Little Havana

[Cru1s1ng2009]

I am posting this for @Barbk2692 who is on my roll call. We are sailing from Baltimore and one of our stops is Miami.

 

Question....  Has anyone gone to Little Havana at Miami?  How far of a walk is it from the Miami Cruise port?  Even to the main shopping areas.....  Do I need to use Uber to get around this area or is it a good self walking tour?

Edited April 18, 2019 by Cru1s1ng2009
wed

[Diver2014]

It's way too far to walk.  And not worth it to begin with.  'Little Havana' is SW 8th Street (Calle Ocho).  You can see the entire area in less than an hour unless you want to eat at a Cuban restaurant then make it two hours.  When you say 'main shopping areas' -  there are store fronts all along 8th Street but not really centralized.  There's a cigar factory that's been there forever if you want to see that.  In my opinion, Little Havana is just like any other neighborhood in Miami.  Uber will get you there fastest or you can catch the 8th Street bus on Brickell Ave.  There are a lot more interesting things to see and do in Miami than Little Havana.  Go to Coconut Grove if you want to shop and eat. 

[WVHillbilly]

We were on the Grandeur this past December, our stop on Miami was shortened by 2 hours, due to weather and a late departure from Port Canaveral.  We had purchased a Hop-On/Hop-Off bus tour on Groupon.  Lil Havana is not walking distance from the port.  We saw Domino Park, Bay of Pigs Memorial, strolled along the streets and had lunch all in about 2 hours.  I agree that there isn't a lot to see or do in Lil Havana but still glad we did it.

[Flymia]

2-hours is enough to see and have lunch there. Fine to walk around the main street, it is safe. Yes you need to take an Uber way to far to walk. 

[BNBR]

Has Barb been to Miami before? South Beach is the quintessential Miami spot for first time visitors. Little Havana would be low on the list. Even Wynwood is more interesting. 

 

Personally, I'd suggest the hop on/off bus tour. 

 

As others said, little Havana is nowhere near the port and definitely not walking distance. The closest to the port is downtown and Brickell.  Mostly the Bayside Marketplace.  That's about all that is walkable. 

[Host CJSKIDS]

Little Havana is now a hot spot of bars and restaurants.    Many chefs are busy opening new restaurants, like Michele Bernstein. There are beer/bar shops, oyster bars, an amazing donut shop as well as ice cream shop.  Lot's going on in the evenings! Got there around 5  two weekends ago with friends and got back to Brickell at midnight with friends. Restaurant and bar hopping was a lot of fun.

 

Having a cocktail at Ball & Chain while listening to live music is a great way to spend some time. They are open during the day time hours.

 

Bar Nancy is a cool bar that has happy hour 7 days a week, great cocktails where everything is made fresh (including squeezing their own sugarcane to make their simply syrup) and live music at times. Unfortunately they don't open until 4 or 5. 

 

From Thai to Cuban to Mexican to an Oyster Bar, there are now many restaurants along the street.  There are also some very cute shops now.

 

Domino Park is pretty cool to see. 

 

With all that being said, it won't be super busy during the daytime hours.  Tends to get jumping later on. 

 

I would jump in either an Uber or on the free trolley here in Miami to get around.  

 

Bayside Market is right there and will have things to do. 

 

Brickell Citi Centre is a major destination with lots of shops and restaurants and is close to the port.

 

The walk from the Port is not an easy one, especially during the hot, humid summer months.  

Edited April 19, 2019 by Host CJSKIDS

[BNBR]

10 minutes ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

Little Havana is now a hot spot of bars and restaurants.    Many chefs are busy opening new restaurants, like Michele Bernstein. There are beer/bar shops, oyster bars, an amazing donut shop as well as ice cream shop.  Lot's going on in the evenings! Got there around 5  two weekends ago with friends and got back to Brickell at midnight with friends. Restaurant and bar hopping was a lot of fun.

 

Having a cocktail at Ball & Chain while listening to live music is a great way to spend some time. They are open during the day time hours.

 

Bar Nancy is a cool bar that has happy hour 7 days a week, great cocktails where everything is made fresh (including squeezing their own sugarcane to make their simply syrup) and live music at times. Unfortunately they don't open until 4 or 5. 

 

From Thai to Cuban to Mexican to an Oyster Bar, there are now many restaurants along the street.  There are also some very cute shops now.

 

Domino Park is pretty cool to see. 

 

With all that being said, it won't be super busy during the daytime hours.  Tends to get jumping later on. 

 

I would jump in either an Uber or on the free trolley here in Miami to get around.  

 

Bayside Market is right there and will have things to do. 

 

Brickell Citi Centre is a major destination with lots of shops and restaurants and is close to the port.

 

The walk from the Port is not an easy one, especially during the hot, humid summer months.  

 

The cruiser is only here for a daytime port stop.  Lots of restaurants and evening entertainment, but I don't think it's really much of a daytime cruise excursion.  At least not compared to some other options.  If you are looking for a walking tour, I just don't think Little Havana is that kind of place.

 

However, it's easy to see on the HOHO bus.

Edited April 19, 2019 by BNBR

[Host CJSKIDS]

2 minutes ago, BNBR said:

2 minutes ago, BNBR said:

 

The cruiser is only here for a daytime port stop.  Lots of restaurants and evening entertainment, but I don't think it's really much of a daytime cruise excursion.  At least not compared to some other options.  If you are looking for a walking tour, I just don't think Little Havana is that kind of place.

 

 

 

As the OP asked about Little Havana, that appears to be what they would like to do. If you haven't been to Little Havana lately, it has changed quite a bit and is a very cool area to explore even during the day. There is a lot of history and culture out here and I wouldn't hesitate to go visit. 

 

There are quite a few walking tours offered and many offered that are food orientated.  

 

Here a few:

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g34438-d11470104-Little_Havana_Food_and_Walking_Tour_in_Miami-Miami_Florida.html

 

http://www.littlehavanawalkingtour.com

 

https://www.miamiculinarytours.com/tour/little-havana-food-tour/

[bettyboop16]

We took Little Havana Food & Walking Tour with Art Deco Tours. Christine was our guide. All 4 of us enjoyed our tour very much & it included lunch at a Cuban Restaurant. We went to Wynwood Walls & back to Bayside. We used Lyft to get around.

[BNBR]

7 hours ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

 

 

 

As the OP asked about Little Havana, that appears to be what they would like to do. If you haven't been to Little Havana lately, it has changed quite a bit and is a very cool area to explore even during the day. There is a lot of history and culture out here and I wouldn't hesitate to go visit. 

 

There are quite a few walking tours offered and many offered that are food orientated.  

 

Here a few:

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g34438-d11470104-Little_Havana_Food_and_Walking_Tour_in_Miami-Miami_Florida.html

 

http://www.littlehavanawalkingtour.com

 

https://www.miamiculinarytours.com/tour/little-havana-food-tour/

 

I haven't been recently. I remember it being nothing special or all that touristy. These tours do look interesting, heck, I may even go on one. 

 

Is Little Havana getting the Wynwood treatment? I used to hang out at Wynwood just as it was gentrifying as I had a friend with a business there.  Just starting to get artsy, but very grunge still. I hadn't gone in a couple years and then went for dinner not long ago and it's basically a different place.  Feels "hip" now.  Way safer/cleaner.  

 

Maybe Little Havana is going down the same path? 

[Cru1s1ng2009]

thank you all for the info. I hope the person from my roll call comes back to see this. The roll call isn't very active

[Barbk2692]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and suggestions regarding this issue...  I may try the h op on hop off bus tour to initially get a feel of Miami......