What's on in Miami (South Beach), United States through the year

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Dry season

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Dry season (1 Nov – 30 Apr)

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Spring break

• Holiday

  Spring break

  25 Feb – 31 Mar · usuallySchool holidaysCrowded

  Weeks of student holidays hitting South Beach in waves, with the city responding in recent years with curfews, closed causeways and towed cars. Avoid or commit. Source ↗

Still on: Dry season (1 Nov – 30 Apr)

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Spring break

• Nature

  Sea turtle nesting

  1 Mar – 31 Oct

  Loggerheads, greens and the occasional leatherback nest along the county's beaches, which is why beachfront lighting is shaded and nests are marked off at dawn. Source ↗

• Festival

  Calle Ocho

  15 MarCarnivalCrowded

  Little Havana closes fifteen blocks of Eighth Street for a free street party at the end of Carnaval Miami. It is one day and it is enormous. Source ↗

• Festival

  Miami Open

  17–29 MarMajor festivalCrowded

  A fortnight of tennis at Hard Rock Stadium out in Miami Gardens, not on the beach. Getting there and back is the part people underestimate. Source ↗

• Festival

  Ultra Music Festival

  27–29 MarMajor festivalCrowdedClosures

  Three days at Bayfront Park that fill downtown and reprice every hotel within walking distance. Downtown is not the place to be that weekend unless you have a wristband. Source ↗

Still on: Spring break (25 Feb – 31 Mar (usually)), Dry season (1 Nov – 30 Apr)

Busy — between the peaks, Dry season

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Sea turtle nesting (1 Mar – 31 Oct), Miami Open (17–29 Mar), Dry season (1 Nov – 30 Apr)

Shoulder season — between the peaks

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Sea turtle nesting (1 Mar – 31 Oct)

Busy — Summer break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Hazard

  Atlantic hurricane season

  1 Jun – 30 Nov

  The season runs June to November and the real risk here is concentrated in August, September and early October. Travel insurance stops being optional. Source ↗

Still on: Sea turtle nesting (1 Mar – 31 Oct)

Busy — Summer break in United States, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Sea at its warmest

  1 Jul – 30 SepSea warm enough

  Bathwater, which sounds better than it is: the ocean offers no cooling at all in late summer, and neither does the pool.

Still on: Sea turtle nesting (1 Mar – 31 Oct), Atlantic hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Quiet — the editor's quiet month, Summer break in United States

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Sea turtle nesting (1 Mar – 31 Oct), Atlantic hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov), Sea at its warmest (1 Jul – 30 Sep)

Quiet — the editor's quiet month, Summer break in United States

• Hazard

  King tide flooding

  1 Sep – 15 Nov · usuallyFlood season

  The year's highest tides push seawater up through the storm drains on clear days, closing streets in Miami Beach and Brickell for a few hours around the new and full moons. Source ↗

Still on: Sea turtle nesting (1 Mar – 31 Oct), Atlantic hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov), Sea at its warmest (1 Jul – 30 Sep)

Shoulder season — between the peaks

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Sea turtle nesting (1 Mar – 31 Oct), Atlantic hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov), King tide flooding (1 Sep – 15 Nov (usually))

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Dry season

• Season

  Dry season

  1 Nov – 30 AprCrowded

  The half of the year with low humidity, little rain and the whole northern hemisphere trying to be here. It is also when the rates double.

Still on: Atlantic hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov), King tide flooding (1 Sep – 15 Nov (usually))

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Dry season

• Festival

  Art Basel Miami Beach

  4–6 DecMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  The main fair is three public days at the convention centre, with a satellite fair in every warehouse in Wynwood and Allapattah. Rooms go for the whole week at multiples of normal. Source ↗

Still on: Dry season (1 Nov – 30 Apr)