Ten days in South Florida: Miami to the Keys and Palm Beach

Ten days is enough to see South Florida as three genuinely different places rather than one long checklist: the city grid of Miami and South Beach, a slow-moving river of grass to the west, a two-lane highway strung across the ocean to Key West, and a quieter, train-connected coast running north to Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach. The point of this route is the order, not the list of stops. Drive south, because the Overseas Highway has no rail alternative once you leave Miami. Take the train north, because Brightline already does that job better than a car stuck in coastal traffic. Skip the temptation to treat the Everglades as a quick stop on the way to the Keys — it sits west of the city, on its own road, and rewards a full day rather than a detour.

Why the order matters on a 10-day route

Three of this itinerary’s four regions connect by car only, and one connects by train. Everglades sits inland and west; the Florida Keys run south on US-1; Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach sit north along a corridor Brightline already serves. Driving south to Key West and then back up past Miami to Fort Lauderdale means covering the same stretch of US-1 twice for no reason. This itinerary puts the drive-only leg (the Keys) in the middle of the trip and the train-only leg (the north coast) at the end, so the rental car’s job ends where the road does — right after the Overseas Highway — instead of continuing north for another two hours of highway.

Leg	Days	Transport	Why this order
Miami and South Beach	1-2	Metromover, Metrorail, walking	Base city, no car needed yet
Everglades	3	Rental car (own day)	West of the city, not on the road south
Key Largo to Key West	4-7	Rental car, US-1 south	Only road access, no rail alternative
Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach	8-10	Brightline train	No car needed once the Keys leg is done

Day 1: South Beach and the Art Deco Historic District

Fly into Miami International (MIA) and settle into South Beach for the first two nights. Walk Ocean Drive and Lincoln Road, and spend an hour in the Art Deco Historic District, where pastel facades from the 1920s-1940s line streets a few blocks off the beach. The beach itself is public and free. In the evening, consider a short Miami: Yacht Rental (book a private yacht for a few hours on Biscayne Bay) to see the skyline from the water before the trip gets busier — book ahead in the winter high season.

Day 2: Downtown, Brickell and Little Havana

Cross the causeway into the city proper. Downtown and Brickell cover Bayfront Park, Bayside Marketplace and the Perez Art Museum Miami; the free Metromover loops through both without a car. In the afternoon, head to Little Havana for Cuban coffee and Domino Park along Calle Ocho, then finish in Wynwood for the street art at Wynwood Walls, which charges a separate entry fee from the surrounding murals.

Day 3: The Everglades, on their own terms

Give the Everglades a full day rather than a stopover. This is a slow-moving river of grass, not a static swamp, and its entrances sit far apart: Shark Valley on the Tamiami Trail, or the Gulf Coast side near Everglades City. Most airboat tours run on private land bordering the park rather than inside it, since airboats are restricted through most of Everglades National Park itself. A Miami: Everglades Private Tour or the Everglades: Airboat ATV Tour (combine an airboat ride with an ATV run through the backcountry) covers both angles in one outing. Expect gators and, less commonly, American crocodiles — South Florida is the only place on Earth where both species share territory. Entry to the park by private vehicle carries a standard fee plus a non-resident surcharge for visitors 16 and older; check the current amount before you go.

Day 4: Drive to Key Largo

Pick up the rental car and start south on US-1. The first stretch to Key Largo takes about an hour from Miami. Spend the afternoon snorkeling the reef at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, then close the day with the Key Largo: Sunset Cruise (watch the sun drop over the water from a boat instead of the shoreline). For the reef’s coral health and current conditions, see our John Pennekamp guide.

Day 5: Islamorada and Marathon

Continue down the Overseas Highway to Marathon, stopping in Islamorada for sport fishing charters or the Theater of the Sea along the way. In Marathon, walk part of the Seven Mile Bridge and visit the Turtle Hospital. A sandbar outing such as the Marathon: Sandbar Boat Tour with Lunch (spend an afternoon anchored on a shallow sandbar with lunch included) is a lower-key alternative to a full day of driving.

Days 6-7: Key West, with a night to spare

The full drive from Miami to Key West runs about 160 miles (257 km) — 113 miles and 42 bridges just from Key Largo to Key West — and takes 3 h 30 to 4 h each way without stops. Doing it as a single-day round trip barely leaves time to see Key West at all, which is why this itinerary books two nights. Walk Duval Street, watch the sunset from Mallory Square, visit the Ernest Hemingway House, and stand at the Southernmost Point buoy — Cuba is roughly 90 miles further south. Dry Tortugas National Park and Fort Jefferson sit about 70 miles beyond Key West and are reached only by the park’s official ferry, a seaplane or an authorized charter; the Overseas Highway stops at Key West, so this is a separate booking, not a drive. See the Dry Tortugas guide if you want to add it as an extra day. For a comparison of how a Keys day differs by base, see Key West vs. Key Largo as a day trip.

