Venue
301 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, Florida, United States
{{item.title}}
Ultra Music Festival guide
Three days on the bay in downtown Miami.
In short
Ultra suits dance-music fans who want the season's opening weekend in a city setting. The 2027 edition runs from 26 to 28 March at Bayfront Park. General admission is 18 and over, VIP 21 and over. Book a hotel in downtown or Brickell early and plan your route home before the last set.
Ultra Music Festival is the electronic music festival that opens the season every March on the waterfront of downtown Miami. Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes started it in 1999 as a one-day event on the beach at Collins Park, and it has since grown into a three-day festival in Bayfront Park, with the skyline on one side and Biscayne Bay on the other.
The scale has changed beyond recognition. Around 10,000 people came to the first edition; since 2014 the festival has drawn roughly 165,000 over its three days. The main stage carries the biggest names in dance music, while the RESISTANCE area, introduced in 2015, is given over to techno and house.
Ultra is also the anchor of Miami Music Week, when clubs, hotel pools and rooftops across the city run parties and industry events around the festival. Many visitors build a full week around it, using the festival weekend as the finale.
–/5
No reviews yet
Been to this event? Your review helps other travellers.
Key Facts & Stats:
Ends: Sunday, 28 March 2027
Where: Miami, United States
Venue: Bayfront Park
Held: Every year
Type of event: Party Events, Live Events, Musical Events
Currency: US dollar ($ USD)
Time zone: Eastern Time, UTC−5; UTC−4 from March to November
Language: English and Spanish
Map
Getting around
Hotels near the venue fill up around the event dates.
Wristbands, ID rules and what to bring
Your wristband is your ticket for all three days, so put it on carefully and never cut it off between days.
- ID
- a valid government photo ID matching the age rules for your ticket type.
- Phone power
- a small power bank, as charging points are limited.
- Light bag
- check the official bag policy shortly before the festival, as rules on size and contents are enforced at the gates.
- Meeting point
- agree one fixed landmark with friends; mobile signal weakens when the park is full.
Sun, heat and getting back after the show
March afternoons in Miami are warm and the sun is strong over open ground.
- Wear sunscreen and a cap for the early sets, and drink water steadily.
- Choose comfortable closed shoes; the crowds are dense and feet get trodden on.
- Plan the trip home before you arrive. When the music stops, tens of thousands of people leave downtown at once, and ride-hailing prices surge.
- Buy tickets only through official Ultra channels.
What happens on the day
- Week before
Miami Music Week
Club nights, pool parties and industry events build up across Miami and Miami Beach.
- Friday
Opening day
Gates open in the late afternoon; the shortest day of the three.
- Saturday
Full day
Music runs from noon to midnight, with the busiest crowds.
- Sunday
Closing day
An earlier finish at 22:00 leaves time for after-parties in the city.
Buying early-tier tickets and Miami Music Week
Ultra releases tickets in tiers, and the cheapest go first; for 2027 some tiers were already reported sold out months ahead. Sales run through the festival's official ticketing partner, so start from ultramusicfestival.com. Decide early between general admission and VIP, as the VIP age limit of 21 decides it for some groups.
Hotel prices in downtown Miami and Brickell rise sharply around the festival, so book as soon as your tickets are confirmed. Staying within walking distance of Bayfront Park removes the hardest part of each night, getting home. To plan the rest of your stay, see our Miami travel guide.
Ultra's history from Collins Park to Bayfront Park
The first Ultra took place on 13 March 1999 at Collins Park in Miami Beach and lost money. It moved to Bayfront Park in 2001, spent six years at Bicentennial Park from 2006, and returned to Bayfront in 2012. For its fifteenth anniversary in 2013 it ran over two weekends and drew 330,000 people.
Co-founder Alex Omes died in January 2015. That same year RESISTANCE was launched, and in 2016 DJ Mag ranked Ultra the world's top festival. After a single year on Virginia Key in 2019, the festival returned to Bayfront Park under a city licence with a capacity cap of 55,000, then lost two editions to the pandemic before coming back in 2022.
Getting there
Flying in
Miami International Airport handles most international arrivals and lies west of downtown; Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International is an alternative to the north.
Metromover
The free Metromover loop runs through downtown and has a stop at Bayfront Park.
On foot
Hotels in downtown and Brickell are within walking distance of the gates.
Leaving at night
Ride-hailing pick-ups are crowded and expensive at closing time; walking a few blocks away from the park before booking helps.
Where to stay during the festival
Downtown Miami and Brickell put you within walking distance of Bayfront Park, which matters most at the end of each night. Miami Beach is the alternative for those who want the Music Week pool parties, at the cost of a drive across the causeway.
Demand is very high over the festival weekend, so book as early as you can and check cancellation terms.
