The best free ride in Miami.
Miami Beach is technically an island — a barrier island separated from the mainland city of Miami by Biscayne Bay. Getting between them normally means picking a causeway and sitting in traffic. The water taxi simply removes the roads from the equation.
The 40-foot yellow ferry departs from Maurice Gibb Memorial Park in the Sunset Harbour neighbourhood of South Beach, threads through the sparkling blue bay for twenty minutes, and deposits you at the Venetian Marina and Yacht Club on the Miami side. Along the way you get unobstructed views of the Miami skyline from the water — the perspective that every postcard tries and fails to capture from land — plus the open sky, the warm Florida breeze, and on clear days a horizon that feels impossibly wide.
The City of Miami Beach launched this free service in January 2026 as an alternative to the perpetually congested causeways. Whether you're commuting or sightseeing, the crossing is the same: twenty minutes of pure South Florida.
Photographer's Tips
Stand on the open bow as you depart Miami Beach — the skyline rises straight ahead and frames itself perfectly as you cross the bay.
Morning crossings give soft golden side-light on the Miami towers. Late afternoon reverses it — the skyline goes warm and the water turns copper-pink.
Biscayne Bay is shallow and intensely turquoise — use it as a foreground element. Polarising filter or equivalent phone setting cuts surface glare and deepens the colour.
The bridges, causeways, and Miami skyline photograph beautifully from water level — angles impossible to get from land or a tourist boat.
The ferry itself is the subject before you board — step back from the dock at Maurice Gibb Memorial Park for the full vessel shot with the bay behind it.
