August 2023
Kelly, Priscilla & I went to Miami for my birthday! What a place to ring in the last year of my 20s. First and foremost, I want to thank them for coming with me on this trip! It was VERY HOT and humid, and I would not recommend to go during August (even though it was “low” season for tourists). I have listed things to do/eat below in alphabetical order. We also did a day trip to Key West and you can read that here. 

Where did we stay?
We stayed at the Plymouth South Beach hotel. On their website, they call it a “luxurious” boutique hotel. The location was perfect because it was not too close to South Beach (with more crowds) and it was two blocks away from the beach! The hotel itself was fine – however, they do end the amenities pretty “early”. The hotel comes with two beach chairs and towels, but only at a certain time. They have a golf cart to take you to the beach, but that service also end early as well. The pool is only open until 6pm…what! I understand the other amenities early, but c’mon, the pool?! At least let it stay open until 8/9pm or so. Also, the AC in our room did not work for a moment and we had to call maintenance to come over to check it out. Luckily, we had a fan in the room, so that helped a bit. Service/housekeeping was nice. Their valet also ends at 11pm and there is a parking lot two blocks away. On the day of check out, the elevator did not work…would I stay here again? I don’t think so. I would like to see other hotels in Miami too.

How to get around Miami?
We rented a car through Fox. We took the MIA train from the airport to the car rental center, then a mini shuttle bus to Fox. Fox is not located at Miami airport, so if you rent your car through Fox, keep in mind for another 20-30 minutes of travel time to the Fox’s car rental. One of the biggest con of Miami besides the weather is that you have to pay for parking EVERYWHERE. But it was definitely easy to get around Miami with a car and we did not experience any traffic either! Ofcourse, two of the nights we took a lyft, but other than that, the car was our bestfriend to get around (and AC too, ha). If you rent a car, buy the sunpass! It is pretty much a toll pass, because there are a lot of tolls on the freeway and bridges.

How was the weather?
It was hot and humid and the low 90s. It actually rained a little bit for a short period of time. We wore shorts, tank top, and dresses every day that we were there. No need for a jacket! Don’t forget to bring your hat and sunscreen!

Things to do/see
Bayside Marketplace
Espanola Way
Everglades National Park (Gator Park)
Fiesta Cruise of Miami
Kaseya Center
Key Biscayne
Little Havana
Miami Design District
Viscaya Museum
Wynwood/Wynwood Walls

Things to Eat/Drink
Aubi & Ramsa Ice Cream
Dior Cafe
E11even
Grails
Il Pastaiolo
Mango’s Club
Pho 79
Sanguich de Miami
Sexy Fish Miami
Sunny Side Cafe & Eatery

Things to Do/See
Bayside Marketplace
This place is very similar to Pier 39 in San Francisco. There are a lot of shops, restaurants, and more. There is one side where there are a lot of music (felt like an outdoor club), and there are a lot of cruise/boat tours that sails out of here. I really like the “Torch of Friendship” monument infront of the Bayside Marketplace. It was built to signify the passageway for immigrants coming from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Espanola Way
A very short street filled with restaurants. We stopped by this place during the day but I am sure it would look a lot better at night with the lights. 

Everglades National Park
We did not go inside the actual Everglades National Park. We drove to Gator Park (for the airboat tour) and it was about 12 miles away from the entrance of Everglades National Park. If the weather was cooler, I would have love to stop by Shark Valley Visitor Center. Other than that, the Gator Park airboat tour was fine! We saw two alligators in the water and I wished we saw more. After the airboat tour, there was a 15 minute show and the guide showed us a snake and more alligators. You can buy the tickets online or in person when you get there.

Fiesta Cruise of Miami
Ofcourse, when you are in Miami, you have to sail! I wanted to sail on a yacht but it was pricey for a small group, so we did a ferry cruise with the company: Fiesta Cruise of Miami. We booked the tickets through Viator and you can also book your tickets when you get there. The boat is located in the Bayside Marketplace, behind the Chili’s restaurant. The pro about this cruise is that they had unlimited alcohol! The tour itself was fine, they took us around downtown, the mini islands, and even Star Island! We saw a lot of celebrity mansions…what a life! The boat cruise took about two hours and it was good! We saw the sunset and sailed into the nighttime.

Kaseya Center
We stopped by here quickly to see the stadium! Would be cool to see a game here haha. This center is right next to the Bayside Marketplace.

