Transportation Issues

At some point during Art Basel, patrons at the official event are going to want to get from the Miami Beach Convention Center to the streets of Wynwood and the Design District, and those on the mainland will be eager to take in the exhibits at the beach. They can travel in style on a bus, in a taxi or car, by shuttle, or maybe aboard a motorized masterpiece, like “Bus Obscura,” by Simon Lee. This colorful, roaming art piece will travel between the Miami Beach Convention Center and the Miami Museum of Science & Planetarium. This is a one of a kind, mobile, kaleidoscopic creation that will appeal to the eye as well as get you where you need to go. A handy, artsy way to avoid the traffic on the beach.

Otherwise, try public transportation. Buses K, S, M, and C go from the mainland across the MacArthur Causeway (I-395) to the beach, bus A makes the same round trip via the Venetian Causeway, and buses C, J, and 62 serve all your mid-Beach needs on the Julia Tuttle Causeway (I-195) route. To get around on Miami Beach near the convention center, buses M, S, G, L, C, and W make frequent passes along Washington Avenue.

Parking, always at a premium in Miami Beach, will be extra-precious during the art festival for those who choose personal vehicular transport. The Seventeenth Street Parking Garage across from the convention center will likely be full, but the special events parking rate of five dollars per car will be in effect should spaces be available. Public metered spaces and lots are interspersed with resident-only parking throughout the rest of the beach area. Bring lots of quarters and stash comfortable walking shoes to swap out with stilettos and wingtips.

For those with a little scratch to share, don’t fear the meter. A taxi ride from South Beach to the center of the Design District should cost no more than fifteen dollars.

There will be shuttle services hauling art lovers to and from Miami Beach and the Design District. The shuttles will be available to the public beginning Friday and through the weekend, 8:45-9:30 a.m., at MBCC, Hall D. They will take riders as far as the Margulies Collection in the Design District, then head back to the convention center from 10:15 a.m. until noon. The shuttle will run on a private basis for VIP pass holders. Here is a schedule of departure times:

THURSDAY (VIP card or Special Invitation)

7:45-8:30 p.m. , MBCC Hall D to Miami Art Museum

8:30 and 8:45 p.m. , MBCC Hall D to Design District

8:45-9:45 p.m. , Miami Art Museum to Design District

10:30p.m.-12:30 a.m. , (every hour) Design District to MBCC Hall D

FRIDAY (VIP Card or Special Invitation)

7:45-8:30 p.m. (every 15 min.), MBCC, Hall D to Wolfsonian at FIU

9:00 and 9:15 p.m. , Wolfsonian-FIU to ICON condo, 450 Alton Rd.

Midnight, ICON to MBCC, hall D

9:15-10:00 p.m. , Wolfsonian@FIU to Biltmore Hotel via MBCC

9:30-10:15 p.m.(every 15 min.), MBCC Hall D to the Biltmore

Midnight-2:00 a.m. (every hour), Biltmore to MBCC Hall D

SATURDAY (open to the public)

8:00-8:30 p.m. , MBCC Hall D to Gusman Theater and on to the Design District

11:00-11:30 p.m. , Gusman Theatre to Design District and on to MBCC Hall D