A few hours in Miami and Houston, what to do?
 

We've booked a Ahab family (kids are young adults) self-drive holiday around Peru and have the added bonus of flight changes in the USA on the way out from the UK and the way back

We'll arrive in Miami early on a Weds. evening and arrive in Houston really early on a Sunday morning and should have 5 or 6hrs to spare

Our ideas so far are,

For Miami, a walk about Coconut Grove or Art Deco district, bar for drinks, evening meal and music/show

For Houston, a traditional American diner for breakfast, Space Centre Houston, a light Tex-Mex/Mexican lunch

Nothing booked yet so really open to all suggestions for cool things to do and especially local knowledge of the best places to eat

IIRC Houston Intercontinental Airport is not near anything. Map shows it as 45 minutes to NASA but they are on opposite sides of city. Good luck with that

Houston airport does have Papasito's which is pretty good TexMex.

I confirmed a my nephew. He called the area near George Bush as "the great north" said not much out there. Also that it is 45min each way back to Houston proper

MIA to the grove is eazy with metrorail + short bus ride
beach Art Deco district farther and requires a cab or uber

both are a bit over rated and over priced
winwood is the newer trendy area and a bit closer to MIA
wed is hard for shows but beach or winwood more likely then the grove
clubs tend to be mini raves with DJ's rather then live

miami new times site for lists of clubs and live dates

From IAH to NASA is an easy 1-hour drive, plus a few hours to tour the facility. You'll be cutting it very close if you stop for a meal.

Houston has a neat Museum district as an alternative that is closer.

Safe travels and enjoy it!
Yasin

I would say given the time you arrive, search out with help the best diner you can within an hour of IAH. Rent a car and only do that.

Even a place like Goodsons in Tomball (near the airport), which has terrific chicken fried steak, does not open until 11:00am.

Is that in or near West University/Rice Village? Lots of good grub there.

I have not flown in or out of Miami in years. Going to the keys we still flew to/through FLL. Traffic in the area of Miami can be brutal.

You are much too far to get to NASA from Bush Airport. If you are willing to Uber, I suggest the Lupe Tortilla on I-45.

https://tex-mex.com/north-houston/
15315 NORTH FREEWAY • HOUSTON, TX 77090
PHONE: +1-281-873-6220
HOURS: SUN-THURS 11AM-9:00PM • FRI-SAT 11AM-10:00PM
BRUNCH: SATURDAY & SUNDAY 9AM-2PM
HAPPY HOUR: MON-FRI 3PM - 6:30PM

Bush is under construction at the moment, so the BEST way to get in and out of the Airport is Terminal B. There are two trains, one is inside security and the other is outside security. The one inside security is better. Move to terminal B and follow directions to baggage claim. Then follow signs for UBER location. When you return, again use Terminal B for drop off. Go through security in B and then take the train back to your correct terminal.

Bush is a huge airport. IF you leave I would suggest that allowing 30 minutes to get back in, thru security, and to your gate would be really cutting it close. I'd probably give myself an hour.

Add in that time to Houston is supposed to be 45 minutes, make that an hour for giggles cause you know it will happen. That's 3 hours of your 5 to 6 layover spent in transit and getting back into airport and to your gate.

I'm not sure the juice is worth the squeeze

Houston layover is from 5.45am to 4.30pm, was going to be safe and allow 3hrs for getting back through all the airport security checks

Miami layover is 5.15pm to 1.30am, again allow 3hrs for security checks etc

What about Houston shopping centers, seems like a days car hire would make travelling about easier but for Miami we'll use Uber, taxi's, buses, metro's etc

Any good gun ranges near Busch International, maybe my son and I have some fun with guns for a couple of hours

James, thanks for the airport construction update and tex-mex recommendation

Will check out the museum district, thanks for the suggestion

My nephew suggested The Woodlands, which is fairly close to Bush

https://www.visitthewoodlands.com/

It will not take 3 hrs to get through security. 1 hour or so. But I suggest being at the airport 1.5 to 2 hours in advance of the flight since some load 45 minutes ahead.

Terminals C&D are under construction which is why I suggest you enter and exit at B.

If you are back at the Airport at 2:30PM, you'll be fine. There is a restaurant called "First Watch" which could be an option for Breakfast. There is also a full Marriot at Greenspoint. Most Marriot's have full breakfast buffet which could be an option.

You might even be able to get the Marriot to pick you up from the Airport with their shuttle. After breakfast, you certainly could do lunch at Lupe Tortilla which is less than 5 km away.

Gun Range nearby the airport

https://rangeusa.com/location-humble?utm_source=google-my-business&utm_medium=listings&utm_campaign=gmb&utm_ content=9425-farm-to-market-1960-bypass-rd

Yep, Lupe Tortilla is generally considered a good Tex-Mex place with good fajitas. I haven't been to one in forever, but the last time that I went to one, it was excellent.

Prepare yourself for traffic and horrible drivers. You do have plenty of time to do stuff, for sure.

Probably the fanciest (high end stores) "mall" in Houston would be the Galleria which is a bit west of downtown. Parking is usually a bear, so you may want to find one of the vallet parking spots.

Don't forget that it's regular practice here to tip at restaurants, 15%-20% of the bill is customary.

A shooting range might be a fun idea, and many allow you to rent guns. I think some even have full auto guns that you can rent. Of course, ammo costs will add up.

And don't forget the time to clear customs upon arrival. It usually goes well but sometime can take a while. At least for US citizens. No experience as a foreign national.

My feeble contribution is a second on First Watch as a breakfast choice, they have tasty food.

My FIL likes First Watch, but he is 88. It is good but not a classic diner type breakfast spot.

I'd rather go to Cracker Barrel