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About Miami...

Airport

Miami International Airport is located about 8 km north-west of downtown Miami. Flight time from London is approximately 8 hrs. The airport is well-stocked with the usual gift shops, newsstands, cafés & bars. Currency can be exchanged 24 hrs a day, & there are several ATMs on hand. An on-site hotel provides further amenities, should they be required.

Car Hire

Choose Hertz for all your car rental needs and benefit from the experience, reliability and the very highest standards of customer service you would expect from the world’s number one car rental company. Wherever you are travelling to, Hertz will be ready and waiting with the right car at the right price. Reservations can be made by calling 08708 48 48 48 or by visiting www.hertz.co.uk.

Airport to City Centre

Taxis are always plentiful, & fares reasonable – Downtown around $15, Miami Beach $25, Coconut Grove $20 & Coral Gables $10-15. Tip no more than 10%. If you’re going further afield, the Super Shuttle, a minibus that drops passengers off individually at various city addresses, is the best bet at around $12. Simply sign up at the desks situated outside on the lower level. City bus transportation is confusing & erratic, & often painfully slow. It is best avoided. Rush hours are 0800-0930 & 1530-1830.

Orientation

Miami is less a city than a metropolis, spread out on either side of Interstate 95 which runs north & south, & to which all major roads connect. Miami Beach, featuring the tourist magnet of South Beach, is to the east, on the Atlantic coast. On Biscayne Bay, to the south-east, is Coconut Grove, another tourist favourite. To the west of ‘The Grove’ lies Coral Gables, a city in itself with its own downtown business centre, & many beautiful, old Spanish-style houses set along tree-lined streets. Downtown Miami is in the middle of it all, with little more to offer than office buildings & cut-price electronic & clothing stores. South of Downtown runs Brickell Ave, lined with prestigious office towers, banks & upmarket condominium residences.

Central Miami (or Miami-Dade, as it is known) is basically of interest for these aforementioned areas, the rest mainly consisting of industrial areas & ghettos comprising one ethnic group or another, most of which are easy (and often advisable) to avoid. Miami has a predominantly Hispanic population, & the majority of its ethnic (Cuban, Haitian, Jamaican) neighbourhoods are drab, run-down & of little (or no) interest. The local government has attempted to discourage tourists from straying into the most unpleasant of these ghettos, & has placed a sun-shaped insignia on major routes to lead unfamiliar drivers to safety.

Excursions

Selecting accommodations such as Turnberry (Tel: 932 6200) or the Doral Country Club (Tel: 592 2000) to the west would turn your trip into an instant resort-style getaway, as all the amenities you could wish for (golf, tennis, spa, watersports) would be right on hand. The Keys are a popular choice for a real getaway, with chartered fishing boats from Holiday Isle in Islamorada, & of course the ever-popular Key West at the end, although be aware that it takes a 4 hr drive by car. In the Upper Keys, about an hour south of Miami, The Kona Kai Resort (Tel: 852 7200) is an excellent choice for a quiet hideaway, with interesting coral reef diving expeditions available daily.

Getting Around

Like Los Angeles, Miami’s spread-out topography, although smaller in size, is still not ideally suited to public transportation, & whatever bus service that is provided is unreliable at best, made all the more frustrating & unpleasant by the intense summer heat, which lasts from Apr-Nov.

The elevated subway system is similarly impractical, being very limited in scope & used primarily to link poorer neighbourhoods to Downtown, & used mostly by service industry personnel, though an elevated monorail encircling Downtown provides a pleasant alternative to walking. Only Miami Beach has a public bus system that is actually usable. It was provided to accommodate the mass of resident senior citizens & tourists from Europe & South America who flock there throughout the year. Fares are $1.25 (exact change only). There is even a regular, free electric shuttle bus on South Beach. Bus maps & schedules are readily available, or call Tel: 638 6700 for specific information.

