Miami is one of the most vibrant, sophisticated, exciting and stylish cities in the United States. It combines the best of the Caribbean, European and Southern cultures. It provides the visitor with a diverse selection of luxury resorts, world-class shopping, cosmopolitan dining, legendary nightlife and dozens of local attractions including museums, parks, beaches, galleries, sports, cruises and family amusement centers.

Perhaps the greatest influence upon the city’s modern-day personality came with the influx of Cuban refugees, many of them children, that began as early as 1958. They settled in an area which is still known today, as Little Havana. My husband and I arrived in this area on a sunny Sunday afternoon, where we stayed in a delightful, historic, bed and breakfast known as the Miami River Inn. After living in Florida for a number of years, we were determined to see as much of Miami as possible. It did not take us long to realize that Miami was not a concise, neat little city, but a sprawling metropolis of diverse neighborhoods. If we were going to use our limited time to maximum advantage and see as much as possible, we needed help. Fortunately, we found Travel Trackers.

Travel Trackers is a company of experienced destination, travel and tour service professionals. They are multi-lingual…Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Portuguese, German, French, Italian….and just about any other language you or your group might require. Adrienne Chiron picked us up early on Monday morning at our hotel. We wanted to see as much as possible and she more than fulfilled our expectations. By the end of the day we had a general idea of the lay-out of the city, how to get from place to place, a bit of history and the main points of interest, so we could return and spend more time in the places that intrigued us without spending all our time “being lost.” She was a fountain of knowledge on the history and current events in the city. We saw the “famous” landmarks and some of the cultural and ethnic neighborhoods that we never would have recognized or found by ourselves.

We started in Little Havana. We found it to be a bit run-down, but Adrienne pointed out the neat little houses with the barred windows, the men playing dominoes and drinking “café con leche” in Maximo Gomez Park (Domino Park), El Presidente Super Market which was the only major grocery store in the area, and the Jesu Christo Catholic church.

She explained that the city was founded very close to the downtown core of Miami because the early residents needed easy transportation into the city. Once we were familiar with the area, David and I decided to explore a little more on our own in the next two days.

Our next stop was Fisher Island which is very up-scale and very private. We admired the opulent mansions but saw very few people in the area.

In Coral Gables, one of the nation’s first planned developments, we learned that the entire area was built almost entirely out of the coral limestone which is native to the area. Gracious Spanish colonial-style homes line the twisty streets lined with palm and banyan trees. We stopped for a visit at the Biltmore Hotel which originally opened in 1926. After an unusual history in which the hotel was converted into a V.A. hospital, a medical school and eventually into a hotel again; the Biltmore is an elegant landmark, which can be seen throughout the area.

We cruised down South Beach, the Art-Deco capital of the world. We were fascinated by the historic old hotels, the crowds of people in the sidewalk cafes, the roller-bladders, vintage cars and the tourists gawking at each other. We were advised to come back in the evening when the night-life really kicks-in and the noise and crowd-level reach peak performance. We returned for a walking tour and an early dinner but after a couple of hours, we were actually glad to escape the hustle and bustle and return to the relative quiet of Little Havana.

We saw Key Biscayne with its busy recreational marinas and fantastic beaches. This area is mostly South American and Spanish. Coconut Grove with its lively shopping and nightlife is very popular with the young people. We visited Palm Island which does not allow tour buses and Star Island which is even more exclusive and Bal Harbor, which is probably the most elite area in Miami. There were six cruise ships in port waiting to leave late in the afternoon. Adrienne told us that many of the passengers used Travel Trackers to explore Miami and the Everglades area while they were waiting to leave.

Travel Trackers does much more than just cater to individuals who want to see the sights. They cater to groups, conventions and visiting dignitaries. They can arrange anything from tours to luncheons, sports events, concerts and visits to off-beat locations. They will do airport or cruise ship pick-ups for those with a few hours to spend. The can arrange for cars limousines’ or full size busses.

Adrienne, owner of Travel Trackers, was a delightful guide and we definitely saw far more of the city of Miami than we would have on our own. She has been in the travel business since 1983 and in her own words, “travel and tours are my passion.”


Contact:Traveltrackers.net or call 305-205-0219 or (toll free) 877. Miami-45 or e-mail info@traveltrackers.net