I’ve been to Miami 3 times prior to this trip. The first was for Spring Break in undergrad, (what a time to be alive).The second was a long 36 hour layover coming from Jamaica, and the third was for a friend’s birthday where we stayed at the Loewe’s Hotel the entire time lounging at the pool and dining at the hotel’s restaurants.

As soon as I leave the airport I run as fast as I can to South Beach to lay beach side and eat some of the best Caribbean and Latin American influenced meals in the U.S.. While it may seem mundane, I genuinely love South Beach, but realized I hadn’t truly explored much of the city.

Miami is my go to destination for a quick and easy get away. The weather (outside of hurricanes) is great, food is always delicious, I love the melting pot culture, and it is relatively affordable if done correctly.

This time for my trip to Miami, I flew Spirit Airlines (surprise) from MSY to FLL in Fort Lauderdale. Since FLL is their hub, Spirit does not go to MIA in Miami. I was really skeptical about flying in to Fort Lauderdale versus Miami, but there was a $140 price difference between Spirit and other national airlines who were flying in to MIA. Again, I went to the counter at the airport to buy my flight, and paid a whopping $29 for non-stop service from New Orleans to Fort Lauderdale round trip compared to $64 which was advertised online. I did end up extending my trip 5 more days at the last minute, so I had to buy another ticket for $14.50 one way back home.

I asked around, and luckily there is public transportation from FLL to Miami Beach. The trip by bus takes anywhere from 90 minutes to a little over 2 hours depending on the time of day. Alternatively you can also take a Lyft or Uber for roughly $25 for the 30 minute drive.

Flight: Spirit Airlines $43.50

Accommodations: Generator Miami $360 for 10 days

Public Transportation: 7 day pass for $29.95

The Generator brand is a series of boutique hostels and hotel rooms across Europe with a few locations in the U.S. Located on Collins and 31st Street in Mid Beach, it is one block away from the beach and you have direct access to the Miami Metrobuses using the 103, 112, 113,120, 150, and Mid Beach Trolley. There is no street parking, parking garage, or valet here so using/having a car at this location is not ideal.

The Generator is such a cute boutique hotel, and I’m glad I stayed here. See my hotel tour below!

Transportation

Miami’s public transit system, provides rides by bus, train, and free trolleys. The Metrobus costs $2.25 per ride or you can purchase daily, weekly, or monthly passes if you plan to use public transportation frequently. The Metrobuses services MIA as well as FLL airports with a transfer or two, so feel free to use
Within the City of Miami Beach, you can ride the free trolley system. The four trolley lines services the last street on South Beach up to 88th Street in North Beach with buses running on average every 15 - 20 minutes. You can easily track the trolleys here to see when the next one is headed to your stop. Service runs from 6 am to midnight daily, with service starting at 8 am on Sundays.
Most larger hotels offer valet parking, but overnight parking generally costs a minimum of $40 per night. Street parking costs $4 per hour and lot parking starts at $2 per hour but this varies slightly by street. There are also a handful of public parking garages throughout the city. So, if you don’t have to bring a car, I would not recommend it. If you’re thinking about renting a car to take a day trip, I would only rent it for the day that you need it, or budget in advance for parking pricing.
Citibank bikes are available throughout the city, providing thousands of bicycles available for rent. You can check here for bike stations as well as available bikes, and open docks to return your bike.
Ubers and Lyft
URIDE vehicles are open-air, electric vehicles that operate within Miami Beach, Downtown Miami/Brickell, and The Design District/Wynwood. These rides are free to and from anywhere within the designated service areas. Some of you may be asking now, “Well, if the rides are free, how does the company make money?” And, that’s a good question! URIDE generates revenue from advertising space on the vehicles. Local and national companies pay to have their billboards wrapped around the vehicles which will be shown to millions of locals and visitors. If you don’t readily see one on the street, feel free to call their local number to dispatch a driver to you. While the rides are free, it’s nice to tip your driver for the service!

Location, Location, Location

South Beach is 1st - 21st Street is where all of the action is. If you love to be in the mix, easy access to the parties and hot spots on the beach, South Beach is for you.

Mid Beach is 22nd Street - 63rd Street is still central to most attractions with easy beach access. It is much tamer than South Beach, and slightly (and I use that very loosely) less expensive than South Beach.

