This was really a mixed bag and a lot of the sightseeing tour or trip is essentially a shopping trip. From the Lincoln Rd point of origin we went down Washington St to 5th St - so not really any sites in terms of Art Deco Buildings. The bus did not go down Ocean Drive, which is where one could see a lot of Art Deco buildings. From 5th St we crossed over the A1A and got on the freeway and then went straight to Calle Ocho (Little Havana). En route, there was really no history about Calle Ocho. The bus disgorges all passengers at 16th and 8th and the tour guide takes us straight to a shop to buy ?clothing and Panama hats? Why this shop? Was it special? No idea. From there we cross the street and go into an establishment (Alfaro’s Nightclub and Lounge) with the purpose of everyone buying a mojito. So, then there was at least 20 minutes of sitting around waiting for the few who did buy a mojito to consume it. Again - why that place? Is there something special about it? And what about the little kids on the tour? Can they really go into a nightclub and lounge that seemed to be selling only alcohol? Just asking.
From there, the guide took us a few doors down to the Little Havana Visitor center which was really just another gift shop where you could buy T shirts, refrigerator magnets, ice cream bars, etc etc. A man was also following the tour group from shop to shop trying to sell us peanuts.
From there we walked a few doors down to Belle Cigar shop, which we were told was the finest cigar shop in Miami, where we could see a man rolling cigars from tobacco leaves, but, more importantly, were the tour group was encouraged to buy cigars. There is little to no history of the area provided. No stop in at Domino Park or Ball & Chain, home of Tito Puente’s amazing band.
From there the group went back to the bus, the time being approximately 2:30 PM, one hour after we left Miami Beach. The guide told us we were now going to Bayside Park (Downtown Miami) for “lunch.” The tour itinerary indicates that you will see or pass Coral Gables and Coconut Grove, so I asked about that. The guide told us that we did indeed pass it. Since I live here part time I knew that in fact we had passed neither of these areas. So the guide then has a discussion with the bus driver and I don’t know who else and we do eventually go along the edge of Coral Gables (didn’t really see or learn anything) and then through Northeast Coconut Grove. Along the way, as an example of the quality of the tour, the guide pointed out, “Over there is a really old church. It was built in 1920.” Ignoring the fact that 1920 does not constitute “really old” in the world of architecture, why was this pointed out? Is there something unique about it? Is it still a church? Who knows?
Passing through Coconut Grove, the guide would periodically point out the home of a celebrity. One in particular caught my attention, because he said it was the home of Serena Williams. Her home is actually in North Miami and is not (and I believe never has been) in Coconut Grove. So I basically think that, at least this tour guide, makes things up. And who can challenge him? Most of the people were just tourists.
From Northeast Coconut Grove, the bus inexplicably went out Rickenbacker Causeway towards Key Biscayne, which is not on the itinerary. The views of the bay and city were nice but it wasn’t clear where this was coming from. The bus made a U-turn on Virginia Key (did not go all the way to Key Biscayne) and then got back on 95 and headed to downtown and Bayside Marketplace. As we approached the Marketplace, the guide made a pitch for tips/propinas repeatedly.
Once at the marketplace, the tour guide took the group to restaurant, I think it was Las Canita, where everyone was encouraged to go in and get lunch (it was 3:30 PM). The group had 1 hour to eat or shop and then needed to go down to the boat boarding area for a 90 minute tour of Biscayne Bay/Star Island/Hibiscus Island, etc.
It was not clear how the group was to get back to the point of origin in MB until we asked a few times and were told to be back where the bus let us off at 6:30 PM.
At 4:30 we got on the boat and then headed out for the tour. This part of the tour was much better and honestly worth the $29.99 apiece that we spent for the entire experience. It was nice to get out on the water and see the beautiful homes. This guide was full of information about who lives where, although I am not sure of the accuracy. He made a big point about one home on Start Island belonging to Phillip Frost, “they guy who invented Viagra.” There were many jokes made about how the palm trees on his property stood straighter, etc. The property is beautiful and I believe it does belong to Phillip Frost, however, I am sure that the British scientists and Pfizer employees, Peter Dunn and Albert Wood, who ACTUALLY created sildenafil (Viagra) would be surprised to learn of this new attribution to its creation. So this really begs the question of how much of the information is accurate. Were the homes that supposedly belong to Sean Combs, Jennifer Lopez, Julio Iglesias, Will Smith, Sylvester Stallone, etc etc - do they really belong to those individuals? Who knows? I will say that it was nonetheless nice to get out on the water on a hot day. The breezes and the scenery were beautiful. I would take the information provided with a grain of salt or suspension of reality, like when you go to the movies.
And we just Ubered back to MB. The boat got back just before 6 PM and we couldn’t see waiting around that Marketplace for 30 minutes.