Faux Fancy in Miami: Traveling On A Budget
I loved Miami so much! I was happy just walking the windy streets taking in all of the culture. Even though it was not warm enough for the beach there was so much to do during off season. We had a blast eating and going out, but my favorite part would have to be the art. Miami is covered in it, so it was almost like a wonderland and I enjoyed every minute! Here's how you can have fun in Miami without breaking the bank. My pictures do not do this trip any justice, you can still visit my instagram and watch the highlights from my trip called Miami Fun by clicking here.
Transportation
The trolley is free and we took it everyday to get to basic places like Lincoln Road Mall and The Bass Museum. We took the uber to places like Wynwood and Downtown Miami. Those Uber rides began to add up and on the weekend the prices hiked up like crazy. My friend picked us up one night and finding parking was horrible every single time but I would totally recommend renting a car.
Stew Chicken, Plaintains, Beans and rice from Chef Creole
Eating
I like to get my monies worth.
Wynwood Yard
We ate here two days in a row! After you are done walking around the beautiful Wynwood Arts District. Head over to 29th street. They have several food trucks out there, a garden, yoga studio, a bar, and at night they often have live music. I ate from the Food Dude Truck TWICE! I’m telling you it’s that good.
Chef Creole
We took an uber to Little Haiti; kind of got lost and decided to just eat at a restaurant called Chef Creole. I ordered the stewed chicken for $8.99. It was AAAMAZING and a lot of food! Now listen, when you see the restaurant it is literally a shack but I promise you our waitress was nice and it might’ve been the best thing we had while down there.
"Vocabulary of Solitude" by Ugo Rondinine
Things to Do
I’m a dork. So I was in love with every bit of Miami because there is art EVERYWHERE.
Go to A Museum
They have some really dope museums. I researched several but we only had time to visit one which was the Bass. They had two amazing exhibits by Ugo Rondinine called “Vocabulary of Solitude” and “Miami Magic Mountain”. The Bass was only $10 and unfortunately we weren’t able to make it to The Moca but it was only $5. On the last Friday of every month people gather outside for free concerts and the museum is open by donation.
Visit Wynwood Arts District.
The entire Wynwood area is beautiful to walk around. There are restaurants, stores, bars, everything and every single building is covered in art. It’s amazing. They also have the Wynwood Walls. It’s an outside art exhibit. There is no way to explain it, just go its completely free!
Check Groupon
My friend arrived hours early and got a Groupon to go paddle boarding. We also found a “celebrity cruise” for $15 and it included one alcohol beverage of choice. The boat ride was about an hour and a half long and we saw the mansions of celebrities like Will Smith, Diddy, Gloria Estefan, and so much more. It was beautiful just seeing dolphins and the many little islands that makeup Miami, it was so worth it. There are lots of other things to do on Groupon, we were only scratching the surface!
Utilize Happy Hour
Drinking in Miami is expensive af! They automatically add gratuity and a simple drink like Long Island Ice Teas, Vodka Tonic, anything starts at $25. Luckily when we were out during the day a lot of places have happy hour.
Miami Mojito Company
While walking Wynwood, we stopped at a dope bar called Miami Mojita Company. We only went in because it was so cute from the outside. We found out they had $6 mojitos so we stayed. The Coconut Pineapple Mojito was the best!
Wynwood Yard had good happy hour deals as well. They offered a $6 vodka punch and you could definitely taste fresh sage from their garden.
Going Out
Coyo Taco
The First night we went to Coyo Taco. Apparently not many people know the back turns into a club, but it does. It’s small so the party was tight however, it was cool seeing people REALLY dance and not stand around. The food was amazing and because it was Tuesday, they had a great deal on tacos even at 2 in the morning.
The Basement
The next night we went to The Basement. This place is beautiful. It is a club, ice skating rink, and bowling alley in one. It’s inside of The Edition hotel. It’s snooty so be prepared but it’s so worth it! Ice Skating was free the night we went but I am not sure if this always applies.
Wynwood
On the weekends go to Wynwood one night. It was insane. The music filled the streets and every bar and club was packed. It was fun just walking the streets but we ended up stopping at the Mojito company again and then heading over to Wood Tavern; which was insane! I’m usually not one to go out but I had entirely too much fun that night.
