All my life I have tried to avoid layovers. Every time I go through Miami I have had at least a five hour layover and most times it is seven hours. It is a dread to sit in an airport that long and I couldn't imagine anything longer. This time I guess I waited a little too long to book my tickets. The only available trip back to the Dominican Republic after Christmas would be an overnight flight and a 12 hour layover in Miami. I was not looking forward to this, until I got a great bit of advice from my uncle. He told me to not stay in the airport but to look for tours and trips around the city. This turned out to be some great advice!
I was able to leave the Miami airport and travel around the city. I took a trip down South Beach and then headed downtown. My stops were the American Airlines Center, where the Miami Heat play, and the Miami Marlins new ballpark. They happened to be giving cheap tours of the brand new 500 million dollar stadium. I was able to go onto the field and through the club house. It was an incredible way to spend 8 hours in Miami.
Now that I will be booking more tickets to and from the Dominican Republic, I think that I will start looking for long layovers (I'm young and can function on little sleep). My next ticket will hopefully be booked through NY, and it will hopefully be a 24 hour layover. I came to realize that the most expensive part of a vacation is normally the plane ticket. If the ticket is already paid for on my trip home, then the short vacation in a new city is practically free!!
