Miami Beach [with kids]

The first stop of our round the world trip was Miami. This was not by accident. We made sure our first port of call would be one with sunshine , good food, and lots to do. But we hadn’t expected the city to be as welcoming as it was – everyone we met, bar none, was so friendly and generous and we have absolutely nothing negative to say about it. Even the guy who asked Rob for some spare change was incredibly polite!

On this post I will share our beach adventures with you, as they’re what C loved the most. We managed to sightsee and fit in a few hours at the beach every day during our 3 night stay in Miami.

Our first stop was the mandatory South Beach. We arrived early in the morning, and because of our massive travel day the day before, treated ourselves to a slap-up American breakfast on Ocean Drive. Then we picked up some beach toys and a sunhat, and made our way to the dunes. Here is C throwing a mild tantrum en-route because he couldn’t find a big enough stick!

The sand was beautifully white, the sea was a gorgeous hue of blue and it had enough waves for us  to have some fun with (It was a red flag here in Miami, but would have been green in Portugal!). We spent a lovely morning splashing about in the water, spotting the colourful lifeguard huts as we strolled on the beach and taking in the cool art-deco buildings making up the backdrop. There was even a fun playground in between the beach and Ocean Drive – bonus!

On the second day, we wanted to escape the Spring Breakers so drove up a little bit for less than 10 minutes to arrive in Mid-Beach – a haven of a quiet beach with only a few people sunbathing or doing an exercise class. This area also had a fantastic wooden boardwalk that separated the beach dunes from the myriad of art-deco hotels that line Miami. It was a great place to spot eccentric locals exercising.

On the third day we went back to Mid-Beach for a last goodbye swim in the refreshing Miami waters. The city and its beaches treated us very nicely, everyone we encountered was incredibly friendly and generous and we were spoilt with the delicious food.

Thank you Miami, we will be back!