Miami is a city of contradictions. One minute you’re surrounded by pastel Art Deco facades and the next you’re in a financial district that could pass for Canary Wharf. Add in a car, a bit of time, and an appetite for both the beach and the backroads, and three days is just enough to get a proper feel for the place, provided you’re willing to move fast and eat often. Below is how we did it, with a few detours that surprised us more than the obvious stops.
Day One: South Beach and Brickell
Start where everyone starts, and for good reason. South Beach’s Ocean Drive is exactly as photogenic as advertised, all pastel hotels and vintage cars, though it’s worth wandering a block or two back from the front to avoid the tourist-menu prices. A coffee on Española Way is a good way to ease into the heat before the sun properly gets going.
We stayed at The Esme Hotel, a ten to fifteen minute walk from Ocean Drive and the waterfront. It’s boutique rather than grand, so don’t expect the big beachfront resort experience, but the rooftop pool and bar make it a genuinely great base to chill out during the day, and it’s well positioned for exploring the rest of Miami rather than just the beach strip. There are also a decent number of car parks nearby, which makes it an easy one to recommend if you’ve got a hire car.
In the evening, head south to Brickell, Miami’s financial district, all glass towers and hedge fund energy. Tucked improbably among the skyscrapers is Chateau ZZ’s, a genuine 20th-century chateau turned Mexican fine dining room by Major Food Group, formerly a private residence for fifty years before opening to the public for the first time. Book ahead. Expect around $200 a head, but the pork belly tacos, Mexican Caesar and ceviche alone justify it, and the churros are the perfect way to close things out. Save it for date night if you can, since it’s an easy segue into a bar or after party once you’re back among the high-rises.
Day Two: Palm Beach
An hour and a half up the coast is Palm Beach, and it’s worth the drive if only to see how the other half live. It’s polished, immaculate and a little unreal, closer to Disneyland for adults than a typical beach town. Worth Avenue is the place for window shopping even if you’ve no intention of buying, and The Colony Hotel is worth the expense for breakfast alone, the huevos rancheros and fruit platter are excellent, even if it costs you an arm and a leg. Drift, nearby, is worth seeking out for coffee too. It won’t be everyone’s idea of authentic Florida, but as a contrast to Miami proper, it earns its place on the route.
Day Three: The Florida Keys
Key West is doable in a day, but only just, it’s a good seven hours round trip, so if you haven’t got a night booked down there, plan to get roughly halfway and turn back rather than rushing the whole route. Bahia Honda State Beach is the best of the islands and worth building the day around.
Stop for key lime pie along the way, but brace yourself for the bill, we paid $42 for a slice each and a couple of coffees, which tells you everything about pricing down here. Robert Is Here Fruit Stand is worth a stop too, a huge range of fruit chopped fresh to order on site, and further along you can feed the tarpons at Robbie’s Marina, touristy but good fun for ten minutes. Both are easy stops rather than places to linger.
Check the forecast before you go. In shoulder season the weather can turn fast, we were caught crossing the Seven Mile Bridge in a storm with a good three feet of standing water and had to slow right down and pull over once we cleared it. Properly exposed out there when it turns. That said, when the sun’s out it’s genuinely lovely, everyone’s on the water and it’s easy to see the appeal.
Getting Around
A car is essential for this itinerary, and one tip that’ll save you a headache: get the SunPass add-on when you rent. If you’re going with a company like Sixt, they’ll bundle the toll transponder in, which is worth it since most of your long-distance driving runs on toll roads. As a Brit, the constant camera flashes on the highway had me convinced I was racking up speeding tickets, it’s just the tolls reading your plate.
Where to Stay
The Esme covers South Beach well and puts you close to the water and the walkable strip. If you’d rather have the buzz on your doorstep, base yourself in Brickell instead. Either one puts you within easy reach of the Keys and Palm Beach as day trips, without needing to relocate mid-visit.