2026 Miami Travel Cost Study
Cheap things to do in Miami, Florida, and what a trip really costs
A mid-range trip of 4 nights in Miami costs two people about $2,007 before flights and hotel tax, or $251 per person per night. The beaches, the Art Deco streets and the downtown Metromover cost nothing, so a cheap Miami trip is mostly about what class of hotel you pick and when you go.
Miami trip cost calculator
Pick your nights, people, style and month. Hotel prices are the medians we read for that month and star class. Meal, car and fare prices are published figures. You can copy the link to your budget and share it.
Your trip
$2,007
$1,004 per person · $251 per person per night
| Hotel | $824 |
|---|---|
| Eating out | $960 |
| Activities | $169 |
| Car hire | $0 |
| Bus and Metrorail | $45 |
| Airport Metrorail | $9 |
| Hotel tax | 0not included |
Short answer
- Budget $1,117 4 nights, 2 travellers
- Mid-range $2,007 4 nights, 2 travellers
- Comfort $3,991 4 nights, 2 travellers
A 4-star night in Miami was advertised at a median $206 per room for 2 adults, but the month changes a lot and many of the best sights are free. Prices swing by season: the 4-star median was $158 in August and $282 in March, as advertised in our 2026 study. For two people at mid-range, 4 nights come to about $2,007. On a budget it is about $1,117, in comfort about $3,991 (5-star: 11 hotels priced, so a rough figure). Flights and hotel tax are extra.
How to see Miami for less
- Go in August for lower hotel prices. A 4-star room was advertised at a median $158 a night then, against $282 in March. We read the prices once, 298 and 144 days ahead, with two nights a month.
- Pick a 3-star hotel. A 3-star night was advertised at a median $168 per room for 2 adults, against $206 for 4-star. These are all months pooled, at different hotels.
- Check in on a weekday. On the 11 Saturdays we sampled, 4-star hotels advertised a median 23.4% more than on the Tuesday before. In August the gap was 0%, and 5-star prices were about the same.
- Buy a day pass on busy days. A bus or train ride costs $2.25. A day pass costs $5.65, so it pays off from about 3 rides. The Metrorail from the airport is the same $2.25.
- Eat Cuban at lunch. Cheap-eats lists show single Cuban sandwiches from $6.50. One guide puts a cheap lunch or dinner at about $20 a person.
- Do the free things first, then pay for one big day. Walking the Art Deco district of South Beach Miami costs nothing. A guided tour there starts at a median $47 per person, the from-price of 6 tours. Everglades airboat rides start at a median $41 (8 tours).
Airfare is left out on purpose. It swings too much with your home airport and your dates to fit one number.
What a trip to Miami costs for two
Two people spending at mid-range pay about $1,550 over 3 nights. Stretch it to 4 nights and it is about $2,007; a stay of 5 nights runs about $2,465. Flights and hotel tax are extra. A 5-night trip comes to about $1,233 each. The 2 tours and the airport trains cost the same at every length, which is why the per-night figure falls.
The same 4-night trip in three styles, at any time of year: the hotel, 2 meals out per person a day, 2 tours, a transit day fare every day and the Metrorail to and from the airport. Hotel tax is not included.
| Style | Hotel | Eating out | Activities | Transit and airport (no tax) | Total | Per person per night |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Budget 3-star hotel, cheap meals | $670 | $224 | $169 | $54 | $1,117 | $140 |
| Mid-range Our default 4-star hotel, mid-range meals | $824 | $960 | $169 | $54 | $2,007 | $251 |
| Comfort 5-star hotel, one fine dinner a day | $1,488 | $2,280 | $169 | $54 | $3,991 | $499 |
By length of stay (mid-range, two people)
Miami hotel prices by month
For two adults sharing a room, Miami's median advertised rate was $168 at 3-star hotels, $206 at 4-star and $372 at 5-star (all months pooled, January counts a little more). At 4-star level, August 2027 was the best value ($158) and March 2027 the dearest ($282).
On 23 October 2026 we read 1,605 prices from 236 hotels on Google Hotels. We checked one Tuesday and one Saturday night in each month from October 2026 to August 2027, for 2 adults in one room. By Google's star class, 38 are 3-star, 48 are 4-star and 11 are 5-star. The remaining 139 carry a lower class or none. Half of all 4-star nights fell between $159 and $301.
