Things to Do in North Miami Beach
Recommended Things to Do by Groupon Customers
Miami BeachSports shoots thrill-seekers into the wild blue yonder with adrenaline-filled trips at the stern of Yamaha WaveRunners. Aquatic cowboys wrangle the sea-slapping crafts, churning up wake and waking up the Krakens that live along the oceanfront boardwalk. Guests take in seldom-seen vistas while screaming along the waves, looking back at the strip of beach between Fontainebleau Hotel and Four Points by Sheraton Miami Beach where Miami BeachSports is located. Once back on shore, guests can rent the shop’s chaise lounges or oversize umbrellas for beachside relaxation.
The one-day ticket to the Sixth Annual Florida International Wine Challenge gets you an unlimited sampling of more than 500 worldly wines. Sample a variety of sips, such as the merlot of Napa Valley, syrah of Portugal, and malbec of Argentina, while participating in contests, raffles, and taste-testing activities. If you decide to fill your stomach with solids after the wine tastings, you can make dinner reservations at The Palms Hotel & Spa's Essensia Restaurant & Lounge and choose any two free bottles of wine from the tasting with no corkage fee to complement your meal. Tropical-reveling guests will appreciate the tranquility of The Palms Hotel & Spa, a luxurious resort with a sensational view of the oceanfront.
As they observe the vibrant exhibits of aquatic life inside the Miami Seaquarium, many guests don't realize that they are walking through a movie set and a hospital. In the onsite lagoon, bottlenose dolphins swim through waters once traversed by Flipper, who filmed several television episodes and films at the venue. The Seaquarium is also recognized as a manatee critical care facility. Its staff has accomplished several historic treatments, including monitoring the conception and arrival of the first manatee born under human care and conducting the first manatee neurological surgery.
These facets of the Seaquarium—along with its many conservation efforts, educational programs, and shows—underscore a united commitment to wildlife consciousness. The animal attractions enable visitors to witness the allure and fragility of oceanic fauna up close, whether they are petting the back of a stingray or washing a dress shirt on the rough back of an 8-foot nile crocodile. Special encounters decrease the distance even further, sending patrons on underwater Sea Treks through the reef display or helping them to lead marine-mammal training routines.
It's hard to pinpoint the biggest personality inside the Seaquarium tanks, but Lolita the killer whale—who performs daily alongside pacific white-sided dolphins—claims the title of heaviest, period. On the other end of the scale, macaws and cockatiels perch around the Tropical Wings section of the park, and endangered sea turtles lounge at Discovery Bay. Elsewhere, a watery playground and three-story ropes course keep legs from growing too wobbly after a trip to Shark Channel or a smooch from a sea lion.
It's hot and humid in Bikram Yoga Miami's studio—the temperatures reach 105 degrees—but not because the air conditioner is broken. Here, the heat and humidity coax muscles to sink deeper into the stretches and cause students to release toxins via beads of sweat during Bikram yoga classes. Certified in the yoga style's 26-posture sequence, the instructors lead students through the poses, helping them increase their strength, flexibility, and range of motion, which comes in handy when one gets the urge to backwards-crabwalk up a wall. Within the balmy studio, sun streams in from the windows and bounces off the full-wall mirrors, illuminating the rows of students as the instructors offer adjustments to the postures to accommodate varying ability levels.
Giant toy soldiers clothed in thousands of colored lights wave at passersby as glowing reindeer take off into the dusk. Towering Christmas trees topped with stars glimmer and glisten with blue and green fiber optics. At Santa's Enchanted Forest, one of the world’s largest Christmas-themed amusement parks, holiday spirit and festive music fill the air long before the end of December. Visitors laugh and shriek on a multitude of carnival rides, including whirling swings, bumper cars, tower drops, and roller coasters, whipping through the air until their cheeks are as rosy as old Saint Nick’s. Traditional carnival games are also on hand, such as dart tosses and soccer-ball kicks, to complement more unconventional carnival amusements such as giant plastic balls to roll around in and a rock-climbing wall to scale. Wee visitors, meanwhile, can make the acquaintance of small livestock in a petting zoo or draw a portrait of their favorite goat in royal costume on a wall-size coloring-book mural. Carnival food, such as barbecue, pizza, and cinnamon donuts, fuels guests as they conquer rides or take in the Cats of the World Tiger Show, the Cirque Equinox, or the Sea Lion Splash Spectacular.
