Miami Beach vs. other Florida Atlantic beaches?? (Hialeah, Orlando: appointed, renting)
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I'm going to Florida for 6 days this coming January and will be flying in and out of Fort Lauderdale airport. We will be spending one night each in Cocoa Beach, Orlando, Florida City and two nights in Marathon. Our flight arrives at 11:30 AM on a Thursday and we're wondering if we should swing by South Beach or just visit Fort Lauderdale beach or Delray Beach before heading to Titusville/Cocoa Beach. I do expect the best beaches will be in the Florida Keys but am still wondering about the first day.
Is Miami Beach and specifically South Beach truly the best beach on the Florida's Atlantic coast? Or can places like Delray Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Dania Beach or Cocoa Beach itself compare? Specifically we prefer the white sand beaches with the bright blue-green waters. In all the movies and guides Miami Beach always seems to have the best sand and water but maybe that's just because its more publicized and marketed. I have a friend who lives in Marathon and says that this time of year the water is usually too cold so whether the ocean is safe to swim and wade in (without surfing experience) is less important. We will be renting a car and would prefer an area with cheap beach access (my guidebook mentions Atlantic Shores in Delray Beach), free parking if possible, preferably in a parking lot vs street parking (none of my friends are city drivers and I personally got my license without passing the parallel parking part). Another plus would be free locker rooms since if it happens to be warm enough to swim we don't want our things stolen especially the keys and the car. We also want to avoid heavy traffic if possible.
Also if someone can give their feedback on the Florida Turnpike vs. I-95? I know the Turnpike is the quickest way to get from Orlando back to South Florida but would it save a lot of money to switch to I-95 around West Palm Beach and rejoin the Turnpike in Miami? I've heard the Turnpike has very expensive tolls. That will be nighttime driving so scenery matters less but it would be nice to see downtown Miami at night. Would going on I-95 part of the way from Orlando to Homestead/Florida City save a money? How much extra time? Also are there ample rest areas along I-95 since I understand many parts of South Florida have a lot of violent crime (for example I've been told to avoid Hialeah). Thanks!!
The Florida Keys I hate to tell you really don't have many sand beaches. They have rocky beaches...Most of the sand beaches in the Keys are located at hotels. So if you are looking for sand beaches in the keys you will be disappointed. Most of Southeast Florida beaches are man made, meaning the sand is trucked in and dumped on the "beaches". The prettiest beaches in Florida are in the Panhandle of Florida, Destin Florida instance has that beautiful sugar like sand beach.
Delray Beach, Boca Raton have more natural beaches, less people on their beaches too.
As for the Turnpike question, well if you are only spending a night or two in these places, I think you will need to get to these places as quickly as possible so the turnpike is going to be worth the extra cost for tolls. if you want to see downtown Miami at night though, then yeehaw junction or in Ft. Pierce exit I believe is were people switch from the turnpike to I-95, it's the closest that the two roads come to each other, there are signs on the turnpike...
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Hialeah? LOL well I know some people think Speaking Spanish is borderline criminal but a violent crime is a stretch. Florida city is far more violent than Hialeah(but nothing to lose sleep on) Sounds like whoever is advising you has never been in a Hispanic neighborhood.
You will find beautiful scenery at the keys but not nice beaches
I think you should go to south beach if you are in South Florida, it will take about 25 minutes from the airport. They have plenty of parking lots a block away from the beach
after that you should take I-95 if you are heading to Cocoa beach. On your way back it would be easier to take the turnpike to Florida city, but yes it is expensive but less complicated.
Edit
I remember you now, you are the one who wants to wear confederate flag attire in Miami, you are either trolling or have the most ethnocentric, ignorant friends, in that case I recommend heading straight to Titusville as that town is pretty ethnocentric itself, Titusville is the only pla e in Florida so far where I felt I was gonna get lynched for being hispanic.
Last edited by ♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥; 12-21-2010 at 08:17 AM..
You'be missing out by NOT going to South Beach. It's a beautiful beach and the surrounding area's architecture (one of the largest Art Deco districts in the world) is beautiful. Lincoln Road (an open-air, pedestrian-only mall of restaurants/bars/shops is a great place to have lunch or dinner and explore). The area is very walkable and you can actually leave your car parked versus battling traffic all day.
You'be missing out by NOT going to South Beach. It's a beautiful beach and the surrounding area's architecture (one of the largest Art Deco districts in the world) is beautiful. Lincoln Road (an open-air, pedestrian-only mall of restaurants/bars/shops is a great place to have lunch or dinner and explore). The area is very walkable and you can actually leave your car parked versus battling traffic all day.
How much of South Beach is actually accessible to the public vs. privately owned by the hotels? It would be nice to see the Art Deco area indeed but I guess parking can be a concern since winter is the high season in Miami. As for the water and physical beach I'm guessing within South Florida it's the prettiest? I'm not able to find a lot of pictures of Delray Beach or Cocoa Beach for some reason. Its a shame that even in South Florida the water is too cold to swim in this time of year.
