Miami
 

Hello everyone!

I booked a bus ticket to go to Miami in two weeks, but I still haven't booked any housing. I'm 20 years old, and going by myself. I'd like to visit the city, walk everywhere and obviously go to the beach!
From what I've read, the "downtown" neighborhood is not the most "popular" district, and people tend to stay in Miami beach.
So where do you think I should stay (which neighborhood)?
I will probably go to a hostel, since I do not have a big budget.

By the way, if you have any tips or recommendation, I'm all ear! For now, I just thought about visiting the Everglades!

Thank you in advance for your help!

Downtown Miami is pretty scruffy -- I didn't stay there when I visited and don't recommend it. South Beach is arguably the best option, but if you opt for a cheap place, check the reviews before booking as there are a few nasty hotels at the dirt-cheap level. South Beach is also a good area to stay without a car, has several decent attractions and interesting architecture and good eateries, and is pedestrian friendly; buses run through here and are fairly reliable, connecting to downtown Miami and points beyond.

When I was there, Greyhound had a stop at the airport. There's a local bus (called the Airport Flyer) that runs express from there to and from South Beach. Very convenient.

For restaurants and attractions, would recommend checking a good travel book for ideas. You can also do a search on this forum under my name for trip reports I did for food and attractions when I visited Miami a few years ago.

Re experiencing the Everglades, note that the organized tours I saw mainly involved things like an alligator farm visit and airboat tour which likely don't actually happen in the park itself. If you really want to do things like see the visitors center or hike the Anhinga and Gumbo Limbo Trails in the park itself, you probably have to have a car -- I couldn't find a tour that did this.

When you make reservations do ensure that the hotels will let someone under 21 check in without an adult - many will not.

Thank you for your responses! So I think I'm gonna look for something in Miami beach. Is there a bus that runs from there to Downtown?
And thanks for the advice about the check-in age, it would be very unfortunate situation!

Yes, there are several buses that run between South Beach and Downtown Miami. There's a full list online at the city's transit website.

This is not the best forum to find out about Miami hostels. But you need to be aware that you are arriving at one of the busiest times of the year and haven't pre-booked anything. You may or may not find affordable lodging at this late date. The high season in Miami has already started, and I don't know if the city empties out for the week between Christmas and New Year's ... or not. If you are serious about going to Miami on Christmas Eve, you need to start doing your homework now.

Yes I know I'm taking care of that pretty late! So I booked an hostel in South Beach! And I ordered a guide book to read in the bus!
Thank you for all the responses!

Links to my Miami and area trip reports from a few years back:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...t-184065-2.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...-augustine.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...rip-report.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...rip-report.cfm

I did the same thing in the summer. I am glad you found someplace to stay. I stayed in a hostel as well. If you are trying to go to the everglades make sure you know a way back because I went spur of the moment and took an Uber there and had no chance of hailing an Uber back and ended up having to get the owner of the alligator tour to drive me back. So book a tour with a bus to and from. Also for free fun tour the Wynwood walls!