Miami 7-Day Itinerary: Everglades, Keys and Key Biscayne

How should you spend 7 days in Miami?

Split the week: three nights on Miami Beach for Art Deco, the beach and an Everglades day at Shark Valley, then four in Brickell for the museums and Wynwood, Key Largo, Vizcaya and Coral Gables, and Key Biscayne. Hire a car or book tours for the Everglades and the Keys.

A week in Miami is long enough to see what lies beyond the city. The Miami 3-day itinerary covers the Art Deco District, the Downtown museums, Wynwood, Vizcaya and Little Havana; this plan keeps those highlights at a slower pace and adds three nature days: the Everglades, the coral reefs off Key Largo and the lighthouse park on Key Biscayne.

This is a desk-researched suggested route, not one we have travelled end to end. Fees and hours come from the National Park Service, Florida State Parks and each venue’s own website, and transit from Miami-Dade County, all checked on 16 October 2026. Where to stay in Miami explains why a beach base and a mainland base suit different days.

Check the season in best time to visit Miami. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November and peaks around 10 September (National Hurricane Center), and the Everglades’ dry season, from November to March, is when the park says wildlife is usually plentiful (NPS).

What does the 7-day Miami plan look like at a glance?

Days 1 to 3 run from a Miami Beach base: arrival, Art Deco and the beach, then the Everglades. Days 4 to 7 run from Brickell: museums and Wynwood, Key Largo, Vizcaya and Coral Gables, then Key Biscayne and Little Havana. The table shows bookings, closed days and rain swaps for each day.

Your start day decides what is open. The Bass opens Wednesday to Sunday (The Bass), PAMM closes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (PAMM), Vizcaya closes on Tuesdays (Vizcaya) and the Venetian Pool on Mondays (City of Coral Gables). Arriving on a Tuesday or a Friday keeps every stop open on its planned day.

A Tuesday start puts Art Deco and The Bass on Wednesday, the museums on Friday and Vizcaya on Sunday; a Friday start gives The Bass on Saturday, the museums on Monday and Vizcaya on Wednesday. A Wednesday start also works if you choose Fairchild over the Venetian Pool on the Monday. Avoid Saturday or Sunday starts, which put the museum day on PAMM’s closing days.

Why split the week between two bases, and how do you get around?

Miami Beach puts the sand and Art Deco outside your door, while Brickell has Metrorail, the free Metromover and the Route 26 bus to Key Biscayne. Public transport covers the city days, but the Everglades and the Keys are far easier with a hire car or a tour, so plan those days around one.

From the airport, Route 150, the Miami Beach Airport Express, runs from the airport Metrorail station to Miami Beach every 30 minutes from 6am to 11:40pm (Miami International Airport). On Miami Beach, the free trolley runs four routes from 8am to 11pm (City of Miami Beach), and the City adds a 4% resort tax on room rent (City of Miami Beach).

On the mainland, Metrorail runs from 5am to midnight for $2.25 a ride, and the Metromover is free, linking Brickell and Downtown. Miami-Dade’s bus list shows Route 26 from Brickell Station to Key Biscayne over the Rickenbacker Causeway, and Route 301, the Dade–Monroe Express, from the SW 344 Street Park and Ride to Key Largo, Tavernier, Islamorada and Marathon.

The National Park Service says there is no public transport to Shark Valley and that visitors arriving by ride-hail often cannot find a ride back (NPS). Book a tour or hire a car for that day; renting a car in the USA covers insurance and deposits, and getting around Miami covers the city network.

Days 1 and 2: how do you start on Miami Beach?

Arrive on Route 150 or by taxi, check in and keep the first evening for a walk and sunset at South Pointe. On day 2, join the Miami Design Preservation League’s Art Deco walking tour, which runs daily from 1001 Ocean Drive, swim before the midday heat and visit The Bass from Wednesday to Sunday.

