Dolphin Mall visitor guide with stores, hours and parking tips

Dolphin Mall is the largest outlet and value shopping center in Miami-Dade County, located at 11401 NW 12th Street, Miami, FL 33172, in Sweetwater where Florida’s Turnpike meets the Dolphin Expressway. Entry and parking are free, the whole complex is enclosed and air conditioned, and more than 240 stores, a 19-screen cinema and a Dave & Buster’s sit on a single walkable level. This guide covers how to get there, where to park, which stores and restaurants are worth your time, and when to go to avoid the worst crowds.

Where Dolphin Mall is and how to read the address

The official address is 11401 NW 12th Street, Miami, FL 33172, and that is what you should type into any navigation app, rideshare request or hotel shuttle booking. The mall sits immediately south of the Dolphin Expressway (State Road 836) and just east of Florida’s Turnpike (State Road 821), roughly five miles west of Miami International Airport and about 15 miles west of downtown Miami. The mailing address says Miami, but the property is physically in west Miami-Dade between the city of Sweetwater, which wraps around Florida International University to the south, and the city of Doral to the north.

If you are arriving from abroad, you will see the address written several ways. International visitors often search for “Dolphin Mall Northwest 12th Street Miami FL USA” and Spanish-language sites render it as “Dolphin Mall Northwest 12th Street Miami Florida EE UU,” where EE. UU. is simply the Spanish abbreviation for Estados Unidos. All of those point to the same place, and the “Northwest” is just NW spelled out. The street grid in Miami-Dade uses quadrants, so NW 12th Street means 12th Street in the northwest quadrant, a different road entirely from SW 12th Street or NE 12th Street.

The “Dolphin” in the name comes from the Dolphin Expressway beside it, not from the NFL team, whose stadium is in Miami Gardens about 20 miles to the northeast. People mix those up constantly, and rideshare drivers will occasionally ask which one you mean, so say “Dolphin Mall on NW 12th Street” to avoid a very expensive wrong turn.

The mall opened in March 2001, was co-developed by Taubman Centers and Swerdlow Real Estate and long managed by Taubman, and today operates under Simon Property Group, which acquired an 80 percent stake in Taubman in late 2020 and completed its purchase of the remaining 20 percent in November 2025. That matters for one practical reason: the Simon website is where the official store directory, hours, events calendar and deals pages now live, and it is the source you should trust over third-party listings that go stale.

Hours and where to confirm them

Dolphin Mall opens seven days a week. In normal practice the doors open at 10 a.m. Monday through Saturday and later on Sunday mornings, with closing in the evening, and individual restaurants, the CMX cinema and Dave & Buster’s keep their own schedules that typically run past mall closing. Hours shift for Black Friday, the week before Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Easter, Thanksgiving Day and the occasional hurricane closure, so treat any hours you read on a third-party site as a starting point only.

To confirm, open the Dolphin Mall page on the Simon website and check the hours banner at the top, or call Guest Services at the number listed there. Store hours can differ from mall hours; Bass Pro Shops and the anchors sometimes open earlier or stay later, and small kiosks close early on slow nights. If you are planning around a specific store, phone that store directly rather than the mall switchboard.

Holiday-period hours are posted on the official site several weeks ahead. The mall also occasionally adjusts hours during tropical storm warnings, and when Miami-Dade County issues evacuation orders or closes schools, assume the mall may close too and check before you drive.

Getting to Dolphin Mall

By car from Miami, Miami Beach and the Keys

From downtown Miami or Brickell, take the Dolphin Expressway (SR 836) west for roughly 15 miles and exit at NW 107th Avenue or NW 12th Street; follow the signs for Dolphin Mall, which appear on the expressway itself. The drive takes 20 to 25 minutes without traffic and can double during the weekday afternoon rush, when westbound 836 backs up from the I-95 interchange all the way past the airport.

From Miami Beach, cross to the mainland on the MacArthur Causeway (SR A1A), which connects via the short I-395 link to SR 836, or the Julia Tuttle Causeway (I-195), merge onto I-95 or directly onto SR 836 west, and continue to the same exits. Allow 35 to 45 minutes on a normal day. From Coral Gables, Kendall or the Keys, Florida’s Turnpike northbound brings you straight to the NW 12th Street exit, and the mall is visible from the ramp.

