South Beach Miami Vacation in June? (Tallahassee, Hollywood: car rental, extended stay, rentals)

[Interman90]

I already wanted to go april/may but personal circumstances force me to wait until june.

But now i read that june is the rainiest month and start of the hurricane season.

Depending on who you ask it:
- is a good time to visit
- is typically just one short rain shower per day
- is the absolut worst time to visit as its rainy and stormy most of the time

What i want to do is relax and swim on the beach and generally spend most of my time outside
(rent a convertible, hang out on ocean drive, eat outside etc.)
The heat/humidity does not really scare me off.

So is june a good time to visit or not?

If it is rainy such as windy/stormy almost all the time it would obviously be a waste of money.

I looked at the statistics
https://weather-and-climate.com/aver...tes-of-America
https://weather-and-climate.com/aver...tes-of-America
https://weather-and-climate.com/miam...ges-fahrenheit

Well the rainy season lasts the whole summer so the question basically is should i visit miami/florida or fly some place else.

[MiamiLIFE]

Originally Posted by Interman90

I already wanted to go april/may but personal circumstances force me to wait until june.

But now i read that june is the rainiest month and start of the hurricane season.

Depending on who you ask it:
- is a good time to visit
- is typically just one short rain shower per day
- is the absolut worst time to visit as its rainy and stormy most of the time

What i want to do is relax and swim on the beach and generally spend most of my time outside
(rent a convertible, hang out on ocean drive, eat outside etc.)
The heat/humidity does not really scare me off.

So is june a good time to visit or not?

If it is rainy such as windy/stormy almost all the time it would obviously be a waste of money.

I looked at the statistics
https://weather-and-climate.com/aver...tes-of-America
https://weather-and-climate.com/aver...tes-of-America
https://weather-and-climate.com/miam...ges-fahrenheit

Well the rainy season lasts the whole summer so the question basically is should i visit miami/florida or fly some place else.

Last year was my first summer living here. June was unusually dry from what locals tell me so I don't think I would use last year as a proxy. Also, it seems like this summer is shaping up to be a wet one based on spring so far. Can you purchase refundable plane tickets that way you can check the weather the week before heading into town? I would ultimately say that it does rain here on and off in the summer so you have to plan that it could happen to you.

[norman_w]

It was ridiculously hot last year. The humidity is what kills you. The problem is the rentals. The legislature had a special session where they won't stop the landlords from doing anything. There will be a million add on fees.

[MiamiLIFE]

Originally Posted by Interman90

I already wanted to go april/may but personal circumstances force me to wait until june.

But now i read that june is the rainiest month and start of the hurricane season.

Depending on who you ask it:
- is a good time to visit
- is typically just one short rain shower per day
- is the absolut worst time to visit as its rainy and stormy most of the time

What i want to do is relax and swim on the beach and generally spend most of my time outside
(rent a convertible, hang out on ocean drive, eat outside etc.)
The heat/humidity does not really scare me off.

So is june a good time to visit or not?

If it is rainy such as windy/stormy almost all the time it would obviously be a waste of money.

I looked at the statistics
https://weather-and-climate.com/aver...tes-of-America
https://weather-and-climate.com/aver...tes-of-America
https://weather-and-climate.com/miam...ges-fahrenheit

Well the rainy season lasts the whole summer so the question basically is should i visit miami/florida or fly some place else.

I will offer one benefit to visiting in the summer. It tends to be quieter here as people leave town because of the heat. I find it's easier to get around and easier to get into restaurants I want to try. I am one of the odd ones that likes summer here.

[roadtrip75]

Truly rainy days are rare in Miami. Rain showers are frequent but usually don't last long.

[Interman90]

Well i took the vacation and i just came back yesterday.
The weather was actually great most of the time but unfortunately i found out miami is not for me and here's why...

Don't get me wrong,
The "place" itself is nice with palms, art deco hotels, the ocean/beach, the everglades, boat cruises at the bayside marketplace...
But that's about it on the bright side. The negative list is way longer...

Well i guess the negative list could be summed up with "overpopulated" because IMO all
the following stuff that i "hate" is more or less just a result of that:

- The Traffic is an absolut nightmare (The worst for me personally)
Drastic Examples:
1.Traffic jams at 12am midweek are more normal than a rarity
2.At rush hour the name of the game is "parking lot" on 4-5 lane roads.
Also realize you have to drive or you simply can't go to a lot of places
because distances are long and taxi rides would bankrupt you.

- There are way too many people everywhere
Drastic Example:
In a Walmart Supercenter at "rush hour" i could not even take my time to stop and look at the products
closely because so many people coming from left and right and everywhere.

