I had the chance to spend 10 hours in Miami in a long layover in September 2023, and will describe my experience here.

Airport

Nothing to complain about the airport, it worked well for me. The location is not that bad, and I could get an Uber to places I wanted to visit in the city. I got there in ~20 minutes.

VIP Lounge

I was able to try the Turkish Airlines lounge and it was an OK-ish experience. The place is quite small. Food is simple but it’s OK. You have wine, juice, water, beans soup, some small sandwitches and deserts. The restrooms don’t feel enough for the max usage of the place, though.

Transport

Be ready to do everything by car. It’s a car centric city.

Everyone I talked about this said the public transport is just not good enough to rely on. I spend $60 in one day to get Uber to the places I wanted to see.

It was quite easy to use Uber, and I think it’s the same for Lyft.

Places

I decided to got to Miami beach because… why not? 😅 It’s the only place I heard of and I wanted to visit it. It was ~20 mins by Uber from the airport.

  • Miami beach botanical garden: This was my go-to place, as I had to start somewhere. It’s quite a small place, but I really enjoyed it. The atmosphere is very interesting, I felt like being in a rain forest.
  • Monument to the holocaust: It’s right after the bonical garden, so I decided to check it out. I have to say I’m quite tired of reading about the Holocaust after visiting Berlin, but it was interesting anymore.

After visiting these two, I rent a City bike and went on a bike ride through south beach. It’s a nice place, but nothing unusual for a Brazilian. It’s even worth mentioning that I saw a bunch of Brazilians around. 😅

  • Bayside Marketplace: It was my last stop before going to the airport. It’s a nice place to buy all sorts of things and have a good lunch. I ended up having a margherita and a burger there.

Food

  • Margheritaville: This place is inside the Bayside Marketplace. It has a view for the ocean if you decide to eat at the bar. It was a great experience. Spent ~$45 for a burger and cocktail.