OK, Miami Beach should be the focus of your trip, so let’s have a little MB geography lesson. Miami Beach has basically 3 main regions – South Beach, Middle Beach, and North Beach.
Miami Beach’s areas start at South Point, at the very southern tip, and the street numbers go up from there. South Beach is 0-23 Streets, Middle Beach is 23-63 Streets, and North Beach is north of 63rd to the town of Surfside, which starts at 88th Street.
There are no bad areas to avoid on Miami Beach. Middle Beach is hotels on the beach, residential otherwise. North Beach is mostly residential.
You want South Beach, and I’m sorry, but we apparently can no longer post screenshots or maps, so I can’t do that. I’ll describe the geography as best I can.
Transportation:
For Miami Beach, I would use a combination of public transportation (some of it free) and Uber. The Beach is not a good place to drive, because parking is very limited, enforcement is aggressively predatory, and traffic is bad.
If you do a day trip or a trip to the Keys, a rental car would be advised.
South Beach – From 0 to about 23rd Street.
This is the main tourist area. The easternmost part of South Beach is the beachfront itself, but to the surprise of many, almost the entire interior of the island is quiet residential.
The main north-south roadways are Collins Avenue along the beach side of the island and Alton Road on the west side. From 0 to about 22 Street, Washington Ave, just west of Collins, is also a main thoroughfare.
Here are some of the main parts of SoBe, as we call it.
SoFi – “South of Fifth”
Fifth Street is the main inbound roadway for SoBe – MacArthur Causeway from downtown, which passes right by all the cruise ships and ends in Miami Beach. SoFi is the southern tip of Miami Beach. It has some very upscale condos, and a very nice restaurant district – and a large public park, oddly enough called South Pointe Park.
SoFi is noted primarily for its restaurants. THE legendary restaurant is Joe’s Stone Crabs at 11 Washington Ave. Plan on $100+ per person – I took our next door neighbors last season and the bill was $550 for the 4 of us with modest drinks and tip – so Joe’s ain’t cheap. If you want to go to Joe’s, let me know and I’ll give you more info. There are many, many other good restaurants in this area. The best intel on restaurants would be from your concierge if you are in a hotel, because they come and go.
Ocean Drive
THE famous part of SoBe is Ocean Drive, which runs from 0 to 15th Street, and actually the main part of it is between 5th and 15th. Ocean Drive is immediately ON the beach – cross the street and broad walkways and you’re in sand.
Ocean Drive is lined with restaurants, the most famous of which are Mango’s, News Café, and the legendary Clevelander. Lots of other cafés, clubs, etc.
A couple of cautions about Ocean Drive:
- Don’t go there to eat. It’s way overpriced, and there is much better food elsewhere for a lot less money. Ocean Drive is a place for walking, people-watching, etc – not dining.
- NEVER order anything in one of the cafés without asking the price first! You’ll get some “special” cocktail that’s two for one, and the first one will be served in a 10 gallon aquarium sized glass…for $65. Most of the places on Ocean Drive are reputable, but not all are, and not all wait-staff are – so always price before you order.
- Also let your waiter know that you will need an itemized bill for your expense account – BEFORE you order. Otherwise, they may charge you whatever they feel like charging you.
- For casual tourists, OD is much better in the daytime – early evening. Late at night, it’s a place to be rowdy.
Lincoln Road
This is the walk, dine, shop, people-watch place close to the beach. Lincoln Road is mostly a pedestrian mall for about a mile. It runs east-west between Collins and Alton Rd, and is between 16th Street and 17th Street – so it’s toward the north end of South Beach.
Lots of good shopping, from high-end to tacky tourist teeshirt shops. Also lots of good outdoor dining, which will be perfect in January. We usually go to Segafredo L’Originale near the west end of Lincoln Road at Lennox Avenue. Good Italian food, good service, been there for many years…a local’s place.
Another place that is supposed to be very good is Yardbird Southern Table and Bar. That’s a Southern homestyle cooking place just south of Lincoln Road at Lennox Ave and 16th Street.
Sunset Harbor
This is a newer area of restaurants that is supposed to be very good. We haven’t eaten there, so I can’t give any specific recommendations. It’s further west from Lincoln Road, on Biscayne Bay between 17th and 20th Streets.
Lodging in South Beach:
- Air BnB in South Beach is tightly restricted, so you may not be able to find one in SoBe. If you do find one on the website, it will be legit because AirBnB is very well aware of the restrictions.
- Upscale oceanfront lodging – If you want upscale, I would recommend the 1 Hotel, located at 22 Street and Collins, or the Lowe’s Hotel at 16th and Collins.
- Moderate lodging – Hampton Inn – 17th and Collins. One block east to the beach, one block south to Lincoln Road
- AirBnB’s in North Beach and Surfside – these would be less expensive, but you’d have an Uber ride to go anywhere. In the long run, might not save you that much money.
Clubbing:
I would recommend STORY on Collins, between 1st and 2nd Streets. This is the massive sister club to LIV at the Fontainebleau. High energy, lots of music and dancing, celebrity sightings are common.
There are lots of other clubs on Collins and Washington, north of 5th Street. I’m not a clubber, but people at your hotel can give you good suggestions.
Same caution on pricing applies to any club. KNOW what you are ordering and how much it costs -- and insist on an itemized bill..
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I'll post some additional ideas for nature, culture, etc, later.
