A little bit of plan, a total vacation mindset and a perfect beach ready body – that’s all what we three needed for this Spring Break cum #Birthday2019 vacay.

Little Miss K has become a pro-traveler and can actually have a mini vlog series on how she explores a new city/country with her little eyes. And believe me it’s exciting to be part of the journey and enabling her explore the city while we explore it in our style.

This trip was absolutely well planned surprise for her as she just knew what we wanted her to know. Read on my other blogs to know the entire story of the surprise and what all cities/countries we explored in the 12 day vacation in April 2019.

The Miami area was better known as “Biscayne Bay Country” in the early years of its growth and co-incidentally we stayed in Marriott Downtown situated at the Biscayne Bay. By far its one of the best hotels in Downtown Miami with almost all attractions walking distance or easily connected by a Biscayne Trolley.

Miami has always been in any Top 5 spots for vacation and we choosing it this spring, was just a co-incidence. We were actually set on our 1^st Cruise together as a family and the start point was Miami. So we spent 3 days and two nights in Miami so that we can let Little wonder explore the beaches of Miami and few more interesting places.

And here goes her favorite list. Do not miss it, Parents, if you are travelling with a kid, our list of basic essentials for all age group in our post about travel. Its Toddler approved fun places to visit in Miami which you would also love to explore and have a relaxed time.

1. FROST museum: Top spot goes to the Philip and Patricia Frost museum of Science  from her end. Even as parents, I think we loved this museum as one of the best Science and Nature museums, we have been around the world. It kept us on our toes and we were always looking forward to explore the next floor. Its not only a Museum, it has a planetarium, huge aquarium and Aviary all in one located inside a LEED certified Green building. We loved the shows and it was worth every single minute. With the ticket, you can get one show to watch in the dome shaped theatre and Little Miss K chose ‘How a star is born’.  Adults tickets are 30$ on spot and Kids until age 11 is 20$. Kids under 2 year are free. You can buy the tickets online and save 10$. We didn’t had to wait much in the queue as it was a Thursday. It was a walking distance from our hotel and on the return we took the super cute Biscayne Trolley and voilà it was free! Yes this place is worth spending a day if you are inquisitive type parents and the best part is on the 5^th Floor they have set up water tables for kids and nice comfy seating area for parents to doze off to the sight of the cruises lined up on the North beach.
2. Miami South Beach Boardwalk: My favorite and yes, hers too. The south beach was a pleasure and we spent almost one day here. Reached here post our breakfast and spent the day on the shore. She making castles and getting to know other kids. And us, lying in the sand just gazing in the clear blue sky & the picturesque pristine water and collecting beautiful shells. The best part was in the evening the street across the boardwalk turns into a night club with neon lights, music and super party crowd. Little Miss K loved dancing on the street with the fellow tourists and we walked from one end towards University lane to find a dinner place which serves vegetarian food in the land of paellas and oysters! Yes we did find, it was awesome food and we left wanting for more.
3. Bayside Market Place: This was a surprise, we usually don’t like the marketplace so much in cities but this one had an old world charm with brands running some great discounts. We strolled the noon to evening and witnessed some great street performances. We decided skip Hard Rock café and try Lombardi’s Miami Italian Restaurant watching over the yachts docked alongside with a table set with pretty Sunflowers in vase. The food was absolutely fabulous without a dent in the pocket! We spend close to two hours as it was such an interesting place with good food and music. Little Miss K approved the Fried, Pasta and Carrot Soup.
4. Venetian Pool: So in case you haven’t had enough of the salty water, you can head to this hidden place to transport yourself back in time to one of the spectacular attractions in the city Beautiful of Coral Gables. With two lookouts, you can see the city, immerse yourself in the cold water and beat the hot sun with waterfalls around you. Book your tickets before as they close the doors if reached maximum capacity.  Oh yes, if your kid is below 3 years – skip this place as they don’t allow kids below three to enter the facility.
5. Wynwood Walls: with a disclaimer – It will ensure that your toddler accepts that its OKAY to paint on the walls and call it a masterpiece! So watch out parents. Little Miss K loved the explosion of colors on the walls and I was amazed at the global creativity in those wall murals.

What I loved about Miami is this free spirited city is so rich in different cultures, being so close to Haiti, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico and so many visitors from across the globe made it more interesting.

We loved spending two days there with lots of #newparentwoes haunting us on how we can keep the surprise tucked under our sleeves as there were so many Disney shops around the Bayside market. Do read our next post on Keywest – which was an extension of our Miami exploration by road.

“Keep your sanity in check Parents until next post!”

XoXo ATG

Mandatory beach pic.