North Beach is 63rd Street - 87th Street. My first time to Miami, we stayed in North Beach, on Collins Ave and 71st Street. North Beach is great for those who want a quieter time on or near the beach. Along this stretch, you’ll find runners/joggers, dog walkers, bikers, yogis, and far less people than those sunbathing on South Beach. If you don’t mind commuting to reach other attractions and would rather prefer the quiet, North Beach is for you. You’ll find more high rise condos and independent hotels at a steeper discount here.

Art Deco

Located in South Beach Miami, the Art Deco District has the highest concentration of Art Deco buildings in the world. The European styled buildings were built in Miami between the 1920s-1940s. The classic style is easily recognized because of its pastel colors, glamorous features like statues and fountains, clean lines with geometric shapes and most noticeably porthole windows. During the era, the goal was to create an antitraditional and sleek elegance that symbolized wealth and sophistication.

Since I wanted to immerse myself in Miami this trip, I wanted to take a guided walking tour. Located on Ocean Drive, the Art Deco Historic District hosts walking tours daily at 10:30 am for $30. I arrived too late, so I missed the tour. I downloaded the GPSmyCity app and used the 3 day free trial and deleted it on day 3 so I wouldn’t have to pay the $12.99 annual fee. The app was just okay but given that listed neighborhoods in the app didn’t have information or history, just areas and landmarks of interest, so I didn’t see the use of it. The app has walking routes and recommendations for over 1,000 cities around the world so this may be great for others to have a city guide on your phone.

You’re probably familiar with the iconic hotels and buildings in Art Deco, which is generally the area highlighted of South Beach. The Historic Art Deco District is home to the Clevelander Hotel, The Betsy, The Versace Mansion and 900 other buildings.

Wynwood

Originally home to Caribbean immigrants and Miami’s garment district in the 1900s, by the early 2000s, many factories and warehouses were abandoned and unused. Developers and business owners decided to revitalize the area by turning them in to functioning businesses like restaurants, galleries, and shops.

The most known staple of the Wynwood district is the Wynwood Walls, conceived by the late real estate developer Tony Goldman in 2009. Wynwood Walls has hosted dozens of artists from around the world displaying various styles of graffiti and street art. Wynwood Walls is free to enter and browse at your leisure — they also offer guided tours starting at $20 throughout the day.

Besides the street art and droves of tour buses in Wynwood, I found some of the best food here! Much like the eclectic art, the food in this district is quite unique and world renowned.

Design District

If you’re looking to shop until you drop at luxury and high end brands, head to the Design District near Midtown Miami. You’ll find all of the designer brands such as Dior, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Christian Louboutin, Versace and more here as well as the newly opened Institute of Contemporary Art Museum.

Opposite of the Art Deco District, the Design District boasts sleek modern architecture and clean upscale interiors.

Little Havana

Little Havana in Miami has the largest Cuban population outside of Cuba! Little Havana is three square miles of Cuban history and culture, home to open-air fresh food stands, bars and dance clubs, cuban cuisine, cigar bars, and domino parks.

There are a plethroa of walking tours hosted by locals that give you a deep dive through Little Havana, you’ll likely spend the majority of your time on Calle Ocho.

The free trolley also runs through Little Havana and along Calle Ocho, so you can easily hop on the free trolley, or the number 8 Metrobus.

The majority of open air businesses in Little Havana are smoker friendly, so head to Cuba Tobacco Cigar Co. and pick up a Cuban rolled. Their legacy goes back to the late 1800s, and like most Cuban owned businesses, they opened shop in Miami in the 1990s. Now operating in their fifth generation, daily you can find someone rolling cigars, playing dominos in the front entrance, as well as walking tours making a stop in the shop. The price points are pretty reasonable, with a single Cuban Rum cigar selling for $5 each and boxes of cigars ranging from $35 to $275.

If you’re looking for more of a variety, head across the street to Little Havana Cigar Factory. Here, you’ll find cigars from across South America, accessories such as lighters, pipes, and ashtrays as well as a coffee bar, and lounge area.

Domino Park aka Maximo Gomez Park is a Little Havana landmark. Daily you’ll find older Cubans here sipping Cuban espresso and catching up over a game of dominos or chess. Visitors are free to enter the park, watch, and talk to the players, but playing is only allowed for registered members age 55 and older.

