Miami
5 Best Day Trips From Miami
Key West's Overseas Highway to the Biltmore's Jazz Age halls: where to go when a Miami trip has a day to spare.
A spare day in Miami can go three ways: south down the Overseas Highway toward Key West, west into the Everglades' mangroves and wildlife, or a short hop to an island, a historic hotel or a neighbouring city that feels genuinely different from Miami itself.
The following are the best day trips from Miami.
Key West
A full-day trip down the Overseas Highway and across the Seven Mile Bridge, with boats passing beneath the road and calm blue Atlantic water on both sides for most of the 113-mile route. Organised day tours typically pick up from Miami hotels and build in free time for solo exploring in Key West itself, with optional add-ons like dolphin watching, glass-bottom boat rides, parasailing and snorkelling. Given the drive time each way, most visitors book a guided tour rather than attempt a self-drive round trip in a single day.
Everglades National Park
Airboat tours run within 90 minutes of Downtown Miami, gliding through mangrove ecosystems with genuine chances to spot alligators and wading birds up close. Tour prices vary by operator, typically running $28 per person for the airboat ride itself with roundtrip transportation from Miami adding roughly $35-80 depending on the package. It's the most distinctly different landscape reachable from Miami in a single day, swamp and mangrove rather than beach or skyline.
Key Biscayne
An island just across the Rickenbacker Causeway, about a 20-minute drive from Downtown Miami, known for calm, clear water and a noticeably more relaxed pace than the mainland. Crandon Park's beaches suit families, while Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park adds a historic lighthouse tour, beachfront picnic spots and coastal bike paths. It's the easiest day trip on this list purely on distance, realistic even as a half-day rather than a full one.
Coral Gables and the Biltmore Hotel
Built in 1926 and named a National Historic Landmark in 1996, the Biltmore Hotel has hosted European and Hollywood royalty and countless golf tournaments across its long history, and remains one of Miami's most-visited attractions today. The surrounding Coral Gables neighbourhood carries the same Mediterranean Revival architecture throughout, giving the whole area a distinctly different feel from Miami's glass towers. Hop-on hop-off tours regularly include a Biltmore stop, making it an easy add-on to a wider day out.
Fort Lauderdale
About an hour north of Miami, Fort Lauderdale offers seven miles of beach with year-round lifeguard coverage, plus Las Olas Boulevard for boutique shopping and well-regarded restaurants. Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, a 180-acre green space between the coast and the Intracoastal Waterway, adds hiking and biking trails for anyone wanting a break from the beach itself. It's distinct enough from Miami's atmosphere (quieter, more suburban) to feel like a genuine change of scene for the day.
Planning it
Key Biscayne and Coral Gables both work as half-day trips that leave room for a Miami dinner afterward; Key West and the Everglades are better treated as full-day commitments given the distance and tour length involved. See our things to do guide for what's covered inside the city itself first.
Drive times, tour prices and seasonal conditions change. Confirm current details with an operator before booking.
Frequently asked questions
What's the easiest day trip from Miami?
Key Biscayne, about a 20-minute drive across the Rickenbacker Causeway, with beaches, a state park and a historic lighthouse all in one island.
Is Key West doable as a day trip?
Yes, though it's a long one. The drive down the Overseas Highway and across the Seven Mile Bridge takes several hours each way, so most people book an organised day tour rather than a self-drive round trip.
