Five Tips for Surviving Holiday Travel at MIA

Lee Coursey

​The mojito bar is your friend
Thank god we live in the land of Bacardi. The brand's mojito bars would be more aptly described as "stations," or perhaps "kiosks" -- they're literally just bars set in the middle of hallways where bartenders mix up cocktail after cocktail. Having a little booze in your system is helpful in just about any airport scenario, but the real treat here is the kiosk itself. You can typically get in and out of the place without worrying where to stash your bag or waiting on a waitress for 20 minutes, which is what you can plan on doing at nearly every other bar at MIA.

Facebook

Ice Box Cafe @ MIA

​Eat well
The only thing worse than traveling during the holidays is traveling during the holidays on an empty stomach. Luckily for you, MIA's D terminal has modernized over the past year, and with it comes food that you'll actually want to eat. Ice Box Cafe is here, as is Sushi Maki and a Shula's outlet. It might not be the gourmet fare you'd seek out in the real world, but in the alternative universe of airport dining, this is some five-star shit.

Miami International Airport

​Use the SkyTrain
MIA's D terminal upgrades included the addition of a railway that brings passengers to four different places within it. That might sound unnecessary -- it's only one airport terminal, after all -- until you've walked the D terminal from end to end. It takes at least 20 minutes. Literally. Apart from that convenience, the SkyTrain is also a novelty -- it's the city of Miami's only public transportation option that functions punctually and efficiently. And we've never, ever seen it crowded. Most tourists are too oblivious and most locals are too set in their ways to ride the escalators up to the SkyTrain level. Or they just don't realize how far it really is to Gate D-60.

Follow Cultist on Facebook and Twitter @CultistMiami.