Getting around the rest of the city usually requires a car, as taxis can get pricey when travelling longer distances. For short hops, taxis can usually be hailed in the street in Miami Beach or can be ordered on Tel: 888 8888 or Tel: 444 4444 for all other areas. Getting around town by car can often be tricky, as Miami’s street signs are famously erratic & often hard to spot – many are missing from even the major intersections – so bring a detailed map along at all times. Don’t hesitate to flag down a police car for help if you get lost or need directions.

What To See

Art Deco Historic District: This title is basically the formal name for South Beach, & extends from 5th St to around 20th St. Brought to life by developer Carl Fisher in the 20s & 30s, these hotels, residences & other assorted buildings were built to attract an affluent crowd during the cold winter months up north. The area has been lovingly preserved & provides a pleasant & unusual backdrop to all the partying that goes on there throughout the year. There are walking & bike tours available (Tel: 672 2014 for details). Because Miami is utterly flat, renting a bike or a pair of rollerblades is a fun way to get around. Check with your concierge for details.

Vizcaya: Built in 1916 by industrialist James Deering, this ornate 16c Italian-style villa has 34 exquisitely furnished rooms chock-full of 15c-19c antiques & furnishings. Set in 4 hectares of formal gardens directly on Biscayne Bay, Vizcaya is a very pleasant place to spend a couple of hours. Open daily from 0930, tickets are $10 for adults & $5 for children. The ticket booth closes at 1630 & the villa itself closes at 1700, though you can loiter in the gardens until 1730. Located at 3251 S Miami Ave, near Coconut Grove (Tel: 250 9133).

Parrot Jungle: This unusual bird sanctuary & botanical garden set in South Miami is a place where parrots fly free, eat from your hand & pose for snapshots. Also on hand are flamingos, alligators, giant tortoises & so on. Shows & exhibits add drama to the mix, & the Parrot Café provides refreshments from 0930. The park is open from 0800-1600, & admission is $12.95 for adults & $8.95 for children (those under 3 go free). Located at 11000 SW 57th Ave (Tel: 666 7834).

Billie Swamp Safari & Everglades Adventures: You’ll need a car & a good half a day to check out this fascinating mix of Seminole Indian culture & a world-famous unique natural habitat. Set right in the Everglades about 45 mins from Miami, this attraction will show you the way things were before they paved paradise & put up a parking lot. Tours start at $20 for adults & $10 for children, & include a fascinating swamp buggy or airboat rides. Other packages, even an overnight one, are available – Tel: 257 2134 for further details.

Fairchild Tropical Garden: This is one of the world’s premier botanical gardens, sporting an impressive assortment of rare tropical fauna & trees. Set on 33.2 hectares in South Miami, close to Coral Gables, it features 11 lakes, lily ponds galore & lovely meandering pathways. Guided tram rides are offered in addition to walking & self-guided tours, & special events often happen on weekends. Open daily from 0930-1630, Tel: 667 1651. Tickets are $8, children under 12 go free.

Shopping

Among the most pleasant places to shop in Miami are South Beach & Bal Harbor. South Beach is geared primarily to a younger crowd, while Bal Harbor caters to the well-heeled, with outposts for all the Fifth Ave stores (Cartier, Tiffany, Gucci etc) sprinkled with a good assortment of upmarket clothing stores, all eager to cater to Miami’s ever-expanding community of nouveau riche Latinos & Russian mobster’s wives. Both are situated on Miami Beach, although Bal Harbor is up at 125th St, about 20 mins & a good $20 cab ride away. Bargain hunters will find upmarket Miami a good source for cut-price electronic, shoes & clothing goods, all placed conveniently close together – head for Flagler St & work your way from there. Bayside Marketplace, within walking distance from Downtown, is an open-air shopping mall with all the usual chain stores (Gap, Banana Republic, Hard Rock Café etc), which also offers a sunset booze-cruise which leaves from the adjoining quay. South Beach also sports an impressive selection of stylish furniture & home accessories boutiques, notably around Lincoln Rd. World-wide shipping is always readily available in this tourist-friendly city. The Design District, about 5 mins north of Downtown on NE 2nd Ave at 39-42 Sts, is also an excellent resource for home furnishings & unusual art & ceramics.

