2015 is off to a good start with an amazing trip to Florida. The trip included a few stops: Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and with a highlight in the Keys (Key Largo, Islamorada and Key West).
1. Fort Lauderdale
This was my first and last day stop and it's perfect if you need some quite time for relaxation. The city if not so big and ideal for a family vacation or retirement.
A fan of sweet? Visit Kilwins (Lauderdale-by-the-Sea) and Sloan's Ice cream (Lauderdale-by-the-Sea)
2. Miami
This is my second time in Miami. Last time I stayed at a hotel by South Beach, experienced the night life, and explored the area for a bit.
This time, I made a day trip to Miami and had a whole different experience.
- South Beach: It's a nice beach to lay out, but not necessarily to swim as the waves can be strong sometimes and there might be lot of jelly fish in the water. If lucky, you can find street parking on Ocean drive or any street from 1st - 10th and just walk down the path to the beach. There is also a parking lot on 10th and Collins that is only a few block away from the beach. Prices can vary depending on how busy it is but this would save you lot of time finding parking.
- Miami is a big city and there is more than just the beach area and the night life in South Beach.
I ventured to Little Havana with my roommate looking for some Cuban food and we found "The World most famous Cuban Restaurant" - Versailles Restaurant (it was amazing!!!!). Must try the traditional Cuban sandwich if you have never had one before and their Mojitos. Everything else on the menu is equally delicious and for a very good price!
Make sure to save room for some Cuban desserts and Cuban coffee at their bakery next door.
- Later at night, come downtown and join the night life of Miami!
Bayside Marketplace is located right in downtown Miami. It's a big market/shopping center, there is parking lot available if you are driving there. (recommend to visit at night). There are so many things you can do here:
There are many good restaurants and a lot of shops for you to shop or walk around. You can enjoy music after dinner with a drink by the stage or at a bar. There are special shows/guests every night (check out their line up for the week).
My favorite spot:
3. Road trip to the Keys
We only had 3 days, 2 nights so we didn't get to see everything but below are the highlights.
- First stop Key Largo:
There are many good restaurant in Key Largo but one of my favorite is "Pilot house", a glass-bottom restaurant. The reason why I love it so much is because of its view, its food and especially the KEY LIME PIE!
- Second stop Islamorada
We stopped here to enjoy some sun and lay down by the beach.
We went to Islander resort which has a private beach (but we are going in anyway lol), a pool and a bar (live music sometimes). The beach is not ideal for swimming but perfect to lay out for tanning.
4. Key West - Southernmost end !
- Transportation: If you plan to stop and visit other keys, then you would need a car. Once you get to Key west, you won't need your car anymore as you can pretty much walk anywhere, so just plan on park it at the hotel for the whole time you are there.
- Lodging: Hotels are quite expensive around here. After some researching, we decided to stay at the Crowne Plaza Key West – La Concha
Building in Key West ($229/night) , which we absolutely loved. The hotel was very nice and located right in the middle of the city so we could pretty much walk everywhere.(Key west is very small, only 2x4 miles!)
I would recommend staying somewhere close to the city. You might save some money staying somewhere further north but you will have to drive in and parking is not easy to find as Key west is very small.
- Pub Crawl on Duval street: I would recommend doing this, especially if you don't have a lot of time here. The tour will take you to some great bars. There are more than 100 bars and restaurants in Key west (within the 2x4 miles area), every bar has a live band performing every night. If you have time, definitely check out these bars, the bars are very open, you can just walk in, check it out, grab a drink then move on to the next bar. Here are a few bars that I visited and would recommend:
SLOPPY JOE'S BAR, CAPT. TONY'S SALOON, Flying Monkey Saloon, Durty Harry’s, Schooner Wharf Bar (this is my favorite bar - make sure to check out the Magic bar within this bar as well).
Check the schedule as the tour is only offered on certain nights of the week. Link: http://duvalcrawl.com/
- Ice fishing. This is not Wisconsin Ice-fishing if that is what you are thinking; this is throwing ice-cubes into the water - it's a lot easier than ice fishing and you will see a lot more fish :)
- One day trip to Dry Tortugas National Park (cost $170, $160 if student to take the Ferry ). Totally worth the money !
I would recommend the tour with the park ranger (free) to learn about the place and history rather than wandering by yourself.
Activities: Beach, snorkeling, exploring the area, camping over night (I wish i had time to do this).
- Sunset on Mallory Square
- Visit Southernmost Point
- Restaurants recommendation:
DJ's clam shack: cheap, quick but delicious !
The Cafe: service is not the best but great food and refreshing drinks !!
Come to the Bahama Village for Breakfast/Brunch. We found the best French breakfast/coffee place thus far ! Try the Gallette in their menu, it's to die for !
Blue Heaven: Didn't get a chance to try this but I heard it has amazing brunch menu.
This is just some pictures/highlights of the trip. You will have to come and see it all with your eyes. It was sure a great trip for me :)
#travelgirl
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