North Miami Beach

On this leg of my Solo Florida trip I spent 3 nights in North Miami Beach.

I want to start by saying that when I booked/planned this trip I had absolutely no idea that Miami and Miami Beach were two separate places. I told friends who had been to Miami, even one who has lived in Miami that I was planning this trip. I asked for their thoughts and what I should see. Not one of those people told me this very important fact… I looked on a map while booking but still did not understand that these are separate places as in separate towns! I saw Miami Beach on the map and thought it was just where the beach was, meaning that people stayed in Miami and drove to the beach to go to the beach.

Luckily, without having any idea what I was doing, I booked a studio condo basically ON the beach in North Miami through airbnb.com. Again, I looked at the map, I looked at the pics, I read the reviews and wanted to be on the beach. It was out my front door and a few paces across the street from me. In other words = PERFECT!

I arrived quite late on Day 1, always plan for 2 days of travel to bookend your trips. For me these 2 days are a wash. I don’t usually sleep well the night before traveling, especially if I’m going to the East Coast from the West Coast since I choose early morning flights so when I arrived I was dead tired and slept for hours.

My first day there was sunny and warm so I spent it on the beach, outside my front door. Christian who rents the condo provides beach chairs, beach umbrellas, beach towels and all sorts of other beach accouterments some that I did not use but could have used, thus it was much appreciated. Early in the morning, and by early I mean 8am to 10am the beach is quiet and close to being desolate. In my opinion, this is the best time to go. The ocean water was warm though according to some locals I met later that night “it’s too cold for us to swim or go to the beach in the winter, this is our down jacket and scarf weather”. Please note that today it’s 81 degrees (Fahrenheit) and that day it was in the high 70’s.

I walked to a breakfast place I found on yelp at 8am when I had to move my rental car from a spot in front of the condo that starts charging at 8am to a spot two blocks away that’s always free. I found the only open place within walking distance (will insert name and link once I have proper internet connection again), and ordered an omelet. It cost $7.00, with a cup of coffee. In Marin County where I live an omelet costs $15 to $20 and is half the size this one was though I will admit ours tastes better. This one wasn’t so good but the proximity and ease, plus the delicious coffee made the short trek worth it J

Planning a Solo Trip to Florida

This week I traveled to Florida, solo... It’s the first time I’ve ever been to Florida.

I booked the trip myself without consulting anyone but the inter-web. I used airbnb.com, my favorite place to book rooms on a budget!

Since I'm a crazy planner, I did all of my booking 6 months ago.

When I told friends and family I was going to Florida they asked - why? 

1. I like to go somewhere in the US that I've never been each year. 
2. I wanted to go somewhere warm in the winter, looked up the warmest places in the US in the winter and found Florida and Hawaii. I've been to Hawaii and it's more expensive, thus Florida won.
3. I like to take a vacation (if I can afford it AND get the time away) every 6 months.

It took me at least 4 hours to figure out and book my vacation, maybe a little longer. I love that part of the process but not everyone does. I knew I wanted to check out Miami and the Keys. I had frequent flyer miles on an airline that only flies in and out of Ft. Lauderdale. Research told me that's only 30 minutes from Miami. I wanted to be near the beach. I looked at the map and found Miami Beach. I didn't know the area at all but a quick search on airbnb.com and I found a private studio apartment literally across the street from thebeach for $80 a night. Loving the idea of walking out my back door and onto the beach I booked it. 

Trying to maximize my days here I decided on 3 nights in Miami Beach, 3 nights in the Keys, 2 nights in Ft. Lauderdale only to bookend my 2 nights in the Bahamas. I wrote it all out (well, I typed it all out). I had plan A and plan B after looking at the days and times I could use my frequent flyer miles and the days and times the ferry ran to and from Ft. Lauderdale to Freeport, the Bahamas. 

In order to maximize my time I had to book a car. After scouring the internet (this part of the puzzle took about an hour) I found a relatively inexpensive option but I had to pay right then and there. I chose to book a car at the airport which is always pricier. Had I spent an extra half hour to an hour and researched more I would have known that the Ft. Lauderdale airport is super close to the city of Ft. Lauderdale (unlike SFO which is far from SF) and I could have taken an Uber to an offsite car rental maybe for cheaper. As it was I found a car for $200 for 11 days (not including the ridiculous taxes they charge of $100). Still, compared to the $500 quotes I was receiving (even from Priceline) I decided this was the way to go. I picked my car up at the airport and drove to Miami Beach where I am now. I've been here for 2 days and 3 nights. In retrospect could have stayed one more day to hit the beach again but other than that I feel I’ve gotten enough of a flavor to know that this would be a great place to spend a month exploring each winter.