SR 836 and the Turnpike are both all-electronic toll roads in Miami-Dade; there are no cash booths. If you have SunPass, the tolls post automatically. If you do not, the Turnpike bills you by plate at a higher rate, and rental car companies add their own daily toll program fees on top of the tolls themselves. If you want to avoid tolls entirely, NW 12th Street, NW 25th Street, W Flagler Street and SW 8th Street all reach the mall from the east as surface roads, at the cost of 15 to 30 extra minutes.

From Broward and Palm Beach

From Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood or Pembroke Pines, the fastest route is Florida’s Turnpike south to the NW 12th Street exit, roughly 35 miles and 40 to 50 minutes from downtown Fort Lauderdale. I-95 south to SR 836 west works too but adds the airport-area congestion. From Boca Raton, Delray Beach or West Palm Beach, stay on the Turnpike the entire way; from West Palm Beach the trip is about 70 miles and takes a little over an hour on a clear morning, closer to 90 minutes if you leave after 3 p.m.

Broward and Palm Beach residents should weigh Dolphin Mall against Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise before committing to the drive, and the comparison table later in this guide walks through the differences.

From Miami International Airport

Dolphin Mall is one of the closest major shopping centers to MIA, about five miles due west along NW 12th Street or SR 836. A taxi or rideshare from the airport takes 15 to 20 minutes outside of rush hour. Many of the airport-area hotels along NW 25th Street, NW 36th Street and in Doral run free shuttles that stop at Dolphin Mall on request, so ask at your front desk. If you have a long layover, the trip is realistic with four hours or more to spare, provided you factor in airport security on the way back.

By bus, trolley and rideshare

Several Miami-Dade Transit Metrobus routes serve Dolphin Mall, with stops along NW 12th Street near the main entrances, and the mall is a common transfer point for routes heading to downtown, Hialeah and the FIU area. Route numbers and frequencies change, so plan the trip in the Miami-Dade Transit app or the GO Miami-Dade Transit trip planner rather than relying on a printed schedule. Metrorail does not reach this part of the county; the nearest stations are around the airport and Hialeah, and you would finish the journey by bus.

The Dolphin Station park-and-ride transit terminal opened in 2021 a short distance west of the mall near NW 12th Street and the Turnpike, with express bus service toward downtown on the SR 836 express lanes. Commuters who park there can walk or catch a local bus to the mall, though the walk crosses wide suburban roads in full sun and is not pleasant in summer.

The cities of Sweetwater and Doral both run free trolleys, and routes have historically connected FIU and the Doral business district with the mall area. Check each city’s trolley page for the current map, because routes are revised and the stops near the mall move. Rideshare pickups are organized at designated spots near the main entrances; drivers know the mall well, and the app will steer you to the correct pickup zone.

Parking at Dolphin Mall

Lots, garages and entries

The mall is ringed by free surface parking plus multi-level parking garages, and the entrances are numbered so you can find your way back. Every entry door is marked with a number and a district name, and the parking rows nearest each entry are signed to match, which is why the first step in this guide tells you to photograph your spot. Thousands of people lose their cars here every week because they came in through one entry and exited through another on the opposite side of a loop that is nearly a mile around.

The garages cluster near the Ramblas entertainment side, which is handy if you are coming for the cinema, Dave & Buster’s or a restaurant dinner. Surface lots spread around the rest of the building, and the far ends near the anchors are usually the easiest places to find a spot even on a Saturday. Covered garage parking is worth a slightly longer walk in summer, because a car left on open asphalt in July will hit interior temperatures that make leather seats genuinely painful.

Accessible parking spaces sit close to every numbered entry, and the single-level interior means no stairs once you are inside. The mall provides wheelchairs through Guest Services; confirm availability by phone before you arrive if you depend on one.

Valet, oversized vehicles and tour buses

Valet parking is offered at the main Ramblas entrance for a fee that the mall sets and changes, so check the current price on the official site or ask the attendant before handing over keys. Tour buses and shopping shuttles drop off at a designated area; if you are arriving with a group, the bus operator will know the spot. RVs and trailers fit in the outer surface lots but not in the garages, and the height clearance bars at garage entrances are not generous.

