Free Day Trips from Miami

Getting Around Free or Cheap

The Metromover and the Miami Beach trolley are the free rides visitors use most. The Metromover is a 4.4-mile automated people mover downtown with 21 stations on three loops, and it runs 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week, every 90 seconds at rush hour and every 3 minutes off-peak. Check the county service notice before you build a day on it, because weekend loop shutdowns with shuttle buses have been posted during the upgrade project.

The Miami Beach trolley runs 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily on four loops with trolleys about every 20 minutes. Everything else in the table below is paid but still cheap. The figures come from Miami-Dade Transit, Tri-Rail and Brightline.

What Needs a Car

No public transit reaches Shark Valley or the main Everglades entrance, so the Everglades, Biscayne National Park and Key Largo all need a car or a driver. Entry to Everglades National Park is $35 per private vehicle for 7 days, $30 per motorcycle and $20 per person on foot or bike, with children under 16 free when paying per person. From January 1, 2026 non-US residents aged 16 and over pay an extra $100 per person at the entrance unless they hold an annual or America the Beautiful pass, so a foreign visitor arriving on foot pays $20 plus $100.

Entrance stations take credit cards and digital passes only, not cash. Biscayne National Park itself has no entrance fee, and its Dante Fascell Visitor Center at 9700 SW 328th Street, Homestead is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo costs $8 per vehicle.

If you would rather let someone else drive, the paid Miami Bahamas cruise pages cover tours, and the two and three day plans are on the 2 days in Miami and 3 days in Miami pages.

Heat, Hours and What to Bring

Miami's wet season runs May 22 to October 14 and the cool season runs December 6 to March 6, with daylight from 10.6 hours in December to 13.7 hours in June. Plan outdoor walks for the morning and carry water. Some closing days matter: Vizcaya Museum and Gardens opens daily except Tuesday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the Venetian Pool is closed Monday, open Tuesday to Friday 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and weekends 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Metrorail runs 5 a.m. to midnight and the Metromover stops at 10 p.m., so late evenings belong to the free Miami Beach trolley, which runs to 11 p.m. Bring sunscreen, a hat, refillable bottles and shoes you can walk in, and check the Metromover service notice before a weekend downtown.

Bayfront Park

Bayfront Park at 301 Biscayne Boulevard covers 32 acres on Biscayne Bay and has free admission 365 days a year, open 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. The Bayfront Park Metromover station is the closest stop, at Southeast Second Street and Biscayne Boulevard, so the ride from anywhere downtown costs nothing. Inside the park you get the Mildred and Claude Pepper Fountain with choreographed water, lights and music, a family playground and lawns facing the water.

Free yoga runs on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and the park hosts the free Countdown Miami New Year's Eve party. Maurice A. Ferré Park next door adds another 30 free acres at 1075 Biscayne Boulevard, open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., so the two together make a solid hour or two of walking for nothing.

Little Havana and Domino Park

Máximo Gómez Domino Park at 801 SW 15th Avenue is free to enter and open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. It sits at the corner of Calle Ocho, which is SW 8th Street, and 15th Avenue, the heart of Little Havana. The domino games themselves are for club members who are over 50 and carry a club card, but spectators are welcome to watch, and watching is the point.

Free parking is behind the park and metered parking runs along SW 8th Street, so driving there costs nothing if you find the rear lot. Walking Calle Ocho costs nothing either, and the blocks around the park are the best people-watching in the city.

Wynwood Street Murals

The street murals on the blocks around Wynwood Walls are free to see at any time, day or night. Walk the grid between Northwest 2nd Avenue and the surrounding streets and you get walls of large-scale street art with no ticket. Wynwood Walls itself is the exception: it charges admission and is no longer a free attraction, open daily 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at 2516 NW 2nd Avenue, with tickets reported at $12 adult and $5 for ages 6 to 17 and ages 5 and under free, so check the official admissions page for the current price.

No free transit line is listed for Wynwood here, so plan how you will get there.

The Art Deco District

Walking Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue yourself costs nothing, and it is an easy free walk. The district's pastel buildings line the blocks above Lummus Park beach, so you can pair the architecture with the sand in one loop. The Art Deco Welcome Center at 1001 Ocean Drive is open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closes on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas and New Year's Day, and it is the place to pick up the district story before you go.

The official guided walking tour is not free: it runs daily, lasts two hours over about 1.5 miles and costs $50 adult, $40 senior 65+, $35 youth 13 to 17 and free for ages 12 and under, capped at 20 people. If you skip it, the self-guided walk is still the same buildings.

South Pointe Park

South Pointe Park at 1 Washington Avenue is open sunrise to sunset and free to enter. It holds beach access, playgrounds, a dog park and a water feature, all at the southern tip of Miami Beach where the land runs out. The 450-foot pier is open 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and stands beside Government Cut, the shipping channel that every cruise ship uses to leave PortMiami, so you can watch the ships pass from the rail for nothing.

