Miami
Art deco on the sand, Cuban coffee downtown, and the Everglades and the Keys beyond.
Miami is two cities on either side of Biscayne Bay: Miami Beach, on its barrier island, with the pastel art deco hotels of Ocean Drive and the long sand behind them, and the mainland city of Brickell's towers, Little Havana's cafés and the murals of Wynwood. The Everglades begin at the western edge; the Keys run south to Key West.
Why go
For the beach and the buildings: South Beach's deco district at dusk, the lifeguard towers on the sand, a swim in the warm Atlantic and a late dinner on the terrace. And for a Latin city in the United States, with Cuban, Haitian, Venezuelan and Colombian kitchens.
And for what surrounds it: the sawgrass and alligators of the Everglades, the coral reef and the road over the water to Key West, and the art fairs and design districts that have made the city a cultural stop.
Highlights
What people go for, in no particular order.
01South Beach and the art deco district
Ocean Drive's pastel hotels with their neon and porthole windows, the beach with its coloured lifeguard towers, and the walking tours that explain the architecture.
02Wynwood and the Design District
Warehouse walls covered in murals, galleries and breweries in Wynwood, and the luxury boutiques and public art of the Design District beside it.
03Little Havana
Calle Ocho's cigar rollers, domino park, cafecito windows and Cuban restaurants, with the memorials and music of the exile community.
04The Everglades
Airboats through the sawgrass, alligators along the Anhinga trail and the Shark Valley tower for the view across the river of grass, an hour west of the city.
05The Keys
The Overseas Highway hopping island to island over the water to Key West, with snorkelling at Key Largo and sunset at Mallory Square at the end of the road.
06The bay, Coconut Grove and Coral Gables
The Vizcaya villa and gardens on the bay, the sailing village of Coconut Grove and the Venetian Pool and Mediterranean streets of Coral Gables.
07The museums and the fairs
The Pérez art museum on the bay, the science museum next door and the Bass in Miami Beach, with Art Basel filling the city each December.
Areas
Where to base yourself, and what each area is like.
South Beach
Deco hotels on Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue with the beach across the road. The classic base, and the loudest.
Mid-Beach and North Beach
Larger resort hotels along the sand north of the deco district, quieter and with wider beach.
Brickell and Downtown
Tower hotels on the mainland with the bay, the museums and the Metromover, and Wynwood a short ride away.
Coconut Grove and Coral Gables
Leafy, historic and calm, with the bay and the old villas nearby.
When to go: Miami
- Dry seasonDecember – April
- Warm, dry and sunny with low humidity: the high season, with the art fairs, the boat show and spring break in turn.
- Shoulder monthsMay and November
- Hot and humid but with fewer people and the sea at its warmest.
- Wet seasonJune – October
- Hot, humid and stormy in the afternoons, with the hurricane season peaking in August and September. Quiet.
Getting there
Airports
Two airports in our search serve Miami. Distances are measured in a straight line.
- MIAMiami International
- FLLFort Lauderdale–Hollywood International · Fort Lauderdale
Distance from
- JFKNew York1,760 km
- LHRLondon7,110 km
- CDGParis7,370 km
- DXBDubai12,600 km
- JNBJohannesburg12,960 km
- BOMMumbai14,240 km
- SYDSydney15,030 km
- SINSingapore16,970 km
Getting around: Miami
Ride-hailing and taxis are the usual way between the beach and the mainland; the free Metromover loops downtown and Brickell, and the Metrorail reaches the airport.
South Beach is walked and cycled on the hire bikes. A car is worth it for the Everglades and the Keys; the Keys road is a day each way with stops.
Practical facts
The country, its currency and languages, the time zone and the time there now.
- Country
- United States
- Currency
- USD · United States Dollar
- Languages
- English
- Time zone
- Eastern Time
- Local time now
- Calling code
- +1
The atlas
Miami in figures
The figures under this guide: the climate on modelled 2001–2020 averages, how far it is from the UAE, and the places around it.
Climate
The weather in Miami, month by month
- Jan23°
- Feb24°
- Mar25°
- Apr26°
- May28°
- Jun29°
- Jul30°
- Aug30°
- Sept29°
- Oct28°
- Nov26°
- Dec24°
- Mild to warm and dry
- Mild to warm, humid or showery
- Hot
- Cool
- Wet
- Cold
Good for going, on these averages: October to May.
Mean highs run from 23°C in January to 30°C in August, with about 1,327 mm of rain in a year.
These are modelled averages for 2001–2020; the seasons described above are our own reading of a typical year.
Month-by-month climate for MiamiModelled averages for an area about 50 km across, not a weather station's record: NASA POWER climatology, 2001–2020.
Airports
How far it is from the UAE
From DXBMiami
12,600 km
15 hrs 35 mins · Estimate
From AUHMiami
12,620 km
15 hrs 35 mins · Estimate
The great-circle distance, and a rough flying time: the distance at an average 850 km/h plus 45 minutes for take-off and landing. Real flights follow airways, meet headwinds and wait for traffic, so schedules differ.
On the map
Places near Miami
Plan this trip: Miami
Open the trip builder with Miami already filled in. Flights, stays and everything else are priced together in one quote, prepared by a person on our team.
