Hi.
My and my wife is going to the US for the first time.
As it turned out we bought a plane ticket to Miami and we'll be staying there for a week.
So here are the questions.
1) Can you spend a week in Miami without renting a car? I got a driver’s license but haven’t driven a car in years.
2) Any hotels you can recommend or warn me of? We are both in our 50s, Wi-Fi is a must, but breakfast is not.
3) Hotels: What areas are good?
4) The sights: What should we definitely check out?
My wife is of Cuban descend and speak Spanish fluently. We most certainly want to check out Cuban food, but I really want to try American food. BTW, what is America food?
I love music. We both plan to do some shopping, we won’t spend too much time on the beach.
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Good luck and welcome to the United States.
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American food is hamburgers and French fries. Amusing, since they're named for places in Europe. :P
Steakhouses are kind of an American cuisine thing too.
Soul food is pretty American, but difficult to get commercially. You really have to know someone and be invited to a family event if you want it done right.
Specifically a tradition in the American south, sweet tea. Iced tea that tastes like diabetes.
Finally, hotdogs with coleslaw, chili, and other trimmings. If you can eat it without making a mess, there's not enough toppings.
Have a fun time, and watch out for bath salts zombies.
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Wha-? {quickly wraps dripping self in towel}
I've been to Sunrise one afternoon for a Pearl Jam concert several years ago, and a weekend in Fort Lauderdale over a decade ago, but I've never been to Miami.
1) Can you spend a week in Miami without renting a car? I got a driver’s license but haven’t driven a car in years.
Most of FL sucks for public transport, so I'd recommend considering it. I've never used Uber or Lyft, but maybe that could work, especially in a big metro area like Miami.
2) Any hotels you can recommend or warn me of? We are both in our 50s, Wi-Fi is a must, but breakfast is not.
If you're on vacation, you'll be seeing sights or doing things, so you might be able to get by on free wi-fi at places like Starbucks/McDonald's/other restaurants. You might consider stopping at a local drugstore (CVS, Walgreens) or retailer (Target), and buy an inexpensive smartphone ($25-40, running older Android 4.0 or so) on a pre-paid/pay-as-you go plan. (Be careful not to be charged a premium if you buy it at the airport or a similar tourist-heavy location/store.) It'll run apps, connect to wi-fi and browse websites of places you want to visit, and you'll know it'll connect to the local cellular networks (unlike most of Europe, the U.S. is stupid with multiple carriers running different incompatible cellular networks). If you lose your cheapo cellphone, it's not a big deal (especially if you set up Android to autosync your photos to your online account), and when your done with it, you can drop it off at a local cellphone retailer who will donate it to charity (usually domestic violence survivors and shelters).
If you are not from the (U.S.) South or a tropical area, remember that south FL is hot and very humid 9-10 months of the year. I'd worry much more about making sure your hotel has working air conditioning, which not only cools but dehumidifies. If you've never been tired but stuck awake at 2AM because it's still 90+ degrees F and 80-90% humidity, trust me that it will ruin your entire trip. If your hotel/lodgings are within a couple miles of the coast, the temps will likely be a few degrees cooler and the ocean breeze will keep the air from being too stifling. Farther inland, it gets warmer fast, especially with all the urban concrete and asphalt radiating heat. And whatever you do, stay hydrated on water and light beverages (tea); it's far better to make one or a few extra bathroom breaks than to suffer from heat stroke (trust me from experience).
3) Hotels: What areas are good?
In Miami, I dunno. I'd stick to using websites like Trivago.com/Hotwire.com/Hotels.com/Kayak.com etc, and try to research the same hotel on at least two of them. Airbnb.com might work if you're careful.
4) The sights: What should we definitely check out?
Google "Miami destinations" and see what sounds interesting. There are hundreds of great little non-chain/non-franchise places to eat & drink (& people watch), and lots of museums, big and small. When you research your hotels, send them an email and ask for their top 5-10 destination recommendations; it'd be a good test of their customer service and it'll give you a place to start. Definitely the beach (but don't skimp on the sunscreen, and reapply as needed), the Florida Metro Zoo, Ocean Drive, Little Havana, the Vizcaya Gardens. Also remember that Miami is a short trip from places like the Everglades National Park, Key Biscayne, and more.