Where to Eat

Don’t be alarmed when you’re closing out your tab and see an 18% service charge at a sit down restaurant. The majority of restaurants in Miami Beach charge an automatic 18% service fee for diners, no matter the party size, time of day, or bill cost. This charge is non-negotiable, so if you’re accustomed to paying a 10 or 15% gratuity sorry for you. You are always given the option to add more gratuity, but the restaurant won’t remove the charge, unless the service was horrible.

Automatic gratuity has been in play at restaurants within Miami for the past few years. From servers, I’ve heard that the reason is because Miami receives so many foreign visitors from countries where tips and service charges are included in the meal’s price, so they would not leave a tip. According to Euromonitor and Mastercard, New York is the most visited U.S. city for international travelers, followed by Miami, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Orlando. Why is Miami the only city that has automatic gratuity, that’s a question for the city council; I can only tell you some of the best places to eat here with and without service charges.

Ball & Chain, located in Little Havana is such a vibe. This little slice of history has seen ownership switch hands several times and hold various names since the 1950s. Ball and Chain has also hosted some of the world’s most renowned musicians such as Count Basie, Josephine Baker, and Billie Holiday.

Through the large open doors, you’re greeted by a live band throughout the day and a huge bar that takes up half of the floor space. You can then make your way to the back of the restaurant, outside to the patio area where there is another bar, and stage for live music and performances. The back patio area is filled with tropical inspired patio furniture and luscious palm trees and greenery. You can definitely smoke your cigars outside since matches and ashtrays are provided. Their mojitos are infamous and every tour group that walks in orders one. But I think all of their specialty cocktails are pretty good. They are all light and refreshing and feel like the perfect summer time drink anytime of year. My favorites are the Rosemary Lemonade and Piña Basil Margarita. I didn’t have a chance to eat there, but on a warm day, Ball & Chain is your go to for drinks and live music!

Next door is Azucar Ice Cream famous for their daily house made sorbet and ice cream from locally sourced ingredients. There’s an open air food market a few blocks away and a lot of the fresh fruit are used in the ice cream. You know how they say, an ice cream shop is only as good as it’s signature vanilla? Well Azucar’s vanilla ice cream is worth the trip.

Starting at the western end of Calle Ocho, you’ll find two rival Cuban restaurants across the street from each other, both with their own specialities and Cuban flare — Versailles Restaurant and Bakery and La Carreta. I wanted to check out the lesser publicized establishment, so I headed to La Carreta.

La Carreta is dining “abuela style” and is set up like a diner. Serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, they offer something for everyone and serve Cuban and traditional American fare.

You’ll get the gist that everything in Little Havana is abuela-style.

The Front Page Cafe is my favorite breakfast spot on Ocean Drive. I’m not a breakfast person, but since their breakfast menu is served all day, it’s enough to get me out of bed and start my day. I first ordered the granola pancakes almost 5 years ago, and luckily they’re still on the menu, and still taste heavenly.

There’s ample indoor seating, outdoor seating on the patio as well as a wrap around bar outside with board games provided by the hotel. If breakfast isn’t your jam, they also serve lunch, dinner, as well as happy hour specials on drinks and appetizers.

Now, normally I am not a fan of the trend of over-the-top foods, especially donuts. I find that the theatrics of the donut overpowers the main ingredient…the donut. Salty Donut, nailed their speciality. While the donuts are more desserts and not breakfast goods, the base of the donut is consistent and delicious no matter the specialty flavor. While the donuts average around $4 they’re totally worth it in my opinion. Every artisanal flavor is distinctive and holds high quality ingredients that aren’t skimpy.

World Famous House of Mac was started by Chef Teach, a former Miami club promoter. After his father’s passing he started a food truck which later transpired to 3 brick and mortar restaurants across Miami. Upon entering his Wynwood location, you are greeted by a mosaic of Basquiat, BET movies on flatscreen TVs and dozens of pictures of celebrity guests. While their namesake is mac and cheese, you’ll find other bar foods on the menu that steal the show. You can order mac and cheese pretty much any way you can think of. Philly Cheesesteak, bacon cheeseburger, vegan, pizza, jerk chicken or shrimp, and lobster mac and cheese all hold spots on the menu along with 12” pizzas, chicken wings, pasta, burgers, salads, and salmon dishes.

Located in North Beach, Cafe Prima Pasta has some of the best Italian dishes in Florida at affordable prices. They offer happy hour daily, which includes drinks, apps, entrees, and desserts. Yes! The fiocchi pasta is my fave and their cocktails are perfect!

