Every year my college girlfriends and I do a destination girls weekend. This has become an awesome tradition, more focused on each other than the destination. That being said we’ve done some fun ones in the past including Cape May, New York, New Orleans, the Finger Lakes of New York, Chicago and this time- South Beach. 

EXPERIENCE

Miami is certainly not a typical locale for me when it comes to travel, but for the purpose of a long weekend with my best ladies – it was perfect! We centered ourselves on South Beach to enjoy some sand and sun in January. We decided to splurge a bit on the hotel since the majority of what we planned to do was sun on the sandy beach and lounge by the pool (and pool bar). This is precisely what we did. We enjoyed many sweet cocktails and ventured out only to satiate our appetites and dabble in the shops along Ocean Ave. In South Beach there is no shortage of tourist boutiques and eateries along the main drag, so it’s rather intuitive what to do. There are several art museums to pop into should you stumble on bad weather or have more days to use there. Also, I’d suggest dipping into some of the other hotels along the Art Deco District. They are similar, but each impressive in their pool set ups, restaurants and interior decor.

Aside from our low key beach trip we made it to the SLS Hyde Lounge for one late night of dancing and bottle service (we had a hookup that helped make it possible). This was fun mostly in the people watching sense, all the Miami characters were out. We also had an excellent excursion to the Wynwood Walls, just north of the city of Miami. This artsy district is inspiring and fun to walk. The area is thwart with trendy coffee shops and gorgeous murals representing the who’s who of modern street art.

STAY

South Beach has no shortage of grand hotels lining the beach. The Delano, SLS and Ritz seem to be among the more luxurious. We compromised and stayed at the Shore Club. Right off Ocean Avenue this proved the perfect spot for us. The pool and patios were gorgeous and the beach was also very nice. We were within walking distance of tons of restaurants and a quick 15 minute Uber ride from the airport and downtown Miami area. 

Our hotel, and I assume most others on the street offer gorgeous pools and patios with high service beach access. This makes for a pricey, yet easy weekend trip. We indulged in it for a few days, sneaking in our own snacks and cheap wine. The sun was hot and the company was right- so no complaints!

EAT

We ate and drank well while in Miami! Our favorite meal was at Prime Fish, more upscale but perfect for a slow meal of seafood and wine. Ocean Avenue is littered with abundant tourist restaurants, none of which stand out. They all serve giant fruity frozen drinks and two-for-one-but- still-$48 prices. Cleo looked like another tasteful option that we probably should have hit. We had a nice Cuban breakfast at Paradise Cafe and otherwise snacked and drank our way through Miami. I’d go on about the restaurants I read up on and did not try, but I have a feeling that it might be outdated before I write it. This is clearly a vibrant, happening scene and I’d suggest a simple TripAdvisor search before picking a spot.