In Miami over 4-5 days: South Beach (13 km beach, swimming, beach volley, paddle), Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue (800 Art Deco buildings, Versace Mansion, restaurants Joe's Stone Crab, News Cafe), Lincoln Road Mall (pedestrian shopping and dining street), Wynwood Walls (open-air street art museum, $35), Little Havana and Calle Ocho (Versailles café, Domino Park, hand-rolled cigars, salsa music), Design District (luxury, galleries), Coral Gables (Biltmore Hotel 1926, Venetian Pool), Vizcaya Museum and Gardens (1916 Italian villa, $25), Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) ($16). Excursions: Everglades ($35-90 by airboat or kayak, day trip), Key Biscayne (nature island, Crandon Park beach), Fort Lauderdale (45 min north, canals, beaches).
In the Keys over 2-3 days via Overseas Highway: Key Largo — John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park (snorkelling $30-50, diving $80-100, Christ of the Abyss statue), African Queen boat tour. Islamorada — big game fishing (charter $600-1,200/day per group), Theater of the Sea (dolphins). Marathon — Seven Mile Bridge (spectacular view), Dolphin Research Center ($35), Sombrero Beach. Key West — Mallory Square Sunset Celebration (free, every evening, performances), Duval Street (bars, restaurants, shopping), Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum ($17, descendants of 6-toed cats), Southernmost Point Monument (iconic photo, 90 mi from Cuba), Truman Little White House ($22), Dry Tortugas National Park (boat excursion $200, 19th-century Fort Jefferson), Tennessee Williams House.
In Orlando, minimum over 4-5 days: Walt Disney World (minimum 3 days over 4 parks — Magic Kingdom most mythical with Cinderella Castle, EPCOT for Future World + 11 international pavilions, Hollywood Studios for Star Wars Galaxy's Edge + Toy Story Land, Animal Kingdom for Avatar Pandora + Kilimanjaro Safari). $109-189/day/person, Park Hopper +$85. Essential My Disney Experience app. Stay in an official Disney hotel for free Magical Express transfer bonus, FastPass+ 60 days ahead, character dinners (€250-500/night). Universal Orlando (minimum 2 days over Universal Studios + Islands of Adventure for Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley linked by Hogwarts Express). $109-149/day, recommended Express Pass $80-200 extra/day to avoid 1-2h queues. SeaWorld Orlando (marine animals, $100-140, captive orca controversies). Kennedy Space Center (1h drive east, $75, NASA, Atlantis shuttle, occasional SpaceX Falcon 9 launches, check calendar).
Excursions outside Miami: Everglades airboat (1h drive west, $35-90), Naples and Marco Island (west coast Gulf of Mexico, 2h drive, beaches, sunset), Daytona Beach (3h north, NASCAR motor racing), St Augustine (4h north, oldest European-founded US city, 1565, Spanish colonial architecture). From Orlando: Cocoa Beach (1h east, surfing), Tampa and Clearwater Beach (1h30 west, west coast beaches), Crystal River (1h30 north, swim with manatees in winter).
Read also
- Miami Beach — Art Deco South Beach, Ocean Drive, Wynwood: the US Latin and beach capital.
- United States — Complete country-continent guide: ESTA, currency, regions, best time.
- California — The West Coast alternative: Los Angeles, San Francisco, mythical beaches.
- Hawaii — The most accessible US tropical archipelago: Honolulu, Maui, Big Island.