Miami FL Travel Guide
Overall vibe of Miami:
Miami has some of the most beautiful beaches in Florida, palm trees everywhere making it feel like paradise and lush plants that make it feel like a jungle. It’s also alive, fast-paced and high energy, with a lot of people but also a lot of culture, art and vibrant energy.
I LOVE to visit Miami and go to the magical beaches, amazing restaurants and cool neighborhoods like Wynwood, Coconut Grove and the Design District.
Miami Beach
Quick Guide to Miami:
Overall vibe: stunning beaches, palm trees, jungle-y, vibrant culture and nightlife, amazing restaurants, high energy
How long to stay: 3-4 nights
Where to stay: Miami Beach, Coconut Grove or Brickell
Getting around: rent a car if you want to explore different neighborhoods (you also could Uber everywhere, it just might cost a lot more)
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Best Area To Stay Miami
I recommend staying in Miami Beach, Coconut Grove or Brickell.
Miami Beach: stay here if you want to be close to the beach.
Coconut Grove: stay here if you love a cute, quieter town square and walks along the water. It’s about 15 minutes from Virginia Key and 30 minutes to Miami Beach depending on traffic.
iCoconutGrove Vacation Rentals: we stayed here last time we went and the location and pool are amazing. The room isn’t anything special - it was like a normal hotel room but with a kitchen but overall it’s a great place to stay.
Mr. C Miami: this hotel is right across from the one above and it looked like a vibe…and a bit more luxurious!
iCoconutGrove Vacation Rentals
Brickell: stay here if you want city vibes (you’ll be about 20 minutes to the beach)
We also lived in this Airbnb in Downtown for 2 months and loved it. Downtown is not an ideal location BUT the apartment has stunning views and you can walk to Brickell Key, which I did almost every morning! It’s also a pretty close drive to the neighborhoods you would want to spend time in like Wynwood, Design District, Miami Beach and Brickell.
Best restaurants in Miami
Best Lunch Places Miami:
✧ Pura Vida (Instagram: @puravidamiami): beautiful cafe with yummy, healthy food and good coffee. There’s lots of locations all over Miami.
✧ Bodega Taqueria (Instagram: @bodegataqueria): great casual spot for tacos, burritos and taco bowls. The steak chimmichurri and birria tacos were AMAZING!! Locations in Coconut Grove and South Beach.
Bodega Taqueria
Best Dinner Places Miami:
Design District:
✧ Mandolin (Instagram: @mandolinrestaurants): amazing, romantic Mediterranean restaurant with beautiful patio. It’s always booked so make reservations far in advance (like a month ideally).
✧ Swan (Instagram: @swanmiami): trendy restaurant in design district with great cocktails and a nice patio
Wynwood:
✧ KYU (Instagram: @kyumiami): vibey, really good Asian fusion restaurant. You have to get the cauliflower!
✧ Uchi (Instagram: @uchi_miami): James Beard awarded sushi place! SO good!
✧ Bar Taco (Instagram: @bartacolife): trendy, modern Mexican restaurant. Good food, drinks and vibes! It’s a chain that’s in a lot of other cities but it’s always good!
✧ Taco Stand (Instagram: @letstaco_): casual spot for good tacos
✧ 1-800-Lucky (Instagram: @1800lucky): super cool Asian fusion restaurant. I haven’t been but have it on my list to go next time - I’ve heard great things!
Miami Beach:
✧ Byblos (Instagram: @byblosmiami): really good Mediterranean food, vibes and music.
✧ Casa Tua (Instagram: @casatualife): amazing, fancy Italian restaurant. The black truffle pizza is to die for and the patio is so magical!
✧ Moshi Moshi (Instagram: @moshimoshi.fun): chill, eclectic sushi place with amazing rolls, fried rice and more!
✧ La Leggenda (Instagram: @laleggendapizzeria): casual restaurant with great pizza!
✧ Mister O1 (Instagram: @mistero1pizza): another great pizza place with locations all over Miami!
Midtown/Brickell:
✧ Sugarcane (Instagram: @sugarcanerawbargrill): really yummy, fun restaurant with globally inspired menu including sushi, ceviche, truffle fries and more!
✧ Trulucks (Instagram: @trulucksrestaurant): super yummy, fancy (white tablecloth vibes) seafood restaurant!
Coconut Grove:
✧ Amal (Instagram: @amalmiami): amazing Lebanese restaurant with super cool Tulum-like vibes and a nice patio.
✧ Kush (Instagram: @kushcoconutgrove): casual spot for REALLY GOOD burgers and fries and the BEST honey mustard (I don’t even usually like honey mustard).
✧ Loretta and The Butcher (Instagram: @lorettaandthebutcher): super cool looking Argentine restaurant. I haven’t been but it’s on my list to try next time!
✧ Mister O1 (Instagram: @mistero1pizza): great pizza place with locations all over Miami!