By month and star class
Each date brings up a different mix of hotels on Google. That is why we only compare a month with another month inside the same class, such as 4-star in August with 4-star in March. Cheapest and priciest are chosen among the 10 months that carry no note. Two nights stand behind each month, so the gap is a guide, not an exact size.
| Month | 3-star | 4-star | 5-star |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2026 read 4 days ahead, not ranked | $130 | $190 | $348 |
| November 2026 | $130 | $191 | $369 |
| December 2026 | $161 | $199 | $358 |
| January 2027 | $202 | $262 | $584 |
| February 2027 | $222 | $265 | $558 |
| March 2027 | $216 | $282 | $616 |
| April 2027 | $169 | $205 | $323 |
| May 2027 | $153 | $192 | $311 |
| June 2027 | $149 | $171 | $269 |
| July 2027 | $174 | $178 | $298 |
| August 2027 | $129 | $158 | $300 |
About these numbers
Every figure is the middle asking price for one room and two guests on Google Hotels. We read them months ahead, so they are not what guests paid and may move closer to the date. Just 11 five-star hotels showed a price, and only a few on any one night, so take the 5-star row loosely. The January nights got a deeper read to collect enough five-star prices.
Weekends
How we compared weekends
To test weekends, we paired each hotel's Saturday price with its own price on the Tuesday earlier that week (473 pairs). At 4-star hotels the Saturday ran a median 23.4% higher, and 84% of those pairs cost more. 5-star hotels barely changed (1.1%). The summer gap was smaller: a median 11.4% across all hotels. We read one Saturday a month, so a single big event can move one month.
Hotels we checked
- South Beach The Julia Hotel
Small 3-star hotel on Collins Avenue at the south end of South Beach, a short walk from South Pointe Park Beach.
- Downtown and Brickell citizenM Miami Worldcenter
Modern 4-star hotel in downtown Miami's Worldcenter area, with an outdoor pool, a bar and a 24-hour front desk.
- Wynwood Arlo Wynwood Miami
Hotel in the Wynwood Art District with an outdoor pool, a bar and free bikes for guests.
- Little Havana Tower Hotel Little Havana
Small 3-star hotel on SW 7th Street in Little Havana, with a garden and free WiFi.
Rated 8 or more on Booking.com, one per area. Prices change daily, so check your own dates.
Booking.com ratings and hotel notes as shown on 23 October 2026.
How much eating out costs in Miami
A meal out in Miami costs about $14 per person for a cheap meal and about $60 at a mid-range restaurant, before drinks. Fine-dining tasting menus ran from $75 to over $275 per person; the calculator uses $225.
These are published prices, not our measurement. Travel guides, restaurants and news sites state them, and we quote each one word for word. The calculator uses the middle value of each group, with each source counted once. Most sources do not say if tax and tip are included, and restaurants in Miami often add a service charge, so check the bill.
| Meal | Used in the calculator | Published figures |
|---|---|---|
| Cheap meal a Cuban sandwich or a simple lunch or dinner | about $14 median of 2 sources |
|
| Restaurant meal, mid-range an average restaurant meal per person; two of these figures come from the same survey | about $60 median of 3 sources |
|
| Fine dining per person, tasting menus at top restaurants | about $225 median of 3 sources |
|
Drinks
A pint of beer costs $7 to $7.93 in Miami, and a coffee $2.23 to $4.60, according to published prices.
| Drink | Middle figure | Published figures |
|---|---|---|
| Beer a pint at a bar | about $7.46 |
|
| Coffee an Americano or a hot coffee at a café | about $3.42 |
|
The cheapest good food is Cuban: a sandwich and a cafecito at a walk-up window. To taste several places with a guide, see our Miami food tours.
What tours and activities cost in Miami
This part is our measurement. It shows the median "from" price per person of the tours we list, read on GetYourGuide on 23 October 2026. A "from" price is the cheapest option of a tour. Pages with only two or three tours show their lowest and highest price, not a true range. The big spends are on the water: the from-prices of the 2 yacht rental Miami listings average $83 per person, and the Bahamas ferry from Miami to Bimini costs $276 per person. For less, try a bay cruise on our Miami boat tours page.