No trip to Florida is complete without ordering tacos. Bodega is a speakeasy type restaurant with unfinished components that just flow together. You enter through an open garage door and place your order at the airstream trailer. There’s indoor and outdoor seating in the front of the restaurant, or you can choose to eat at the bar by entering through a port a potty or a meat locker door. While the murals and neon marquees in each room, provide a design experience, the food and margs are worth staying for.

Huahua Taqueria

Yardbird is a Miami Beach staple. Serving Southern delicacies such as their infamous chicken and waffles with watermelon plate, creamy mac & cheese, shrimp and grits, and country biscuits with butter + jam. After eating any meal here, you will definitely leave with the itis. My first trip to Miami, I was overwhelmed with the menu and ordered the chicken and watermelon on my first visit, and had to come back the very next day to try their shrimp and grits. There are also lighter options on the menu like the deviled eggs, green tomato BLT, salads, and sandwiches.

If it’s time to detox and eat on the lighter side, Carrot Express is perfect to help you get back on track while on vacay. There are a few locations across Miami Beach serving salads, smoothies, cold pressed juices, power shots, grain bowls, poke, and veggie burgers. I love that they offer online ordering and delivery so you can stay hungover in bed.

Walking in to The Smoothie Shop in South Beach, you’d think that you’re in a hipster cafe in Venice Beach, CA. The walls are adorned with Polaroids of customers and their smoothies or cold pressed juices. The display cases are lined with fresh produce to make your order, and the specials are written in chalk behind the register. They sell your regular juices, smoothies, wraps, acai bowls, salads as well as immunity boosters and supplemental shots to get you back on your feet after a night on South Beach. Smoothies and juices start off around $8, but when you check in on the Yelp app, you receive a free size upgrade.

Things To See and Do

The Institute of Contemporary Art Museum is open to the public and free for everyone. You are granted free entry after providing your zip code and email address to the 37, 500 square foot building. The museum hosts exhibits on three levels as well as an outdoor sculpture garden.

The Bass Contemporary Art Museum is located in Miami Beach on Collins Ave, and is open to the public. The cost for general admission is $15, but seniors, students, kids, and AmEx cardholders can purchase a reduced ticket while members, Miami Beach residents, young children and military are free.

The Bass is a pretty interactive museum — depending on which exhibits are showing. Mickalene Thomas’ Better Nights was my favorite exhibit to experience!

Perez Museum (PAMM) is free on the first Thursday of every month. They’re closed on Wednesdays, but if you visit any other day the cost of admission is $16 for adults and Bank of America customers receive discounted entry. I was lucky to view a free screening of movie, They Had a Dream.

Food Tours

Almost every neighborhood or district in Miami offers a walking and/or food tour filled with locals and tourists alike. You can find great options on Viator, AirBnB Experiences as well as seeking recommendations from your hotel.

Lounge at the beach and your hotel pool

Generally, if you’re not here on a work trip, you’ve likely made a trip to Miami to visit the beach. If not, I’m disappointed in you! From South Pointe to ~18th Street is where you’ll find a crowd all day long. You can rent lounge chairs and umbrellas on the beach, and there are authorized vendors selling non-alcoholic drinks and snacks but don’t forget your own towel, sunscreen, and water.

Shop Lincoln Road

This pedestrian walkway spans 10 blocks with national retailers and local restaurants along the promenade. Most stores are open daily from 10 am - 11 pm. There’s even a movie theatre and IMAX along Lincoln Road if you need to escape the sun.

Española Way
Built in the early 1920s, Española Way was a designed after Mediterranean villages serving as an artist colony. Throughout the years and after several renovations, this pedestrian only street houses some of Miami’s most sought after French and Spanish restaurants, boutique hotels with the original Mediterranean architecture, cigar bars and speciality shops.

‘Gone but Not Forgotten’ Mammoth at Faena Hotel

If you don’t have the chance to stay at one of the Faena Hotels $340+ per night rooms, you can still visit the luxury hotel and have drinks at one of their many bars including the outdoor Tree of Life bar, see a cabaret show at the Faena theatre, or more notable see the three meter tall golden mammoth on display in their play area.

Oct 5 What to See, Eat, and Do in Miami

Transportation

Location, Location, Location

Where to Eat

Things To See and Do