Hialeah? LOL well I know some people think Speaking Spanish is borderline criminal but a violent crime is a stretch. Florida city is far more violent than Hialeah(but nothing to lose sleep on) Sounds like whoever is advising you has never been in a Hispanic neighborhood.
You will find beautiful scenery at the keys but not nice beaches
I think you should go to south beach if you are in South Florida, it will take about 25 minutes from the airport. They have plenty of parking lots a block away from the beach
after that you should take I-95 if you are heading to Cocoa beach. On your way back it would be easier to take the turnpike to Florida city, but yes it is expensive but less complicated.
Edit
I remember you now, you are the one who wants to wear confederate flag attire in Miami, you are either trolling or have the most ethnocentric, ignorant friends, in that case I recommend heading straight to Titusville as that town is pretty ethnocentric itself, Titusville is the only pla e in Florida so far where I felt I was gonna get lynched for being hispanic.
I'm sorry if you think I'm trolling, I'm just saying things that people have told me. I've heard these things about Hialeah from two different people, a friend who lives in Marathon and also a friend from Maryland whose parents retired and live in Naples now and have been through South Florida before. I am not equating all Hispanics with crime but where I live most predominantly Hispanic areas have a large concentration of illegal immigrants and gangs like MS-13 which is the msot violent gang in the state.
How much of South Beach is actually accessible to the public vs. privately owned by the hotels? It would be nice to see the Art Deco area indeed but I guess parking can be a concern since winter is the high season in Miami. As for the water and physical beach I'm guessing within South Florida it's the prettiest? I'm not able to find a lot of pictures of Delray Beach or Cocoa Beach for some reason. Its a shame that even in South Florida the water is too cold to swim in this time of year.
The water temps are usually 10 degrees cooler than the air temps. So if it is 75 degrees outside then the water temp will be 65 degrees F. Some people think 65F is a great temperature to swim in, maybe you are one of the ones that like 65F water temps... As far as I know all of the beach in South Beach is public, its not till a little further north of South Beach that you start to see the hotels kind of put their chairs on the beach sections. So any places in South Beach you shouldn't have a problem. As for parking, most of the people at the hotels will most likely be using the valets at the hotels, so the metered parking shouldn't be too much of a problem especially during the week.
As for your question of where is the prettiest beach, well Key Biscayne came in 10th this year according to Dr. Beach The Best Beach In America Is Coopers Beach (Southampton, New York) Make sure you go all the way to the end of Key Biscayne to see it and not stop at the rocky Hobe Beach on the Causeway.
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I'm sorry if you think I'm trolling, I'm just saying things that people have told me. I've heard these things about Hialeah from two different people, a friend who lives in Marathon and also a friend from Maryland whose parents retired and live in Naples now and have been through South Florida before. I am not equating all Hispanics with crime but where I live most predominantly Hispanic areas have a large concentration of illegal immigrants and gangs like MS-13 which is the msot violent gang in the state.
avoid Miami alltogether, this place is predominantly Hispanic, including the beaches, Broward is mostly white so that shoulndt be a problem.
The water temps are usually 10 degrees cooler than the air temps. So if it is 75 degrees outside then the water temp will be 65 degrees F. Some people think 65F is a great temperature to swim in, maybe you are one of the ones that like 65F water temps... As far as I know all of the beach in South Beach is public, its not till a little further north of South Beach that you start to see the hotels kind of put their chairs on the beach sections. So any places in South Beach you shouldn't have a problem. As for parking, most of the people at the hotels will most likely be using the valets at the hotels, so the metered parking shouldn't be too much of a problem especially during the week.
As for your question of where is the prettiest beach, well Key Biscayne came in 10th this year according to Dr. Beach The Best Beach In America Is Coopers Beach (Southampton, New York) Make sure you go all the way to the end of Key Biscayne to see it and not stop at the rocky Hobe Beach on the Causeway.
Didn't know this was a research subject though I'm not surprised its a Florida university that sponsors this I'm really about the prettiest water and sand overall. I'm surprised they had three beaches from the Northeast which in my opinion cannot compare with Southern beaches which can't compare with tropical beaches. I was surprised that Miami Beach actually didnt make the list when Massachusetts did despite the ritziness of Cape Cod and Long Island. I've caught a quick glance of Miami's beach once from a cruise ship leaving the port many many years ago (not sure if it was South Beach that was visible or another part of Miami Beach) but have not been to the city aside from going from the airport to the cruise terminal.
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I'm really about the prettiest water and sand overall. I'm surprised they had three beaches from the Northeast which in my opinion cannot compare with Southern beaches which can't compare with tropical beaches. I was surprised that Miami Beach actually didnt make the list when Massachusetts did despite the ritziness of Cape Cod and Long Island. I've caught a quick glance of Miami's beach once from a cruise ship leaving the port many many years ago (not sure if it was South Beach that was visible or another part of Miami Beach) but have not been to the city aside from going from the airport to the cruise terminal.
