Miami Night boat tours take you onto Biscayne Bay as the skyline lights up, past the port, the cruise ships and Star Island. You can take a seat on a shared cruise from $25, or have a whole boat for your own party. The boats leave from three docks, so check which one is yours.
The bar stays open the whole way on this shared cruise from the dock at Bayside, past the port, the cruise ships and Star Island. A 2-hour booking, boarding included; the operator sells it to adults 21 and over.
From $50 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
The whole boat for your party, from a marina on the Miami River: ten minutes or so in the no-wake zone, then the bay at your captain's pace. Bring your own drinks; the captain fee is paid on top.
From $52 per person + US$70 captain fee per booking, paid on the night
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
The lowest fare for a seat on the bay: an hour from Fiesta's booth inside Bayside as the light goes, past the port and Fisher Island. Drinks are sold on board, and nothing is added on the night.
From $25 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Two hours from N Bayshore Drive, on the bay and a stretch of the Miami River, timed so the sunset turns into the lit skyline. Drinks are sold on board, and a $10 cash tip is asked of each guest.
From $47 per person + $10 cash tip a person, which the listing calls required
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A two-deck boat from the dock at Bayside, with an open upper deck and a live guide in English and Spanish. Ninety minutes past the Venetian Islands, Star Island and Fisher Island; drinks are sold aboard.
From $30 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A live host tells documented stories from Miami's past on the bay, with one drink, bites and a digital case file of archive photos. It is history, not a haunted boat tour, and it sails from N Bayshore Drive.
From $63 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Microphones, a song list and party lights for two hours on the bay, with commentary on the homes along Millionaires Row. Outside drinks are not allowed, and a $10 cash tip is asked of each guest.
From $49 per person + $10 cash tip a person, which the listing calls required
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A 50-foot yacht for your group of up to 13, lit with LEDs, for three hours at night. The fare books the yacht; the crew's hours, the marina fee and the fuel are paid on top, and you bring the food.
Listed at $160 per group (up to 13) + crew $100 an hour, $100 marina fee and $100 fuel, paid on the night
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Miami Aqua Tours' night cruise from the Bayside dock: $50 a person with the bar open the whole way and a bilingual guide. You check in 30 minutes early, and the operator sells it to adults 21 and over.
See this tourIt is a seat on a sightseeing boat, or the whole boat, for one to three hours on Biscayne Bay as the city lights up. You pass the cruise ships at the port, the homes on Star Island and the downtown towers, which you see from the water as one lit wall.
The boats leave from three docks. Miami Aqua Tours and Fiesta Cruises board inside Bayside Marketplace downtown. Aqua Party Boat boards at Venetian Marina, at Pier 3 on N Bayshore Drive. The private boat leaves from a marina on the Miami River, west of downtown.
What you choose between is whether you share the boat, whether the drinks are in the fare, and whether you sail in the sunset or after it. A seat costs $25 to $63.20. The yacht is priced for the whole group, and a few boats add a charge you pay on the night.
From the water you see downtown and Brickell as one line of lit towers, with the causeways reflected under them. No street and no rooftop gives you that angle. A bus shows you the city from inside it; a boat shows you the whole of it at once.
The homes on the islands in the bay are private, and you cannot drive onto Star Island. From a boat you pass their sea walls and docks, lit after dark. Most cruises here take in the islands; ask your captain on the private boat, because one traveller found the homes skipped in the dark.
On the open-bar night cruise the drinks are in the fare. The other shared boats sell drinks on board. On the private boat and the yacht you bring your own, and the private boat has a cooler with ice waiting.
The open-bar, sunset, skyline and karaoke cruises list a restroom or toilet on board. The private boat does not, except on its largest option, so use the one at the marina before you leave. That matters on a two-hour trip after dinner.
The Big Bus night tour is the other classic way to see the city lit up, and it costs less than most cruises. Here is how a boat compares.
| Private boat | Open-bar shared cruise | Big Bus night tour | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where you sit | Your own boat with a captain | A seat among up to 150 | A seat on the open top deck |
| What you see | The route you ask for, within the captain's call | Star Island, the port, the lit skyline | Downtown, the causeway, Ocean Drive |
| Drinks | Bring your own; cooler and ice aboard | Open bar in the fare | Not included |
| Restroom | At the marina; on board only on the largest boat | On board | Not listed |
| Fare | $52 a person + $70 captain fee | $50 a seat | $36 a seat |
| Is it dark? | You pick the hour | After dark | At 8pm: dark from mid-September to March |
The bus covers more ground: downtown, the causeway and South Beach. The boat gives you the skyline you came for, a drink in your hand and room to stand up. If the lights of Ocean Drive matter more to you than the bay, compare the night city tours.
Food is not included on any boat except the true-crime cruise's bites. Eat before you board, or bring your own on the private boat and the yacht. The guide to what you pay on the night adds up each total.
The private boat from the Miami River takes up to 10 with a captain for two hours, from $52 a person plus a $70 captain fee. You bring the drinks; the cooler and ice are aboard.
See this tourPrice. A seat costs $25 to $63.20: Fiesta's twilight cruise is the lowest and the true-crime cruise the highest. A couple on the private boat pays $174 with the captain fee. The yacht is $160 for the group before its fees.
Length. One hour on the twilight cruise, 90 minutes on the skyline cruise, two hours on most others and three on the yacht. The open-bar cruise is sold as a 2-hour booking with boarding included, so expect less time sailing than that.
Time of day. Sunset moves from 5:52pm in mid-January to 8:14pm in mid-June, so a sunset cruise moves with it. A 7pm boat is in full dark from November to February, and in daylight from May to August. Check the sunset and weather by month before you pick a sailing.
Getting there. Arrive 30 minutes early for Miami Aqua Tours at Bayside and 15 to 20 minutes early at Venetian Marina. Several operators share the dock area at Bayside, so check the operator's name before you step aboard. The meeting points map marks every dock.
Booking window. Book once your dates are fixed. Most of these boats refund in full up to 24 hours before, and the operators may cancel for weather with a new date or a refund.
Want the streets as well as the water? Every way to spend a Miami night is compared on Miami Night Tours.