Day 8: Back to Miami, then Brightline north

Drive back up US-1 to Miami and return the rental car — this is the point where the itinerary’s two transport modes hand off. From here, the Brightline train covers Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach without another long drive. Arrive in Fort Lauderdale in the afternoon and walk the canals or take a water taxi past the mansions along the Intracoastal.

Day 9: Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood

Spend the day around Fort Lauderdale’s beach and Port Everglades, then head a few miles south to Hollywood’s Broadwalk — the Florida one, not California’s. Both are compact enough to see without a car once you are based near the beach.

Day 10: Palm Beach and departure

Take Brightline further north to Palm Beach for a slower final day: Worth Avenue’s boutiques, the Flagler Museum, and the quieter pace that sets it apart from South Beach’s crowds. West Palm Beach, on the mainland side, has the area’s main dining strip if Palm Beach island itself feels too quiet. Fly out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood (FLL), about 30 miles north of Miami, or ride Brightline back down to Miami International for departure.

Costs, taxes and what to budget for a 10-day trip

Prices below are ranges in US dollars and exclude tax; they move with season and availability, so treat the linked GetYourGuide and Viator listings as the source for the day’s actual rate.

Item	Typical range	Note
Mid-range hotel, per night	$150-$350	Higher in South Beach and Key West; add roughly 12-13% in combined sales and resort taxes
Rental car, per day	$45-$90	Needed for days 3-8 only; tolls are cashless (SunPass or plate billing)
Brightline, Miami-Palm Beach	$20-$70 one-way	Price varies by class and how far ahead you book
Everglades tour	$60-$180	Airboat/ATV combinations run higher than a short airboat-only ride
Boat or sandbar outing in the Keys	$60-$200 per person	Sunset cruises are usually the lower end, private charters the higher

Sales tax in Miami-Dade County runs 7%, and hotel stays add tourism taxes on top — often another 6% or so, plus any resort fee the property lists separately. Tipping is expected rather than optional: 18-20% at restaurants, and for boat crews and guides too. Some Miami Beach restaurants add a service charge automatically, so check the bill before tipping twice.

Entry rules and timing for the whole trip

Travelers from the 42 Visa Waiver Program countries need an ESTA — an electronic travel authorization, not a visa — applied for only at esta.cbp.dhs.gov. Everyone else needs a B-2 visa. This trip falls entirely within Eastern Time (UTC-5 in winter, UTC-4 during daylight saving from March to November), so there’s no time-zone adjustment between any of the four regions.

Hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30 per NOAA, with the highest activity from August through October. A 10-day trip planned in that window doesn’t need to be cancelled, but flexible bookings and travel insurance are worth having, since afternoon storms are common in the wet season (roughly May-October) even outside named-storm activity. The dry season, November-April, brings sunnier, less humid days and is also the highest-priced stretch of the year for hotels.

Frequently asked questions about a 10-day South Florida itinerary

Is 10 days enough to cover Miami, the Everglades, the Florida Keys and Palm Beach?

Yes, but only with a clear order: base in Miami first, treat the Everglades as its own day rather than a stopover, drive south to Key West with at least one overnight there, then handle the Fort Lauderdale-Palm Beach stretch by Brightline train on the way back, since that leg needs no car.

Do I need a rental car for the whole 10 days?

You need a car for the Everglades and for the drive down the Overseas Highway to Key West, since there is no rail alternative south of Miami. Once you return from the Keys, Brightline covers Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach, so many travelers drop the rental in Miami before that leg.

Should Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach come before or after the Keys?

Putting them last works well with a rental car, because you can return the car in Miami and finish the trip by Brightline train without driving the Overseas Highway twice. Doing them first only makes sense if you are flying out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood (FLL) instead of Miami International (MIA).

How many nights should I spend in Key West?

At least one. The drive from Miami is around 160 miles (257 km) and takes 3 h 30 to 4 h each way without stops, so a single-day round trip leaves almost no time in town. Two nights lets you see Duval Street, a Mallory Square sunset and the Ernest Hemingway House without rushing.

Can I add a Dry Tortugas trip to this itinerary?

Only if you build in a dedicated day from Key West, since Dry Tortugas National Park sits about 70 miles further west and is reached only by ferry, seaplane or an authorized boat charter, never by road. It is not a stop you can combine with driving back to Miami the same day.

Is the Everglades day a detour from the route south, or separate?

Treat it as separate. Shark Valley and the Tamiami Trail sit west of Miami, while the drive to the Keys runs south on US-1, so an Everglades day trip and the Keys leg do not share a road and should not be merged into one long driving day.

Does this itinerary work without a car at all?

Not fully. Miami, South Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach can be done car-free using Metromover, Metrorail, trolleys and Brightline, but the Everglades and the Florida Keys, including Key West, require a car or a booked tour, since the Overseas Highway has no train or public ferry service.