Vibrant Miami

March in Miami means 70-degree weather with potential high winds. But for someone coming from the 20 degree northern temperature, traveling to Miami is most welcomed and doesn't stop the trip to the beach.

Miami Beach is the popular tourist destination for green waters, white sandy beaches and especially nightlife. The main busy center begins around 18th Street, Lincoln Road Mall, filled with shops and restaurants. Bars and nightlife begins here but more so around lower numbered streets or South Beach where hotels are part of the Art Deco district. The hotel I stayed was a little further north and quieter. One can walk throughout Miami Beach or for $2.25 each way can take the local bus running along Collins and Washington Avenues. There is the 150 bus that go from Miami Beach to the airport but make sure one budgets their time. To go anywhere else in Miami, the inexpensive transport is Uber.

One has no problem eating out, but meals can cost at a minimum $10. I was able to snag a good deal on a bus and boat tours for ~ $40. For a 5-hr event, I got a bus tour of South Beach, Downtown Miami, Biscayne bay, Little Havana, and Coral Gables. There is a 20-min. stop over in Little Havana's famous Calle 8 area for a bathroom break, free tasting of Cuban coffee and some picture taking with murials and the popular Domino Park.

After Little Havana and Coral Gables, the bus stops by the pier in Downtown Miami for our boat tour around Palm, Star and Venetian Islands. You can find houses of the rich and famous in these islands - Ricky Martin, Gloria Estefan, Julio Iglesias, Will Smith, Mel Gibson, J.Lo, the Adams Family, Alicia Keys and more.