Speed Boats and Celebrity Mansions in Miami

Good guys and bad guys chasing each other around on speed boats in Miami is such a classic scene in any movie set in Florida: if an action flick doesn’t have a scene like this, something’s missing! With this in mind, we headed on a speed boat tour of our own when visiting Miami last June.

Thriller Experience, Miami
The boat’s name was Thriller, and Michael Jackson was blasting on the sound system while we sped away along the canals in Miami.

Miami Beach

US Coast Guard in Miami
Route out Miami passed a US Coast Guard base.

The tour’s base was at Bayside Marketplace, where we grabbed a late breakfast before heading out to sea. It took a while to pass the port of Miami and to reach Miami Beach with the boat, but that was also part of the experience. Miami has such a fragmented seaside with dozens of artificial islands, thanks to building of the port, and we took a closer look at a couple of them before heading out to the sea…

Checking out celebrity mansions on Star and Hibiscus Islands is one of the reasons to come on this tour, because you can only admire them from sea; from land, they are blocked by gates and high walls. Our guide seemed to know everything that was going on in the lives of these celebrities and especially their real estate plans, and although I don’t follow celebrities at all, these were big enough household names that i knew exactly who we were talking about. After all, you need to be super famous to splurge $50 million on a villa…

Homes of Carmen Electra and Ricky Martin, Hibiscus Island, Miami Beach
Carmen Electra’s home on the left, Ricky Martin’s residence on the right.
Home of Phillip Frost, pharmaceutical billionaire
Home of Phillip frost, the pharmaceutical billionaire whom we can thank for Viagra.
Properties of Wayne Holman, Star Island, Miami Beach
I thought these were the houses of Will Smith and “Will Smith’s neighbor”, but my memory must be playing tricks on me, because Google tells me both of the mansions are owned by a hedge fund millionaire from New York.
New House to be Built on Star Island
A new house is being built on Star Island by… I forget. Maybe Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie? In any case, this just goes to prove that there are LOTS of fine mansions on this tour.

After our little architecture and celebrity gossip tour, we headed out to the ocean for some high speed fun. I’d been a little afraid of this part beforehand, because riding a motor boat into big waves isn’t always a fun experience, but now it was – almost like a roller coaster! You can’t NOT get a little wet on this tour, but the closer you sit to the front, the less you’ll get splashed.

Miami South Beach
Miami Beach’s South Beach, plus some splash.
Most Expensive Apartments in Miami
Houses on Fisher Island next to Miami Beach, only reachable by boat, and is known for being the census designated place in the US with the highest per capita income: around $240 000 per year.
Elina, Iiro & Jenni on Thriller Miami
Don’t expect to have your hair look nice in a photo towards the end of the tour. An hour in high speeds is going to ruin whatever style you have. From left, Elina, Iiro and me.

I can warmly recommend this tour for anybody who’s heading to Miami and interested in boats and celebrities, or just one of the two. If you want to get a grasp of the speeds on this tour as well as hear what Al Capone and Lenny Kravitz have i common, check out this video:

Sponsored by Thriller Miami

6 kommenttia postaukseen “Speed Boats and Celebrity Mansions in Miami”

  1. Fantastic story. Did you actually get to see if anyone was home? haha.. The most surprising thing is that Ricky Martin out-styled Carmen Electra.

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