Google completes "miami without a car" with "visiting", "living", "getting around", "miami beach without a car" and "reddit". Here are the honest answers.
Can you visit Miami without a car?#
Yes, with the right base. Brickell or Downtown: the Metrorail, the free Metromover loop, the free trolleys, and you walk to dinner. Miami Beach: walkable from South Pointe to about 40th Street, with the free trolleys, and rideshare across the causeway. From either base you reach Little Havana, Wynwood, the Design District, Coconut Grove and the Pérez by trolley, Metrorail or a short rideshare. What you cannot easily reach: Key Biscayne (a long bike or a rideshare), the Everglades (a tour or a rideshare), the suburbs. Solo travel in Miami has the where-to-stay version.
Can you live in Miami without a car?#
In Brickell, Downtown, Edgewater, Coconut Grove and Miami Beach, yes, if your job is there too or on the Metrorail. Everywhere else, and for most jobs across the county, it is a two-bus commute in the heat. Most people manage a year and buy a car; Florida auto insurance is among the most expensive in the country, so budget it before the apartment. Moving to Miami alone has the money.
How to get around#
- Metrorail: the airport to Brickell, Government Center, the Grove and south to Dadeland; north to Hialeah.
- Metromover: free, elevated, loops Downtown and Brickell; the best free sightseeing in the city.
- Trolleys: free city trolleys on the Beach, in Brickell, the Grove, Coral Gables, Wynwood and Little Havana.
- Buses: the Beach-to-Downtown routes across the causeways run often.
- Bikes and scooters: flat, hot, and the Venetian Causeway and the Beach boardwalk are the pleasant rides.
- Rideshare: fine for gaps, expensive as a habit, essential to the Beach with luggage.
The airport#
The Metrorail Orange Line from the airport station reaches Brickell and the Grove; Tri-Rail goes north; rideshare is the only sensible way to the Beach with bags.
The local who drives#
For the afternoon you need a car (the Everglades, Key Biscayne, the Redland fruit stands, the Keys for a day), a Local Friend on Roavi is a Miamian at an hourly rate they set (most list $15 to $50), platonic and in public, who almost always drives; agree the driving before you meet. Roavi lists no Local Friends in Miami yet, which is the honest number and the reason the first people to list here will get every message; messaging is free for the people who write to you. Rent a friend in Miami.
Live in Miami? Get paid for your time with visitors and newcomers, at your rate, no commission.
Become a Local FriendFrequently Asked Questions
Can you visit Miami without a car?
Yes. Base in Brickell, Downtown or Miami Beach; the Metrorail connects the airport to Brickell and the Grove, the free Metromover loops Downtown and Brickell, free trolleys run through the Beach, Brickell, the Grove, Wynwood and Little Havana, and rideshare fills the gaps. Key Biscayne, the Everglades and the suburbs need a car or a rideshare.Can you live in Miami without a car?
In Brickell, Downtown, Edgewater, Coconut Grove and Miami Beach, yes, if your job is there too. Outside those, and for most jobs across the county, it becomes a daily struggle; most people buy a car within a year, and Florida insurance is expensive.How do you get from Miami airport to the city without a car?
The Metrorail Orange Line from the airport station to Brickell, Government Center and Coconut Grove; the Tri-Rail north; or rideshare, which is the only sensible way to the Beach with luggage.