The Art Deco walking tour runs daily, lasts about two hours over roughly 1.5 miles and goes inside hotel and restaurant lobbies; adult tickets cost $50. All Miami Design Preservation League tours start at the Art Deco Welcome Center, open 9am to 5pm daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

The Bass, the contemporary art museum in Collins Park, opens Wednesday to Sunday from noon to 5pm, with $15 general admission and free entry on the last Sunday of each month and on Third Thursdays from 6pm to 9pm. It is the natural air-conditioned break between a morning on the tour and a late-afternoon swim.

With seven days, there is no need to cram. Use the free trolley for longer hops, keep beach time to the morning and late afternoon in summer, and check event dates: Art Basel Miami Beach runs from 4 to 6 December 2026 (Art Basel), when South Beach restaurants and rooms are heavily booked.

Day 3: how do you visit the Everglades at Shark Valley?

Drive or take a tour to Shark Valley, the park’s Miami entrance on Route 41, open 8:30am to 6pm, and see the 15-mile loop by tram, bike or on foot. A private vehicle pays $35 for seven days, and non-US residents aged 16 and over pay an extra $100 each unless they hold an annual pass.

The NPS fees page lists $35 for a private vehicle, valid for seven consecutive days at all entrances, and $20 for an individual on foot or by bicycle. Non-US residents aged 16 and over must pay an additional $100 per person unless admitted with an Annual or America the Beautiful Pass, and a non-resident annual pass costs $250. Payment is by card or digital pass only.

Shark Valley is open daily from 8:30am to 6pm, with separate fees for tram tours and bike rental (NPS). The tram tours, bike rental and snacks are run by Shark Valley Tram Tours, Inc., and an observation tower stands halfway round the paved 15-mile loop. The park warns of long waits between 10am and 3pm and advises arriving 1.5 to 2 hours early for a scheduled tram in the busy November to April season (NPS).

Take water and sun protection, because shade along the loop is very limited, and stay at least 15 feet from wildlife, including alligators (NPS). Airboat tours are not at Shark Valley itself; the NPS lists three concessions 15 to 20 minutes east on Route 41. Back on Miami Beach, keep the evening easy.

Day 4: how do you combine the Downtown museums and Wynwood?

Move to Brickell in the morning, then ride the free Metromover to the bayfront museum park for PAMM and Frost Science. In the afternoon, take a short ride north to Wynwood Walls. PAMM is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and stays open until 9pm on Thursdays, with free entry after 5pm.

PAMM opens at 11am and closes at 6pm, or 9pm on Thursdays, with adult tickets at $18; the museum advises buying online because tickets can sell out. Frost Science next door lists hours of 10am to 6pm, which makes it the better first stop if you are moving hotels in the morning.

Wynwood Walls opens daily from 10:30am to 6:30pm, with last entry 30 minutes before closing, and adult tickets cost $12. Wynwood has no rail station, so a short ride-hail from Downtown is the practical link, and the surrounding streets of murals are free to walk.

Because the 3-day plan crams Downtown and Wynwood into one rush, the 7-day version leaves room for a long lunch and a rest in Brickell before dinner. If your week includes a Thursday, give that day to the museums and finish at PAMM after 5pm.

Day 5: how do you reach Key Largo and the coral reef?

Drive about an hour south to Key Largo, the first of the Florida Keys, for John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, the country’s first undersea park. It opens from 8am to sunset and charges $8 per vehicle plus 50 cents per person. Book a glass-bottom boat or snorkelling trip for the reef.

The Florida Keys’ official tourism site calls Key Largo the first destination in the Keys and “an easy hour drive from Miami” (Florida Keys). John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park covers 70 nautical square miles; most visitors see the reef by glass-bottom boat, and snorkelling and diving trips get closer.

Without a car, Miami-Dade’s Route 301 Dade–Monroe Express runs on weekdays and weekends from the SW 344 Street Park and Ride in Florida City to Key Largo, Tavernier, Islamorada and Marathon, and Route 38 TransitWay MAX connects Dadeland South Metrorail station with that Park and Ride (Miami-Dade Transit). It works, but expect a long day; a tour or hire car is simpler.

