South Beach/Miami

[mel47]

DH and I are going to Miami for two days before we cruise on the EOS. We are staying at the Holiday Inn by Bayside.

 

The first day we want to go to South Beach. Is there a specific part of South Beach we should request to be taken to? Approx. how much is cab fare from Bayside to South Beach? Any ideas for a good place to lunch?

 

We are in our late twenties and tend to be more conservative (not big on drinking/wild parties). Looking specifically for great beach/water, shopping, stuff to see/do.

 

We are clueless and haven't found anything really helpful on the web so far.

 

ALSO, the 2nd day we have some relatives flying in to meet us and we were thinking of doing the mini-cruise out of Bayside that tours celebrity homes. Wondering if this is a good thing to do? Also, are reservations recommended?

 

Thanks for any help you can provide! CAN'T WAIT!!!!

[cruisingrightalong]

We stay at the Bayside and our friends stay in South Beach. Pretty much you have a couple of streets....Beach and Collins as well as Washington. We rented a car...the Hertz is around the corner from the hotel...in city terms around the corner...and they were super......when you return it they shuttle you to the port. Parking in South Beach though is horrible...... cab??? the problem we kept getting into was the wrecks on the causeway...the cab would be pricey as traffic was held up for an hour at least and we went around.

 

We did the Everglades private airboat tour at the Everglades safari park...again a car. I WILL CAUTION YOU....IF YOU get a car...parking at the Port of Miami Holiday Inn is almost non-existent. If the relatives coming in have a car though...you are good to go.

 

Lou

[dyanna72]

MY DH & I stayed in South Beach 2 nights last August before our cruise. It was at the beginning of the strip just off 6th. We stayed in a hotel on Ocean overlooking the beach. Nightlife/clubs/restaurants all around you. My suggestion to you would be to take a taxi as parking is almost non exhistant. If you do decide to rent a car & find a spot to park, make sure to re-up your parking meter as the police monitor parking quite often. Even watched as they had an exotic car towed away while we were eating dinner. The taxi fare from the hotel to the pier was no more than $30 for the both of us. Maybe less. Hope this helps.

[signman]

Coming from Miami you enter South Miami Beach via the MacArthur Causeway which becomes 5th Street in South Beach. Continue on 5th until you reach Washington Ave. This is the most commercial street in SoBe. It is a mix of old and new and the busiest areas run north from 5th to the Lincoln Road Mall which is just north of 15th. One block closer to the ocean is Collins Ave (A1A) which is a mix of reborn Art Deco hotels, shops, and cafes and restaurants. Finally you get to Ocean Drive which is all hotels, sidewalk cafes, and restaurants, with the wide beach and the ocean opposite the hotels. Ocean Drive is worth seeing/walking all the way from south of 5th to Biscayne St. and north to 15th where it ends and merges into Collins Ave. Collins continues to be interesting up to 21st or so.

 

My first stop would be at the Art Deco Welcome Center at Ocean Drive and 10th opposite the Clevelander Hotel. Here you can view exhibits and get maps and information about SoBe. Ocean Drive and Lincoln Road Mall are prime people watching. Lincoln Road Mall would be another option to start. Loaded with shops, cafes, and restaurants, you would then want to wander south on Collins and Ocean.

 

The wide beach stretches from the southern tip of the beach all the way north. I'm not too up on the facilities that might be available. The central lifeguard station is behind the Welcome Center around 10th.

[debshomespun]

We will be coming into FLL airport next friday morning, and renting a car to drive down to Miami. We plan to go to Southbeach for the day. Where will we be able to park the car? Do they have like 1/2 day parking anywhere, or will we need to keep returning to put in change in a parking meter?

[cruisingrightalong]

They have a couple of parking decks.....which in my opinion...use so you don't have to do the parking meter thingy! One I think is close to Beach and 16th.

 

Lou

[SCOOP]

My wife and I along with two friends stayed at the Beacon Hotel on Ocean drive in March before our Radiance trip. We all are in our mid-to late 30's.

