Beth and I will flying into your beautiful city the middle of March from Aruba. We have a nine hour layover. Anybody out in Vintage land that could give us some advice as to where to go for about six or seven hours? We won't have a car but can always grab a taxi. Is there a beach close to the airport, or would you suggest shopping or maybe a good restaurant? Thanks for your help and advise.
Maury

 

RENDERMAN is from Miami. PM him.

 

Go have some Cuban food if you eat pork - here's the place recommended to me by the folks down there:

Versailles
3501 SW 8th St
Miami, FL 33135
(305) 441-2500

The +1 and I were checking into going there in March, but the hotels in the beach area were very expensive (even the Marriott was $500 a night). So...I'm making the Cuban pork myself. Yum...

 

Nine hours is a long time to sit in the Miami airport, which has begun to resemble something that belongs in the third world, almost to the point of the chickens. The trouble is, a cab ride to anywhere would cost a fortune.

I'd suggest renting a car for the day and playing tourist. You could easily get out to the beach on Key Biscayne for a few hours, for example, or to the state park on the far end of Key Biscayne. (This assumes you'd be arriving in the morning sometime, I guess.) There's also Coconut Grove, if you're into shopping, or even downtown Coral Gables. (These places are all on the near south/east side, so you can get to them easily from the airport. HPH

 

Nine hours is almost the worst possible airport layover. Too long to just easily wait, and too short to go anywhere. If you leave the airport you need to do the whole security check-in dance all over again. Big PITA.

 

We were supposed to have an hour and half layover but American Airlines changed their schedule. Really screwed us up.

 

I couldn't agree with you more. It has gotten much stranger and difficult over the years.

 

To survive nine hours at MIA, you need to brush up on your Spanish.
Most of the clerks I encounter on our layover from Barbados spoke no English.

I felt like I was in downtown Havana.

 

SouthBeach?

 

Oooh, yeah. It's been a while since I've been through there, and security has tightened.

I take it all back. Get a copy of War and Peace and plan to hunker down.

At least there's good coffee. HPH