Going to Miami on Vacation

Going to Miami on Vacation

Miami is America’s favorite holiday destination and it’s no surprise why. Sun, sand, sea, parties, style and beautiful people are the ingredients used to make this city so attractive. Developed in the 1920s as a winter beach paradise for the rich and famous, Miami is now a vibrant, year round destination and the gateway to Latin America.

Miami is more than just a beach destination. However, this is still the major pull-factor for most people when booking a holiday here. Miami has over 20 miles of beach and the sea is warm and fairly sheltered. The beaches are as much about swimming and sunbathing as they are about being seen. Miami seems to have more than its fair share of good-looking people with bronzed, toned bodies who parade the promenades along the cities beaches.

The most popular beach is South Beach, located on Ocean Drive. It is what most people expect from a Miami beach; jogging paths, beach volley ball and crystal-blue waters. However, this perfect combination does mean it gets rather busy, and locals tend to avoid this during peak-season.

South Beach is also where you will find the best Art Deco architecture in the world. Built in the 1920s and ’30s, the pastel coloured art-deco hotels that line South Beach and Collins Avenue have been well-preserved as integral parts of Miami’s history.

You can book tours of the area from the Art Deco Welcome Center on Ocean Drive, but a walk around the area will give you a good insight into the style and culture that this architecture is famous for.

Being so close to Cuba, Miami has a thriving Latin American community. Little Havana is a growing area of the city just west of downtown. It’s predominantly Spanish-speaking population have nurtured a small slice of Cuba in the heart of Miami and you can truly feel that you have exchanged North America for Central America.

Coconut Grove is a young, Bohemian area of Miami. It is one of the oldest areas of the city established in 1825, and is now popular with art and theater lovers. Every year the area hosts the Coconut Grove Arts Festival which is one of the biggest contemporary arts festivals in the world. This is also where you will find the Coconut Grove Playhouse that has been putting on productions since the mid-1950s.

By day, this area has a village feel, but by night, the area turns into one of Miami’s premier clubbing scenes. Coconut Grove’s nightlife is more sultry and sexy than that of South Beach, although both areas attract world famous DJs and beautiful people.

Miami also hosts the Winter Music Conference each March which attracts DJs and dance industry big-wigs from over 70 different countries. This confirms Miami’s status as a party city.