It was a surprise pick: to spend our Girls’ Weekend in Miami, Florida. We had so many other tabs open on our web browsers – the Bahamas, Aruba, Asheville. We didn’t have a set destination in mind, we just knew we wanted someplace we could go to relax, be together, and have some activities to do while not adding stress and a to-do list to our lives.
Florida is easy for those of us who live on the East Coast of the United States. It is usually very cheap airfare, with direct or quick flights. The weather is appealing, particularly in the doldrums of a northern, dark, cold winter.
It’s why I’ve been to Florida so many times. It’s why so many seniors retire and buy cheap homes in the state to spend their winters playing pickleball and golf instead of shoveling snow and gliding on ice. Miami is easy to get to, warm, and fairly affordable.
My last girls’ weekend trip was to New Orleans. That was a blast, and I was excited to discover that city with a friend. But, much like that trip and my trip to Vegas, my style of travel doesn’t bend towards the party side. But, also like my experiences in both those major cities, there is so much more to Miami. There are so many ways to enjoy Miami, even if you don’t hit the epic clubs and go dancing.
Looking for more Florida travel tips? Check these out:
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Miami’s metropolitan area is over 6 million people. It is huge. It is the ninth-largest city in the U.S., with the third-largest skyline (over 300 high rises and building more!).
The primary language spoken is Spanish – 70% of Miami’s population was Hispanic or Latino as of 2020. That, combined with the weather, the beaches, and the frenetic party energy can make Miami feel exotic. (It can feel more like a foreign country to me than some actual foreign countries I’ve been to.)
Miami is unique. It’s why 4 million visitors flock here each year. It is why cruise ships have a terminal and hundreds disembark their boats to experience Miami.
Miami is always changing, too. It’s been the focal point of immigration battles, movies and TV series glamorizing the lifestyle here, and is poised to be incredibly impacted by climate change.
Miami is worth a peek.
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Where to Stay in Miami for a Girls' Weekend
There are a few areas of Miami popular with tourists. During our most recent family trip to the area, we stayed in Coconut Grove. This enclave of restaurants and cute stores is adorable. But it is also farther from some of the nightlife and South Beach.
Many stay in hotels in South Beach or on Miami Beach. These are great for location but can get pricey.
We opted for a very affordable AirBnB, complete with hotel amenities, in Downtown Miami, next to Bayfront Park. While I wouldn’t recommend the exact unit we stayed in, we found this location great. We had easy access to Wynwood, South Beach, Miami Beach, and Little Havana. We didn’t walk around too much since Ubers were so cheap and easy, but we had easy and affordable public parking for our car ($15/day), which was appreciated.
How to Get Around Miami
While we had a car, we mostly left it parked in a public garage in downtown Miami. We found it wasn’t worth fighting traffic and for parking spots. The only time we drove was out to where our kayak adventure began (see below).
There is a Metromover that services downtown Miami and is cheap, with a generous timetable meaning it comes to station frequently.
We found Uber to be affordable and easy. The most fun was renting Citibikes and taking a quick, cruisy pedal down the beach boardwalk.
What to Wear in Miami for a Girls' Weekend
In Miami, think beach glam. Miami dials up the sexy. This is a city that shows skin. Have a swimsuit you love your body in. Bring short dresses that show off your legs or a two-piece number. Err on the side of fashion and expressive personal style. Wear a wide-brimmed hat. Have fun here.
The weather in Miami, like all of Florida, can change to rain quickly and without warning. So it is best to have clothes that can get wet, or an umbrella. But the rains are usually over fast and are warm.
What to Do on a Girls' Weekend in Miami (even if you don't go clubbing)
Table of Contents
Eat Tacos
There are so many different ways to make a taco – so many delicious things to put in them! Each restaurant has its special take, too. So when in Miami, you have to try tacos. Maybe from multiple restaurants or vendors.
Our very first lunch in Miami was at Coyo Taco, which was casual, affordable, and really good.
- For more on the best tacos in Miami, visit this Eater article here.
Visit Wynwood Walls and Art District
The “Wynwood Walls” is an art gallery, most of it outside, featuring murals painted by famous artists on various walls. Wynwood Walls was conceived as an effort to revitalize a dying industrial area, and it has worked!
The Wynwood Walls have created a spinoff effect, and the Wynwood district features delicious restaurants, thumping nightclubs, art over every object as much as possible, and fun shops.
Visit Little Havana
Little Havana is a tourist draw for a good reason: it is a unique culture and community. This area celebrates Cuban culture and life.
Little Havana is “the best known Cuban exile neighborhood in the world. It is characterized by its street life, restaurants, music and other cultural activities, small business enterprises, political passion, and great warmth among its residents.” (source)
It became famous in the 1960s, and in 2015 was included in the National Trust for Historic Preservation‘s annual list of 11 Most Endangered Places.
Little Havana showcases our strange relationship with immigrants and immigration. Especially in today’s political conversation, we simultaneously declare that we want to keep people out so we can save our jobs for “Americans,” yet places like Little Havana have powered a financially beneficial arrangement for hundreds and Cuban immigrants fuel a huge part of the service economy in Miami. We don’t want to lose the cultural center of Little Havana as the immigrant community gets priced out. It all seems very complicated. I don’t have an answer, but I do know that I appreciated our time in Little Havana.