- The food/restaurants (as a group) are TERRIBLE for us standards. (Even for german standards its below average)
You're also pretty limited on 24h restaurants (Not fast food)
Drastic Example: Wendy's is one of "the best restaurants i've been too in miami"
I also noticed that most restaurants are franchises in miami.
The best Restaurants/Food that i've been to (Ratings take into account if it's Fastfood, High End etc.):
- (4/5) Morton's The Steakhouse (USDA Prime Steaks) (17399 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33160) (Great On Site Parking)
- (4/5) The Lobster Shack (40 South Pointe Dr #104, Miami Beach)
- (4/5) Panda Express (5600 Blue Lagoon Dr Ste 10, Miami, FL 33126) (Great On Site Parking)
- (3/5) Tropical Chinese Restaurant (7991 Bird Rd, Miami, FL 33155) (Great On Site Parking)
- (5/5) MamaLisa Gelato (750 Ocean Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33139)
- (4/5) Wonderfruits (Bayside Marketplace) (401 Biscayne Blvd Level 1, Zone E, Miami, FL 33132)
- (4/5) INTIMO (840 1st St, Miami Beach, FL 33139)
- (5/5) Wendy's (1651 SW 107th Ave, Miami, FL 33165) (Great on Site Parking)
- (5/5) Hooters (8695 NW 13th Terrace Miami) (Great on Site Parking)

- The prices for everything are WAY TOO HIGH and you're expected (sometimes even forced) to give a 20% tip
Drastic Example:
I stayed at the Marriott Stanton South Beach for an average of 350$ per night. For this amount of money i got:
- A room barely large enough for an extended stay (I'm sure many would say not large enough)
- A shower that did have curtains instead of a door
- Curtains that let the sun in at the top, bottom and sides
- Walls so thin you can hear everthing going on at the floor, outside and neighbor rooms
- An AC where altering the temperture setting changes NOTHING
- A toilet that was pouring water on the floor MULTIPLE TIMES because a hose was coming loose (i fixed it myself)
- Smoke alarm was going off for no reason (I unplugged it myself)
- lavatory was outside bathroom
- Hotel was undergoing construction but luckily only noticed that 1 day
- Room phone was broken (After picking up it continued ringing and there was nobody on the phone)
On the bright side:
- Room Cleaning and Service (including valet parking) was really good
- Bed was comfy and room clean
I did extensive research of all hotels from south to north beach and as far as i can tell reading reviews
the other hotels are only going to get worse. If anywhere you might be better of in north beach but
there you have almost nothing in walking distance then.

- People as a group aren't very friendly/sympathic or interested in talking to strangers at all (Most are tourists)
I felt it was a pretty "cold & anonymous" athmosphere. Many also seem to be there in order to "show off" only.

- Availability of taxi cabs - compared to las vegas - isn't all that great

- There is always a risk of rain which is annoying

-----

Now take into account that i went in the OFF SEASON (June).
This is the least crowded time of the year. This means it gets even (probably WAY) WORSE outside of the summer months.
I would not want to be burried in this place. IMHO that whole city is a major PILE OF ****.

To be fair the further you drive away from south beach/miami beach the better it gets.
About 30min (in for miami ideal traffic conditions) away (still in miami) i found some areas that i liked better.
Typical looking american neighbourhoods with less traffic (still too much for my liking but manageable), single family homes, stores, restaurants etc.
But even there i did not find really great food. Average to Good and cheaper but nothing that absolutely blew me away.

To be even more fair:

I hate big cities/overpopulated areas that are ALWAYS (no matter which day and time) crowded in general.
I'm sure many like it because they are actually paying a fortune in order to live there but it just stresses me out personally.
I would never be willing to pay actually more in order to live in such an area.

Now you could say so why did you go to miami?

Well because i just did not realize / wasn't aware of those issues/overpopulation.
I was watching miami vice again and again over the years and therefore expected something different.
Way less people/traffic and way better food.
IT'S NOT LIKE IN MIAMI VICE OR BAD BOYS. IT ACTUALLY SUCKS BALLS.
But i'm pretty sure in those days, 40-50 years ago, it was actually pretty good.
Since than way too many people seem to have moved there and it's also become a crowded tourist attraction.
To support my theory:
I had one taxi driver that lives there since 50 years. A nice guy very different from pretty much anyone
else i have met there and he also thinks strongly about leaving and literally said "the magic is gone".
He also said the traffic was not an issue 40-50 years ago.

Also please do not get this wrong:
I think Miami sucks, not the USA in general.
I visited Las Vegas in 2018 and i loved it.
Not exactly a small town either but i love it and had non of the issues listed above.
Especially did not complain about the traffic.
The strip is obviously crowded (especially at rush hour) but apart from that you're good.

I'm also relatively sure there are nice places in florida (outside of miami) but for me as a tourist from germany (near munich)
it just doesn't make much sense to visit florida again.
Getting there and back is a nightmare (30hrs between sleep going there and 25hrs between sleep going back home).
Then miami airport is also VERY crowded just like the rest of the city. (Stresses me out even more than the Traffic)
Las Vegas is a lot easier/faster to get to and to be honest i can't imagine a better vacation destination for me personally.
If i want to go to the beach again i will just drive to italy by car. A lot easier, faster & cheaper.
But while the beach is nice i found out it gets old/boring relatively quick for me personally.

