Hi there!

 

So you want to do a road trip across Southern Florida driving from Naples to Miami!

 

How long is the drive from Naples to Miami?

Driving directly, it might take around 2 hours of driving time from Naples to Miami.

 

map of route for Naples to Miami drive. Naples to Miami road trip. I-75 alligator alley or tamiami trail. south florida travel blog
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The most direct way to drive from Naples to Miami is to drive I-75 which is 2 hours of drive time.

The other popular route to drive from Naples to Miami is to drive US-41 Tamiami Trail which is 2.5 hours of drive time.

 

map of best route for Naples to Miami drive. Naples to Miami road trip. tamiami trail or alligator alley I-75. south florida travel blog
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So no matter which route you choose, Naples is reasonably close to Miami, and it’s very doable to drive from Naples to Miami in one day.

And if you want to take all day to get from Naples to Miami, there are some things to do along the way!

Or you can take a few days to get from Naples to Miami!

Below will show some ideas of stops you can make as you make the drive to Miami along Tamiami Trail!

 

 

Alligators between Naples and Miami

The area between Naples and Miami can be one of the best places in Florida to see alligators.

 

 

So if you want a chance to see alligators, then you have a few places you can go!

But, emphasis on CHANCE!

Alligators are wild and they do what they want when they want!

There’s no guarantee to see them.

And, don’t feed the alligators!

While alligator attacks do happen, alligators are generally not interested in people.

It requires everyone’s help to keep it that way.

Feeding alligators is a way for alligators to become more comfortable with humans… and to learn to approach you (and other humans) for food!

And then alligators can become even more dangerous to humans!

When you see alligators, just observe!

Try not to do anything that would cause them to change their behavior.

 

 

See below for a potential driving route from Naples to Miami!

 

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Amazing Everglades experience you need to consider:

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What is there to see between Naples and Miami?

If you will be staying in Naples or Miami for a few days, then you can also do some of these things as a day trip.

 

 

1. Marco Island

If you want to add in a beach stop before you start really driving to Miami, there is Marco Island that you can stop off at!

The 2 main public beaches on Marco Island are South Beach and Tigertail Beach.

You will probably have an easier time with parking at Tigertail Beach.

Tigertail Beach is known as the best shelling beach on Marco Island, although you can look for shells along any Marco Island beach.

 

 

It’s also known for the lagoon water crossing to get to the beach, although there is also an alternative walking route that is not so bad.

If you want to walk normally to the beach, you’ll want to park at the far end of the parking lot as far as you can drive, and then start walking from there.

Then, after a few minutes of walking, you see a wide expansive white sand beach of Marco Island!

It’s possible you might walk around 10 minutes from your parking spot to where you want to set up camp on the beach.

 

 

And if you will be staying an overnight on Marco Island, be sure to catch a Marco Island sunset!

 

 

See more about planning your drive from Naples to Miami:

 

Camping between Naples and Miami:

 

 

2. Ten Thousand Islands in Everglades National Park

The best way to experience the Ten Thousand Islands can be through a boat tour!

You can consider Everglades National Park to have the Naples side (Gulf side) and the Miami side (Atlantic side).

All land-based activities in Everglades National Park that you can drive to are on the Miami side. (More on the Miami side in a bit!)

On the Naples side is where you will find the Everglades National Park Gulf Coast Visitor Center.

You will not actually be within the Everglades National Park boundary by going to this visitor center.

Instead, the way to experience this gulf coast side of Everglades National Park is by water.

You can do the Ten Thousand Islands boat tour that starts from the Gulf Coast Visitor Center.

You have a chance to see dolphins and manatees on an Everglades National Park boat tour in the Ten Thousand Islands.

 

 

You’ll want to book ahead as these boat tours can sell out. You can book through Everglades Florida Adventures.

 

 

3. Tamiami Trail

One of the best places to see alligators in Florida is along the Tamiami Trail!

 

 

There are several stops along the Tamiami Trail that you can make for a chance to see alligators. (Again, alligators are wild and there’s never any guarantee to see them!)

 

 

These stops are located in Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, and Everglades National Park.

If you are looking to make just ONE stop with the best chance to see alligators, you will want to stop at the Oasis Visitor Center in Big Cypress National Preserve.

The Oasis Visitor Center is one of the best places that I’ve seen tons of alligators in Florida.

The alligators are so close to the Tamiami Trail that you can actually see the cars driving along the Tamiami Trail as you are looking at the alligators!

So the alligators are pretty much laying right along the Tamiami Trail.

 

 

The Oasis Visitor Center of Big Cypress National Preserve is close to being halfway between Naples and Miami.

 

See more about planning your drive from Naples to Miami:

 

Camping between Naples and Miami:

 

 

5. Everglades National Park

One of the best places to see alligators in Florida is in Everglades National Park.

Everglades National Park is known for alligators, wetlands, and airboats.

You can experience all 3 with just one day in Everglades National Park!

You might even be able to experience all 3 with just a few hours.

But again, there’s no guarantee to see alligators!

As you continue your drive from Naples to Miami along Tamiami Trail, you will come across a turn-off for Shark Valley.

Shark Valley is one of the best places to see alligators in Everglades National Park by tram, by bike, or even by foot!

 

 

Then if you continue driving along Tamiami Trail, you will pass several spots where you can do an Everglades airboat tour.

 

 

One of the best places to see crocodiles in Florida is also Everglades National Park!

That will require a bit of a detour from going directly to Miami, as the spot to (maybe!) see crocodiles in an area called Flamingo in the Everglades that’s located pretty far out of the way.

 

 

See more about planning your drive from Naples to Miami:

 

Camping between Naples and Miami:

 

 

6. Miami

And you’ve made it to Miami!!!

To get you started, you can make South Pointe your first destination in Miami!

 

 

See more about planning your drive from Naples to Miami:

 

Camping between Naples and Miami:

 

 

And that’s a bit about some stops you can make driving from Naples to Miami!

Where to next?!

 

HAPPY DRIVING TO MIAMI FROM NAPLES!

 

 

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