murals.

Watersports: Propel yourself over the water with a jet pack contraption. Jet ski, paraglide, and do just about every watersport activity possible in Miami.

Everglades: Enjoy the nature of these beautiful wetlands while gliding across the water in airboats. Alligator shows are put on regularly, sometimes hourly depending on which company you go to. With knowledgeable guides these airboat tours can be exciting, tranquil and educational.

Nightlife

South Beach: An upscale beach and streets lined with high class clubs and restaurants. This is where you can find the “elites” of Miami lounging.