In case you haven’t checked out my Instagram (@oakandjames), Greer and I just went to Miami Beach for a quick, relaxing vacation last week. I had never been to Miami, so I was excited to experience a new city. I was also excited to get some much-needed sun…can you blame me? While we were there, we ate a bunch of good food, drank some yummy drinks, and enjoyed each other’s company. I threw a little travel diary video together so we can remember the trip.
Day 1
We got to Miami Beach late — around 10pm. We arrived at our hotel, Z Ocean Hotel, and we settled in. The Z Ocean Hotel was so incredible. It was fancy, clean, and had the best customer service. The two-story rooftop terrace with a private jacuzzi was incredible. Shoutout to Z Ocean Hotel for making our stay that much better! Once we checked in, we walked down the block to La Sandwicherie for dinner. I got the SOBE Club with turkey, avocado, and brie and Greer got the Italian. The sandwiches were so good and were exactly what we needed after the flight. Go to La Sandwicherie if you’re in the mood for a tasty, classic sandwich in Miami Beach!
Day 2
We wake up expecting it to be cloudy based on the forecast we had looked at the night before; however, we are greeted by the sun and blue skies. Our first order of business was to get exploring. We walked down Ocean Drive for a while before we stopped at Icon for brunch. We indulged in mimosas, eggs benedict, and chorizo scramble. After brunch, we continued exploring and took a stroll on the beach. We went back to our hotel, changed into our swimsuits, and hit the beach. Our hotel provided free towels, beach chairs, and umbrellas, so we set up shop in our perfect little beach cabana. After soaking in the sun for a few hours, we decided to go to Walgreens to pick up some essentials — beach snacks, beer, and mixers. We made a pitstop at the liquor store for some run and went back to the hotel to lay out on our private rooftop terrace overlooking Miami Beach. It was so nice. We got ready for dinner and headed downstairs for dinner at the Front Porch Cafe. It was pretty good — nothing amazing though. After dinner, we went walking on the boardwalk and rented bikes. Bike riding on the boardwalk was one of my favorite things we did.
Day 3
We wanted to wake up early and get out to the beach, so that’s exactly what we did. We were out on the beach all morning. We went back up to the hotel around 1pm to go get lunch at Senor Frogs. I had never been to one, but Greer had. We ordered a pitcher of a yummy tequila cocktail and tex-mex dishes. It was pretty dang good! In order to work off some of our lunch, we decided to start walking south. Turns out we made it all the way to the southern tip of the island! We watched ships go by on the South Point Pier and took in the beautiful scenery. We rented bikes again at a Citi Bike Share stand and rode back to the hotel. We laid out again on the rooftop terrace then got ready for dinner. We went to Piola for some Neopolitian pizza. It was good, but we were quickly realizing that the service at all the restaurants in Miami were sub-par. We headed over to the beach to hit up Wet Willie’s for a spiked daiquiri. If you’ve never had Wet Willie’s, you should give it a try!
Day 4
With an early rise, we walked to FL Cafe for brunch. I got an egg white sandwich with a mimosa and Greer ordered a spinach and feta omelet with a bloody mary. It was delicious. We walked to the boardwalk and I forced Greer to take photos of me much to his dismay. Once I was done torturing him by making him my photographer, we changed and headed to the beach for some R & R. We actually fell asleep under the umbrella. There is just something so relaxing about the sea breeze and the shade of an umbrella. Once we woke from our nap, we floated in the ocean for an hour or so. It was awesome. It reminded me of when I was a kid playing in the ocean, expect this time around I had a rum drink in hand. It made it that much better. Once we were done floating, we got jazzed up and headed to dinner at Coco Bambu, a wonderful seafood restaurant. We got a few cocktails and ordered ceviche and mango mahi. It was SO GOOD. Since it was our last night, we decided to walk back to the beach and enjoy the skyline and nightlife on the beach. We stopped at a sidewalk cafe for drinks and relaxed for the rest of the evening.
Day 5
Our flight was leaving at 9:30am, so we woke up early and watched the sunrise. It was stunning. Our trip was over, but it was such an amazing trip. It was everything we wanted it to be. The only thing we were sad we missed out on was not getting a Cuban sandwich. I guess we will just have to go back! Thank you to Greer for being my forever travel partner! Where should we head to next? Let us know!
One thought on “Miami Beach Travel Diary”