Where To Walk

Miami is so spread out & often uncomfortably hot, that it’s best to keep to condensed areas such as Coconut Grove & South Beach for walking. There’s also a better chance of a breeze in these locales, since both are on the water. The upmarket Grove, once a funky hangout for hippies & ultra-liberals, has been nearly levelled & transformed into a rather tacky outdoor shopping mall, with many open-air eating spots to choose from. It only takes about 15 mins by foot to get the whole picture. Tourists abound, as they do in South Beach, which at least has retained much of its charm due to the historic architectural significance of its buildings. Stray no further west than Washington Ave for shopping & eating. Ocean Drive, right on the Atlantic, is bustling with tourists most of the time, along with muscle men & skimpily clad model wannabes skating back & forth, hoping to get noticed. It gets even more packed at weekends. Lincoln Rd (really 18th St) makes for an ideal stroll; not too touristy & cut off to cars, it has a relaxed atmosphere & quite a few interesting shops. Of course, there are miles of beach to walk on. Try kicking off your shoes & waking along the waterline – a combination of foot massage & exercise that is sure to help you unwind.

Weather & Climate

Miami is usually warm & pleasant (25°C highs) Nov-Mar, after which the heat turns blistering, with very high humidity. Balmy breezes at night (especially on the beach) make for pleasant alfresco dining in winter (& occasionally summer) months. The night sky never gets completely dark, but fades to a lavender pink which makes a unique tropical backdrop against the silhouettes of rustling palms.

Local Issues

The massive demand for telephone numbers due to the multiple lines demanded by many households means that it’s now necessary to dial the 305 code at the beginning of each local telephone number, even when making a local call. Damn nuisance, but there it is.

Never leave any valuables in your car, especially when valet parking. It is prudent to assume that a fair proportion of valet parkers are thieves, & they will go through the glove box, ashtray & so on looking for anything of value. Passports are a favourite item. Leave valuables with the concierge or carry them discreetly on your person.

If using a rented car, check thoroughly the route you are going to take to your destination, & avoid any forays into dicey areas. Downtown, especially, is ringed with poor neighbourhoods. If you’re lost, stay in your car until it’s safe to get out (at a petrol station, for instance) but be aware that most employees at convenience stores & service stations are almost totally useless at giving directions as a rule, as few speak English. Careful study of a good road map before getting into the car is the wisest course of action.

There is a large British community in South Florida, but most of them seem to have shied away from the rather downmarket & innumerable Latino & Haitian districts of Miami & moved up the road to Fort Lauderdale, about a 30-min drive north from Downtown. There one finds a thriving ex-pat enclave, replete with pubs, shops & social gatherings on a regular basis. To find out what’s going on anywhere in the region call Patricia Kawaja from the Florida Association of British Business on 350 565 3429 or e-mail her at british@gate.net & she’ll fill you in. The British American Chamber of Commerce is a volunteer-run operation in Miami. If you would like to contact them, then call Tel: 377 0992 & leave a message for Gaynor Evans on the voice-mail, leaving your name & telephone number.

Local Heroes

Sidney Poitier, actor.
Faye Dunaway, actress.
Steve ‘Lefty’ Carlton, sportsman (Baseball Hall of Fame).
Glenn Curtiss, aviation pioneer.
Chris Evert, tennis star.
Gloria Estefan, Cuban-born singer.
Benjamin Green, Miami druggist & creator of Coppertone sun cream.

Sport

The city's local football teams are the Miami Dolphins or the fiercely supported University of Miami Hurricanes. The basketball team is the Miami Heats. In 1993, the Florida Marlins came to town & filled a vacuum, as the high-profile city had no Major League baseball team. & incredibly, four years later, the Marlins went on to beat Cleveland & win the World Series. Homesick Brits can enjoy soccer (football) matches between April & August, or cricket matches on Sunday, courtesy of Miami's substantial West Indian community. Thoroughbred horse racing is held at Calder Race Course; dog racing at the Biscayne Kennel Club & the Flagler Greyhound Track. Outdoor sports are extremely popular all year round, from tennis & golf to cycling & windsurfing.

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