Miami - why so much dislike?

mrcow

Florida is lovely. Naples, Clearwater, St Augustine, The Keys, the Everglades etc. and that's before you start on the mains Orlando sites and Cape Kennedy etc.

Miami is fine, but by no stretch of the imagination the best Florida has to offer. There's not much to see/do. The shopping is better elsewhere. People are okay but again, possibly friendlier elsewhere (certainly my experience).

ParkLane

I went to Miami last August, it was one of my last stops. I stayed in a hotel on North Beach, didn't actually go to South beach! I personally found Miami to be really expensive. I stayed in two hotels over about four nights and for the price, they weren't great. North beach was lovely though and shops near South beach were great (again, expensive!) but some areas were quite rough. My friend and I got the bus to a flea market and the area was downright scary. I did find a Goodwill on the way back though and got some great bargains. I'm not sure if I'd go back to Miami. We went to Florida (for Orlando) and it was much better imo

shinhead

went last may to miami and we stopped in south beach its very expensive and like most say average city was a tad disapointed to be honest hotel was ok but would not go again

Jeff_Bridges_hair

I loved Miami - though I did go when the music conference was on so we didnt really visit many other places apart from South Beach but its a big influx of like minded music people so it was a nice friendly vibe about the place.

Cocorico123

I went to Miami last September for a quick 4 night break. While it definitely won't make it into my list of favourite destinations, it certainly wasn't the worst place I've visited...

Firstly, it was SO hot there at that time, really humid, almost unbearably so. We intended to do things like the art deco walking tour around South Beach but decided in the end that it was just too hot.

The city itself isn't that user friendly if you don't have a car. We managed to figure out the bus network and managed to get around a fair bit because of this, but had we not done this, I think we would have got bored of South Beach quite quickly.

However, if you plan ahead, I think you could have a nice time there. I would factor in a night away from the city so you can visit the Keys, a day in and around the Everglades etc etc.

oasis1979

davetrousers wrote: »

Yeah fly to Tampa and go to the Gulf Coast, Clearwater Beach

yes this

heading there for the 5th time in April - you could also check out Sarasota, Anna Marie Island etc

Loads of great beaches & bars

Beautiful area of the world

eslick

went to south beach and ocean drive last year just to say we had been, was totally dissappointed not as big or exciting as you see on the TV. To be honest we dont really love florida, some parts are very nice but like Vicki_74 prefer the GA and SC areas, not always as hot, but proper beaches that arent always full of shells, and you get the Atlantic rather than the clearer seas of FL but its also a better pace of life.

joerugby

Miami is not great. West Palm Beach is just a few miles north and is very nice indeed

scottishminnie

joerugby wrote: »

Miami is not great. West Palm Beach is just a few miles north and is very nice indeed

I can only echo what the others have said - Miami isn't dreadful, it's simply that it isn't great in comparison with many other Florida cities. West Palm Beach and Pembroke Pines are both nice areas not too far out if you are flying into MIA. If you are going to be in the area then I recommend a trip to the zoo - I can honestly say it was the best zoo I have ever visited.

My personal preference is the gulf coast - specifically Sarasota and Sanibel Island although Naples is also nice. As well as being cleaner, generally nicer and more to do and see (imo) I think it's cheaper on the other coast. We're just back last week from our annual Sarasota/Sanibel winter pilgrimage and I miss it already - Enjoy your trip:)

Esoog

I was amazed to find in my very short stay in Miami (ie hours) that more people seemed to speak Spanish than English (it wasn't like that in Miami Vice..although I suppose Castillo was of Spanish heritage? Anyway).. So you might find if you speak Spanish you'll have a head start It certainly prompted me to brush up on mine