Some of you might know that last week we were in Florida for a little vacation away from work (which is why we’ve been a little absent here). We went to Miami and Orlando, and ever since we got back, you guys have been asking for Miami recommendations! And guess what?! We’ve rounded them up in one big post, so you can figure out where to stay, what to do, AND what to eat all in one place. I haven’t had a no-work vacation in a longggg time, and I had a blast going to all of the colorful spots in Miami and taking photos just for fun. So get ready for a lot of color and a lot of excitement! …If only NYC buildings were this colorful!!!
This is where we stayed for our whole trip. It was right on the beach and we had an amazing view of the ocean (pictured below). There were two restaurants located in the hotel that have great reviews so that’s always a plus in my book! Plus, it was super easy to get to the beach from the hotel and the pool area had private cabanas for rent.
The Betsy was another hotel we were looking at staying, mainly because it seems so cute! It doesn’t have direct beach access, but it’s located in South Beach and the beach is only a short walk away. This is a great place to stay if you want to stay on the main South Beach strip!
Freehand is more of a hostel-style place to stay. They have private rooms and the decor is really cute. This is where we were going to initially book, but we decided that we wanted to be right next to the beach. If you’ve ever stayed in a “hip” hotel in Brooklyn, the Freehand will remind you of that.
Even though it rained pretty much the WHOLE time we were there, we spent a lot of time at the beach and walking down the beach. One of the most fun things for me was getting to see all of the different, colorful refreshment stands and lifeguard towers. There was even a bright pink one that I didn’t get to snap a photo of, but trust me, it was like a Barbie dream come true!
This one was a huge “duh!” for us! We knew even before we booked the trip that we wanted to go to Wynwood Walls at some point. I’d been seeing photos of the amazing murals online for such a long time and it was so much better getting to see them in person. And there are SOOO many more murals there than just the few we took photos of. Plus, most of the really good food that we ate was in Wynwood. I’ll take another nutella donut please and thank you!
This was one of the things that Kyle was really excited about. He bought a few Art Deco books before our trip and learned about the different buildings in Miami. We went on our own little tour of some of the buildings he wanted to see, but you can book guided walking tours too! And let me tell you, the buildings were BEAUTIFUL, and I was overwhelmed by how much color there was! My favorite building overall was probably the Congress building. 😉
Now onto my favorite part: FOOD!!!! Kyle found out about this somewhat secret place called Drunken Dragon. The outside of the restaurant looks super suspicious with blacked out windows and a sign that only says “market,” but it turned out to be one of the best meals I’ve ever had. Anddd I tried wagyu beef here for the first time too!
We stopped in here when we were checking out the Wynwood Walls. I LOVE a good bakery and this place smelled amazing like freshly baked bread! I got a few little treats to-go, but I saw everyone eating an onion quiche that I will definitely need to get next time though.
This was the donut shopped that we went to on our second trip to Wynwood. Some of you might have seen the video on Insta stories. The line here is long and they sell out of donuts daily, so get here early to make sure you get the ones you want! We got one of each donut and my favorite was probably the maple bacon.
This cafe is inside of the black and white striped building you saw Kyle standing in front of above. We didn’t get a chance to eat here, but I’ve really great things about their brunch, and the menu looked really yummy!
I’m all about a great tapas place (if any of you have seen Master Of None Season 2, I identify with Dev so much)! Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to actually go here, but it’s first on my list for when we come back!
Photos by Kyle Larsen
Which Miami location looks the most fun to you?! And for those of you that have been to Miami already, tell us which spots are your favorites in the comments. We’ll add them to our guide and check them out next time we travel back down to Florida!
