Miami Help

[Guest]

Hi all, we are going back to Florida next March/April and want to do a night in Miami but know nothing about the place
Have heard that some places can be a bit dodgy any advice on places to stay suitable for families?
Thanks

[MummyPeeper]

Hi there, we too are staying in Miami on our next visit. We will be a family with teenagers and grandparents in tow so I did a bit of research before we booked.
The general consensus seems to be that the closer that you get to the sea the better the areas are. The areas surrounding the airport seem to have a bad reputation for crime etc. The north end of South Beach seems to be a little quieter and popular with families. Saying that obviously staying in a big city you could get issues anywhere. In the end we have decided to stay in Little Havana as we didn't want to be on the beach.

[MummyPeeper]

P.S. welcome to the DIBB, didn't realise it was your first post.
Expect to be hooked very soon.

[dave]

WELCOME TO THE DIBB

We did 2 nights at the beach when we arrived this August. Grand beach plaza, pricey but nice. I think you won't go wrong with most of the beach hotels there. Parking charges and resort fees on top were a rip off though.
If you just want a night before heading off the following day the Sheraton at the airport is great. If you get a club level room you get complimentary access to the club lounge with free wifi, soft drinks, snacks, breakfast and evening h'ordourves (if I have spelt it right)

[mickchick]

Don't want to be a doom monger, but we've been holidaying in Miami a couple of times a year for the past thirty years, so we know the city well. Little Havana is atmospheric if you are into Hispanic culture, but it is NOT for the faint-hearted, particularly at night. The crime level is no higher than most other parts of the the inner city, but tourists stick out like a sore thumb, because there is a lot of what is politely called local street life.
Your best bet is to stay at a beach; either South Beach or further up the coast in the much quieter North Beach area (Sunny Isles and Hollywood), but I would strongly advise against staying anywhere away from the coast.

[Ilivehereorland]

Originally Posted by MummyPeeper

Hi there, we too are staying in Miami on our next visit. We will be a family with teenagers and grandparents in tow so I did a bit of research before we booked.
The general consensus seems to be that the closer that you get to the sea the better the areas are. The areas surrounding the airport seem to have a bad reputation for crime etc. The north end of South Beach seems to be a little quieter and popular with families. Saying that obviously staying in a big city you could get issues anywhere. In the end we have decided to stay in Little Havana as we didn't want to be on the beach.

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Don't know if Little Havana is a good idea to be honest. It's OK to visit in the daytime but unless you know where youre going I wouldn't be wandering around at night. Tourists stick out like a sore thumb.

[phoebe23]

A nice beach area is SoFi - South of 5th Avenue. We stayed at Roommate Lord Balfour - for 4 night's pre cruise Inc breakfast. Small resort fee covers sunbeds/umbrella and towels.
Nice bars, restaurants, Walgreens nearby.

[MummyPeeper]

Sorry, forgot to say that we are happy staying in Little Havana as most of our family are bi-lingual and speak fluent Spanish. I didn't recommend it to the thread starter.

[flo-tinka]

Interested in this post as just trying to work out where best to stay in Miami for few nights post cruise.
Also trying to work out if we need a car to get to see the main sights here? Are there safe public transport options OR do hotels do sightseeing trips?
Thanks for any help from Miami experts!

[Hooray4Disney]

We are thinking of staying in Florida City - is this a safe area please? Or would we be better staying in Key Largo?

Thank you.