South Beach Miami, How To Have An Amazing Time.

It’s easy to see why so many Americans head to South Beach Miami for their vacation. It’s one of the coolest places I’ve ever been and I can’t find anything I don’t like about it. Art Deco buildings, Cuban vibes, shopping, food, giant cocktails and a beautiful beach. I should tell you my story first, then get into how you can have an amazing trip!

I’ve been to South Beach Miami twice and both trips ended up being very different. But still, so much fun and the good news is Miami still knows how to party even after a massive hurricane.

Visiting Miami 

The first time my husband Lawrence and I went it was Memorial Day Weekend and Urban Beach Week. South beach was buzzing. The streets filled with people, the sun was shining and the giant cocktails were flowing.

If you’re ever in town during a long weekend, try and book accommodation within walking distance to the beach. They close most of the roads and the traffic was crazy! Thankfully our accommodation was super close.

Find the Perfect Accommodation in Miami on Trivago

The beach was so beautiful I was blown away! The water was so blue & clear, even with hundreds of people swimming around. 

We hadn’t planned on being in Miami for this long weekend, it was just one of those things that worked out perfectly. The city had the coolest vibe, everybody was in holiday mode & enjoying themselves. If you hate big crowds though maybe avoid this weekend. 

Our second visit to South Beach Miami was in September & it was only days after Hurricane Irma.

We were in New York when the storm hit South Beach and we had a cruise booked for the following weekend that was departing from Miami. For a few days we had no idea what was going to happen, would Carnival cancel the cruise? Would we even be able to get into Miami? Understanding that the weather can be somewhat unpredictable, we tried not to think about it too much.

On the day of our flight to Miami, we knew that Irma had passed and the airline notified us that our flight was still scheduled to operate. Although, our Miami hotel had been canceled because after the storm they were left with no electricity. We had no idea what to do, would we be able to book a new hotel Miami last minute! Is it even appropriate to go after such devastation? 

I looked into extending our accommodation in New York, but that was going to be $500 per night (yikes). So we figured we’ll just go & suss it out when we arrive. I contacted the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Miami and were happy to hear they were open.

Our first morning in Miami we got the local bus to South Beach to check everything out. To my surprise, there wasn’t too much damage & the palm trees were still standing strong. There were a number of restaurants and clothing stores closed though. It was sad hearing about the amount of damage that was caused to people’s homes & a lot of places closed due to the fact that their staff couldn’t get to work. Everyone we spoke to was in good spirits and happy to put Irma behind them.

Finding Accommodation in South Beach started to become a bit of a challenge as most were either sold out or closed.

But we struck gold when we found the Penguin Hotel on Ocean Drive.

This hotel is perfectly located, right across the road from the beach and only charged us $250 dollars for two nights.

Over the next couple of days, we found the Miami vibe along South Beach to still be fun and exciting. It was just much quieter compared to our first visit. As expected the beach was covered in seaweed and unfortunately a lot of rubbish. But every day we saw workmen & machinery cleaning up the sand. The water was still beautiful and clear.

Booking Accommodation in South Beach Miami

I think if you look for anything located between 17th Street & 5th Street, on the east side close to the beach, you’ll be very happy. Everything would be within walking distance.

I’d definitely recommend the Penguin Hotel, it was a gorgeous, art deco style hotel, with friendly and accommodating staff. Also, the locations couldn’t have been better.

Best Food & Drink in South Beach Miami

If you walk along Ocean Drive or Lincoln Road Mall you’re bound to find something that will take your fancy. Staff will be calling for your business and advising you of their current drink specials.

If you want to try Cuban food head to Havana 1957, they have three locations on South Beach. We spent an afternoon at the one on Ocean Drive one. I can’t say we ate a lot but we definitely took advantage of the 2 for 1 Mojito. The Cuban tasting plate was really good though, we got a bit of everything and our waiter Sergio was lovely. He of course came from Havana.

Afterward, we headed to La Baguette Bar & Grill, we didn’t actually get much say in this. When we passed by the waitress basically just said ‘you guys sit here’. 😆 We found her pushiness amusing and we were having trouble deciding anyway. I vaguely remember having some Mexican food there which I think was pretty good but it was the giant cocktails that really got us. Luckily they were 2-for-1 because usually, these cost $60 each! And then to top it off the staff brought out free shots for us.

The next day nothing was better than a fresh baguette from La Sandwicherie, this is a small French, hole – in – the – wall, type cafe. Serving baguettes and croissants with the freshest salads, cheeses and meats…. Ahhhh so delicious, there are so many options on the menu we ended up going about 5 times.

Shopping in South Beach Miami:

Miami has such great shopping, the big brands to small boutique stores, and then fun touristy shops that sell all the “Miami Beach” merchandise. I’d say Lincoln Road Mall has the most stores in the one area but also head down Collins Ave, there’s plenty of awesome stores along there.

Things To Do Around Miami:

Due to the hurricane, our last visit to Miami didn’t involve many touristy activities. Which was fine because the weather was perfect. We spent our days shopping, at the beach, eating and drinking.