Exploring Miami From Orlando

Miami and its famous beaches might seem like a long way from Orlando, but later this summer it’s going to be a day-trip option like never before, and we thought it was worth highlighting just what puts the sizzle into South Beach.

Just to start with, it IS quite a drive. From our villa areas in Kissimmee (like the lovely Regal Oaks) it is about 3hrs 45mins by car, and a large part of the drive along the Florida Turnpike is pretty dull.

So, no, we don’t really recommend the drive-yourself option unless you want to see a LOT of Florida’s flat, empty marshland between Orlando and the Jupiter area of the Atlantic Coast!

But that still leaves the chance to take an organised day-trip with a company like Gray Line Orlando, or, more importantly, the exciting all-new opportunity later this summer to let the train take the strain.

The future’s bright with Brightline

Florida’s first high-speed rail line opened in 2018 on the coastal stretch from Miami to West Palm Beach, providing a smooth, efficient and modern way to travel in south-east Florida.

Since its debut, Brightline has been working to complete the route from West Palm Beach to Orlando, via the small city of Cocoa and turning west alongside the Beachline Expressway (528) the rest of the way to Orlando International Airport, where the main station is.

(PS: Those arriving and departing from Orlando Airport’s Terminal C get a first-hand look at this fabulous new station as it’s part of the whole South Terminal complex).

Bookings for the full Orlando-Miami journey open later this month, and tickets will cost from $79 to $199, depending on which class of travel you choose.

What will the Brightline trains be like?

The trains themselves will be the sleek modern kind you see in much of mainland Europe. They were built by German company Siemens in their California plant, and consist of an engine unit and four coaches, seating up to 248 passengers per train.

There are two classes onboard, the standard, or Smart, level and the upscale choice of Premium, which adds complimentary snacks and drinks and a Premium Lounge before boarding. Every seat has a USB charging port and there is free WiFi throughout.

The top speed will be around 125mph on the longer, open stretches, and 79mph through the more built-up area between West Palm Beach and Miami.

There will be 16 southbound trains from Orlando per day, starting at 5am, and the full journey will take just a touch over three hours. The last train back from Miami will be at 9.45pm. On a day-trip, that would allow around 13 hours in Miami itself.

It’s an exciting development for the state as a whole and a potential game-changer for the tourist business, as it opens convenient trips all along the Treasure Coast to West Palm Beach, Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale, as well as Miami.

Reasons to visit Miami

In a nutshell, Henry Flagler created it; Frank Sinatra and his Rat Pack made it famous; and Crockett and Tubbs immortalised it on TV. It is the quintessential South Florida experience, just waiting to be discovered.

Railroad baron Flagler was the first to realise the full holiday potential of the Florida coast, bringing his East Coast Railway to the state in 1896 and sparking the tourism business ever since.

And, while Sinatra and Co may no longer be in residence, and Miami Vice has been gone from TV screens for more than 30 years, there is still plenty to be excited about when you head south for an adventure that is unique to the Sunshine State.

Miami is a city of enormous contrasts, with all the glitz and glamour of one of the world’s great beach destinations, plus a variety of cultural attractions, Latin flair, and world-class art museums, shopping, and dining, including Florida’s only two-star Michelin Guide restaurant.

This is where the 1930s Art Deco district came to life in a blaze of architectural glory and then, just when its lustre might have been lost forever, it was saved by a 1970s historical preservation movement that ensured this iconic part of South Beach would be restored to former glories and conserved for all time.

Start on Ocean Drive

Take a stroll along Ocean Drive and you can encompass all that made the area a tourist magnet from the word go, with its glittering stretch of beach backed by timeless cafes and bars, sprinkled with nightclubs and hotels that all bear that pre-War Art Deco allure.

Once you have had your fill of this blissful beach panorama, you can head back across the causeway into Miami proper to soak up more of this vibrant cultural melting pot at places like the Bayside Marketplace, the Cuban district of Little Havana and Coral Gables, where the rich and famous have made it their playground since the eye-catching Biltmore Hotel opened its opulent doors in 1926.

Much of the focus hereabouts is on Bayside, close to AmericanAirlines Arena where the Miami Heat play basketball, and flanked by Bayfront Park. The Marketplace features dozens of individual shops and vendors, and the chance to pick up some fabulous souvenirs of your visit, plus excellent restaurant choices, like Bubba Gump Shrimp Co, Hard Rock Café, Mojito Bar and Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls.

Bayside even has its own Marina that offers a wonderful array of boat rides around the waterways of the city, including to Star Island, where the astounding mansions have belonged to the likes of singer Gloria Estefan, basketball star Shaquille O’Neal, billionaire Philip Frost and, yes, Miami Vice star Don Johnson.

The full, sky-scraping Miami skyline is on offer here, and there is simply nowhere in Florida like it for the high-rise glitz that marks the city out as a modern original, 127 years old but with genuine 21st century sensibilities.

There’s the Everglades, too

Having come all this way from Orlando, you should maximise your time, and that means taking in some of the natural beauty of the nearby Everglades, the wildlife-rich ‘River of Grass’ that covers much of south Florida and is home to the Seminole Indian tribe as well as thousands of alligators and a profusion of birds.

This is the place to enjoy another unique feature that the state has to offer – an airboat ride. If you’ve never tried one, you’ll probably be amazed to see these flat-bottomed boats with their huge propeller behind the driver. Capable of speeds up to 50mph, they can whizz through the shallow waters of the marshy Everglades – and even over flat ground – to bring passengers up close and personal with the local wildlife.

It is perfectly safe and eco-friendly, and each boat captain can tell you the stories of the area, and how it is essential to the well-being of the whole state, with its headwaters back in the Orlando area.

Come for the beaches, stay for the nightlife

And if all that isn’t enough, if you opt for an overnight stay, an evening on South Beach adds the opportunity to soak up the night-time razzle-dazzle of the clubs and bars hereabouts, a seemingly non-stop collection of live music and dance venues that keep going until the wee small hours.

Even if the salsa and merengue vibe is not your thing (and we do urge that you at least give it a try at famous hot-spots like The Clevelander, with its signature patio pool, the lively Mango’s Tropical Café and swanky Nikki Beach nightclub, the place to see and be seen), this is still somewhere to sit with a drink at one of the many pavement cafes and people-watch as the exotic parade of Miami life flows by.

But whatever you choose to do, you can be sure of a great Florida adventure. And a truly sizzling break from your Orlando theme-parking!

Where else in Florida would you like to visit? Tell us about it on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages… and don’t forget to interact with us on Pinterest and now TikTok too!