Miami has hundreds of places to go for a day trip with a family, in couple, or alone. If you prefer natural activities, you may start from two huge national parks and 263 county parks outside Miami. Greater Miami holds fauna and flora paradises in the tropical jungles of Florida. You can choose Miami as a base for exploring the southern part of Florida and traveling around. You drive for a day to hilarious West Palm Beach, a small Sunshine State, or a luxurious Naples near the Gulf of Mexico. Choose any place that suits you best.
If you want to escape the crowds of the city, take a cheap car rental in Miami under 25 and drive to the well-known Florida Everglades. It is a natural habitat of diverse subtropical wildlife. Or drive south along the Overseas Highway to the Florid Keys. If you prefer spending time with people, visit Universal Studios park in Orlando.
Everglades National Park
We will not be original but we have to mention Everglades National Park is the first on the list of one-day Florida trips. It is the biggest natural subtropical park in the US. Visitors can observe fascinating wildlife, including alligators, bald eagles, Florida panthers, turtles, and snakes.
To get there take your car rental for under 25 into a short 45-minute drive from Miami. A small town Homestead is located at the beginning of the park where you can stay for a night if you have such a desire. Best Western Gateway to the Keys offers air conditioning, an outdoor pool, free breakfast in a budget inn.
You can enjoy Cubano dinner at Mario’s and choose empanadas, a giant churrasco steak, and classical sandwiches. Add a visit to Schnebly Redland’s Winer & Brewery to your must-have list. You will be surprised by mango and avocado wine and craft beer tastes combined with karaoke nights and dancing. Check for discount coupons in advance.
Take a boat tour to the Alligators Farm to feed animals and take photos with the smallest ones. After the visit to the farm, consider driving out to Homestead Miami Speedway to try yourself in a famous drag race.
Visit Key Largo
If you are fond of driving on vacation, renting a car to drive through Overseas Highway can be a key. To find your personal key to open the Keys of Florida sounds romantic. The whole road to the Key West is 113 miles, but the road to Key Largo will take only one hour. Key Largo is the biggest island among all the Keys, but it is still charming like a small tropical town and an extremely popular diving spot. Many divers arrive there to explore shallow azure waters full of coral reefs that are possible to reach from the shore. A place for serious divers to visit is John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. It offers wildlife of the ocean under the surface for those who want to explore it. If you do not want diving, you may observe the reefs from the glass bottom boats.
We advise you to try fresh seafood, famous key lime pie, and house-made chowders in the Fish House. You can have a drink at Gilbert’s, a tiki bar accessible both via land and water.
If you want to see wild adorable mammals, visit Dolphins Plus where you can swim with them and pet them. If you want to have a luxurious night, stay at Playa Largo Resort & Spa.
Universal Studios
If you managed to rent a car being under 25 and want to explore something beyond beaches, visit the Universal Studio. Spend free time observing Spiderman and Harry Potter movie decorations, Hulk roller coaster, and the Jurassic Park Ride, cast spells in the Wizarding world. It is better to avoid the park on school holidays and breaks when the park is overcrowded. Take Hogwarts Express to move around the park and enjoy the ride and all the park adventures.
Orlando is 3 hours away from Miami, so consider where you will stay at night, or hit the road early in the morning to return in one day. Needless to say that the park is so huge, that you will need more than one day to explore it. So, if you have only one day, better start early. The park recommends staying at their hotels at night and to visit the park from the very morning. Hotel residents have early admission to the park and can enter an hour earlier before the ordinary visitors. If you stay at Universal Premier Hotel, you will get Express Unlimited to pass for all adventures, which will save you a fortune time and money.
Do not start adventures from the very beginning, go to the end of the park, as the attractions at the entrance are always overcrowded in the morning. One small tip to save you time in the park: bring your own food and avoid lines at the restaurants. You can bring your food to an extent: no alcohol, glass, hard-sided coolers, and picnic bags.
