Miami: College Spring Break Edition

Spring break is by far one of the most looked forward to weeks of the year for college students. Naturally, as it’s a time for doing nothing but relaxing (and partying). This year going to Miami seemed like the best idea from a cost and location standpoint for all of us. Below, I’ve laid out a day-by-day itinerary featuring must try restaurants and cute Miami attractions worth your time.

Where we stayed:

The Grand Beach Hotel

• The Grand Beach offers Two-Bedroom Suites that actually fit eight of us pretty comfortably. The total cost was $438 per person for five nights. In comparison to the rest of Miami hotels, it’s a pretty good deal.
• The rooms also have a kitchenette and, although we couldn’t cook, we were able to make sandwiches and store snacks and such for breakfast and lunch (which saved us a TON of money) so we were able to live it up as foodies by night.

So where did we go and what did we do? Here’s your Miami Guide.

Day 1: 

• Arrived in MIA (30 minute Uber from airport to hotel)
• Picked up groceries (do this the first day so you don’t have to worry about it later)

Dinner – Larios on the Beach.

• Amazing Cuban food. We were lucky enough to go with parents (shout out Paige and Todd Hager) but there are a few things you must order.
• Mini Cuban Sandwiches (perfect bite-sized goodness), Handmade Croquetas, Avocado Salad (great if you love avocado – add fresh fish or chicken to make it an entree), The Paella (pictured below – great sharing plate for the table), the tuna tartare, and THE DRINKS (if you like tart/sour things, try the passionfruit mojito – all are delicious, you can’t go wrong).
• Side note: these are just a few of the items I tried and loved, but everyone was satisfied with what they ordered.

Day 2:

Lunch: Gianni’s At The Former Versace Mansion

• What was once Gianni Versace’s mansion (known as Villa Casa Casuarina), has now been turned into a magnificent restaurant with great photo op’s. We went for lunch, where they have a three course prix fixe menu for $29.00. The prix fixe features Italian/Mediterranean dishes (an appetizer, entree, and dessert). Everything on the menu was phenomenal and we had lunch with a view.

Dinner: Market at Edition

• Market has an array of different dishes including charcuterie boards, pasta, and pizza. For the most part, we split pizzas (still full from lunch) as a cost efficient option. Very cute interior.

Day 3:

Dinner: Juvia

• A renowned restaurant in Miami for its cuisine and rooftop view. The lucky thing is, they have a $45 prix fixe menu (not on website) for an appetizer, entree, dessert and glass of Prosecco. The prix fixe offers healthy portions as well. I highly recommend the Summer Lychee Cocktail, Salmon Tartare as an appetizer, and for the prix fixe: Wagyu Beef Carpaccio, New York Strip, and Chocolate Mousse. Food was 11/10 as was the ambience.

Day 4:

A stroll to Joe & The Juice

• Healthy smoothie, protein shake, and coffee bar (Try the Power Shake!)

Design District + Politan Row Food Hall

• The Design District is a great place to walk around (maybe not actually purchase anything as everything is luxury). There are fun places to take pictures (especially the Fendi Store – pictured below)
• Politan Row – is a food hall that has every type of food you could imagine. Ramen, Poke Bowls, Sushi, Italian, Vietnamese, Cuban, Mediterranean. . .you name it. Good place to go especially if everyone has a craving for something different.

Day 5:

Dinner: Hoshi & Sushi

• For our last night, we decided that it would probably be best to go to a cheaper restaurant. I found this sushi place through an intensive yelp search for cheap, yet high quality sushi (hard to find). The location seems a little sketch but the food was good.
• Side Note: We were going to go to Scarpetta (an Italian restaurant in the Fontainebleau) but this is a pricier option. However, the food is definitely worth it.

Liv Nightclub

• LIV is the famous club located in the Fontainebleau and has different well known DJs and music artists perform every night. If you want to go, I highly recommend that you pre-purchase tickets to get in ($30 ahead of time, $100 dollars at the door most nights). Also, keep in mind that drinks are super expensive. $25 for a dixie cup sized drink – so plan accordingly.

Wrapping things up...

I know that planning and finding places actually seems like a lot more work than just laying it all out, and, it is. In the next travel article I’ll discuss the best and most effective way to successfully plan a vacation – in all aspects.