How the mall is laid out

Dolphin Mall is almost entirely on one level, arranged as a long enclosed loop divided into three named districts: Ramblas, Playa and Moda. The names come from the Spanish for a promenade, a beach and fashion, which tells you roughly what each area is for.

Ramblas is the entertainment and dining district, with the CMX cinema, Dave & Buster’s, the sit-down restaurants and the main entrance most people use. Moda is the fashion stretch, where the designer outlets, Saks OFF 5TH and the apparel chains concentrate. Playa leans toward sportswear, casual brands, shoes and the family-oriented stores, and it is the side nearest Bass Pro Shops.

The practical takeaway is that you should decide what you came for and enter through the matching district rather than walking the entire loop twice. A full circuit at a browsing pace takes 20 to 30 minutes with no stops, and with shopping it fills a morning easily. Directories stand at every entry and at the district junctions, and the online directory on the Simon site lets you search by store name and shows you which entry is closest.

The food court sits roughly midway around the loop and works as a natural halfway point. Restrooms are at several locations around the ring, including family restrooms, and Guest Services is near the Ramblas entrance.

The stores: what Dolphin Mall actually sells

Dolphin Mall is an outlet center at heart, mixed with off-price department store outlets and a handful of full-price chains and entertainment anchors. The tenant list changes, with stores opening and closing every month, so check the official directory for any specific brand before you drive across the county for it. What follows is an honest picture of the categories and the long-standing names.

Category	Representative stores	What to expect
Off-price and department outlets	Saks OFF 5TH, Marshalls, Burlington	Deep discounts on labeled goods, uneven sizing
Designer and fashion outlets	Michael Kors, Coach, Polo Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Guess	Outlet-line merchandise, 30 to 60 percent below retail
Athletic and footwear	Nike Factory Store, Adidas, Puma, Skechers, Under Armour	Sneakers and apparel, best stock on weekday mornings
Casual apparel	Old Navy, Gap Factory, Banana Republic Factory, Levi’s, H&M, Forever 21	Everyday clothes at mall prices or lower
Kids	Carter’s, OshKosh, The Children’s Place	Bundle deals, strong back-to-school stock
Outdoors	Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World	Fishing, boating, hunting, camping, plus the aquarium
Beauty and accessories	Bath & Body Works, Victoria’s Secret, Sunglass Hut	Mall-standard pricing with periodic sales

Off-price department store outlets

Saks OFF 5TH is the designer off-price anchor and the first stop for people hunting labeled shoes, handbags and dresses at a fraction of the Bal Harbour price. Stock is unpredictable, which is the whole point: the best finds are end-of-season pieces from the full-line stores, so sizing runs out fast and the clearance racks at the back reward patience. Marshalls and Burlington cover the broader off-price market with home goods, luggage, kids’ clothing and accessories, and both are worth a sweep if you need practical items rather than a specific brand.

Neiman Marcus Last Call and Bloomingdale’s The Outlet both operated here for years and have closed, so ignore any older guide that lists them. The spaces have been re-let, and the official directory is the only reliable record of who is in them now.

Designer and fashion outlets

The designer outlet row is where international visitors spend the most, and it is the reason you will see shoppers walking out with multiple Michael Kors and Coach bags at a time. Both of those stores, along with Kate Spade, Polo Ralph Lauren Factory Store, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Guess Factory, sell mostly outlet-specific lines made for these stores rather than overstock from the full-price boutiques. The quality is fine for the price, but if you want the same handbag that was in a department store window, look for the “retail” or “full-price” tags on clearance tables rather than the standard outlet racks.

Prices here are typically 30 to 60 percent below the brands’ retail lines, with an additional 20 to 40 percent off during the big promotional weekends. The outlets stack those percentages on signage, so a “70 percent off” banner usually means a combination of outlet pricing and a temporary markdown, not 70 percent off a mainline price.

Athletic and footwear

Nike Factory Store and Adidas are the two busiest stores in the building on most Saturdays, and both are best visited on a weekday morning when new deliveries have been put out and the sizes are still complete. Puma, Skechers, Under Armour, Crocs and Columbia round out the sportswear block, and there are several multi-brand sneaker and shoe stores in the Playa district. Serious sneaker hunters should know that outlet Nike stock is mostly last season’s colorways, with occasional mainline drops, and that the Nike app’s inventory feature does not cover factory stores.