-----

So absolutely nothing for me but if you like to live in a crowded place with crappy food, unbelievably high prices
and unfriendly people (to sum it up a large city) it's probably your dream.

And if you meet the following criteria it might really be worth going for you
- You live in the usa and it's a relatively short flight
- You just want to spend a Weekend to a Week
- You want Beach and Nightlife
- You don't care about the crappy food
- You don't care about the place being really crowded
- You don't care about the prices
- You do not plan on driving yourself (Most important)
Otherwise i would say stay away it's not worth it.

-----

Well there you have it. "The most honest possible" review of miami 2023.
After this (horror) trip i could need a vacation.

I'm sorry to be so negative. I was really trying hard to like it at first but the longer i had to stay there the
more i realized that i hate it and that there is just no way for me to actually like it/make it work.
Not even if i had warren buffett money would i enjoy living there.
As i said earlier, it was not all bad though.

[elchevere]

Some of your points are valid, others are simply comical.

25-30 hours to get to Miami from Germany?…that’s odd, Lufthansa shows direct /nonstop flights from Munich and Frankfurt that take just over 9 hours—did you fly a different, cost cutting European airline with multiple stops instead?…also, there’s only 1 nonstop (Frankfurt) to Vegas which takes 2.5 more hours yet that’s somehow easier to get to?. Scratching my head on this one.

you complained about chain restaurants then ended up eating at many chain/franchised restaurants—it’s not hard to find independent restaurants in SoBe with minimal effort. Hooters and Wendy’s are the best restaurant you found in Miami?…LOL. Never used Yelp? Quite the palate for fine dining you’ve developed. Even Morton’s, long past it’s heyday, is a chain owned by an even bigger conglomerate chain (Landry’s).

they have a rideshare service called Uber which (1) works here as well as Germany, (2) would have mitigated most of your personal stress from driving in traffic, finding and paying for parking, etc and (3) is considerably cheaper than taxi or car rental and won’t “bankrupt” you. Are you unfamiliar with it????

the service charge you encountered here at restaurants are tips (agree, Miami is unique in forcing them on you but most people in the States leave tips for waitstaff which is different than Europe which provides its workers living wages; 18-22% is the norm and voluntary elsewhere in the US unless awful service).

For your future benefit, they have travel sites such as TripAdvisor which more seasoned travelers use for tips rather than CD, but you knew that—right? Enjoy Italy on your next trip or you might love Vegas (not crowded?…smh) in July and August, but do a little more research.

On a side note….anyone else notice a trend on the Miami forum?…supposed new members out of the blue with 3-5 posts to their name…or maybe someone is creating multiple ID’s??….hmmmm

[SanyBelle]

Originally Posted by elchevere

<snip>

On a side note….anyone else notice a trend on the Miami forum?…supposed new members out of the blue with 3-5 posts to their name…or maybe someone is creating multiple ID’s??….hmmmm<end snip>

Yes, it typically happens on most forums/social media (not just on C-D and not just Miami) when school is out for the summer, it also happens between Christmas and New Years. Many times when a new user is created it's often for trolling purposes. This one doesn't seem the case, but anyone who comes to Miami and has Wendy's and Panda Express on their list of restaurants to visit is suspect in my mind.

[elchevere]

Originally Posted by SanyBelle

Yes, it typically happens on most forums/social media (not just on C-D and not just Miami) when school is out for the summer, it also happens between Christmas and New Years. Many times when a new user is created it's often for trolling purposes. This one doesn't seem the case, but anyone who comes to Miami and has Wendy's and Panda Express on their list of restaurants to visit is suspect in my mind.

My favorite part of the troll post was how it’s easier for him to get to Vegas from Munich when there’s no direct flight between those two cities whereas there is a direct/nonstop between Miami and it’s 2.5 hours closer by air. Source: flightsfrom.com

And who would’ve guessed Miami had less traffic 40-50 years ago !! You learn something new every day.

[wizrap]

My travels in the state usually take me no further south than Hollywood, but in the event I’m ever on South Beach, it’s good to know that there’s a decent Wendy’s down there. All the Wendy’s up here in Gainesville sux. Best Wendy’s I’ve ever had was in Tallahassee, and that’s rich of me to admit, as a Gator grad.

Anyway, my household is always on the lookout for good Wendy’s.

As for that Marriott Stanton on South Beach, I’ve learned my lesson about hotels. If you get very good to excellent reviews on 3 to 4 major sites, go in confidence. Otherwise, it’s a gamble. Although TripAdvisor and Google rated it 4.5 and 4.2 respectively, out of 5 stars, Yelp, which I find is the gold standard, gave it a 3.5 and even Marriott’s own website showed travelers rate it a 3.9. When the hotel’s own website can’t even push it into very good or excellent territory, that’s a good sign to stay away.