Miami
Fontainebleau Miami Beach4-star hotel
No reviews yet
from$200.00/ night
- Internet – Wifi
- Swimming pool
- Parking
4 Rooms available
Book Now
Weather and what to pack
Miami International Airport's 1991-2020 normals give March an average high of 27.0°C and a low of 18.7°C, with about 62 mm of rain over six days and around 277 hours of sunshine.
Expect hot afternoons and mild nights. Short tropical showers are possible, and in 2024 severe weather closed the festival for a day.
Worth packing
- Sunscreen and a cap
- Comfortable closed shoes
- A light rain layer
- A small power bank
- Government photo ID
- Earplugs
Car hire in Miami
Airport transfer to Ultra Music Festival
Met at arrivals at Miami International Airport (MIA) and driven door to door to Bayfront Park.
- Miami International Airport (MIA) → Bayfront Park
- 20 km · 30 min
Restaurants and food in United States
Places to eat in United States before or after the celebrations.
Joe's Stone Crab
11 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33139, United States
Cuisine:SeafoodAmerican
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
- Bar
Alinea
1723 North Halsted Street, Chicago, IL 60614, United States
Cuisine:ModernistAmerican
- Dine-in
- Counter seating
Franklin Barbecue
900 East 11th Street, Austin, TX 78702, United States
Cuisine:Texas barbecueAmerican
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
Commander's Palace
1403 Washington Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70130, United States
Cuisine:CreoleNew Orleans
- Dine-in
Katz's Delicatessen
205 East Houston Street, New York, NY 10002, United States
Cuisine:Jewish deliAmerican
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
- Counter seating
Contribute:
Recently viewed events
Others of this kind you opened on this device, so you can get back to them quickly.
Travelers are asking
No questions yet about Ultra Music Festival. Ask the community or our travel team, and the answer will show here once it is published.
Be the first to ask
Our team answers questions here
Explore United States
Other festivals around the same time
Festivals held in the same weeks, if you want to plan more than one.
13
May, 2027
May, 2027
Party Events, Live Events, Musical Events
Las Vegas, United States
1 photo
04
Aug, 2027
Aug, 2027
Party Events, Musical Events
Viana do Castelo, Portugal
10 photos
Explore United States
More events and festivals in United States
Festivals and events across United States, with dates, venues and ticket details where available.
26
Aug, 2026
Aug, 2026
Food Festivals, Wine and Beer Festivals
Orlando, United States
12 photos
03
Dec, 2026
Dec, 2026
Cultural Events, Arts Festivals, Exhibition
Miami, United States
09
Jun, 2027
Jun, 2027
Musical Events, Carnivals, Social Festivals
Columbia, United States
11 photos
Save time: create a trip and get offers from locals
Tell us where and when you want to go, and local travel experts send you offers for your trip.
1 Create a trip
2 Get offers from locals
3 Pick the one you like
Create a trip
Need help?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Timing & weather
Ultra has confirmed its 2027 edition for Friday 26 to Sunday 28 March 2027 at Bayfront Park in Miami. The dates were announced in April 2026, when the first limited tickets went on sale.
Booking
General admission is 18 and over. VIP tickets are restricted to guests aged 21 and over. Ultra stopped admitting under-18s after an announcement in September 2014.
VIP holders use separate entrances, have their own bars and toilets in the VIP Village, and can reach the elevated Main VIP deck plus raised viewing areas at other stages. General admission covers all three days on one wristband.
Ultra sells mainly three-day passes. Check the official website before each phase of sales. Resale listings carry a real risk of counterfeit wristbands.
General
The Phase 1 line-up, released on 14 October 2026, named the first 25 acts, among them Calvin Harris, Martin Garrix, Armin van Buuren and Dom Dolla, with Marshmello b2b Subtronics billed as a world debut. Further phases normally follow in the months before the festival.
RESISTANCE began in 2015 as a stage area at Ultra for underground house and techno. It has since become ULTRA Worldwide's own series, with events in more than 35 cities and a summer residency at Amnesia in Ibiza. Carl Cox was named its global ambassador in 2017.
No. It began at Collins Park in Miami Beach, moved to Bayfront Park in 2001, spent 2006 to 2011 at neighbouring Bicentennial Park and returned to Bayfront in 2012. In 2019 it was held on Virginia Key, a move that brought serious transport problems, and it came back to Bayfront Park the following cycle.
No. They are separate companies that share a name; a trademark dispute between them was settled in 2012.
Under the ULTRA Worldwide banner the festival has travelled since 2008, starting with Ultra Brasil. Editions have since run in Croatia as Ultra Europe, as well as South Korea, Japan, South Africa and Singapore.
It is the week of club nights, pool parties and industry events that surrounds Ultra each March. Many artists on the festival bill also play smaller shows across Miami and Miami Beach in the days before.
Cancellations & changes
The 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled because of COVID-19, and the festival returned in 2022. In 2024 a day was shut down entirely for the first time because of severe weather.