It is about 4 miles and roughly 15 minutes by car from the port across the MacArthur Causeway. The free Miami Beach trolley on the South Beach loop gets you close.

Lummus Park Beach

The beach at Lummus Park is free to enter, and it is the strip of sand directly behind Ocean Drive, so the lifeguard towers and the Art Deco facades share one photo. Metrobus Route 120 reaches Lummus Park near 11th Street and Collins Avenue for the regular $2.25 fare, which makes it one of the easiest free beaches to reach without a car. Metered street parking nearby runs about $1 to $4 an hour if you drive.

There are no gate hours because the sand is public beach. Bring your own umbrella and water, since the free part of the day is the beach, not the rental chairs.

The Beach Lineup and What Each Costs

The table compares eight beaches and beach parks from South Beach north to Fort Lauderdale. Costs are entry or parking fees from the county, the state parks service and the destination guides, and they are what you pay on top of the free sand.

Key Biscayne: Bill Baggs and Crandon Park

Key Biscayne is the best near-free beach day when you have a car. Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park charges $8 per vehicle with 2 to 8 people and $4 for a single occupant or motorcycle, and it is open 8 a.m. to sundown with more than a mile of flat paved bike path. The Cape Florida lighthouse was built in 1825 and is the oldest building in South Florida, and ranger-led tours run at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Thursday to Monday at no extra cost with the park entry, though climbers must be 42 inches tall. Crandon Park next door costs $7 plus tax Monday to Thursday and $10 plus tax Friday to Sunday to park, and it has a two-mile beach with calm water behind an offshore sandbar and parking for nearly 3,000 cars. Glass containers are banned and pets are not allowed except service animals.

Getting there means the Rickenbacker Causeway toll, $3.25 for a 2-axle car with SunPass or $6.50 by toll-by-plate from October 1, 2025. Without a car, Metrobus Route 26 links the Brickell Metrorail and Metromover station to Key Biscayne about every 30 minutes in roughly 21 minutes.

Which Site, Which Cost

The Everglades charges one entry fee per car that covers seven days, so a single $35 vehicle payment covers repeat entries for a week. Biscayne National Park has no entrance fee at all, which makes it the cheapest nature day near Miami. John Pennekamp in Key Largo adds a longer drive and a $8 per vehicle entry with a $0.50 county surcharge included. Robert Is Here in Homestead is free to enter, you only pay for fruit and milkshakes. The figures below are park-page and reported prices, so check the current rate before you go.

One thing changes the maths for visitors from abroad. From January 1, 2026, non-US residents aged 16 and over pay an extra $100 per person at Everglades entrances unless they hold the $70 Everglades annual pass or the America the Beautiful pass. For a family of four foreign passport holders arriving by car, that turns a $35 day into a much bigger bill, and Biscayne National Park becomes the smarter free option.

Shark Valley: the 15-Mile Loop

Shark Valley is a single flat road. The loop is 15 paved miles through sawgrass, and by rental bike it takes 2-3 hours. Bikes cost $27 for the day, rent from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and must be back by 5 p.m. They are single-gear coaster models with helmets and baskets, and you can reserve online or take a share held back for walk-ups from 8:30 a.m. Florida law requires helmets under 16. There is no drinking water on the trail, so carry plenty.

If you would rather sit, the two-hour tram tour costs $34 for adults 13-61, $26 for seniors 62+ and $18 for children 3-12, on top of the park entry. It stops 15 minutes at the 65-foot observation tower in the middle of the loop. Shark Valley opens daily 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. with vehicle access ending at 6 p.m. From December 20 the tram runs eight departures between 9:00 and 4:00 and the entrance backs up, so arrive early. No public transit reaches Shark Valley, a car is required.

Anhinga Trail

The Anhinga Trail is a short walk. It runs 0.8 miles round trip from the Royal Palm Visitor Center, about 4 miles from the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center, and it is wheelchair accessible. The park itself says the trail is best for wildlife in winter.

Bicycles are not allowed on it. The Ernest Coe center keeps 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. hours in the wet season (April to October) and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the dry season (November to March). The park address is 40001 State Road 9336, Homestead, and the Coe entrance is about 50 miles and 60-90 minutes from downtown Miami.

Pair the Anhinga Trail with Robert Is Here, which is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily except Thanksgiving and Christmas, for a full Homestead day on one $35 vehicle ticket.

Biscayne National Park: Free, and Overlooked

Biscayne National Park charges no entrance fee. The Dante Fascell Visitor Center at 9700 SW 328th Street, Homestead, opens 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, and the Convoy Point grounds and kayak launch are open 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. You can launch a kayak on the bay from Convoy Point and watch the water, all for nothing.