| Type | Median |
|---|---|
| Yacht rental and private boat charters in Miami few tours | $83 $54–$112 |
| South Beach and Art Deco tours | $47 $40–$62 |
| Haulover Sandbar and Raccoon Island tours | $76 $66–$85 |
| Little Havana tours | $62 $52–$72 |
| Helicopter tours in Miami | $198 $167–$258 |
| Kayak and paddleboard tours in Miami | $78 $66–$82 |
| Everglades airboat tours from Miami | $41 $34–$61 |
| Hop-on hop-off bus and city tours in Miami | $36 $27–$44 |
| Wynwood Walls tours and tickets | $38 $33–$48 |
| Snorkeling trips from Miami | $82 $75–$92 |
| Parasailing in Miami | $71 $70–$161 |
| Jet ski rental and tours in Miami | $22 $18.90–$36 |
| Miami boat tours and Biscayne Bay cruises | $38 $27–$46 |
| Miami nightlife: pub crawls, salsa and club nights | $44 $25–$72 |
| Bike and Segway tours in Miami | $44 $37–$54 |
| Fort Lauderdale boat tours few tours | $34 $29–$40 |
| Key West day trip from Miami | $46 $36–$58 |
| Food tours in Miami | $69 $66–$72 |
| Sunset cruises in Miami | $78 $51–$91 |
| Day trips from Miami | $50 $35–$70 |
| Fishing trips from Miami few tours | $78 $76–$163 |
Middle half: the 25th to 75th percentile of from-prices; rows with fewer than 4 tours ("few tours") show a rough spread only. A "from" price is the lowest option a listing offers. Prices and ratings as shown on GetYourGuide on 23 October 2026.
-
from $276 per person Bimini day trip Miami Beach: Roundtrip Bimini Ferry & Hotel Transfers Check availability -
from $112 per person Yacht rental Miami: BYOB Private Yacht Cruise Play Your Own Music Check availability -
from $49 per person South Beach and Art Deco Miami Beach: Art Deco Segway Tour Check availability -
from $66 per person Haulover Sandbar Raccoon Island Adventure: Wildlife, Island Walk & Floats Check availability -
from $62 per person Little Havana tours Miami: Little Havana Food Walking Tour with Tastings Check availability -
from $169 per person Helicopter tours Miami: Private Helicopter Tour over Miami Check availability
Free and cheap things to do in Miami
The beaches, the Wynwood murals and ICA Miami cost nothing, and two big art museums have free hours. For nature, Biscayne National Park has no entrance fee, and one car pass for the Everglades covers everyone inside. We checked each place on its own website on 23 October 2026.
- Always free South Beach and South Pointe Park
The sand in Miami Beach is public, so a beach day costs nothing. South Pointe Park, at the south tip, has a beach, a playground and seating. Its parking is paid, so come on the free trolley.
- Free outside the Walls Wynwood street art
The murals on the streets around Wynwood Walls are free to see on foot. The Walls garden itself sells tickets.
- Always free ICA Miami
The Institute of Contemporary Art in the Design District never charges for entry. Book a free ticket online to be sure you get in. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
- No entrance fee Biscayne National Park
This national park charges no entrance fee. Almost all of it is water, though, so you need a boat, a kayak or a paid tour to reach the islands and reefs.
- Pay to park Crandon Park on Key Biscayne
There is no ticket, only a parking fee: $7 plus tax from Monday to Thursday and $10 from Friday to Sunday. A sandbar offshore keeps the water calm for swimming.
- Small car fee Oleta River State Park
This state park has mountain bike trails for all levels and a paved trail. You pay a small entry fee per car at the gate. Bikes, kayaks and paddleboards can be rented inside.
- Thursday evenings PAMM
The Pérez Art Museum Miami on Biscayne Bay is free on Thursdays after five in the evening, and it stays open late that day.
- Third Thursday, last Sunday The Bass
A ticket costs $15 per adult. Entry is free on the evening of the third Thursday of each month. The last Sunday of the month is a free family day.
- One pass per car Everglades National Park
A car pass costs $35 and covers everyone in the car for seven days. Visitors who do not live in the US pay an extra $100 each, unless they hold an annual pass. At Shark Valley you can rent a bike for the paved loop or walk two short trails.
Hours, prices and free days can change, so check each website before you go. The Everglades extra fee for visitors from outside the US is new, so read the park's fee page too.
How much a rental car costs in Miami
There is no single price: five rental sites publish average daily prices for Miami from $37 to $100, with $53 in the middle.
Published prices, not our measurement. They vary with dates, the car, insurance and fuel. The calculator uses the lowest average for budget, the middle one for mid-range and the highest, an airport rental desk's average, for comfort. They are not three car classes, and parking is extra.
