In the days leading up to my day in Miami, I took a Virgin Voyages cruise that left out of they city's port. Since I've never been to Miami prior to this trip, I decided to take some additional time to spend a day in the city to explore and achieve a near life-long goal of going to a Miami Heat home game. How does one make the most out of a full day in Miami? Keep reading to find out!
Not to be confused with my Day Trips, this "day" in Miami was not intentionally a day trip. I did not specifically travel to this destination with the intention of spending a day to check out the city and it was supposed to be two days of exploration if it weren't for my cruise being forced to arrive to the port late. The only reason I was there was simply to extend my vacation and watch my favorite NBA team in person. However, the activities I did are exactly what I would do if this were actually one of my typical Day Trips.
Hotel
I stayed on Biscayne Boulevard in the Hilton Miami Downtown Hotel. I chose this location because I am a Hilton Honors member and I wanted to be close to the main activities I was in town for. This is a 4-star hotel with floor-to-ceiling windows, great views, and very large rooms. After watching the Texas Longhorns Volleyball team win the NCAA championship, it was getting too dark for me to venture out and find food. I was also just feeling tired, so I went to down to the hotel restaurant for dinner. The service was nice and the food was a bit pricey which is expected for a hotel in Miami, but the food was good from a menu of mostly comfort food.
As a young, solo, female traveler, I felt safe in this location and loved the convenience of being nearby local attractions and public transit. I will be returning to Miami in the future for more Virgin Voyages getaways and Miami Heat games, so this will very likely be the hotel I stay in each time.
Transportation
Walking
I attempted to walk, but there was ongoing construction of a highway that made it pretty much impossible to simply walk the entire length of Biscayne Boulevard. If I was walking, it was only for about 1-2 blocks to get to a faster mode of transportation. I only recommend walking if the places you want to go are actually close by each other or at least a bit more accessible by foot.
Rideshare
I took Lyfts at first because I had no idea how to get to different places by walking and hadn't looked into the public transportation. It turns out that I really only needed a Lyft to get to and from the airport. As I was catching a Lyft back to my hotel from Bayside Market Place, I noticed this interesting looking elevated tram. When I got back to my hotel, I found out that it was the Metromover! You really don't need to use rideshare services or a taxi to get around the city, but they are convenient if you choose to use them or are in an area where you actually need to ride in a car.
Metromover
The Metromover is an unmanned tram that is "free" to ride. Nobody has to pay specifically to ride the Metromover because half a penny from local taxes funds its operations. There are a few different routes that it follows, but it can get you all around downtown and even to the airport with a new car arriving every 3-5 minutes or so. There was a station only a block from my hotel and stations two blocks from the Kaseya Center, so I was able to take that and save a lot of money getting to and from the Miami Heat game!
Flight
I flew into and out of Miami via Southwest which is my preferred airline. I booked a one-way ticket to Miami for my cruise during a general sale and only paid $80 for the flight. After figuring out when I would be returning to Central Texas, I booked a one-way flight during a sale on flights that included blackout dates (which is when I was planning to flight in the week before Christmas). To save some money, I used some of my Rapid Rewards points to pay for the flight. By using points, I only had to pay the airport fees and taxes which brought my total to a little over $5 for the flight! Miami International Airport is not the most updated space with a very 80s or 90s interior, but the TSA lines moved much faster than I expected. It helps that I have CLEAR Plus and I now also have TSA PreCheck.
Big Bus Tour of Miami
This hop-on hop-off bus tour is the one I was supposed to go on the previous day when I departed the cruise, but was canceled due to bad weather. So, I booked it again for my full day in Miami and took the morning and afternoon to ride on the double decker bus to see the city. The bus tour began at Bayside Market Place and went over to Miami Beach (which many people call "South Beach") across the causeway before taking us through Miami's neighborhoods such as Wynwood and Overtown. Before continuing on to Little Havana, I made a hopped off at Bayside Market Place to take some pictures, go to the restroom, and shop for souvenirs.
Once I was done checking out Bayside Market Place, I hopped on a Big Bus again to continue on to Little Havana for lunch. I went to El Cristo Restaurant on Calle Ocho and ate a Cubano regular sized sandwich with a mojito to drink. After eating my food, I walked around more of Calle Ocho to take some pictures, observe the iconic Domino Park, and appreciate this unique area of Miami. I wasn't in Little Havana for very long, but it was the best part of Miami that I had seen that day and I can't wait to go back for more food and to hop off the bus at the other locations that I didn't get off at on the tour!
Miami Heat Game
I returned to my hotel immediately after the Big Bus tour and took a nap to rest up for the basketball game and charge my phone. I changed into my Bam Adebayo jersey after waking up, familiarized myself with how to navigate the Metromover, and made my way over to Kaseya Center with ease. However, things were a bit confusing once I arrived. The signage for getting to some of the gates was not very clear. Fortunately, I was nearby a woman who was asking security about where to go and she was looking for the same gate as me. We walked around to the other side of the arena together and I continued on to enter Kaseya Center. I was looking for gate 1 which would give me access to the CLEAR Lane (again, CLEAR is proving its worth) and was able to skip to the front of the long security lines and get my ticket scanned for entry after making a quick purchase of the Item of the Game (a $35 Heat Culture crewneck) at the team store trailer outside.
Once I figured out where my section was, I went to the restroom and then ordered a chicken tenders basket from Chicken Ciao (which was actually well-season from the chicken to the crispy waffle fries) and got the souvenir cup because I wanted to have a Miami Heat cup at home. I began eating my food when I got to my seat and took pictures throughout the game as the Heat battled in their Heat Culture jerseys against the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was a dream come true to be at the game surround by fellow Heat fans!
Wrap-Up
At first, I didn't even know if this extra time in Miami after my cruise would be possible. I delayed booking my return flight to see what the Heat schedule would look like once it was released back in August. I even signed up for the Miami Heat email list so I could get early access to tickets in case there was a home game around the time Virgin Voyages set sail or return. When I saw there was a game just a single day after returning to Miami, I purchased a ticket for about $100 in the lower level and it was actually a fantastic seat for me! I was closer to the course, slightly behind the basket and slightly behind the Heat bench. I'm going to make this my preferred seat for future home games that I travel to Miami to attend.
If it weren't for this Miami Heat game, I wouldn't have been able to be unbothered by the delayed return to the port on my cruise and, instead, would likely have been one of the many sailors frantically trying to make new flight arrangements. The timing was simply perfect and I got to do everything I was hoping for in my day in Miami! The only downside is that the Miami Heat lost in a close game to the Minnesota Timberwolves, but I was so happy to be there that I was able to move past that pretty quickly. The Heat had been dealing with some of their star players like Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo being injured and this was their first game back on the court which was the most ideal scenario for me to experience at my first home game. Extending my vacation to spend some time in Miami was a smart move and a perfect way to conclude my 27th birthday trip!
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