Hope you have a fun, memorable, and very safe trip. :)
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My thoughts, which aren't as great as ambrosia's most likely...
I normally stick to hotels like the Marriot or places like that.
Look for a 4 or 5 star rating if you can. Also, check on the websites to see if they offer free wireless. Most of the cheap hotels actually offer free wireless, but sometimes the more expensive ones charge for it.
As for renting a vehicle, it will be cheaper than the alternative. You can get a cab almost anytime you want, but expect to pay $50 PER TRIP...that's a ONE WAY trip, unless you keep them waiting and your tab growing.
So, it's possible to get cabs to take you almost anywhere...but expensive.
If you're in Miami, I HIGHLY suggest you bring sunscreen. In April, the temps start to go high...and I've gotten sunburned in less then a day in April...which is right around the corner.
I hate going there later than May...too hot.
Good Luck.
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Hilton hotels and their offshoots (a well as the above mentioned Marriott) have always done well by me. Free (and pretty solid speed) wifi, generally clean and spacious rooms, and decent enough breakfast foods. Hilton specifically has pretty good omelets.
If you can swing it (by which I mean, you don't mind the price, and there's one in Miami) Gaylord hotels are pretty damn nice.
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We spent a week in Miami, but we were mainly lounging around the pool and spent most of our time on foot rather than seeing the sights. When we did touristy stuff we used taxis which I don't remember as being too pricey.
We stayed here. Which I remember as being quite nice, expensive and a little bit too funky for middle-aged people like us. (It even had paparazzi on the beach snapping pictures of people around the pool with telephoto lenses - never seen that before!)
We did a speedboat tour of the miami harbour which we all remember. Lots of pointing out celebrity homes, but also just a fun way to get a feel for the city's geography. We generally do that on day one or two of a new city and use it to decide what we're going to do in subsequent days.
I seem to remember lots of eating options in the art deco district (which is worth visiting). Nothing concrete to recommend though, food isn't a big deal to me.
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It was 10 years ago, but I spent a week in Miami Beach, which I liked. You pay a premium, but most things are in walking distance or a short cab ride. Even if you aren't a party person, find a bar with a noise level you can tolerate and just people watch.
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I live in Ft Lauderdale and commute to Miami a lot so here is what I can tell you.
Avoid drinking the tap water. It was recently discovered that there is some kind of nuclear leakage getting into Biscayne Bay.
Have an umbrella on you. It gets really rainy, especially in the afternoon.
Be careful where you go. Some areas are not friendly to outsiders. Liberty City and Overtown are no gos. Wynwood is lovely but it is in the middle of gentrification and so there are still some rough areas. Be careful at night. Hialeah is great for Cubans, but definitely a rough neighborhood.
Like said before, public transportation is absolute garbage. Cab drivers are also shady down here. Best to avoid them. If you're going to drive, be careful with traffic, Traffic in Miami is terrible. It's like Mad Max down here. People will cut you off with barely an inch between you. You absolutely have to be aggressive. Uber may be your best bet, but so is walking. Just be careful, because cars have very little regard for pedestrians. And parking isn't cheap, just a heads up.
The food scene is really eclectic in Miami. I've worked many events down here with fellow cooks. Seafood is big. You'll get fresh fish and seafood daily, which is nice. There are some nice Cuban places and bodegas to get some great Cuban food. American food down here is southern food (biscuits and gravy, fried chicken grits, barbecue) mixed with American classics (hamburgers, pizza, hot dogs) and a wide variety of ethnic foods. Since we have a large Italian and Jewish population, you'll find some amazing pizzerias and delis.
