🌴Miami Travel: Where to Stay & Places to Explore

If you are looking for that chic city vibe with the palm tree lifestyle then Miami is your place to be. As most of you know, the previous weekend my husband and I went to Miami to celebrate his 34th birthday & he had NO IDEA of the things we were doing or where we were going. In this blog I am going to share with you tons of details so that you too can plan for an amazing MIAMI VICE style vacation!

I’ll share:

• The Airbnb I chose and the main reason for choosing it.

• Places to eat in three categories (budget friendly, luxury dining and party style eats)

• Activities you can do

If you have any specific questions at the end, feel free to leave a comment and I got you! I am also going to share some other Airbnb, hotel and boutique places you can stay if the one we chose isn't your cup of tea 🍵!

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Where we stayed

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I decided to do an Airbnb for us because I know it would afford us the opportunity to save some money because we would have a kitchen! we stayed in downtown brickell at the Icon Residences. This is the link to our exact home. It was a two bedroom, two bathroom condominium with a fully stocked kitchen and balcony from the main living area and the second bedroom located on the 46th floor of Icon Brickell. This building is one of three building in the icon family & the building our condominium was in also shared floors with the famous W hotel. I really loved the electric blinds that provided both privacy and the ability to see some amazing sights!

Rodolfo our host was absolutely amazing! He was very communicative every step of the way and even provided us with detailed information on the check-in process, local restaurants and tourist attractions to visit!

The views from Rodolfo’s property were absolutely stunning!

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His property had ceiling to floor windows with amazing view of the city and the waterway inlets! Waking up to these gorgeous views every day was absolutely breathtaking and something I hope to do again soon! I highly recommend booking one of Rodolfo’s properties as he has several properties in the building.

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What we did

We had a two night/ three stay & we tried to pack our time with both leisure and adventure - making sure to take the downtime that was surly needed but also exploring the beautiful city oh Miami 🌴

Friday

We left orlando at about 10:00 am and arrived in Miami at 2:15 pm - there was lots of traffic on the way down so it took us a little longer than anticipated. You have to be super careful when driving I-95 as it’s considered one of the deadliest highways in Florida & I’d have to personally say that true as we saw several really severe accidents.

When we arrived Melvin of course was giving me a hard time getting hangry on me 🙄 but I had a surprise for him about one of his best friends and his wife coming to spend the time with us! I had to make up so many excuses but ultimately I pulled one over his eyes

Once they got there I finally told him that we were actually going to head out to pick up food from Trick Daddy’s restaurant Sunday‘s Eatery! The line was down the side walk, but let me tell you this honnayyy it was worth every second waiting! We got our food and headed back to the house to relax and enjoy the meal!

We called it a night after eating some of that food food because let’s honest… soul food makes you SLEEPY!!

Saturday

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On Saturday, I got up and made breakfast

for the clan because we had special reservations for Melvin‘a birthday at the Versace Mansion! I definitely tried to make a ”light” breakfast but you know to be real I’m Haitian sooooo…

yeah idk how to make small meals… 🤷🏽‍♀️ After we ate we relaxed for a little bit and started to get ready to head over to the former Versace Mansion to have lunch at Gianni’s at the Villa Casa Casurina. I highly recommend going here for lunch because they have a 3 course special for $29!! Listen you can’t beat that price with a stick! I ate & drink so we’ll here and the ambiance and scenery makes you feel like you have a million dollars even if that’s not what your pockets are saying!

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I had:

• Burrata

• Grilled Branzino

• Sponge cake with white chocolate & berries

Eating here gives you that luxury feel & with choosing to have lunch you get a more reasonable price!

After lunch we took a still down ocean ave and I’m guessing that due to covid they shut the street down from traffic which allows you to walk freely down the street! Many of the restaurants have outdoor dining tabes so that you can eat outdoors! To be completely honest I prefer this way so much more and I hope this is something they decide to keep!

We headed back to the car and took the drive back to the airbnb!

• protip - if you are trying to park in south beach head to 13th street and park in the garage there - it’s $2 per hour rather than paying some rates like $60 for 8 hours!

Once we got back, Melvin decided to relax and enjoy some tv 📺 and we decided to head down to the pool which is located on the 15th floor 🏊‍♀️ The pool is amazing, loads of chairs and cabanas. There is pool service so you can order drinks or whatever you like pool side! There is a gym, spa and restaurant all located on the same floor. Now while the gym was open the spa was closed still due to COVID. I had all intentions of visiting the gym and working out but let’s just say other things took priority *cough* mimosas….

& I’m no sorry about it lol! for dinner we decided to stay in again and order from DJ Khalid’s restaurant - The Licking. Their menu is full of delicious soul food options so you can imagine that after we ate we were knocked out again!

Sunday

It was our last day in Miami & we had planned brunch at a Hotel at their rooftop restaurant called Area 31. It is located in the Epic Building and even though we went at 9 am in the morning it was already hotter than you can imagine! That good old Florida heat & humidity!

This place is a bit pricey but the food and views are great so if you can afford to splurge I recommend visiting here!

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now it was finally time to end our trip and I’d just have to say that Miami was an amazing time & I wish we could have stayed longer!

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ACTIVITIES

There are loads of activities that can be done in Miami from sightseeing to visiting museums to luxury boat rentals to just lounging on the beach! The other thing is that you can find something for the whole family to do & if your into the party vibes there is definitely that aspect for you too!

Here are a few suggestions:

• Visit the Wynwood walls if you are into Art & Art Deco

• Visit Miami zoo for my nature friends

• have a bohemian beach brunch at my for my foodies

• rent a luxury yacht and sail Biscayne Bay

• Visit Vizcaya Museum for culture & nature

• Head over to the Miami Design District for premium shopping

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Other Stays

Even though I highly recommend the Airbnb we stayed in, I know that not everyone’s budget or situation can fit into what that stay had to offer - so here are 3 alternate stays in the same area!

• A similar Airbnb catergory

• A boutique stay

• A reasonable priced & beautiful hotel

There are plenty of more beautiful places to stay in Miami & if you need any types of suggestions do not hesitate to reach out to me!

Thanks for taking the time to read friends & I look forward to seeing you on our next adventures!