The islands, Boca Chita and Elliott Key, need a boat, and reaching them by private vessel costs $25 to dock by day Friday to Monday, $60 overnight, first come first served. Boat tours from Convoy Point are run by the Biscayne National Park Institute, whose prices the park does not publish. If you want the bay from the water without driving to Homestead, the Biscayne Bay sightseeing cruise leaves from Bayside Marketplace downtown for $20 and lasts 1.5 hours.

The $100 non-US resident surcharge that applies at Everglades entrances does not exist here, because there is no entry fee at all.

Downtown and Little Havana by Metromover

Start at Government Center around 9 a.m. and ride the free Metromover, which runs 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. across 21 stations on three loops, every 90 seconds at rush hour. Get off at Bayfront Park station for Bayfront Park at 301 Biscayne Boulevard: 32 acres, open 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., free admission 365 days a year, with the Pepper Fountain and a playground. Walk next door to Maurice A. Ferré Park, also free, open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Around 11 a.m., catch Metrobus for the $2.25 fare (or buy the $5.65 day pass) out to Calle Ocho. Máximo Gómez Domino Park at 801 SW 15th Avenue is free, open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, with free parking behind it, and spectators are welcome to watch the domino players, though games are for members over 50. Walk SW 8th Street, then bus back for a sunset loop on the Metromover before it stops at 10 p.m.

Total transit cost: $0 for the mover, $2.25 for each bus ride.

South Beach on the Free Trolley

Cross to Miami Beach and ride the citywide trolley, which is free, runs 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week and arrives about every 20 minutes on four loops: South Beach, Middle Beach, Collins Express and North Beach. Start around 9 a.m. on the South Beach loop. Walk Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue yourself, which costs nothing, and stop at the Art Deco Welcome Center at 1001 Ocean Drive, open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The official guided walk costs $50, but the self-guided version is free and the center gives you the district story first. By 11 a.m. walk to Lummus Park, where the beach is free to enter and Metrobus Route 120 reaches it near 11th Street and Collins Avenue for $2.25 if you come by bus. In the afternoon ride the trolley south to South Pointe Park at 1 Washington Avenue, open sunrise to sunset, with the 450-foot pier open 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. beside Government Cut, where cruise ships pass close enough to wave at.

Everything on this route except any food you buy is free.

Key Biscayne Beach and Lighthouse

This one is almost free. Drive or bus over the Rickenbacker Causeway, whose toll is $3.25 with SunPass or $6.50 by toll-by-plate for a 2-axle car. No car, no problem: Metrobus Route 26 links the Brickell Metrorail and Metromover station to Key Biscayne about every 30 minutes in roughly 21 minutes, so with a $2.25 fare this route works without a car.

Aim to reach Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park by 9:45 a.m., because ranger-led lighthouse tours run at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Thursday to Monday at no extra cost beyond the $8 per vehicle entry ($4 single occupant). The lighthouse was built in 1825, making it the oldest building in South Florida, and climbers must be at least 42 inches tall.

The park is open 8 a.m. to sundown with more than a mile of flat paved bike path. After lunch, stop at Crandon Park, whose two-mile beach sits behind a calm offshore sandbar. Parking there costs $7 plus tax Monday to Thursday and $10 plus tax Friday to Sunday.

Glass containers and pets, except service animals, are banned at Crandon.

Fort Lauderdale or Hollywood by Train

Two rail options head north, and on weekends Tri-Rail is the cheap one. On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays Tri-Rail charges a flat $5 for unlimited travel all day, with trains from about 5:15 a.m. to about 10 p.m. every 20-30 minutes at peak and every 40-60 minutes off-peak. From Miami airport, reach the train at the Miami Intermodal Center on the free MIA Mover from Level 3 of the terminal.

Ride about 39 minutes to Fort Lauderdale, or get off at the Hollywood station at 3001 Hollywood Boulevard, which has free parking if you drove. From there the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk is a free 2.5-mile promenade where you pay only for parking and what you buy. Meters run about $1 an hour on weekdays and $1.50 on weekends, and free parking exists about a 10-minute walk away.

For Fort Lauderdale, Brightline takes about 33 minutes with around 17 daily trips, but Las Olas Boulevard has no free parking and garages run about $8 an hour, so arriving by train and walking is the sensible move. The Fort Lauderdale beach park lot was reported at $4 an hour for non-residents with a 4-hour maximum.

The Two Small Splurges

The first is the water. The Biscayne Bay Millionaire Homes Cruise costs $20, lasts 1.5 hours and shows you the skyline, Star Island, the Venetian Islands and the cruise ships at PortMiami from the water, which no free walk can do. The second is the Bahamas.

There is no ferry from Miami itself, the sailing leaves Fort Lauderdale, and one ticketed option is the Bahamas ferry day trip at $299 with round-trip fast ferry transport from Port Everglades. The crossing takes about 2 hours to Bimini and about 3 to Freeport. Both details, and the sailing days, are covered on ferry from Miami to the Bahamas.

Everything else on this page stays free.