What are the most worthwhile things to do in Miami on a first visit?

Everglades National Park sits close enough to the city to be a day out rather than a separate trip. If you are arriving on foot, by bicycle or in a human-powered paddlecraft, admission is $20 per person for seven consecutive days, and children aged 15 and under enter free. A park annual pass costs $70 and covers twelve months of unlimited visits, available to US citizens and residents. Two of the park's named entrance stations, Homestead and Shark Valley, are the ones within reach of a day trip from the city.

Key Biscayne gives the city its oldest built thing. The Cape Florida lighthouse was completed in 1825, damaged during the Second Seminole War, and the repaired tower finished in 1846 — and that rebuilt tower remains the oldest standing structure in Miami-Dade County. The 95-foot lighthouse and the keeper's house museum can both be toured, and the park around them is open from 8 a.m. until sunset, 365 days a year, with an entrance fee charged at the gate.

Downtown rewards a day without a car. On the county's February 2026 fare schedule, Metromover is free, while Metrobus and Metrorail are $2.25 a ride. Bus-to-bus transfers are free within the first three hours from the initial tap, though riders paying cash pay the full fare each time. A one-day pass is $5.65, which covers a day of hopping between downtown, Brickell and the rail line without touching a rental car.

The 1846 tower stands 95 feet above the southern tip of Key Biscayne with the keeper's house at its foot, and because the surrounding park closes at sunset rather than at a fixed hour, the last visitors of the day are there as the light goes off the water.

Visitors who are not US residents should budget for a surcharge at Everglades: an extra $100 per person applies to non-US residents aged 16 and older on top of the standard entrance fee. It does not apply to anyone entering on an Annual or America the Beautiful pass, which can make the $70 annual pass the cheaper route for an international visitor planning more than one national park.

• Early — Start at Shark Valley or the Homestead entrance, where the seven-day individual rate is $20 and under-16s are free.
• Midday — Cross to Key Biscayne for the 1846 tower and the keeper's house, inside a park open from 8 a.m. to sunset every day of the year.
• Evening — Park the car and ride Metromover, which the county's fare guide lists as free.

The non-resident surcharge at federal park sites changes the arithmetic of a first visit significantly for international travelers. The Bill Baggs park charges its own entrance fee separately from any national park pass. And Metromover only covers downtown and Brickell — reaching Key Biscayne or the Everglades needs a car, a rideshare, or a bus leg at $2.25, with cash riders losing the free transfer window entirely.

The when-to-visit answer in this group explains the dry-season rainfall pattern that makes the Everglades easier, and the food answer covers what to eat between these three.