The American hotspot with £229 flights from the UK – as well as huge sandy beaches and jungle zipline

BASKING in Florida’s sizzling sunshine with a loaded Cuban sandwich in hand, I admire the mural on the wall in front of me.

It shows The Beatles, strutting across a domino floor.

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Even here, in the midst of a culinary and cultural walking tour of Miami’s Little Havana, I somehow find a piece of home.

This small neighbourhood was given the name in the 1960s, following a huge rise in the number Cubans flocking to the area.

And if there’s one thing I learn about the Cubans from my huge sarnie (stuffed with ham, pork, melted swiss cheese, pickles and mustard), it’s that they take their food very seriously.

On my two-and-a-half-hour food tour (£55, miamiculinarytours.com), I’d ticked off El Pub Restaurant — one of the oldest Cuban kitchens in the area — glugged on fresh guarapo (sugarcane) juice at Los Pinarenos Fruteria, dived into a churro sweet treat at ChurroMania and sipped on strong coffee at La Ventanita.

It was a pleasant and fulfilling start to our Miami getaway, partly thanks to my swift and easy arrival in the US.

I’d flown with Aer Lingus which meant that I could clear customs in Dublin, Ireland, while still fresh in the journey, needing only to collect my luggage upon landing and avoiding those lengthy and tiresome immigration queues.

That meant I could speedily make my way to my base for the next few days, CitizenM hotel, in the well-connected area of Brickell.

It’s all about affordable luxury at this hotel with high-tech touches and bold art installations as well as a rooftop pool, although if you have more of a taste for the beach life, then The Moxy Hotel on Washington Avenue is equally buzzy, but with direct access to the soft sands of South Beach.

But most importantly for me, CitizenM was a short walk from the free-to-use monorail, Metromover, which made exploring easy.

For those who want to get a flavour of Miami’s culture, an Art Deco tour delves into the history and architecture of the region.

Lush tropical jungle

Throughout my 90-minute tour, I learnt how the faded red pavements in Miami Beach were originally designed to cut the glare of the sun, but also made to be symbolic of a glamorous red carpet.

Many have graced this particular red carpet, including the aforementioned Beatles, Muhammed Ali and Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace, who was shot dead outside his Miami Beach mansion in 1997.

Away from the vibrant beaches and lively city scene is the quieter Everglades National Park just under an hour’s drive south of the city.

It is home to the oldest Everglades Alligator Farm and is well worth a visit to watch an informative alligator show and regular feeding sessions.

As the sun sets over the city, I sip on a tropical concoction, gazing out at the stars while soaking up all the nearby landmarks from our excellent vantage point

The highlight, though, is sure to be an airboat tour where you’ll soar across the water, weaving through the wild scenery.

Our driver tells the group to hold on to our hats and put anything that’s not waterproof away, before we whizz off through the canal, water splashing everywhere as if an alligator is thrashing about beside us.

It’s certainly a thrill, although perhaps not as much of as later that day, when I got to hold a baby alligator in my arms.

If excitement is what gets you going, then back in the city, Treetop Trekking Miami (miamitreetoptrekking.com) will really get your heart pumping.

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Surrounded by lush greenery, the aerial adventure and zipline park let you weave through the forest at exhilarating heights.

I head straight for the zipline which sends me soaring over a lush tropical jungle.

If you need to wind down after all that adrenaline-fuelled activity, make the trip to Schnebly Redland, the southern-most winery in the US, where the unusual “wines” are made from tropical fruits instead of grapes.

Here you can swig on tipples made from lychee, mango, guava and even avocado, which, it turns out, is surprisingly sweet, laced with citrus flavours.

Or there’s La Canita Restaurant at Bayside Marketplace in the city.

Rumour has it they serve the best pina colada in town, which is no surprise as it took them seven months to perfect the recipe.

But nothing quite beats a cocktail with a view back at the rooftop bar in the Moxy hotel.

As the sun sets over the city, I sip on a tropical concoction, gazing out at the stars while soaking up all the nearby landmarks from our excellent vantage point.

It’s clear Miami is a city of constant reinvention, from its heyday in the beach-going 1920s, to the automotive-inspired 1950s, and as a centre for fashion and music in the 1990s.

Just a block away from here, I can spot Marlin studios where chart-toppers Gwen Stefani, Jay-Z, and Kanye West recorded some of their big hits.

No matter how cloudy the night sky is, it becomes quite apparent that the stars will always shine in Miami.

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