Casual and family apparel

Old Navy, Gap Factory, Banana Republic Factory, Levi’s Outlet, H&M and a large Forever 21 cover everyday clothing. These are the stores where a family of four can fully restock a wardrobe in one trip, and they are the reason Dolphin Mall is so popular with visitors from Latin America and the Caribbean who arrive with empty suitcases. Carter’s, OshKosh B’gosh and The Children’s Place anchor the kids’ section with the kind of multi-buy deals that make it cheaper to buy three than two.

Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World

Bass Pro Shops is the largest single store at Dolphin Mall and functions as an attraction on its own. The store has a large freshwater aquarium stocked with Florida fish, a boat showroom, an archery and fishing section, and the taxidermy and log-cabin styling that the chain is known for. It is the right place to buy fishing licenses, tackle for Biscayne Bay or the Everglades canals, and the kind of sun-protective clothing that South Florida requires and that mainstream stores sell poorly. Kids who are bored with clothes shopping can spend an hour here happily, and the store keeps its own hours that often run longer than the mall’s.

Luggage, electronics and the suitcase economy

Walk the Ramblas corridor on any afternoon and you will see shoppers rolling brand-new suitcases out of luggage stores and straight into the apparel outlets to fill them. Several luggage specialists and the off-price anchors stock hard-shell cases at prices well under what the same bags cost in Bogotá, Caracas, Lima or Port-au-Prince, and the mall is used by many visitors as a one-stop trip before a flight home. Electronics are limited to accessory and phone-case stores, kiosks and whatever the off-price anchors have; for televisions, laptops and cameras you are better off at the big-box stores along NW 12th Street and in Doral.

Beauty, accessories and jewelry

Bath & Body Works, Victoria’s Secret, Sunglass Hut and a cluster of jewelry and watch outlets handle the gift-shopping end. A dozen or more kiosks sell phone accessories, perfume, hair tools and skincare, and the kiosk vendors are the only place in the mall where haggling is remotely normal; everywhere else, prices are fixed.

Restaurants and the food court

Dolphin Mall has more sit-down dining than almost any other mall in South Florida, concentrated in the Ramblas district, and it is a legitimate dinner destination for Doral and Sweetwater residents who never set foot in a store. The Cheesecake Factory is the busiest, with waits of an hour or more on Friday and Saturday nights; put your name in on the app before you finish shopping. Texas de Brazil runs the rodizio format with the salad bar and unlimited grilled meats, and it is the most common choice for group celebrations and visiting relatives. Los Ranchos Steakhouse serves Nicaraguan-style churrasco with chimichurri, a West Miami staple since long before the mall existed, and it is the local pick on this list.

Dave & Buster’s doubles as a restaurant with a full bar, which is useful for families who want dinner and games under one roof. Several casual chains, sports bars and a Mexican grill fill the rest of the Ramblas restaurant row, and a few have patios facing the parking garages that are pleasant in the dry season and brutal from June through September.

The food court is mid-loop with the standard mix: Chick-fil-A, Asian and pizza counters, a Cuban-style café, juice and coffee bars and a pretzel stand. Seating is ample but hard to find at 1 p.m. on a weekend, so eat before noon or after 2 p.m. if you are visiting on a Saturday. Multiple coffee shops, ice cream and churro stands are spread around the loop; the Cuban café windows serving cafecito and pastelitos are the cheapest and fastest option.

Entertainment: cinema, arcade and events

CMX Cinemas Dolphin 19 with IMAX is the cinema anchor, a 19-screen multiplex that was originally Cobb Theatres and became CMX in 2017. It shows first-run releases, Spanish-language and subtitled screenings reflecting the neighborhood, and the IMAX screen draws for blockbuster openings. Tickets are cheaper on weekday matinees, and the theater has its own entrance on the Ramblas side with the garages directly adjacent, so you can see a late movie without walking the mall after the stores close.

Dave & Buster’s is the arcade and sports bar combination, with a large game floor, the Power Card system and a dining room. It is the best rainy-day option for teenagers and the standard birthday-party venue for the surrounding neighborhoods. Prices on the game cards are set by Dave & Buster’s and change often; the chain’s app regularly offers half-price game days that are worth checking before you buy.

