One day in Miami, United States

The beach in the morning

Start on the beaches north of South Beach. The City of Miami Beach runs the parks of Mid Beach and North Beach, with the beach parks of each, and Sunny Isles Beach is further north still, on the sand between Bal Harbour and the North Beach neighbourhood.

The lifeguards are on the sand from 9 am to 7 pm, so the children can swim in the shallows and the adults can walk the waterline.

Lunch in Miami

Lunch is Cuban and Caribbean: a sandwich of roast pork with ham, or a plate of rice and beans, and a cafecito to finish. There are markets and bakeries all over the neighbourhoods, and the food is at its best in them.

The science museum and the water

Spend the hot part of the day inside, at the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science in downtown Miami, where the sea life swims overhead. It is the kind of place that works in the middle of a Florida afternoon.

Afterwards, go to the water again. Crandon Park on Key Biscayne has two miles of sand, calm water, nature trails, a visitor and nature center, and hire for kayaks and paddleboards, and Matheson Hammock Beach has an atoll pool, a lagoon filled by nature, and calm water for small children. The Oleta River State Park in North Miami Beach is a nature area on the Biscayne Bay with fourteen miles of trails for walking, cycling and paddling.

Plan your one day in Miami

The beaches, the downtown museums and the parks are spread out, so a day that does all three needs a car. A day that stays on the beach and in one museum does not, and it is the easier day with small children.

The rain in Miami comes in the afternoon in summer, usually for an hour or two, and the museums are the answer. Lifeguard hours, the museum's opening days and the state parks all change, so check each one before you travel.

Sources

• Official parks directory of the City of Miami Beach: it lists the parks of each neighbourhood, with South Beach, Mid Beach and North Beach among them, and the beach parks of the city, such as North Beach Bark Beach, North Beach Oceanside Park and Palm Island Park. — miamibeachfl.gov (checked 21 October 2026)
• Official current beach conditions page of the City of Miami Beach Ocean Rescue: the lifeguard duty hours are 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and the page warns to always swim near a lifeguard. — miamibeachfl.gov (checked 21 October 2026)
• Official beaches page of the Miami-Dade County parks department: the county has 17 miles of beaches, from Government Cut in the south to the county line in the north, and it lists Crandon Park Beach among them; the clean-up crews work seven days a week. — miamidade.gov (checked 21 October 2026)
• Official page of the Miami-Dade County parks department on Crandon Park: the park is on Key Biscayne, its main office is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and its two-mile beach is celebrated for its pristine sand, calm water and winding promenade, with a nature center, gardens and a bear cut nature preserve that offers waterfront hiking. — miamidade.gov (checked 21 October 2026)
• Official page of the Miami-Dade County parks department on Matheson Hammock Park: the park has its own atoll pool, whose lagoon is open seven days a week with lifeguards on weekends and holidays, a sandy beach and a marina; the restaurant on the beach looks out over Biscayne Bay. — miamidade.gov (checked 21 October 2026)
• Official page of the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science: it is in the waterfront Maurice A. Ferré Park in Downtown Miami, and it is divided into four buildings, the Frost Planetarium, the Aquarium and the North and West Wings. — frostscience.org (checked 21 October 2026)
• Official page of the Florida State Parks on the Oleta River State Park in North Miami Beach: fourteen miles of multiuse trails for hiking and mountain biking, paddling and fishing on the river, and a nature area on Biscayne Bay. — floridastateparks.org (checked 21 October 2026)