East Little Havana:
✧ Doce Provisions (Instagram: @doceprovisions): Latin restaurant with really unique, yummy dishes and cool vibes!
Best Places to Get Drinks:
✧ Le Chick (Instagram: @lechickwynwood): really fun, vibey spot for drinks in Wynwood with a great patio!
✧ Astra (Instagram: @astramiami): super cool rooftop bar in Wynwood.
✧ Lagniappe House (Instagram: @lagniappe_house): super cute wine bar with a magical patio with trees and string lights in Midtown!
✧ Broken Shaker (Instagram: @brokenshaker): AMAZING, fun hotel cocktail bar with tons of plants and Jungle Palm Springs vibes!
Broken Shaker
✧ The Sylvester (Instagram: @thesylvesterbar): speakeasy vibes, cool cocktail bar in Midtown.
✧ Botanico (Instagram: @botanicomiami): beautiful restaurant/cocktail bar in Coconut Grove.
✧ Social Club (Instagram: @socialclubsobe): good hotel bar for beachy, classy vibes and good drinks!
✧ Cleat (Instagram: @thecleat): beautiful, waterfront, beach bar in Key Biscayne.
Best coffee shops
✧ Panther Coffee (Instagram: @panthercoffee): one of my FAV coffee shops in all my travels (along with Echo in Scottsdale). The black coffee is great and I’m obsessed with their mini espresso with oat milk; it’s the perfect temperature, flavor, quality and ratio of espresso to milk for me! There’s locations in most neighborhoods but I usually go to the one in Wynwood or Coconut Grove.
Panther Coffee Wynwood
✧ Pura Vida (Instagram: @puravidamiami): beautiful cafe with yummy, healthy food and good coffee. There’s lots of locations all over Miami.
✧ The Salty Donut (@thesaltydonut): REALLY good coffee and donut shop! I’ve had the cappucino and matcha latte and loved both. Highly recommend. Locations in Coconut Grove, Wynwood and South Miami.
Best things to do Miami Florida (by neighborhood)
Miami Beach: flow and wander here if you want to be on the beach
✧ Go to the beach or your hotel pool
✧ Lunch/coffee at Pura Vida
✧ Happy hour at Broken Shaker
✧ Dinner at Byblos
Miami Beach
Coconut Grove: flow and wander here if you want to walk around a cute restaurant/shopping district, get a meal at a trendy restaurant and walk along the water
✧ Walk along the water (a good place to start is by the Coconut Grove Sailing Club and follow the path in the opposite direction of Peacock Park)
✧ Get coffee at Panther
✧ Lunch at Bodega Taqueria
✧ Dinner at Amal
✧ Shop: Showroom (cool design store with Tulum vibes), Nikki (cute boutique with trendy bathing suits and clothes), Celestial Treasures (cool crystal/spiritual store), Zoey Reva Boutique (super cute, colorful, feminine boutique in Coral Gables about 10 min from Coconut Grove)
Coconut Grove Sailing Club/Walking Path
Wynwood: flow and wander here if you want to be immersed in an eclectic, artsy neighborhood with creative restaurants and shops
✧ Wynwood Yoga (Instagram: @wynwood_yoga)
✧ Get coffee at Panther
✧ Wynwood Walls (an outdoor art exhibit with really interesting painted murals)
✧ Happy hour at Astra or Le Chick
✧ Dinner at KYU
Wynwood
Design District: flow and wander here if you want to shop around beautifully designed, boujee shops and restaurants
✧ Walk around/shop
✧ Happy hour at Swan
✧ Dinner at Mandolin
Midtown:
✧ Cocktails at The Sylvester
✧ Dinner at Sugarcane
Brickell: flow and wander here if you want to be in city vibes and/or have an AMAZING walk along the water on Brickell Key
✧ Walk Brickell Key (amazing walking path on a little peninsula surrounded by beautiful ocean water)
✧ Shop/walk around Brickell City Center (nice outdoor shopping mall)
Best Beaches In Miami
✧ Hobie Island Beach Park: this is probably my favorite beach in Miami. It’s covered in palm trees, is wave free and has clear, stunning water. It’s just over the bridge on the way to Virginia Key and Biscayne Key.
✧ Virginia Key Beach Park: really amazing park where you can go to a quieter, beautiful beach! It’s $8 to enter FYI.
Virginia Key Beach Park
✧ Key Biscayne: great park with beaches, picnic areas and walking trails.
✧ Miami Beach: most quintessential Miami beach experience. The water is beautiful and it’s very commercialized with tons of people, restaurants and bars but it’s really fun!
✧ North Beach: similar to and just north of Miami beach but a little less crowded!
I wouldn’t recommend South Beach - it’s a lot more crowded and more intense party-vibes.
Google Map of All Miami Recommendations
I saved all of my recommendations for you in the map below to make it super easy to get around! Here’s the full link so you can save it: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/edit?mid=1o8zovWrMsYwhTe3fLXGJy9T6egMMaLc&usp=sharing.
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