Visiting Miami

[airtommy]

This is a general discussion thread about visiting Miami and Florida.  Ask any questions you have (or give us tips) about hotels, locales, weather, tourist attractions, or anything else.

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I'll start with parking.  The parking deck in South Beach at the corner of Alton Road & 5th Street is free for the first 2 hours.  It's a bit far from the action.  You have to walk 5-15 blocks from there to get to Ocean Drive or Lincoln Road.  Or you can catch the South Beach Trolley, which unfortunately only runs every 20 minutes.

https://www.miamibeachfl.gov/city-hall/transportation/trolley/south-beach-trolley/

If you rent a car, beware of tolls. Many of the expressways are tolled.  There are no more cash toll booths.  You have to get a Sunpass transponder or pay with your license plate getting scanned (which means extra service charges).  The Rickenbacker, Venetian, and Broad Causeways are tolled.  The MacArthur and others are free. 

 

Edited February 24, 2019 by airtommy

[chum981]

Thanks airtommy!  

Question 1): Is it worth staying at one of the hotels on Ocean Drive?  Other than the great location, are the actual hotels generally any good?   

Question 2): What is the best time of year to be in Miami?  I was there in mid-November and found the weather as quite mild but it did rain a bit and got slightly cold at night.  I've heard summer is too hot and humid.  

 

[airtommy]

3 hours ago, chum981 said:

Question 2): What is the best time of year to be in Miami?  I was there in mid-November and found the weather as quite mild but it did rain a bit and got slightly cold at night.  I've heard summer is too hot and humid.  

 

I have no experience with the Art Deco hotels. 

I've been there twice during the summer and I was MISERABLE.  I'm used to hot & humid weather, but in Miami in June I sweated like a pig. 

[Matt5]

4 hours ago, chum981 said:

Thanks airtommy!  

Question 1): Is it worth staying at one of the hotels on Ocean Drive?  Other than the great location, are the actual hotels generally any good?   

Question 2): What is the best time of year to be in Miami?  I was there in mid-November and found the weather as quite mild but it did rain a bit and got slightly cold at night.  I've heard summer is too hot and humid.  

 

I wouldn’t recommend the Ocean Drive hotels , get an air B and B or nice condo if you can. I’m in Florida presently. Many of the Ocean Drive hotels have bars and cafes underneath pumping loud party music all night till 2-3 am something you have to consider.

Edited February 27, 2019 by Matt5

[miamijimf]

3 hours ago, Matt5 said:

I wouldn’t recommend the Ocean Drive hotels , get an air B and B or nice condo if you can. I’m in Florida presently. Many of the Ocean Drive hotels have bars and cafes underneath pumping loud party music all night till 2-3 am something you have to consider.

Chum,

To partly answer your second question, avoid holiday weekends like Memorial Day etc, that's when the crowds get bad on Miami Beach.  If you are set on a Vice like experience, I recommend the Essex House, far enough away from most of the noise on Ocean Drive and seen in Vice.  If not there are less expensive but nice places further N. than S. Beach and the mega hotels like the Fontainebleau.  In the off-season (Summer time) rates drop a bit but be prepared for heat and humidity but it's not intolerable.  Remember almost every indoor space is air-conditioned.

Edited February 27, 2019 by miamijimf

[ZAQ 178]

I stayed at the Carlyle last year & loved it. Staying at the Breakwater next month.

[airtommy]

JJ's Diner (seen in the final scene of "Home Invaders" and where Izzy comes across the bad guys in "Nobody Lives Forever") is now the Sunset Inn (5850 SW 72nd Street South Miami)

https://www.booking.com/hotel/us/sunset-inn-south-miami.html

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/54033399