Are you planning a short Miami getaway? Keep reading to hear what I did in Miami, how much I spent, and what I would do differently next time I visit!
This year for President’s Day weekend, I decided to take a four day long weekend in Miami! Since my BF and I are long distance, we decided on Miami because it is a warm beach location that was a fairly inexpensive flight for both of us!
Miami 4 Day Cost Breakdown
Hotel
We stayed at the Generator Miami for the duration of our flight. This was a reasonably priced mid beach hotel that is part hotel, part hostel. The private room we booked was priced closer to what a resort would cost. The majority of the hotel cost reflects my half of the total cost of a three night stay in late-February.
We enjoyed the beautiful public spaces like the pool deck and private patio. The room was a little bare and poorly designed. The location was decent— it was only a 5 min walk to the beach! However, next time I would definitely stay a little closer to south beach since we ended up making the walk there multiple times!
The other $70 dollars reflects my half of a one-night stay at a hotel near the airport where we were supposed to stay the first night (my flight ended up getting delayed, so I didn’t end up staying there after all!).
Flight
My flights were a little pricier than I would prefer. Generally, I like being flexible with my travel so that I can find good flight deals! This time, I was constrained because I was coordinating with my BF who was flying out of a different city, so we had to find a city that was reasonably priced for us both to fly to.
Transport
This includes Ubers and Lyfts to and from the airport and while we were in Miami. Transportation was one of our biggest costs on this trip! We enjoy exploring new parts of cities, so we ended up taking a lot of Ubers everywhere. There was also some rain and a lot of construction that prevented us from taking advantage of the great bus system on Miami Beach that we would have used otherwise.
We still were able to use the free trolleys a few time. Check out the routes before you plan your Miami trip to make sure you’re booking a hotel that is located close to a stop! We found that the trolleys are pretty reliable and run frequently enough to be useful especially during the daytime!
Food
We ate at restaurants for most meals, but found that portions were large, so we had leftovers a few time! Some of our favorite restaurants we tried were Taquiza($$) in South Beach, Versailles($$) on Calle Ocho, and Broken Shaker($$) in Mid Beach for drinks!
We also ate at a few places along the beach in the Art Deco district, but we found those were touristy and way over priced! I would recommend still checking out that strip to see it, but walking inland a few streets to find more reasonably priced restaurants that may even have better food!
Lastly, we were worried that we would miss out on great food if we prioritized a hotel with kitchen amenities and made some meals instead of eating out every time, but I don’t think that the food on Miami Beach is so incredible that you would regret skipping the restaurants for a few meals!
Everything Else
We had a great time exploring all the cool sights that Miami has to offer! There were some things we paid for and others were completely free! We toured the Wynwood Walls ($13), sunbathed on the beach (free), walked around a street festival in Calle Ocho (free), and sipped beer by the pool at our hotel!
Miami 4 Day Itinerary
Four days in Miami is plenty of time to soak up some sun, see the sights, eat great food, and enjoy everything the vibrant beach city has to offer! Here is how we spent our days. Note that we spent more time walking around and seeing things than relaxing on the beach, but that fits our personalities! Definitely think about what you would enjoy more before planning your schedule!
Day 1
- 12:10 AM: Land in Miami and Uber to hotel airport
- Morning: Uber to hotel, store bags and walk down South Beach strip
- Afternoon: Uber to Wynwood, walk around, see Wynwood Walls
- Evening: Eat arepas at a Wynwood outdoor market/bar, return to hotel
- Night: Go to Broken Shaker for drinks, Uber to Brickell and the Wharf for some nightlife
Day 2:
- Morning: Head to the beach for some sun and swimming!
- Afternoon: Walk to Art Deco District, get lunch, head back to hotel to nap
- Evening: Head to Española way for dinner at Mercato Pescheria, get dessert at a nearby bakery
- Night: Chill by pool sipping beer and wine
Day 3:
- Morning: Sleep in and read books
- Afternoon: Head to Calle Ocho for lunch at Versailles and walk through street fair
- Evening: Nap at hotel, head down to Art Deco district for a walk and drinks, explore more of south beach and mid beach as we head back to hotel
- Night: Eat leftovers and watch movie on Netflix in the hotel
Day 4:
- Morning: Take a swim, check out of hotel and store bags
- Afternoon: Do one more walk along the beach to soak up the last bit of sun, grab some tacos from Taquiza
- Evening: Head to airport to fly out!