- $49 a day:
Based on the average daily cost of $49
booking.com - $37 a day:
Prices average $37 a day
skyscanner.com - $53 a day:
On average, car rentals in Miami cost around USD $53 per day
roadgenius.com - $100 a day:
AVERAGE DAILY PRICE $100.00 USD/day
hertz.com - $56 a day:
Medium car rentals in Miami typically cost around $56 per day
kayak.com
Advertised minimums, not typical prices: from $5 a day (kayak.com) · from $32 a day (rentcars.com).
In Miami itself you can skip the car: buses, Metrorail, the free Metromover and the free Miami Beach trolley reach the main areas. See getting around Miami. A car helps for the Everglades or the Keys; for a cheaper option, see our day trips from Miami.
Hotel tax and public transport
Key findings of the 2026 Miami Travel Cost Study
-
For stays advertised on Google Hotels on 23 October 2026, a 4-star night in Miami cost a median $282 in March 2027 against $158 in August 2027, 78% more
(per room per night, 2 adults; one Tuesday and one Saturday per month, 10 months ranked up to August 2027, each read once, January 2027 at greater depth; October 2026, read only days ahead, is not ranked, and September 2027 had too few five-star prices to compare). - For 3-star hotels the advertised monthly median ran from $129 per room per night (August 2027) to $222 (February 2027), 2 adults; with 23 to 42 prices a month, single months move a lot.
-
The 11 five-star hotels priced in our sample were advertised at a median $372 per room per night for 2 adults (128 prices from October 2026 to August 2027, only a few hotels priced on any one night; monthly medians ran from $269 to $616), against a median $206 for a 4-star night
(a small class, so a rough figure). -
The same 4-star hotel cost a median 23.4% more on the Saturday than on the Tuesday before it
(one Saturday a month, 203 hotel pairs, per room per night, 2 adults). -
Published guides put a cheap meal in Miami at about $14 per person, a mid-range restaurant meal at about $60 and fine-dining tasting menus at $75 to over $275 per person (the calculator uses $225), before drinks
(the sources do not all say whether tax and tip are included; medians of a small set of cited sources, not our measurement). -
On Miami-Dade Transit a Metrobus or Metrorail ride costs $2.25 and a 1-Day Pass costs $5.65, so the pass pays off from about 3 rides in a day; the Metrorail Orange Line from Miami International Airport costs the same $2.25 one way per person
(official fares).
Source: 2026 Miami Travel Cost Study, best-things-to-do-in-miami.com (CC BY 4.0)
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: download the data · embed the chart
Method, data and reuse
What we measured ourselves
- Hotels: 1,605 prices of 236 hotels on Google Hotels, read on 23 October 2026. One Tuesday and one Saturday night per month, October 2026 to August 2027, 2 adults, one room; paid ads, listings without a price and duplicates left out. These are the prices advertised for those dates when we read them, not what guests later paid. Months are compared within a star class because Google shows a different set of hotels for each date. October 2026 was read at short notice; both are shown but not ranked. 2027-09 is not in the sample: Google Hotels priced only 6 five-star hotels across the two September 2027 nights, even read again at depth 100 and with a search filtered to 5-star (which added 2), too few to compare that month within the star classes; rows kept in raw/hotels-2027-09-not-used.csv.
- Activities: the "from" prices of the 127 tours and tickets on our 21 activity pages (the table above), as shown on GetYourGuide on 23 October 2026; the calculator offers 12 tours, one per activity page (1 of them from pages with too few per-person prices for the table). A "from" price is the lowest option a listing offers, not a typical price.
What we cite
- Meals, drinks and car hire: figures published by travel guides, food-tour companies and rental platforms, found in Google results in the United States and quoted word for word with their date. A range counts with its midpoint, each source once per group. Two of the three mid-range meal figures go back to the same survey. Several sources were published a year or more before the date we read them. None comes from a page that shows a date in 2022 or earlier; many pages show no date at all.
- Tourist tax, fares: the Miami-Dade County, Miami-Dade Transit.
How the calculator adds up
- Our default trip: 4 nights, two people in one room, mid-range, at the median across all months we read. January was read at greater depth, so it weighs a little more in that median. It includes Miami: Everglades Airboat, Wildlife Exhibit & Roundtrip Bus and Wynwood Art District 1-Hour Street Art Tour by Golf Cart at their from-prices, and no car. Each night counts as one day of meals. A third traveller adds a second full room. Tours are paid once per traveller, not per night. Car days leave out insurance, fuel, tolls and parking. The per-night figure is the whole total, tours and airport trains included, divided by nights and travellers.
