What’s all this traffic? How to navigate Miami boat show, Grove arts fest by road, water
The Miami boat show and the Grove arts fest help define Presidents Day Weekend in Miami.
The 2025 Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show leads off with five days that began Wednesday and runs through Sunday at six locations spread around Miami and Miami Beach.
The Coconut Grove Arts Festival runs Friday through the Monday federal holiday along neighborhood streets.
If you’ve been around South Florida, you may know what’s coming. Big fun. But also big traffic.
Here’s a guide to getting around town, with information on parking, driving and road shutdowns for the events and what the weather forecast has to say for these outdoor events:
Miami International Boat Show
▪ Miami International Boat Show hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.
▪ Six official locations for the 2025 Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show:
— Miami Beach Convention Center (1901 Convention Center Dr.) offers powerboats up to 49 feet, engine manufacturers, marine accessories, electronics, retail pavilions.
— Herald Plaza (One Herald Plaza, downtown Miami between the MacArthur and Venetian Causeways on Biscayne Bay) features larger powerboats, motor yachts ranging from 50 feet to 125 feet, yacht tenders, engines, marine accessories, retail pavilions.
— Venetian Marina & Yacht Club (1635 N. Bayshore Dr.) offers vessel test-drives, and boat and engine manufacturers.
— Museum Park Marina (801 Biscayne Blvd.) View the latest sailboats, catamarans, sailing accessories.
— SuperYacht Miami at Yacht Haven Grande Miami (838 MacArthur Cswy. at Watson Island Park) showcases SuperYacht Miami, billed as “the largest and most luxurious yachts” at the boat show. Access requires a SuperYacht Miami ticket or Windward VIP pass.
— Pride Park (just outside the Miami Beach Convention Center). Progressive Boat Show Experience event. Access is included with general admission to the show.
▪ Water Taxi: Navigate within the show on a water taxi boat. Tickets are $10 for the day and free for children younger than 12. The route begins one hour before the show’s start and concludes one hour after its end.
— Tickets must be purchased in advance at www.eventspass.com/event/2025DBMIBS?pr=WEB/#/buyTickets
— Route: Herald Plaza to and from Museum Park Marina to and from Maurice Gibb Park and to access Convention Center and Pride Park. The VIP Tender Route is to and from Herald Plaza and SuperYacht Miami at IGY Yacht Haven Grande Miami.
▪ Shuttle Routes: Shuttle connections are complimentary to Boat Show patrons and operate an hour before the show begins and an hour after it ends:
— Red Route: Brightline MiamiCentral Station to and from Herald Plaza to and from Miami Beach Convention Center/Pride Park (loop).
— Green Route: Kaseya Center to and from Herald Plaza to and from Museum Park Marina (loop).
— Navy Route: Herald Plaza to and from Miami Beach Convention Center/Pride Park (loop).
— Brown Route: Maurice Gibb Park to and from Miami Beach Convention Center/Pride Park (loop).
▪ Traffic: Roads in downtown Miami at Herald Plaza on 14th Street from Bayshore Drive east to One Herald Plaza on Biscayne Bay will be closed. Miami Beach near Miami Beach Convention Center on Convention Center Drive from 18th Street to Dade Boulevard and the eastern portion of 19th Street between Meridian Avenue and Convention Center Drive also are closed for the event.
▪ Parking: Public transportation like Metrorail, Brightline and ride share companies like Uber and Lyft is highly recommended, organizers say, but parking in garages and lots is available at various show sites. The boat show has partnered with SpotHero, a parking service that connects people to reserved parking spaces.
▪ Tips on transportation: If you take Metrorail to the Government Center station you can connect to the free Metromover system.
▪ Suggested Metromover stops:
— Herald Plaza and the Venetian Marina. The nearest Metromover stop for both sites is the Adrienne Arsht Center station across the street.
— Museum Park Marina, sandwiched between the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science and the Kaseya Center. The nearest Metromover stop is the Park West station.
▪ Brightline: If you are arriving from Orlando, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, or Aventua get off at the Miami Central Station where you can take a complimentary shuttle or golf cart directly to Herald Plaza. If your destination is Venetian Marina, you can walk from Herald Plaza or take a free golf cart. Museum Park Marina? Take the freebie golf cart or shuttle. Brightline offers a 15% discount on adult SMART fares with the promo code MIABOATSHOW.
Coconut Grove Arts Festival
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The Coconut Grove Arts Festival runs on Presidents Day Weekend from Saturday, Feb. 15, through the holiday on Monday. The festival runs along McFarlane Road, South Bayshore Drive and Pan American Drive.
▪ Festival hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday.
▪ Street closures begin at 11:55 p.m. Thursday through 11:55 p.m. Monday.
▪ No cars will be allowed on these closed streets:
— The right lane on Grand Avenue and a fully closed McFarlane Road.
— Southwest 27th Avenue and Tigertail Avenue.
— Left lane closure on Aviation Avenue and fully closed Bayshore Drive up to McFarlane Road.
— South Bayshore Drive from Aviation Avenue to McFarlane Road and from McFarlane to Grand Avenue during the festival.
▪ Alternate routes to get to the festival include 22nd or 32nd avenues from South Dixie Highway.
▪ Parking: You can park at the Regatta Harbour garage at 3351 Pan American Dr.; Mayfair Parking Lot at 2801 Florida Avenue; Cocowalk Parking Garage, 3015 Grand Ave.; and Municipal Lot 6 — the Coconut Grove Playhouse lot at 3498 Main Highway. There is on-street parking and other lots, too. Fair organizers suggest taking Metrorail to the Coconut Grove Station.
Art Wynwood
Art Miami hosts the 11th edition of Art Wynwood Saturday through Tuesday, Feb. 15-18, and showcases modern and contemporary art.
Where: The Art Wynwood Pavilion is at One Herald Plaza on 14th Street in downtown Miami along Biscayne Bay. The showcase is seated between the Venetian Causeway and the MacArthur Causeway and east of Biscayne Boulevard near the boats on the bay.
Weather forecast
No worries. South Florida weather is set to work for these outdoor activities unless you find 80 too toasty from the start of Wednesday’s boat show all the way through the end of Art Wynwood nearly a week later. Expect highs around 80 through the daytime hours and lows in the low-70s in the late evening, early morning hours before gates open. Sunny and clear, too, according to the National Weather Service in Miami.
The low 80s is unseasonably warm, the weather service warned Wednesday, with Thursday inching upward. If you’re out and about under the sun for hours checking out yachts, or on the weekend perusing art, make sure to stay hydrated, meteorologists say. Take frequent shade breaks. The heat index — what the air “feels like” against your skin — could feel like 90, the weather service said in a hazardous weather outlook notice.
This story was originally published February 12, 2025 at 11:28 AM.