We learned that, due to gentrification, Little Havana is slowly changing and closing down. Many project that in another 10 years, Little Havana won’t exist anymore. While Cuban immigrants are moving to other parts of Miami, the nexus of a Cuban community doesn’t seem to be materializing elsewhere as it has in Little Havana.
We enjoyed strolling along the main thoroughfare of Little Havana – 8th Street or Calle Ocho.
Here, you can try fresh juices (no choices – the only juice offered is from whatever fruit is in season), watch cigar rolling, and have Cuban sandwiches for lunch alongside fresh mojitos at Olds Havana.
Chicken and roosters wander the streets. The famous Ball and Chain bar has live Cuban music that spills out onto the streets.
There is ice cream with guava in it and Miami-style Cuban coffee to enjoy. At the park, Cuban residents play dominoes for hours.
Note that Miami is a hub for cruise ships. And when a cruise ship (or four) is docked, Little Havana is a popular destination. As we did in Grand Cayman, it may be worth tracking cruise ships to time your visit to Little Havana when there is less activity.
Of course, Little Havana is a great spot for a food tour, as well, if you’d like to opt for that.
Visit South Beach
South Beach, an area of Miami Beach, is where the electric art deco lights shine. Abutting a gorgeous beach with a paved “boardwalk” and dozens of beach volleyball courts, South Beach is home to outdoor bars, restaurants, and clubs.
When Mr. Family Trip and I first came to the area as tourists way back in 2009, we loved the South Beach vibe.
While here with my mom and sister, we weren’t so interested in the loud bars, raucous music, and dance scene. But we loved renting bikes and seeing it all anyhow.
After biking through, we ended up at a fantastic and quiet bar, the Sweet Liberty Drinks & Supply Company in Miami Beach. The cocktail scene was phenomenal and we gorged on creative and delicious appetizers while we talked.
Do Some Beach Time
Florida has beautiful beaches, and Miami is no exception. Additionally, Miami is about the beach – it is part of what makes Miami the subject of movies. It is worth taking the time to lounge on the beach and take it all in.
Miami Beach is also unique in that you can find a restaurant or a club to rent a chair and an umbrella, maybe even purchase a drink to be delivered to you as you sit in your lounger. For a girls’ weekend, this is the best way to do Miami Beach.Â
Treat yourself to a club rental and enjoy!
- To rent at a club, try Fontainebleu Miami.
- For just beach chair rentals, no service, try Boucher Beach Rentals.
Kayak: Maybe to Raccoon Island
We knew we wanted to get out on some sort of adventure, to be outside. But Biscayne is too far from where we were in Miami to be attractive.
There weren’t a lot of options to kayak or otherwise be outside on the water, but we eventually found something. It was a rare experience indeed!Â
We used this company to outfit and guide our kayaking adventure to Raccoon Island. It was fun but also a bit bizarre.
First, it is overpriced for what it is, but there isn’t a lot of competition, so they still are booked up regardless of price.
Second, our guide didn’t instill a lot of confidence in us, but the entire excursion was pretty easy so, ultimately, it didn’t matter.
Third, there is very little kayaking involved in this at all. If you aren’t that comfortable in a kayak, this adventure is still accessible for you.
Fourth, and the final thing to note if you use this company, to get to where the kayaks are everyone in the group gets on a ginormous paddleboard. That would be around 12-15 people on one paddleboard (seated), paddling out to an anchored pontoon boat that holds the kayaks. Like I said: bizarre but unique.
The very first thing we did after we got into kayaks was paddle out to “Raccoon Island,” officially called Sand Spur Island. This island is uninhabited except for around 20-30 docile raccoons that eat out of human hands.
No one knows how the raccoons ended up here. But they have made quite a tropical life for themselves. Tourists come to the island and offer watermelon, which the raccoons love. The raccoons are still wild animals, but they are tame and calm.
It was amusing to watch baby raccoons crawling all over a Belgian tourist as he held watermelon in his hands. Nothing like it anywhere else…
Get in some Pool Time
Because of the sun and the temperatures, Miami is a great place to enjoy laying by the pool nearly year-round. Appropriately, Miami has built some luxury pools to cater to your whims and fancies.
Check out this list of pools for places to spend your girls’ weekend. Our lodging had a rooftop pool, which suited us just fine.
If you want, you can find a pool party where drinks flow fast, a DJ spins loud music, and bachelorette parties go hard.
Get a Nice Dinner Out
Miami is a hub of culinary delights and experiences. If you are in this city, you have to make space in your budget to splurge on the artistry that chefs around the area are creating and crafting.
We opted for the rooftop at Klaw restaurant, and this was delightful. We didn’t sit outside, but there were views over the water and the city lights from this spot.
The food was expensive but very good. We purchased multiple small plates to try different things, and we loved it all. We felt like this was a special experience.
- For more restaurant ideas, visit this Eater article.Â
With More Time
We didn’t want to jam too much activity into our Miami trip. We wanted space to sit and talk, to take in the view, to soak in the sun… we weren’t interested in doing all the things (even though, I’d argue, we still packed quite a bit in).
Here are some other activities we had listed as things we’d like to do:
- Drag brunch at the Palace. This is very popular, though, so if you want to go get tickets in advance.
- Shopping at the luxury Aventura Mall.
- Spa time! Miami is host to some beautiful spas.
Overall, Miami was a great fit for a quick Girls’ Weekend. We felt relaxed, happy, and full. We had an experience but we also felt rested. Thanks, Miami, for inventing a lifestyle that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world.
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