The mall hosts seasonal events, including a Santa set in December, Hispanic Heritage Month programming, back-to-school events and sidewalk-style sales. The events calendar lives on the official site and on the mall’s social media accounts, which are updated more frequently than the website.

Dolphin Mall with kids

Dolphin Mall is one of the easier Miami malls for families, mainly because it is flat, enclosed, has family restrooms, and bundles a cinema, an arcade and Bass Pro Shops’ aquarium into one parking stop. Strollers roll easily on the single level, and the loop layout means you never need to backtrack to find an elevator.

The children’s apparel stores sit close together in the Playa district, which cuts down on walking with tired kids. The Bass Pro aquarium and the boat showroom are free to wander and entertain small children for a surprisingly long time. For older kids, Dave & Buster’s and CMX are the draws, and the food court has enough variety to satisfy a group that cannot agree. Guest Services lends strollers and wheelchairs; check availability by phone in advance during holiday weeks.

One honest caution: the mall is very crowded on weekends and during school holidays, and it is easy to lose a child in the Nike store or the Forever 21 maze. Agree on a meeting point at a numbered entry before you split up, and write your phone number on younger kids’ arms the way you would at a theme park.

Tips for visitors from abroad and out of state

Dolphin Mall was built for exactly this audience, and nearly everything about the mall reflects it. Staff in most stores speak Spanish, and Portuguese and Haitian Creole are common; signage is bilingual in many places; and Guest Services is used to currency questions, tax questions and shipping questions from people who flew in that morning.

Sales tax in Miami-Dade County is 7 percent, made up of the 6 percent Florida rate plus the 1 percent county surtax, and it is added at the register rather than shown on the shelf price. Florida has no general tax refund scheme for tourists, so do not expect the VAT-style refund that some countries offer. Florida does run a back-to-school sales tax holiday in August covering clothing, shoes and school supplies under set price thresholds; the exact dates and limits are published by the Florida Department of Revenue each year, and the outlets are chaotic but worthwhile on those weekends.

US dollars are the only currency accepted, and most stores take Visa, Mastercard, American Express and contactless phone payment. Cards from Latin American banks sometimes trigger fraud blocks on a day of heavy spending at a mall, so warn your bank before you travel. Currency exchange windows exist in the mall but their rates are poor; withdraw cash from a bank ATM instead.

Ask at Guest Services about visitor savings programs, which the mall has offered in various forms, typically a coupon book or digital pass with extra percentage-off offers at participating stores. Several stores will ship purchases internationally through carriers, and the luggage stores exist in part so you can carry your haul instead.

Finally, airlines’ baggage rules are the real constraint on a Dolphin Mall shopping trip. Weigh your suitcase at the hotel, keep receipts together for customs declarations on the way home, and know your country’s duty-free allowance before you fill a second bag.

Best time to visit Dolphin Mall

Weekday mornings between opening and about noon are the quiet window, with fresh stock, empty fitting rooms and parking right at the doors. Tuesday and Wednesday are the slowest days of the week. Weekends are crowded from late morning on, and Sunday afternoons are the single busiest period because they combine family shopping with the post-brunch crowd from Doral.

Seasonally, the mall is at its most packed from the Friday before Thanksgiving through the first week of January, with Black Friday and the last two Saturdays before Christmas bringing parking to a standstill by 11 a.m. The second surge is the August back-to-school sales tax holiday weekends, and the third is around Easter and spring break, when Latin American visitors arrive in large numbers. Summer weekdays, by contrast, are pleasant inside and miserable outside, which is precisely why the enclosed, air-conditioned layout exists.

Weather matters more here than at most malls because the walk from the far surface lots is exposed. From June through October, afternoon thunderstorms arrive almost daily between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. and dump rain for 30 to 60 minutes; if you park in the garage you will never notice. Hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30, and the mall closes when the county issues warnings, so follow Miami-Dade County’s emergency updates in those months.

Dolphin Mall vs Sawgrass Mills vs Miami International Mall

South Florida has three shopping centers people compare constantly, and the right choice depends on where you are staying and what you want.