Also a big thing is upscale casual gastropubs. Essentially pubs that have good food, and takes pub fare and elevates them to be more fancy but still way more relaxed than a fine dining area. You'll see a lot of local microbrews with great beers (Like Funky Buddha and Wynwood Brew), fancy but delicious pub fare (big fancy burgers, high quality fish and chips, delicious mac and cheeses), and a good mix of other foods, like Korean bbq or Hawaiian poke salads. Wynwood is king here. Wynwood Kitchen is an amazing restaurant that I've had the pleasure of working with, and I know the cooks there. They are amazing and love their job. Jimmy's Kitchen has amazing Puerto Rican food. As a Puerto Rican, I can say they do a pretty great job. Joey's and Kyu are also good, Kyu especially if you like Japanese and Korean inspired food.
If you want to take a break from Miami and come more North, Ft Lauderdale has some good restaurants in the Las Olas and Himmarshee areas. Foxy Brown and Red Cow are great and owned by the same restauranteer. Roco's Tacos is a great Mexican area. Tap42, where I work at, is an awesome gastropub with 42+ kegs of beer.
Hopefully you enjoy South Florida. It's great to visit, just not live in :)
Thanks everybody. I took GreyWolfLord’s advice and booked a Marriot’s Courtyard Cadillac Miami Beach/Oceanfront. A bit expensive but it is nice to live fancy when you one a vacation in a country you’ve never been to before. At the end of our vacation we actually going to stay two nights at another hotel located down town. It is very close to some friends to my wife. It’s simple (and a lot cheaper), but that’s fine since Marriot will provide us with the luxury we want.
We spent a week in Miami, but we were mainly lounging around the pool and spent most of our time on foot rather than seeing the sights. When we did touristy stuff we used taxis which I don't remember as being too pricey.
We stayed here. Which I remember as being quite nice, expensive and a little bit too funky for middle-aged people like us. (It even had paparazzi on the beach snapping pictures of people around the pool with telephoto lenses - never seen that before!)
We did a speedboat tour of the miami harbour which we all remember. Lots of pointing out celebrity homes, but also just a fun way to get a feel for the city's geography. We generally do that on day one or two of a new city and use it to decide what we're going to do in subsequent days.
I seem to remember lots of eating options in the art deco district (which is worth visiting). Nothing concrete to recommend though, food isn't a big deal to me.
Speedboat tours! Thanks for the tip. :) We definitely must try that.
great stuff
Great post. A lot of useful info :)
may great things
Awesome post Odraude!
So not rent a car, but walk or take a cab? I really don't like to drive when I'm abroad so this suits me fine. I rather spend a little more and take cabs. It also lets me try local beer :)My wife being from Cuba obviously want to try the Cuban food and she also want to visit Little Havana. Is Little Havana the same as Hialeah? Is it dangerous going there or is it OK if we go to Little Havana/ Hialeah in the daytime?
We will try to check out as many different kind of food as possible but Cuban, American southern food/ American classics and seefood are stuff we must try. We both love Italian food but there some Italian restaurants in Stockholm.
My wife doesn’t like Asian food, but I do so I will make sure I visit Wynwood Kitchen anyway. At least so I can try their beer :)
Tap42 sounds very interesting. I love beer (I love wine too) How do we get there from Miami? Uber taxi? Is it necessary to book a table many days in advance?
My wife like to do some serious shopping. Anything from Cloths to sunblock and spices such as Cumin. (You can buy Cumin is Stockholm, but the quality isn’t that good). I there a good Mall/shopping center in Miami?
American food is hamburgers and French fries. Amusing, since they're named for places in Europe. :P
Steakhouses are kind of an American cuisine thing too.
Soul food is pretty American, but difficult to get commercially. You really have to know someone and be invited to a family event if you want it done right.
Specifically a tradition in the American south, sweet tea. Iced tea that tastes like diabetes.
Finally, hotdogs with coleslaw, chili, and other trimmings. If you can eat it without making a mess, there's not enough toppings.
Have a fun time, and watch out for bath salts zombies.
Thanks for the information
Ever since I saw Dragnet With Dan Aykroyd I have longed to try a real hotdog chili and other trimmings. :) Must try it
What is Soul food?
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I think you mean chili dog. Hot dog chili us something else.