Key Biscayne
I love this place the most in Miami! It is about 15 minutes away from downtown Miami. I imagine this is a place for locals who want to get away from the noise in Miami. The water was more clear here as well! We went to Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park (you have to pay to get in per vechicle) and went to the lighthouse. It was very pretty! The walkway with the tall palm trees and the wind, really makes you feel like you are on vacation in the Caribbeans! They only allow 8 people up at a time to the lighthouse and it was about 160 steps up. The view was nice up there. Then we went back down and sat on the bench and relax. If you have more time, definitely go to the beach here! They also have a cafe nearby too. 

Little Havana
I liked this place! It was so cute and colorful! We stopped by the Little Havana mural and drove through Little Havana and saw a lot of rooster statues and art!

Miami Design District
This place boujee and RICH. This area was filled with designer names and brands. It was a semi outdoor mall and we strolled through. There were few places to sit between all of the window shopping. I felt so poor there haha!

Viscaya Museum
If you have time, you should check out Viscaya Museum. Based on online pictures, it looks really pretty. We did not have time but drove through the entrance just to see it, and the drive in was already pretty with all of the greenery and tall trees.

Wynwood/Wynwood Walls
Wynwood is a neighborhood in Miami and there are a lot of graffiti art and restaurants. You have to pay to get into Wynwood Walls to see more of the murals.

Things to Eat/Drink
Aubi & Ramsa Ice Cream
This ice cream place contains alcohol. The shop and the ice cream container itself is aesthically cute and pleasing. It looks like candles! These small containers are $9 each.

Dior Cafe
Dior Cafe is located in Miami Design Destrict. We went on a Sunday and had to put our name down on the waitlist and waited about one hour. In the hour wait, we walked around the other high-end stores. If you read this far, there is a restroom in the Louis Vuitton store incase you need to use the restroom somewhere hah. Dior Cafe was a cute pit stop for a rest spot.

E11even
Club E11even is a nighttime club and it was fun! We saw Nervo that night. The two cons about this club is that, there are not enough restrooms AND their card reader machine was down, so we had to pay cash for the drinks. Besides that, the club wasn’t too overwhelming/crowded. The best part was that Nervo invited us up to the booth, gave us free shots, and she held my hand and took a selfie with my friend’s phone! I would go here again.

Grails Restaurant & Sports Bar
We came here for the Jordan shots. The shots were in a Jordan shoe and you got to keep the shoe! It was pricey but worth the shot and souvenir.

Il Pastaiolo
This place had AMAZING service. Pasta itself was fine. If it is your birthday, let them know, because they will give you free dessert, sing to you, and have the cutest sparkly candle!

Mango’s Club
This club is located in South Beach area and it was super fun and colorful! There is a cover fee for $10.00. The free shot that was got was sweet and the cocktails were good too. The music was awesome! Lots of Spanish and Latin music.

Pho 79
Ofcourse, after four days of drinking and partying, we needed some soup! This place was fine and had really great service.

Sanguich de Miami
This was the BEST food we ate in Miami! Hands down! I got the pan con lechon sandwich and a bite of the sanguich de miami and both were good. I do think the sauce makes the sandwich! Without the sauce, it would be okay. My sandwich came with the garlic cilantro aioli. They also have outlets to charge your phone too. Great service and great food! This parking area was actually free here – thank goodness!

Sexy Fish Miami
We did not eat here, we only came for the bar/drinks. You will need a reservation if you want to eat here, especially on Friday and Saturday nights after 10pm, because they play music and turn it into a night club scene. The bar is walk-in, however, since we went on a Friday night, there was a wait. We waited about 15-20 minutes and it was worth the wait. I LOVE the underwater decorations, music, and lights. The bartender gave great service to me and the drinks were good too. Everyone comes here for a photo in the restroom, because of the underwater/mermaid themed. I would definitely go here again for the vibes.

Sunny Side Cafe & Eatery
If you want some brunch, you can go here. It was fine and I do not have much to say about it, maybe, because we were all so tired from going out the night before haha. 

Overall, Miami was super fun! I loved the vibes, the beach, the yachts, the water, the food, etc. I would go here again (but not in August) because I feel like there are so many more spots to check out.

As always, thank you for visiting Vivian’s Ventures. Have you been to Miami? If so, tell me in the comments/reply section of your experience. What should I do there if I go back? If you haven’t been, tell me what you are planning to do there. Any questions or comments, let me know. Let’s chat!