Feature	Dolphin Mall	Sawgrass Mills	Miami International Mall
Location	West Miami-Dade, by the Turnpike and SR 836	Sunrise, Broward, by the Sawgrass Expressway	Doral, NW 107th Ave at SR 836
Type	Outlet and value, enclosed	Outlet, enclosed plus open-air Colonnade	Traditional mall with department stores
Size	More than 240 stores	Largest outlet mall in the US, 350 plus stores	Smaller, full-price mix
Luxury outlets	Saks OFF 5TH, Michael Kors, Coach	Colonnade luxury outlets, Nordstrom Rack	Macy’s, JCPenney, Dillard’s at full price
Entertainment	CMX 19 with IMAX, Dave & Buster’s, Bass Pro	Cinema, Rainforest Cafe	Limited
Drive from MIA	15 to 20 minutes	45 to 60 minutes	10 to 15 minutes
Drive from Fort Lauderdale	40 to 50 minutes	20 to 30 minutes	40 to 50 minutes
Parking	Free, lots and garages	Free, very large lots	Free

The short version: Dolphin Mall wins for Miami-based visitors, airport layovers and anyone who wants dining and a cinema with their shopping. Sawgrass Mills wins for Broward and Palm Beach residents and for luxury-outlet hunters willing to make a full day of it. Miami International Mall, about a mile and a half east on NW 107th Avenue, is where you go for a full-price department store, a specific mainline brand or a quieter afternoon. Dolphin Mall and Miami International Mall are both Simon properties, so a Simon directory search covers both.

What’s nearby

Dolphin Mall sits in the middle of the Doral and Sweetwater hotel, dining and business zone, which gives you plenty of options within a 10-minute drive.

Doral. Immediately north across SR 836, Doral has Downtown Doral and CityPlace Doral with restaurants, a cinema and public plazas, plus the large concentration of Venezuelan, Colombian and Cuban bakeries and restaurants along NW 41st Street and NW 79th Avenue that locals prefer over the mall’s chains. Trump National Doral and its golf courses are a few minutes away.

Florida International University. FIU’s Modesto A. Maidique Campus is just south on SW 8th Street, with the Frost Art Museum (free admission, confirm current hours) and the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science’s satellite programs. Parents visiting students use Dolphin Mall as the default meeting and restocking point.

Miami International Mall. A short drive east on NW 12th Street or along SR 836, for the full-price department stores that Dolphin Mall lacks.

Miami International Airport and the hotel district. The airport’s west-side hotels along NW 25th Street, NW 36th Street and the Blue Lagoon area are 10 to 15 minutes away, and most of them list Dolphin Mall as the nearest shopping on their concierge sheet.

The Everglades. Head west on SW 8th Street (Tamiami Trail) and in about 30 minutes you reach the airboat operators, and in about 45 minutes the Shark Valley entrance to Everglades National Park with its tram tour and bike loop. Combining a morning at Shark Valley with an afternoon at the mall is a very good day for visitors with a car.

Tropical Park and Westchester. South along the Turnpike, Tropical Park offers running trails, a lake and the Westchester Cuban food scene along Bird Road and Coral Way.

Sports. LoanDepot Park, home of the Miami Marlins, is about 10 miles east on NW 7th Street, and Hard Rock Stadium is about 20 miles northeast; the mall is a common pre-game stop for groups driving in from the Turnpike.

Common problems and how to solve them

Problem	What to do
Lost your car	Go to the nearest entry, note its number, and ask Guest Services or security to check the lot map with you; your entry-number photo solves this instantly
Store listed online is gone	Tenants change monthly; use the official Simon directory, not third-party pages, and call the store first
Toll charges on a rental car	Both SR 836 and the Turnpike are cashless; ask your rental company about its toll program or use surface streets
Card declined mid-shopping	Foreign cards often trip fraud blocks; call your bank, or use a second card and keep spending spread across stores
Hour-long restaurant wait	Join the Cheesecake Factory or Texas de Brazil waitlist by app or in person before your last store
Mall closed unexpectedly	Hurricane watches, warnings and county closures shut the mall; check the official site and Miami-Dade emergency alerts
Lost child	Tell the nearest store employee or security immediately; the mall uses a code procedure and locks down exits
Suitcase overweight at the airport	Weigh at the hotel; luggage stores sell cheap second bags, but airline fees quickly exceed the savings

FAQ

Who is the current owner of Dolphin Mall?