Soul food is usually the food traditionally made by African Americans raised in the south. I am not sure what the soul food scene in Florida is like.
The cuisine of the African American poor and is closely related to southern cuisine, especially that of the poor.
It's largely a fusion of West African, Southeastern Native American with a few additions and using native and "waste" like offal, ox tail, and root tops greens.
Barbecued pork ribs, fried chicken, ham hocks, blackeyed peas, corn (which I think most Europeans call maize), okra, tomatoes, corn bread, fried fish, hush puppies, grits (think polenta).
As for the chilidog... Yeah, I guess that's American. No idea where to get a good one in Miami. Heck, I don't know where to get a good one in my home town. You ever need to know where to get a cheesesteak or hoagie in Philly, that I can tell you. A chili dog in Miami? Ido probably go looking for a cuban sandwich first.
LOL. chilidog is not on top of my list this time, but I'm going to try one sooner or later.
The local microbrews that Odraude mentioned are a must however. As are a lot of the other stuff: Cuban food, Seefood and American food.
cuban sandwich, what is that?
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The cuisine of the African American poor and is closely related to southern cuisine, especially that of the poor.
It's largely a fusion of West African, Southeastern Native American with a few additions and using native and "waste" like offal, ox tail, and root tops greens.
Barbecued pork ribs, fried chicken, ham hocks, blackeyed peas, corn (which I think most Europeans call maize), okra, tomatoes, corn bread, fried fish, hush puppies, grits (think polenta).
As for the chilidog... Yeah, I guess that's American. No idea where to get a good one in Miami. Heck, I don't know where to get a good one in my home town. You ever need to know where to get a cheesesteak or hoagie in Philly, that I can tell you. A chili dog in Miami? Ido probably go looking for a cuban sandwich first.
LOL. chilidog is not on top of my list this time, but I'm going to try one sooner or later.
The local microbrews that Odraude mentioned are a must however. As are a lot of the other stuff: Cuban food, Seefood and American food.
cuban sandwich, what is that?
Ham, pork, picked cucumber, and mustard. Oh, and Swiss cheese,which bears no relation to cheese from Switzerland.
I don't know if it's any good, cause I'm not from the area. But for a chili dog, try this place.
It's not a chili dog, it's a coney island. They're similar, but slightly different. A coney island is the New York version of a chili dog. It consists of a hot dog on a bun with "meat sauce", dice onions and sometimes a little cheese. The "meat sauce" is basically bean-less chili. There is much debate in the US about whether chili should have beans or not, I personally don't care and enjoy both.
Anyways, the restaurant in the link is little ways away, but if it's a life long dream, the pictures look like a fairly authentic coney island to me.
Another cuisine item that's pretty American is chicken wings. There's lots of different ways, but "buffalo" is pretty iconic. Here's a list of places with good chicken wings in Miami.
Ham, pork, pickled cucumber, and mustard. Oh, and Swiss cheese,which bears no relation to cheese from Switzerland.The cuisine of the African American poor and is closely related to southern cuisine, especially that of the poor.
It's largely a fusion of West African, Southeastern Native American with a few additions and using native and "waste" like offal, ox tail, and root tops greens.
Barbecued pork ribs, fried chicken, ham hocks, blackeyed peas, corn (which I think most Europeans call maize), okra, tomatoes, corn bread, fried fish, hush puppies, grits (think polenta).
As for the chilidog... Yeah, I guess that's American. No idea where to get a good one in Miami. Heck, I don't know where to get a good one in my home town. You ever need to know where to get a cheesesteak or hoagie in Philly, that I can tell you. A chili dog in Miami? Ido probably go looking for a cuban sandwich first.
LOL. chilidog is not on top of my list this time, but I'm going to try one sooner or later.
The local microbrews that Odraude mentioned are a must however. As are a lot of the other stuff: Cuban food, Seefood and American food.
cuban sandwich, what is that?
And generally either has a honey mustard or horseradish sauce added on as well.
It's my favorite sandwich, but hard to find a good one most places. I doubt you'll have that issue in Miami.