south beach / miami / key west

[jcrow]

we''re planning a vacation next year with another couple. we''re going to the south beach, miami, key west area.
any suggestions on where to go, what to see, where to stay and where to eat?
my friend has family in miami and they''ve both gone to key west before, but dh and i have never been.

 

[Mandarine]

Hi!!!

In South Beach I recommned going to Lincoln Road...they have tons of restaurants and it''s a great people watching spot!. I love "Yuca" (a Cuban restaurant there) and there is a great Sushi place too called Sushi Samba.

At the end of Lincoln Road (if you walk towards the beach) you will find Delano and The National hotel....both great places to hang out at night!. During the day you can hang out at Nikki Beach, it''s kind of cool because you''re right at the beach.

If you want to go shopping, I recommend going to Bal Harbour....at least just for walking around (because it is expensive!!)...but really nice.

In Key West I would definitely do the catamaran trip (snorkeling)....that''s a lot of fun!! Other than that Key west is more about walking around and stopping at all the places along Duval street. You gotta have some key lime pie though!!!!

M~

 

[jcrow]

thanks mandarine! i checked out the menus on miami411 and both of those restaurants sound delish! thanks for the recommendation.
we''ve talked about doing a sunset sailing trip in key west. hubby is an avid sailor so i know it''s must do for him. he loves snorkeling too, though!
in key west we''re looking into staying at Ocean Key. and on the agenda in miami is the Vizcaya Museum.

 

[Mandarine]

Viscaya is beautiful!!!!!!!. I can''t believe I forgot that!

In Key west you might find a place to rent bikes and you can ride around town, they have some pretty peculiar homes there!. You should definitely do the sailing in Key West!. A friend of mine just took some sailing lessons in Miami (in a Sunfish!) and she loves it, she says she had a blast.

Right now in Miami they have the "Miami Spice" festival. I don''t remember if it''s every year but it''s awesome!!! You go to some of the best restaurants in Miami and pay only $22 for lunch and $35 for dinner. If it is every year and you come arounf this time, be sure to check it out!!!!.

You should also drive around Coral Gables. It is my favorite neighborhood in Miami!...with their huge trees and beautiful homes. They have some great restaurants in that area too! (around Miracle Mile). Then there is Coconut Grove (South of Coral Gables but also close). Still pretty cool to walk around and stop for a bit to eat.

If I think of anything else I''ll let you know. Jaders might have some ideas too!, maybe she''ll chime in!

M~

 

[Madam Bijoux]

In Miami, the Seybold Building is full of jewelry stores.
http://miami.citysearch.com/profile/2493555/miami_fl/seybold_jewelry_building.html

 

[ChargerGrrl]

I''ve been to Key West a couple of times. It''s just a great place to walk/bike around and chill out. My favorite things to do are: catamaran/snorkeling trip, the sunset gatherings at mallory square, the little white house, and key lime pie tasting! OH yeah, although it''s v. touristy, Southernmost point was fun (had to do it!)

I rented a condo the second time I visted KW, and would highly recommend it!

 

[blushingbride]

Hi Jcrow - I think Mandarine did a great job with listing some of the hot spots in South Beach - I've never been to Key West so, I can't help you there. A lot of the restaurants in South Beach are also in New York such as Sushi Samba, Bond Street, Nobu in the Shore Club, Smith and Wollenski's etc so, when FI and I went we knew we were going to be eating well! They are all delicious! We also ate at the Blue Door at the Delano, Emeril's res, Front Porch Cafe.

Nikki Beach is a very cool spot to hangout and grab some drinks during the day. You'll definitley find some fun restaurants that specialize in authentic Cuban food, etc along Ocean Drive. Delano, National Hotel, Shore Club are fun, swanky places to go for drinks.

Our hotel offered a day trip to the Everglades where we went on a airboat tour which takes you over the river grass in search of gaders! We also decided to also go jet skiing around Miami which was so much fun and really gives you the chance to see the different islands, etc.

 

[jcrow]

thanks for the replies! i''ve put all the recommendations on our list. we''re going to get together soon to discuss all the ideas and set up a rough itinerary.

 

[angel_nieves]

Hope you have a great vacation in Florida. We go to the Key West every year. The architecture is amazing on the island!!! I am going to ask my hubby the name of a mom and pop restaurant on the key we loved!!! They had seafood, American and some of the best Vietnamese food ever!!!

I can’t help you with Miami I use to go every week however since my mother in law died I haven’t been back.

 

[larussel03]

I LOVE Key West, and a close second would def be South Beach.

I''d say all the bars and restaurants there were good for us (and we had 6 girls togehter when we went) but there is this naked roofdeck bar called "Garden of Eden" that is really fun -- they even have a body painter who will paint latex bathing suits on people. (and suprisingly I talked to the painter and he wasn''t skeevy..just sort of an ''I''ve seen it all'' type).

Granted, my friends and I aren''t the type to get naked and romp around (and I wondered where the clothes went!) but we did have a couple friends who got bikini tops painted on and it was an interesting experience. Even if you go for a few minutes, it''s one of those places that I''d suggest, only because you''ll never see anything like it again, unless you''re into nude beaches and the such

In Miami/South Beach, you should def go to Opa! it''s a fab greek restaurant where they have EXCELLENT food and you throw napkins all around (to some greek song I dont know) and the waiters pull everyone up to dance on the tables. It''s really cool!

I want go to back so bad!

 

[jcrow]

thanks sp! was this the opa restaurant you were talking about?

http://www.tavernaoparestaurant.com/locations.php

 

[larussel03]

Date: 8/8/2007 4:54:26 PM
Author: jcrow
thanks sp! was this the opa restaurant you were talking about?

http://www.tavernaoparestaurant.com/locations.php

Yep that''s it!