A short weekend in Miami-ami!!!! My boyfriend and I traveled to Orlando for a week at Disney, and before the week ended, and to celebrate my 25th birthday, we squeezed in a quick trip to cross off Miami from my places-to-visit list. I knew Miami was a place for me, and wow it was even cuter than I imagined! The bright colors, architecture, endless areas and activities, shopping, beach, and more - I wish we had more time to explore but just means I need to plan on coming back.
If you find yourself visiting Miami with just 2 short nights, here’s our itinerary we squeezed in (post flight delays + even with our Disney World trip exhaustion causing a bedtime of 9:30pm haha).
1st — I recommend our stay at The Good Time Hotel on South Beach. I, like many others, have always loved seeing pictures of boutique hotels all around, especially when they are pink and green and cute vibes galore. The Good Time did not disappoint and for the price, I found it to be extremely worth the stay. Ringing up at sub <$160 a night, you are walking distance from the beach, with striped beach chair access, access to the hotel pool that turns into pool party club, as well as the cutest interiors including a library and their cute restaurant, Strawberry Moon. I’m a fan! But, I will say it was worth it for our trip of 2 — if you plan to visit with a larger group, unless you want to split up your group into two per room, I would think the rooms are a tad too small for a girls trip (including the multiple suitcases, clothes and makeup that come with a girls weekend).
Just visiting the pool and beach was a main part of our itinerary of our “vacation from our vacation”, which I love a chance to relax, but find it even better when it’s this cute. South Beach, Miami is known for their bright, statement lifeguard stands. I could have just walked the beach looking at all of them and been just so happy. The Good Time Hotel pool was also very cute, with stripe canopy’s, palm tree art, and more. You can buy a day pass to attend The Good Time pool if you are not staying at the hotel, which could be a great option if you’re staying elsewhere. At the pool, you can get your Miami “clubbing” experience without doing the whole going out, which we enjoyed to have the atmosphere within our reach.
Around The Good Time on our short walk to South Beach, there’s multiple shops such as Free People and Frankie’s Bikinis, as well as multiple boutiques that I sadly was only able to window shop of the fun clubbing pieces they had. There’s also plenty of local restaurants, which I was glad we were able to grab a coffee at Il Dante, as well as a late night dinner of a Cuban Sandwich and Ceviche at On Ocean 7.
Other food spots we ate at were first, Strawberry Moon, at our hotel. We got in much later Friday than anticipated, so we went straight to pool and beach once checking in. Not wasting time we ate on the patio of our hotel and the food and drinks were delish. We turned in early the first night exhausted from our travel day and wanting to be rested for our one full day.
Saturday after sleeping in a bit, we walked to get a coffee at Il Dante, a local coffee shop, then came back to the room to get ready for the beach. We then beached for a couple of hours, and returned to shower and get ready for our reservation at The Versace Mansion.
Gianni’s at the Versace Mansion was only a 10 minute walk away from us, so we walked and looooved our lunch. They offer a $38 per person lunch special that includes an appetizer, entree, and dessert per person. The drinks were fab and the food tasted straight from Italy, and honestly a really great value. Of course the estate was gorgeous and such a fun atmosphere.
We then called a car to the Miami Design District to do some shopping and check out the architecture. We had a quick shopping break at the Dior Cafe, got a coffee, before we headed back to the hotel to recharge.
Our night plans were to attend a cheap $25 per person boat ride around Miami Bay, even around Star Island where P Diddy’s house and other celebrities have houses. The boat ride did in fact live up to its cheaper price, but it was fun just to see the area and learn more, as well as to watch the sunset over the skyline.
We finished the night with a local dinner on South Beach back by our hotel at On Ocean 7. Had to find Tom a Cuban Sandwich and me Ceviche, haha.
It was such a great trip and I loved every part of Miami we were able to see in such a short time. I can’t wait to go back! A few rec’s we didn’t quite have time to get to, but thought I’d pass on:
- Brickell and Wynwood are two artistic districts we didn’t get a chance to see, but I have heard great things about. They are known for the graffiti art along the buildings, and it’s suggested to walk around to tour the area.
- We didn’t party as most would probably intend to in Miami, but a few spots I have heard and seen are great dinner and club 2 in 1s are: Sexy Fish (dress code & reservation required), Mangos on Ocean Dr (more casual than Sexy Fish), and Cleavelander. Stubborn Seed is a Michelin Star restaurant that has a lunch special.
- Nikki Beach is a beach bar, as well as the Red Phone Booth is a speak easy with access through an actual red phone booth.
Happy Miami-ing!