There are numerous outdoor cafes you can eat at. If you are looking for a beach chair with an umbrella they have companies on the beach that will set you up. We paid like $8.00 per chair and $10.00 for the umbrella all day. There are very beautiful people down there unlike Club Orient in St. Maarten (you will see some skin there). You will also see homeless people laying around and many other walks of life. During the evening hours avoid Ocean Drive and Collins by car, get dropped off on Washington (that is the 3rd block from the beach) the traffic can get narly. Any good cabbie will know where to get you and fast. Prices down there are really expensive so plan for that. I loved South Beach and would stay there again.

Scoop

[signman]

The best located parking deck is on Collins near 7th.

[mel47]

Your posts are very helpful. Thank you! Can't wait to go check it out...

[partyof8]

Just returned from Miami, we took a cruise of the "celebrity homes" very nice, It was $15 per person and we stumbled upon the tour booth, it is between "discovery store" and "Hard Rock Cafe" at Bayside. It was a "pirate ship" type boat, another one is also available. The guide spoke English very well and he also repeated everything in Spanish. We had the surprise of seeing Shaq outside his home on the phone walking around the pool. Kind of feel bad for the "celebs" with the tour boats going by. We saw dolphins. I would recommend this tour. Unfortunately I cannot remember it's name. You will enjoy your days in Maimi. We are in our 30's and not of the party scene, but there were many things to do in the daytime. I would imagine evenings are pretty wild. Cost for taxi from airport MIA to Bayside $21 for carload.

[nosnobunny]

There are two parking garages on 17th St. just around the corner from Ocean Dr. which is the beachfront road where most of the art deco restaurants/bars are located. One garage is municipal and one private. The rates are the same and reasonable. I think I paid $7 to park for several hours last month. From the corner of 17th and Ocean Dr. you can easily walk south to all the art deco section as well as north to Lincoln Road mall. But be sure to wear walking shoes. I learned that one the hard way. There are so many eateries that it's hard to know what would appeal to you. If you're looking for reasonably price fare, you could try Finnigan's Way. The food is good and very reasonably priced for South Beach. It's located at the northern end of S Beach around 15th St. (??) Of course there are a lot of other establishments but make sure you check out the menus they have posted outside. If you don't, you could be in for sticker shock. :D Lincoln Road mall also has wonderful restaurants that run the gamut for price. Again, check the posted menus.

 

Beth

[dega2]

Mel47 let me know how the Holidat Inn Port of Miami is we will be staying there in November.

[cruisingrightalong]

We really enjoyed the holiday inn at the port....older but the beds were great...and the hotel had been rehabbed....the bathrooms were small but heck we weren't there except to sleep and such. Have already booked next year already.

 

Lou

[ConnCruise]

The cab fare from your hotel to South Beach is about $10. (Least it was a few years back.)

 

South Beach is a real treat all the way around. While the area is pretty high on the chic scale, it’s not stuffy at all.

 

Ocean Drive and its restored Art Deco hotels is really something to see. We just spent a few days there in March at a new very cool hotel called The Bentley Beach Hotel (not to be confused with its sister The Bentley) We were a block or two south of Lummas Park, just on the beach, with an incredible view of Government Cut, the passage way between the tip of Miami Beach and Fishers Island. We got to see three different cruise ships pass right by our balcony, on their way out to sea. A really outrageous view.

 

Anyway, don't miss Ocean Drive and Collins, especially at night. Your age group predominates, (we're about 20 years north of that). Walk up Ocean Drive on the park side so you get a great view of the neon lit Art Deco buildings. As others have written here, The Lincoln Road Mall was a very cool outdoor mall, very neat design. Not like your average mega mall back home.

We ate at fairly casual places, lots of them everywhere, so you don't need to eat at the TGIF's at the corner of 5th and Ocean. We're not big on "fine dinning", but I'm sure you could find a ton of those, too.

 

Daytime was great too. The beach is huge and the water aquamarine. If you like walking around, I can't think of many places better.

 

We really love this place, can't wait to see it again! Enjoy

[mel47]

Dega2,

 

We've stayed at the Holiday Inn Bayside twice before and love it. Location is great, hotel is decent and definitely fits our purpose. In the past we've always flown in the afternoon before and spent the evening at Bayside. This time we were hoping to start our cruise a bit more rested so we can exhaust ourselves more fully once onboard!! :)

 

Thanks everyone for being so helpful!

[dega2]

Mel47

 

Thanks for the info on the hotel, I did hear that it was a great location, just wanted to make sure. We will be there for one night arriving around noon Friday 11/11/2005.