MIAAirport Guide

Miami with one day before your flight home

A last day in Miami before flying out of MIA: store your bags, work back from the time you must be at the airport, and pick a neighborhood that fits the hours left.

Miami's Freedom Tower on Biscayne Boulevard, with palms, traffic and the elevated Metromover guideway beside it
Freedom Tower · Biscayne Boulevard

Work back from the time you need to be at MIA: two hours before a domestic flight, three before an international one. Then take off the ride back, as a ride app quotes it for the hour you’ll travel, and what’s left is your day. Store your bags at the airport’s baggage room if your hotel won’t keep them, and pick somewhere close to MIA, such as Little Havana or Coral Gables, if the gap is short.

Plan the day backward from the airport

Step Allow
At MIA before your flight As above. Ahead of a busy spring break week, MIA told travelers to come three hours before any flight.
The ride back to MIA Check the trip time in a ride app before you set off, and again before you leave for the airport
Collecting stored bags Time at the counter and for the walk to check-in

Our guide to how early to arrive at MIA covers the airport’s timing advice in full.

Leave your bags at the hotel or at MIA

Ask your hotel first whether it’ll keep your bags after checkout. Our hotel guide lists the hotel inside the terminal and hotels with an airport shuttle. If it won’t, Communitel Baggage Storage has counters at MIA, before security on the second level, in Central Terminal E and in South Terminal H. It charges a daily rate by size, from $12 for a bag up to 18 inches. MIA’s pages disagree on the hours, 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on one and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on another, so call the E counter at 305-869-1163 before you plan an evening pickup. Our guide to left luggage at MIA has every size and price.

Pick a place that fits the hours you have

Time free Somewhere that fits Getting there
Three or four hours Little Havana: Calle Ocho, Domino Park, a Cuban coffee Taxi or ride app
Three or four hours Coral Gables: Miracle Mile, the Venetian Pool, the Biltmore Taxi or ride app
Half a day Wynwood and the Design District: the Wynwood Walls murals, galleries and designer boutiques Our Wynwood guide compares the rides
A full day South Beach: the beach, Ocean Drive and Lincoln Road A taxi, or Route 150 for $2.25

Miami-Dade taxis run on the meter, with road tolls added on top. Our taxi fares guide has the rates.

In the last hour, head back early

  • Return with time to spare. MIA’s regular checkpoints close between 7:15 p.m. and 11:45 p.m. Only Checkpoint 9, for H and J, is listed as open 24 hours. Our security page shows which one serves your gate.
  • Eat after security. Once you’re through, the checkpoint’s closing time no longer matters. Our guide to the best food at MIA by concourse covers each area.

Sources