South Beach and Key West

Hi there,

My boyfriend is planning to take me to SoBe for my birthday. I have never been to South Beach so any advice on where to stay and what to dois much appreciated. The week we%26#39;re looking at is August 13th thru the 19th. My boyfriend is thinking of staying at Loew. Good choice? We are looking to visit the Keys as wells and I%26#39;m not sure if we should just take a day trip or should we just spend a couple of days there. Can any one give me some suggestions?

MC

South Beach and Key West

MC%26gt;

A trip to South Beach will be a GREAT birthday present for you!!

The Lowe%26#39;s is a full resort property - a large hotel with all the amenities, a big pool and a full staff to take care of all your needs. There are lots of small, independent hotels in town, but the Lowe%26#39;s is a world wide chain.

Before your trip, be sure to reserve a few romantic dinners at Nemo, Talula or Prime 112. You might want to spend some time together at a spa having a couple%26#39;s massage. The spa at the Ritz Carlton or the Victor would be lovely or the new bath house spa at the Standard.

If you decide to take a road trip to the Keys, know that it is possible to have a great day trip to Pennecamp Park in the upper keys for a day of snorkeling on the fantastic reefs. If you want to go all the way down to Key West, give yourselves a few days to make the drive and spend a night or 2 down there soaking up the local color.

There is a Key West forum on this site with GREAT experts to steer you to all the hot spots. Some of the best places to dine down there include Michaels, 7 Fish, 915 Duval and Antonias. Be certain to make reservations for dinner before you go.

If you enjoy a cool lounge atmosphere, there are great swank spots on South Beach to visit. During the day, check out Nikki Beach Club on lower Ocean Drive. There is a fun Greek restaurant near by called Taverna Opa. Closer to the Lowes, check out Vix at the Hotel Victor, Social at the Sagamore, Rose Bar at the Delano, Sky Bar at the Shore Club and the lobby bar at the Setai... all of these places are just gorgeous spots to wander through and sample a tropical cocktail.

Lincoln Mall is within walking distance of your hotel too and offers great shopping, cool cafes and amazing people watching 24 hours a day.

Here are some maps to get you started:

southbeach-usa.com/maps/miami-beach-maps.htm

Have a Happy Birthday!

AG

South Beach and Key West

Thanks AG! I%26#39;ve been reading some of your other posting and I%26#39;m so glad you responded to mine. Thank you for the great tips. I really appreciate it.

South Beach is a wonderful place as is Key West but you only have a week so personally I would enjoy the week at South Beach and try Key West when you have more time. I have done both in a week but had also stayed at both places beforehand so I knew what to expect.

Hey there MC%26gt;

While you probably should spend more days in the Keys as everyone here suggested, it%26#39;s might be good to know that you can make the drive down and back in one day with plenty of time for side trips and sightseeing, of course depending on what you have planned to do. The drive does tire you out quite a bit, so that is why most people choose to stay for a night or two to re-energize, or sober up, whatever your pleasure....but nonetheless if you elect to just take a day for the keys it is certainly possible!

oh yeah...just make sure to get a really early start, otherwise forget it!

Thank you suewick and canopyboy. We%26#39;ll probably stick to hanging out in SoBe and take a day trip to Key West. Thanks again for your response.

My GPS software, which is usually VERY accurate, tells me the drive from South Beach to Key West is 169 miles each way taking 3:35. My math tells me you%26#39;d be in the car over seven hours in a single day if you try to do it all.

One of the coolest things about Key West is Mallory Square which is a late afternoon/evening thing. I haven%26#39;t been to Key West enough to know if the Mallory Square festivities start later during daylight savings time but they may as the sun set is one of the major attractions. My point is you really want to ';experience'; Mallory Square if you do Key West and if you do, that means you%26#39;d be headed back to South Beach fairly late in the day/evening.

My two cents...

Cheers...

Thank you SoBe Fan. Any suggestions as to %26#39;must do%26#39; in SoBe? Especially for first time visits?

Let me see... ';must do%26#39;s'; for first-time visitors... great question...

Check the many great posts on this web site penned by AdvisorGirl... she has a ton of great suggestions...

Here are some of my thoughts...

1) Walk Ocean Drive and Lincoln Road early in your visit so you can get a lay of the land. We also walk Lincoln Road on one side and return on the other side checking out the shops, galleries, maybe a bar or two for drinks and one restaurant for dinner (lunch is almost always on the beach!).

2) Go to the beach... this may sound like a silly comment, but many folks seam to find it difficult to make it past the hotel%26#39;s pool. This is especially true for Loews (if you end up staying there) as their pool is nice and many of their guests (certainly not you) being more conservative than at other hotels, prefer the private pool over a public sandy beach. You can%26#39;t fully experience SoBe unless you spend some time on the beach and walk along the ocean for some great sightseeing.

3) Hit the shops on and near Collins between 5th Street and 8th Street. Some may have great ';end of the summer'; sales.

4) Buy a new bathing suit at Wings (at Collins and Lincoln Road). The prices are great, quality good and you can buy separates (my wife buys only the bottoms as SoBe is topless).

5) Buy yogurt, mixers, bottled water that is stacked along the front window, and coffee drinks at Walgreen%26#39;s at Collins and Lincoln.

6) Buy beer at CVS on Lincoln a few stores east of Collins.

7) Buy Gin (or the drink of your choice) at the small liquor store on Collins between Lincoln and 17th Street across from National Hotel.

8) Get dressed up and go to Rose Bar at Delano.

Check what other folks have posted about clubs. We enjoyed Jazid but did not enjoy Mansion or Opium Garden - but that%26#39;s just us. Being twice the age as most of the ';kids'; at Mansion and the like, we just don%26#39;t connect. This next trip (in 3 weeks!), we%26#39;re going to check out Snatch as it%26#39;s one of the new ones since our last visit.

That should take care of your first day :)..

Have a great time and let us know what you ended up doing!

Cheers!

SoBe Fan: I was really interested in your comments and suggestions, we will be there in a few weeks as well and are also ';older than the kids';. Yet, enjoy fun/action/etc. Since you know your stuff, any ideas on restaurants which are not too pricey? Also, some wonderful people watching spots?

MC94116 -- have a wonderful birthday -- just soak it all in!

keep frendship with married woman