Should we drive into South Beach for a day?
 

We are staying for a week at Singer Island. We will have a rental car and were thinking of doing a day trip into Miami - since we've never been. We'd like to see SOuth Beach - maybe have lunch there. Is it difficult to drive there and find a place to park so we can walk around?
Is there one better way to drive in? Our friends keep warning us that a few streets away from "the strip" is very dangerous so we should be careful. We're from Boston and pretty much drive everywhere. Are there dangerous areas to avoid? Any ideas for a good place for lunch? (on the beach)?

Sure. It's very doable provided you do it on a weekday not a weekend. Just go to Ocean Drive. There are a few multi-story parking lots just off of it or some ground level lots just off Lincoln Road. Unless you want to pay big bucks there aren't any particularly wonderful places on either Ocean Drive or Lincoln Rd. Most are about as good as the other so just walk along until you see a place that looks good, check it's menu and if the price is right and the offerings interesting, try it.

I agree with Julie a weekday is better than a weekend. Hopefully your trip is not over a big holiday either. But I do this all the time. I sometimes find parking on the street! I usually take I-95 going there (avoiding rush hour if possible) and sometimes take US 1 part of the way back heading north for a more scenic ride.

If you haven't been to Vizcaya that is also worth a stop. It's an amazing Italian palazzo on Biscayne Bay.

http://www.vizcayamuseum.org/

Forgot to add I'm not aware of any dangerous areas near there. I suppose any area that attracts tourists is subject to pickpockets etc. so just be aware of your surroundings.

Yeah, I'm a little baffled by why anywhere near the main area would be considered "dangeorus."

nonnigrace,
We usually use the city's parking garage at 7th and Collins; it's pretty inexpensive and I seem to recall seeing security staff there, although I've never felt unsafe walking around South Beach. There's also another garage at 13th and Collins.

Stop by the Oceanfront Auditorium which houses the Art Deco museum and see if they are offering tours - the tour of the district is great! And I second mclaurie's Vizcaya suggestion. It's a wonderful place.

Hope you have a great time.

I love South Beach. It is a wonderful area for walking and people-watching. Sometimes we head to the Delano and have lunch on the patio overlooking the pool. Sometimes we head to Lincoln Road and eat in one of the many wonderful restaurants along there. The shops are great in that area, the galleries are interesting. Parking is never a problem because we either find a spot on the street, put the car in one of the lots or use valet parking. There are many residential streets and lots of hotels and I've always felt comfortable. Don't miss it!

You should go from Singer Island and see South Beach. But I Think it would be better to take the Florida Turnpike rather than I-95 from that far north.

I agree with 1). a trip to Vizcaya, 2) taking the turnpike instead of interstate, 3) nothing to be scared of, nothing dangerous, although it used to be 4) Lincoln Road for lunch followed by a walking tour of your own of South Beach. It's not that big. Or you might want to splurge and go to Joe's Stone Crabs, if they are in season. I think a car trip down Old Cutler Road would be nice too, IMO.

Tandoori - What is Old Cutler Rd? Does it run all the way from Singer Island? We love local roads with great and weird stuff to see and do - but would it take us --say double the time? What is the time to make the drive (one way) from SI to South Beach?
Thanks to all for your help!

Thank you for this info! We are planning a trip there in April, and were thinking of driving to South Beach for a day too. I will print this out.

MCLAURIE; since you usually give good advice about hotels; we are looking for a great resort hotel near Miami. We're doing a week in Orlando first, so need some peace and quiet! Great pool, beach, good food. Can you or anyone suggest something? I've never been to that area before.

I too am interested in what's on Old Cutler Rd. Nonnigrace, if you like scenery on local roads, going part of the way on US I (as I said I usually do it on the way back north) gives you a great view of the big hotels followed by "millionaire's row"--a stretch of private homes on the ocean and the intracoastal.

Tulips, thanks for the compliment but in this area of the world posters GoTravel, LilMsFoodie, Tandoori and others are far more expert than I. I would suggest you post your own question and specify whether you will be with or without kids and exactly what you want (suites or regular rooms, etc.)

I'll get you started so you can do some research. When you say resort, that usually congers up something very large with tennis and often golf. That would be a somewhat shorter list of hotels than just a nice hotel on the beach with pool.

If a big resort hotel is what you mean, the ones I can think of in or near Miami are the Doral Resort (north Miami Beach--there's a hotel on the beach and the golf course inland with another hotel location there), the Fishers Island resort (on an island off Miami), or one of the big hotels on Key Biscayne which is over a bridge from Miami. There's a Ritz Carlton and a Sonesta Beach.

The Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables is a magnificient resort hotel with a famous pool (called the Venetian) but it's inland, not on a beach.

About 45 mins. north of Miami is the Boca Raton Tennis and Resort Hotel. This place also has 2 buildings like the Doral, a beach club highrise on the Ocean and the main building inland which is historic. As a guest you can use the facilities at either.

Then a bit further north still is the Breakers in Palm Beach (1 hour and a bit north of Miami) and the Ritz Carlton Palm Beach (which isn't really in Palm Beach but also about an hour + from Miami).

LilMsFoodie has stayed at most of these I think so would be able to tell you about hotel food. I don't know that any of it is brilliant. For restaurants, I think you have the best and biggest selection staying in or near Miami.

There are lots of ocean front hotels with nice pools in Miami but north of South Beach.

I am most familiar with the Boca Resort (which I think is very nice) and the Breakers which recently got a very nice write up from another poster here. If you want to be closer to Miami though, I think others may have better advice.

Old Cutler Ridge is the road that you take to Mattheson Hammock (a beautiful park) and to the Fairchild Gardens. I think it heads south from Coral Gables but you'll have to check a map. I pulled up this link below to the gardens which lists both a Dale Chihuly Glass exhibit and a wine tasting coming up. When I went to the Gardens last year, I really enjoyed it. OK, I'm a little lazy. You get on this tram and ride through much of the gardens but you can jump off anywhere. And there's a nice little restaurant with outdoor seating that has super Cuban sandwiches, very good. I got off the tram at the restaurant and there's a hothouse with lots of exotic plants right there. I also walked through the bamboo gardens (it's very spread out, not jungle-like) and we saw some huge iguanas sauntering slowly through the gardens.

I love the old houses along Cutler Ridge -- big moss-coquina rock mansions from the 1920s. Nonnigrace, a day is not nearly enough for Miami. But it's a good start.

www.fairchildgarden.org

Fantastic TG. I'll be down in about a month and planned to go to the Fairchild Gardens which I've yet to visit. Thanks!

Thank you Mclaurie; I'll do some more research on these hotels. We often stay in Starwood properties, and were looking at the Diplomat, or maybe the new St Regis that is due to open in January. Our three kids age 7, 12 and 13 will be with us.
Thank you for the info so far.

I wasn't aware of the new St. Regis. While the Diplomat is closer to South Beach and GoTravel always says the beach in Hollywood is the best, I'd much prefer the location of the new St. Regis. Downtown Ft. Lauderdale has lots of good restaurants and shops etc. Las Olas Blvd. which seems to be just south of the hotel is very trendy and there are water taxis to get around there.

Have you seen this post?
Which Starwood hotel
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34665764

Another resort to look at is Turnberry Isle
Turnberry Isle resort
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34665615

Thank you for that! Just too much choice. I will look into those.