Dolphin Mall is owned and operated by Simon Property Group through its Taubman Realty Group arm. Taubman Centers and Swerdlow Real Estate co-developed the mall and opened it in 2001, and Simon acquired an 80 percent stake in Taubman in December 2020, keeping the Taubman portfolio as a majority-owned venture before buying the remaining 20 percent in November 2025. In practice, the mall’s official website, directory, hours and promotions now live on the Simon site, which is why searches sometimes point you there instead of a standalone dolphinmall domain.

What stores are located at Dolphin Mall in Miami?

The mall has more than 240 stores, mostly outlet and off-price. The anchors and best-known names include Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, Saks OFF 5TH, Marshalls, Burlington, Nike Factory Store, Adidas, Polo Ralph Lauren Factory Store, Tommy Hilfiger, Michael Kors, Coach, Guess Factory, Levi’s, Old Navy, Gap Factory, Banana Republic Factory, H&M, Forever 21, Carter’s and The Children’s Place. Dining and entertainment anchors are The Cheesecake Factory, Texas de Brazil, Los Ranchos Steakhouse, Dave & Buster’s and CMX Cinemas Dolphin 19 with IMAX. The tenant list changes constantly, so confirm any single store on the official directory before you drive.

What are Dolphin Mall’s hours?

The mall is open daily, typically from 10 a.m. Monday through Saturday with a later Sunday opening and evening closings, and extended hours during the November and December holiday period. Restaurants, the cinema and Dave & Buster’s keep their own, usually longer, schedules. Hours change for holidays and weather, so confirm on the mall’s official site or by calling Guest Services before you go.

Is parking free at Dolphin Mall?

Yes. All surface lots and parking garages at Dolphin Mall are free. Valet service at the main entrance has a fee that the mall sets. The lots fill by late morning on weekends and in the holiday season, so arrive early or use the garages on the Ramblas side.

Can I swim with dolphins in Key Largo?

Yes, but not at Dolphin Mall, which has no dolphins and is named for the Dolphin Expressway next to it. Key Largo, roughly 70 miles and an hour and a half south of the mall by car along the Turnpike and US 1, has long-established facilities such as Dolphins Plus and Dolphin Cove that run supervised swim and interaction programs with bottlenose dolphins, and the Dolphin Research Center on Grassy Key near Marathon offers similar encounters farther down the Keys. Programs require advance reservations, set minimum ages and heights, and charge per person with prices that change, so book directly through each operator’s website and read their rules on swimming ability and what to bring. Theater of the Sea in Islamorada is another option on the drive down.

What are some fun things to do near Dolphin Mall?

Within 15 minutes you have Downtown Doral and CityPlace Doral for restaurants and plazas, the Doral bakeries and arepa spots along NW 41st Street, the Frost Art Museum at FIU, and Miami International Mall for department store shopping. Within 45 minutes to the west you reach the Everglades airboat operators on Tamiami Trail and the Shark Valley entrance to Everglades National Park with its tram tour and 15-mile bike loop. Inside the mall itself, the CMX IMAX theater, Dave & Buster’s and the Bass Pro Shops aquarium cover a rainy afternoon, and LoanDepot Park and the Marlins are about 10 miles east.

How do I get to Dolphin Mall without a car?

Several Miami-Dade Transit Metrobus routes stop at the mall on NW 12th Street, and the Dolphin Station park-and-ride with express buses to downtown is just west of the property. Plan the exact route in the Miami-Dade Transit app, since route numbers change. Rideshare from Miami International Airport takes 15 to 20 minutes, and many airport and Doral hotels run shuttles that stop at the mall on request. The Sweetwater and Doral city trolleys have historically served the mall area; check each city’s current trolley map.

Is Dolphin Mall indoors?

Yes. Dolphin Mall is a fully enclosed, air-conditioned mall on a single level, with a few restaurant patios facing outward. That makes it the best Miami-area mall for summer afternoons and rainy days, and it is why the garages near the Ramblas entrance are worth the walk when storms are forecast.

Is Dolphin Mall cheaper than Sawgrass Mills?

Prices at the shared brands are essentially the same, because both are outlet centers running the same chain-wide promotions. Sawgrass Mills has more stores and a stronger luxury selection in its Colonnade section, while Dolphin Mall is closer to Miami, the airport and the Keys, and has better dining and entertainment. Choose by where you are staying rather than by price.