Key West is a different proposition. It sits at the far end of the 113-mile Overseas Highway, which crosses 42 bridges (Florida Keys), so treat it as an overnight trip rather than a day out from Miami. If you do go, give it two nights and drop day 6 or 7 of this plan.

Day 6: how do you spend a day at Vizcaya, Coconut Grove and Coral Gables?

Take Metrorail to Vizcaya station for the 9:30am opening, continue one stop to Coconut Grove for lunch, then spend the afternoon in Coral Gables at the Venetian Pool or Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Vizcaya closes on Tuesdays and the Venetian Pool on Mondays, so check which day this falls on.

Vizcaya opens daily except Tuesdays from 9:30am to 4:30pm, and its directions page says the entrance is about a 10-minute walk from Vizcaya Metrorail station via a pedestrian bridge over US-1. Coconut Grove is the next stop south on the same line, with a village centre and bayfront parks that suit a slow lunch.

In Coral Gables, the Venetian Pool lists hours of 11am to 5:30pm Tuesday to Friday and 10am to 4:30pm at weekends, closed on Mondays; non-resident adults pay $23 and children $18, children must be at least 3 years old and 38 inches tall, and ticket sales stop when the pool reaches capacity. Check the city’s page for seasonal changes before you go.

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden opens daily from 10am to 5pm; adult tickets cost $24.95 online on weekdays and $27.95 at weekends, with in-person prices $5 higher. Choose one of the two for the afternoon rather than both, and keep the evening free.

Day 7: how do you finish with Key Biscayne and Little Havana?

Take the Route 26 bus from Brickell Station over the Rickenbacker Causeway to Key Biscayne and spend the morning at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, open 8am to sunset, with its 1825 lighthouse. Return for a late lunch on Calle Ocho in Little Havana, then take Metrorail to the airport.

Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park charges $8 per vehicle and offers guided tours of the 1825 Cape Florida Lighthouse and keeper’s cottage, with the Lighthouse Café and equipment rental on site. Miami-Dade’s Route 26 runs from Brickell Station to Key Biscayne at weekends as well as on weekdays.

Little Havana is best experienced through food and music. On the last Friday of each month, Viernes Culturales turns Calle Ocho into a street festival from noon; the remaining 2026 dates are 30 October and 27 November. On other days, leave the afternoon unscheduled and let cafés and music set the pace.

For the flight, Metrorail’s Orange Line serves the airport station; at weekends it runs only as an airport shuttle between Earlington Heights and the airport, so change there (Miami-Dade Transit). With heavy luggage, compare options in Miami airport to the city.

What should you book ahead, and how do you plan for heat and storms?

Book the Art Deco tour, PAMM and Vizcaya tickets, an Everglades tram or tour and the Key Largo boat trip once dates are firm. From June to November, buy flexible bookings and travel insurance, start outdoor days early, and keep museums for afternoon storms. Follow local instructions if a hurricane threatens.

Summer heat is predictable: NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for Miami International Airport average about 24 days of 90°F (32°C) or more in each of July and August, and June to September average 11 to 13 rain days a month (NOAA). Plan nature days for the morning, and see Miami in the rain for a full indoor plan.

The UK government advises monitoring storms through the National Hurricane Center and following local authorities, including evacuation orders (FCDO). Key Biscayne, the Keys and Miami Beach are reached by causeways and bridges, so these are the days to move first if a storm is forecast. In autumn, the City of Miami’s king tides can also flood low streets for a few hours (City of Miami).

Brightline trains from Downtown reach Aventura in 22 minutes (Greater Miami CVB) and continue to Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Orlando (Greater Miami CVB), a car-free alternative if a storm rules out a Keys or Everglades day. For tours, compare inclusions and weather-cancellation terms; GetYourGuide vs Viator vs Klook explains the platforms.