Discover Miami-Dade: Nature, Culture and Aquatic Worlds

Miami-Dade combines subtropical nature, historic sites, tropical gardens and diverse experiences on the water. When planning your trip, it is worth first deciding on your preferred pace: Should the vacation rental primarily serve as a base for days in nature, would you like to experience gardens and culture, or would you prefer to combine water sports with walks? The region’s landscapes and destinations offer a wide range of different vacation ideas.

From the Everglades to Biscayne National Park

Everglades National Park covers 1.5 million acres in South Florida and extends across the three counties of Monroe, Miami-Dade and Collier. This makes it an exceptionally expansive natural landscape that cannot be reduced to a single destination. In Biscayne National Park, subtropical islands, coastal areas and coral reefs shape the scenery. The park also protects mangrove forests, barrier reef habitats and clear, shallow waters in Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.

Crandon Park also showcases the region’s landscape diversity. Visitors can explore dunes, mangroves, coastal hardwood hammocks and seagrass meadows, as well as observe herons, ospreys and brightly colored butterflies. A beach with calm waters, a gently curving promenade and several picnic areas round out the experience. On Elliott Key, two trails lead through a tropical hardwood forest; one runs across the entire seven-mile-long island.

Gardens, Wildlife and Culture

Zoo Miami is home to more than 2,000 wild animals in an environment that largely corresponds to their natural habitats. At the same time, it is the only zoo in the continental United States located in a subtropical climate. Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden complements the wildlife experience with garden paths, tropical plants, butterfly and hummingbird exhibits, as well as lectures on horticulture and conservation science. A free, narrated ride on the garden railway offers another way to explore the garden.

For those interested in culture, Deering Estate is a historic house museum, a national landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also part of the Biscayne Bay Important Bird Area and the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail. Vizcaya Museum and Gardens offers an audio tour through its app or a web browser, providing insights into the design and history of the gardens. This combination of history, architecture and landscape is well suited to vacation days when you want your discoveries to extend beyond the outdoors.

Water, Trails and Regional Flavors

The Rickenbacker Causeway is one of the most frequently used cycling and running routes in Miami-Dade County and provides the only land access to Crandon Park. Kiteboarding equipment and kiteboarding lessons are offered at the watersports concessions on Crandon Park beach. Matheson Hammock Park also has a self-service kiosk for kayaks and paddleboards. If you would like to plan such activities, you can choose your vacation rental based on your personal daily schedule and preferred destinations, without limiting your entire stay to just one type of vacation.

Fruit & Spice Park offers a unique culinary and agricultural perspective. It is the only tropical botanical garden of its kind in the United States and is home to more than 500 varieties of fruits, vegetables, spices, herbs, nuts and other commercially important plant specimens. The park was created from the vision of showcasing Redland’s rich agricultural diversity and heritage. During tastings, visitors can discover products from different regions; guided tours help them identify ripe, edible and flavorful produce.

Additional Places for Your Trip Planning

As additional destinations to help with your planning, you can find Miami, Miami Beach, Hialeah, Homestead, North Miami Beach, Kendall, Cutler Bay, Aventura, Sunny Isles Beach, Virginia Gardens, Surfside, Key Biscayne, North Bay Village, Pinecrest, El Portal, Naranja, Bal Harbour, Coral Gables, Doral, Florida City, Country Walk, Ives Estates, Bay Harbor Islands, Golden Beach, South Miami Heights, North Miami, Glenvar Heights and Opa-locka.

Which accommodation in Miami-Dade is right for you depends primarily on your planned daily schedule. Plan your accommodation around the mix of excursions you have planned and the days when you would like to take things more slowly. A vacation rental can be selected specifically according to this travel plan and can therefore provide the setting for varied days.

For the higher-level travel overview: Florida.