Hi guys, my friends and I are planning a Miami trip.. None of us have been there before, so I want to do some early scouting.. maybe you guys can give some pointers.

Date: March 20-25th

Event: Ultra Music Festival in Downtown Miami. 22-24

We will lost most of the 20th on the airplane. So I want to do as much *** possible on the 21st and 25th..

- Any good East coast food locations? I love local food. Doesn't have to be fancy restaurants.

- What night clubs should we look at? we have a mix guy/girl group and want to check out local scenes. Nothing too fancy since we will be partying the next 3 days on the beach. btw how do you guys dress for clubbing? is it really mostly T shirts? because in LA, guys wear dress shirts.

- how is the cab service in Miami? Renting a car for a week is about 600$.. can we get around Miami fairly easily?

- beach day. Everyone knows South Beach has the most beautiful women. Where exactly should I go??? Which beach is best for a relaxing fun day? (beach and margarita)

- how is traffic in Florida? We might take an extra day to go to Disneyworld. that's a 500 miles round trip to Orlando. Do-able in a 1.5 day time??

Thanks for the help guys!

 

It's tough to get around Miami without a car, but that depends on how far your hotel is from the places you want to go.

Maybe you could rent a car for a few days of exploration, instead of a whole week, and take a taxi those days you're not hopping around too much.

Haven't been to South Beach in a LONG time, but you could spend all day on the beach and then spend the evening walking up and down Lincoln Road. There are restaurants, etc. I'm near Fort Lauderdale and that beach is great at night. You can eat, then walk from bar-to-bar and enjoy live music with a drink in your hand.

Florida traffic is bad, but probably not as bad as LA. You can get up to Orlando in about 3 hours if you start EARLY in the morning. Of course, try to avoid rush hours. Schools here do Orlando day-trips for the kids that way - leave really early and come back late at night.

There are a LOT of great food locations - too numerous to list and it depends on what you like (seafood, Italian, Cuban, Mexican, Indian, Peruvian,....) and what area you're in.

Hopefully, somebody else here can tell you more about downtown Miami and the club scene ...

 

Thanks! my biggest concern is transportation. Can't find a taxi in LA at all, was hoping Miami could be like NY.

 

there are tons of cabs by the ultra festival and metro rails

 

There are cabs, but why not a rental? It can't be $600 for a week, most places are $50/day for a nice car. The Orlando trip is 3-4 hours each way, so not really a drive up and back in one day affair.

 

we have at least 6 people confirmed. Renting a van is about 120$ a day.

so instead of renting possibly 2 cars, I'm going to use the rental money and put it into a nicer hotel near the beach.

thanks for the help!

 

Renting a car sounds like a bad idea. Even if you save some money compared to taking taxis you will have to deal with trying to park/someone being dd/ and whatever other potential hassles might arise.

 

that's interesting. i'd think you'd need a car to deal with this place.

your hotel - that is a sticking point. what do you guys need? i wouldn't skimp
on location. the beach is cool, but you'd be fine as far north as 20-30 and collins.
i wouldn't recommend staying off the beach unless you want to constantly be
behind the wheel. in theory you could depend on cabs for the days you don't
want to travel, but it may be easier to have a tahoe or safari van around.

 

thanks guys... We booked the Holiday Inn hotel right by the Bayfront Park. It's right next to our event. At least for 3 days, we won't need to rent.

We plan to just stay local around the area.. Maybe pick up a rental for 1 day.

I'm super stoked about this.. first time in Miami beach

 

You'll have to cab anywhere. Bay front isn't close enough to anything.

The good news is that you'll be able to get to the beach for less than $20 each way
Per cab.

 

Ya, because our main event, Ultra Music Festival, is held around Bayfront Park. We will spend 3/5 days there.