Thread: Miami South Beach Trip Report

It was time for a much needed break - a weekend beach escape all by myself. I got Monday off. I looked at flights and found there was good availability to St. Martin. That sounded good but a little too far perhaps for just 2 nights and the room rates were high. I'd never been to South Beach so that was my next idea. I'm recently single again and had found hostelling to be pretty fun the few times I had tried it back in my former single days. I found a few online in South Beach and read some reviews on TripAdvisor. The Tropics was my first choice but they had no availability. The Clay Hotel and Hostel had really mixed reviews but the good ones were so positive that I thought the bad ones might be from those that really didn't understand hostelling and bare bones accommodations. The idea is to just have a bed. I'm going to be out exploring and not spend much time in my room any way. In a hostel you just get a bed like in a dorm and share the room and bathroom with others. Another thing I really liked is meeting others. Hostels usually have a bunch of Europeans and Australians who take off for months at a time. They're fascinating to talk to.

So off I went on Saturday morning. No first class but plenty of seats in coach. I got an aisle. I even tried out my new "neck nest" but still couldn't go to sleep. I had figured out instructions to get to the hostel using Miami public transit but I also had instructions on getting the "Super Shuttle" right to the hotel for $20. I struggled with the decision but opted for the shuttle at the last minute - no need to get too ambitious with this whole bare-bones travel thing all at once. Besides, I was anxious to get to the beach. It ended up that the wait on the shuttle was pretty long and had me wondering if I'd of been just as well off with the bus. I got checked in pretty quick. They gave me a set of linens and a rather thin towel for a $10 deposit and gave me a room key. After several scans the key-card let me in. The older hotel/hostel was pretty well worn but seemed adequate. When I got in the room there was no one there but some clothing and bedding told me I already had some room mates. I chose one of the 4 bunks with a plastic cover since I had read a pretty scary story on TripAdvisor about bed bugs. Ok. This kind of travel is not for everyone.

I was anxious to get to the beach so got right into my trunks but realized this little towel wasn't going to cut it as a beach towel. So I unpacked some of my belongings and stacked them on my bed (there were no lockers - usually standard in hostels), kept my valuables and the things I needed in my backpack and headed out. I walked around and found a $14 South Beach beach towel and a $10 South Beach cap at "Surf and Style". I got a big bottle of water at CVS and made it to the beach after just enough walking to make me wish I had kept on the tennis shoes rather than putting on the flip flops.

Ah, on the beach at last and that was my whole agenda - relax and lay on the beach, oh, and eat occasionally as necessary. I laid on the beach for a few hours and then headed back to my room.

I'm not into the party scene at all. I'm sure you can spend a lot on that if you're into it. I did do quite a bit of walking in the evenings just to people watch. It's a diverse crowd for sure and I loved the atmosphere. There was only a brief time or two that I felt slightly unsafe. I had heard it was quite expensive but was glad to find that there are so many places that there are bargains to be found. There are plenty of little dives to eat at. My favorite was a clean little place called Chihuahua Mexican Food at 710 Washington Ave. I had fresh grilled fish, refried beans, rice, and some salad for about $9 and it was delicious. You’d pay $15-20 at a nicer place. One night I had little 7 oz. beers for $1 at a place called Felt (they had pool tables) and the next night I found $3 Coronas but keeping an eye out for specials while walking down the street.

On my full day I refilled my water bottle in the room, grabbed breakfast at McDonalds, and threw a Sub Sandwich in my back pack and headed to the beach. For $18 I got a beach chair and umbrella for the day. The weather was awesome. The sun was hot, the water was cool and calm, and there was a gentle breeze all day. I would take a swim, dry in the sun, and lounge and read under the umbrella and that was my routine for the whole day. I was well rewarded with the rejuvenation that I set out to find.

The Clay Hotel and Hostel was a big dissapointment - at least the Hostel where I stayed was. There were no lockers, the key scan on my door (room 12) took multiple attempts each time. It was old and not the cleanest. I was with no hot water one morning. The biggest dissapointment was there was not a decent common area to meet and visit with other hostelers. There was just a small kitchen with only a couple of microwaves and a TV. There was not even a refrigerator and there was hardly ever anyone in there.

Now I’m wondering if I could do Atlanta to Miami in a day trip and make it to the beach and back using the transit system. I’d be glad to hear any thoughts on that, especially if any Miami natives have some good hints for me.