Anne-Charlotte PasseraWhat could possibly go wrong with a 3h30 long layover in Miami? EVERYTHING.
Layovers are what stresses me the most when travelling, especially when I have the kids in tow. We’ve had so many mishaps (see our Peru trip) that whenever possible I try to either get direct flights or make sure that the layover is over two hours long.
We had a 3h30 long layover in Miami on our way back from Costa Rica. I was traveling solo with my kids who were 4 and 12 at the time. That’s a pretty long layover, right? Well, guess what? We managed to miss our connecting flight!
Stranded in Miami at 8h30 p.m. with two kids, no internet, I was a hot mess. After my bag of tears left my body, I pulled myself together and decided that I wasn’t gonna let this travel mishap ruin the end of what was up to this point, one of our best vacations.
You know the saying: Always plan for the unexpected ? Here are some tips on how to turn a layover in Miami into an improvised vacation. Although I usually try to keep our cost down every time we travel, in this case I said Fuck it.
Missing your connecting flight
Our first flight from San José, Costa Rica to Miami, Florida left late because AirForce One had the priority. Thank you Mr. Obama!
Then, in order to catch our connecting flight in Miami to head on home to Montreal we had to go through immigration.
On that day, a Saturday, the immigration officers were on strike. It had to do with them not being happy by being replaced by machines.
The line was super long, I had no food or water on me, but surprisingly my kids behaved like angels the whole time. We did find some water fountains, and a couple in front if us was kind enough to share some snacks with kids. At least, my kids never complained once. I think it’s because they saw how worried I was the closer we got to our departure flight. I was remaining optimistic though right up ’til the end.
Although we had a 3 1/2 hours layover, we still managed to miss our plane by 40 minutes!
So now, here I am with my two kids, really far away from home. We didn’t know anyone in Miami, I had an old cell phone, no internet access and you had to pay for Wifi at the airport.
Time for plan B, except I didn’t have one.
Options
While I stood in yet another line amongst hundreds of people who were just as stranded as I was and trying to talk to someone at the American Airlines counter, I called them, toll free. Here were the options given to me:
- Pay $600 to get on the next plane out (per person);
- Get on the same plane, but the next day.
I did have a melt down while dealing with all of this and my kids continued behaving really well after seeing how distraught I was.
Option 1 was not an option we could afford. Besides, it wasn’t our fault we missed our connecting flight, but it wasn’t theirs either.
Luckily, I managed to let them know through my tears of despair (they couldn’t see them but heard them) that if it hadn’t been for my first flight leaving late I would have (maybe) been able to make my second flight on time. The truth will set you free!
So they booked me on the same flight but the next day, free of charge. Hooray!
Since we were in Miami, and it was our first time, I decided to make a little vacation out of our extended layover and misfortune. Also, I had just gotten a credit card and felt rich!
Repercussion
Before heading out, I first needed to communicate by text with one my girlfriends back home as she was supposed to pick us up. Then, I coordinated with her our arrival since we wouldn’t be arriving until 1 am the Sunday night with school and work the next day. She was an angel and since she had our keys, she got us food for breakfast and lunch and set the table for us!
Tip: Always have dry food at home to make school lunches if you are arriving late on a work night. Having to run to the grocery store after a late arrival should be the least of your worries.
Leaving Miami Airport
You can take a bus from Miami Airport to head into town, but if you arrive in the evening and are traveling alone with kids, you might want to consider a faster option and not the cheapest.
There is a flat cab fare from Miami Airport to get to South Beach, which is where we ended up going. At the time of our trip, it was $40 CAD. If you want to leave a tip, you can. Usually, it’s around 15% but it’s not mandatory. A shuttle will cost you more if you are more than one person.
We hopped in a cab and went to Ocean Drive, the only place I knew. I had no clue where I was heading as I didn’t have access to the internet. The cab driver just dumped us somewhere on Collins Avenue, North of Ocean Drive with a bunch of4 or 5 hotels.
Sleeping in Miami for a short layover
One of the options we had was to sleep in an airport hotel which American Airlines would have paid for. However, our flight wasn’t leaving until 8:40 pm the next day. That’s a full day hanging around near the airport with two kids. For some reason I decided against it which in hindsight would have been a more affordable layover in Miami. I think if I had had internet access, it would have been easier for me to plan and decide what to do in Miami with kids during this layover.
It was pretty hard to find a last minute hotel room on a Saturday night. After our third or fourth try we managed to find a room in a 5 star hotel, Nobu Hotel Miami. Nobu Hotel is located about 30 minutes from the Miami Airport.
The hotel clerk probably took pity on us or me with our beach clothes and small luggage. We really didn’t look the part in that hotel, but he was very kind. We got an awesome room with a king size bed, a pull out bed, a HUGE bathroom, and view on the beach. The room was a lot bigger than our two-bedroom apartment in Montreal. The cost for one night: $500 USD.
It isn’t because you are stranded somewhere that you can’t do it in style!
We got into the room past 11h30 at night and ordered room service, something I never do. The next morning, we hung out there until check out time in order to make the most of the money spent. The kids particularly enjoyed the huge bathtub with water jets.
A more affordable South Beach option
Of course, if I had had accessed to internet, I would have gone on booking.com and reserved a less expensive hotel room. They do exist and are located between 7th and 19th street and Collins Avenue and Ocean drive.
Things to do with kids during a layover in Miami
Nobu Hotel has different pools and a beach access. Since I didn’t want my kids and I to go home with wet clothes, we skipped the beach or swimming part.
After reviewing brochures that were in our room, we opted for the Miami Seaquarium. It’s not necessarily my kind of thing but I wanted to make the most of our extra vacation day and have some family fun.
Having no clue as to where I was, and I didn’t realize that the Seaquarium was a bit far from where we were (no internet remember), it did make some nice sightseeing.
We spent almost 6 hours there, and it was well worth it. We had a great time, and the kids got their pictures ($) taken with parrots. The pictures now hang in picture frames in our home.
Since I didn’t know if there were lockers at the Miami Seaquarium, we left our bags at our hotel ($). Nobu Hotel Miami is located about a 22 minute drive from Miami Seaquarium. The cab fare is expensive, $40 CAD.
Other activities to do with kids on a layover in Miami
If you don’t mind flying home with sandy and wet clothes, the beach is the most affordable option for an unplanned layover option in Miami. Check out the Portofino Food Truck (or similar) which I read is a great place to grab a quick bite to eat.
Another affordable place to eat with kids in South Beach is at the Lincoln Eatery food hall.
The Official Travel and Tourism Site of Greater Miami & Miami Beach has a good article on kid-friendly things to do in South Beach which you can read HERE.
This was a really expensive layover we had in Miami but I decided to turn this scary and confusing situation into a positive one. With Internet access, I probably would have done things a little differently, but the kids and I had a great time nonetheless.
In situations like these, you need to explain to your kids what is going on and try to not let them show your anxiety so as not worry. If you do, which was my case, just explain to them what is going on.
This trip was taken in May 2013.
[…] We had a 3h30 long layover in Miami on our way back from Costa Rica; we never made our connecting flight. To top it off, our connecting flight was at 8:40 pm, so there were no other flights that day to our final destination. You can read about our unplanned extended layover in Miami HERE. […]