- Hotel: nights × rooms (one per two travellers) × the median for the style's star class in that month (or the whole year).
- Eating out: nights × travellers × meals a day at the style's meal price; in comfort, one fine dinner a day and the other meals at mid-range prices.
- Car: days × the style's daily price. Activities: the from-price per person or per group.
- Hotel tax: not counted. It is a share of the room rate (6% county tax plus 6% Florida sales tax outside Miami Beach, which has its own), so the real hotel bill is higher than the hotel line, more in Miami Beach. We do not know if the Google Hotels prices include it. Resort fees are not counted either.
- Transport: nights × travellers × the day pass price, so each night counts as one day of rides. The Metromover and the Miami Beach trolley are free. Airport: two Metrorail rides per traveller, to and from Miami International Airport. The Metrorail does not reach Miami Beach, so the trip on from the station to your hotel is not counted.
Each line is rounded to whole dollars.
Plan your Miami trip
Miami trip costs: questions
How much does a trip to Miami cost?
For two people, a mid-range trip of 4 nights costs about $2,007, before flights and hotel tax. That covers a 4-star room, two meals out a day, two tours and transit. On a budget it is about $1,117; in comfort about $3,991 (5-star: 11 hotels priced, so a rough figure).
How much money should I bring to Miami per day?
Plan on about $251 per person per night at mid-range, sharing a room. On a budget it is about $140, in comfort about $499 (a rough 5-star figure). The hotel and meals are most of it.
Is Miami expensive to visit?
A 4-star night was advertised at a median $206 per room in our study, and a mid-range meal costs about $60 per person. The beaches, the Art Deco district, the Metromover and the street art outside Wynwood Walls are free, and a transit ride is $2.25.
What are some free things to do in Miami?
- The beaches, from South Pointe Park up through Miami Beach.
- A walk past the Art Deco hotels on Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue.
- The street murals on the blocks around Wynwood Walls (the Walls themselves charge entry).
- Calle Ocho and the domino games at Máximo Gómez Park in Little Havana.
- The Metromover loop over downtown and Brickell, and the Miami Beach trolley.
What are cheap paid things to do in Miami?
From our tour pages, median from-prices per person: a hop-on hop-off bus $36, a Wynwood street art tour $38, a Biscayne Bay boat tour $38 and an Everglades airboat tour $41.
What is the cheapest month to visit Miami?
Of the 10 months we compared, August 2027 had the lowest advertised 4-star price: $158 a night, against $282 in March. 3-star rooms were lowest in August too ($129). September was not compared.
Is Miami Beach expensive?
Our hotel sample covers Miami and Miami Beach together, so we cannot price them apart. Miami Beach adds its own hotel tax on top of the county and state taxes. The free trolley and the beach itself keep the rest of a day there cheap.
Do I need a car in Miami?
Not for the city. Buses and Metrorail cost $2.25 a ride, the Metromover and the Miami Beach trolley are free, and the airport train is $2.25. Published rental averages run $37 to $100 a day before parking.
How much does parking cost in Miami Beach?
In South Beach, a street meter costs $4 an hour and a city parking lot $2 an hour. The city garage on Seventh Street charges at most $20 a day. The free Miami Beach trolley saves you the parking if your hotel is near a stop.
Do Miami restaurants add a service charge or a tip to the bill?
Some do, so read the bill before you tip. Florida law says a restaurant that adds a service charge or an automatic tip must show it on the menu and on the bill, with the amount or the percentage. The receipt must list the tip, the service charge and sales tax on separate lines. If a tip is already added, you do not need to tip again. If not, the tip is yours to choose.
Does a Miami city pass save money?
Only if you visit many paid sights. Go City sells Miami passes for paid things like bay cruises, bus tours and Zoo Miami. The pass does nothing for the beaches, the Wynwood murals or ICA Miami, which are free. Add up the entry fees you will really pay, then compare that sum with the pass price. The tour prices on this page help with that sum.
Sources
Car hire prices (cited)
All read 23 October 2026 (the day we read them, not the day they were published; some pages show no date)
Meal and drink prices (cited)
All read 23 October 2026 (the day we read them, not the day they were published; some pages show no date)
Official sources
All read 23 October 2026
- Tourist tax per night: miamidade.gov
- Transit day pass: miamidade.gov
- Parking south beach street: miamibeachfl.gov
- Parking garage day max: miamibeachfl.gov
- Crandon parking weekday: miamidade.gov
- Everglades vehicle pass: nps.gov
- Bass adult: thebass.org