Neighborhood 48H guide
South Beach: Where to Stay & What to Do in 48 Hours
Art Deco hotels on Ocean Drive, the beach across the street, Cuban breakfast at Puerto Sagua.
South Beach is the southern end of Miami Beach, from South Pointe Park up to about 23rd Street: pastel Art Deco hotels on Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue, Lummus Park and a wide public beach, Lincoln Road’s pedestrian mall and Española Way.
Photo gallery
Photo: Robbschultz69 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: P. Hughes · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Visitor7 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Why stay here
Beach, food, nightlife and the Art Deco district are all within a 20-minute walk, so you can skip the car entirely.
Who it's for: First-timers, beach-and-nightlife weekends, and architecture fans who want to walk everywhere.
Extend the trip: Key West: day trip or overnight from Miami →
Pros
- Walk to the beach, Ocean Drive and Lincoln Road
- Hundreds of Art Deco buildings in the historic district
- Late-night food and bars
Cons
- Crowded and loud on weekends and during spring break
- Expensive parking and resort fees
- 20–30 minutes to the mainland neighborhoods
48H in South Beach
Cuban breakfast, the Art Deco walk, beach afternoons, sunset at South Pointe.
08:30 – Breakfast at Puerto Sagua
Cuban toast and café con leche at the counter on Collins Avenue.
10:30 – Art Deco walk
Start at the Art Deco Welcome Center on Ocean Drive and walk north past the hotels.
13:00 – Beach at Lummus Park
Cross Ocean Drive to the sand, with lifeguard towers every few blocks.
18:30 – Sunset at South Pointe Park
Walk to the pier at the southern tip and watch the cruise ships leave Government Cut.
11:00 – Day 2: Lincoln Road
Walk the pedestrian mall, then the Miami Beach Botanical Garden nearby.
Rain backup: Bass Museum of Art in Collins Park.
19:30 – Joe’s Stone Crab
The century-old stone crab house by South Pointe. Seasonal, mid-October to May.
Named recommendations
Real places with links to their official site or a Maps place page. We do not invent hours, prices, or ratings.
Eat
Eat
Puerto Sagua
700 Collins Ave
Cuban diner open since the 1960s, good for breakfast and late dinner.
Official site / map →Eat
Joe’s Stone Crab
11 Washington Ave
Stone crabs, hash browns and key lime pie. Seasonal (mid-October to May), with a takeaway counter next door.
Official site / map →
See / do
See / do
Ocean Drive & Art Deco Welcome Center
1001 Ocean Dr
The district’s best-known row of 1930s hotels; tours leave from the Welcome Center.
Photo: Robbschultz69 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Official site / map →
Outdoors
Outdoors
Lummus Park Beach
Ocean Dr, 5th–15th St
Wide public beach right across from Ocean Drive, with a beach walk and lifeguard towers.
Photo: P. Hughes · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Official site / map →
Sunrise / sunset
Sunrise / sunset
South Pointe Park
1 Washington Ave
Park and pier at the tip of the island; watch ships go out through Government Cut.
Photo: Visitor7 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Official site / map →
Where to stay
Specific named properties—not vague city-wide searches. Expedia stays use tracked Creator links; others open the hotel's official site.
Roam48 may earn a commission when you book a stay through Expedia or Vrbo links on this page, at no extra cost to you. All commercial stay links use rel="sponsored nofollow".
Hotel · Expedia
The Betsy – South Beach
1440 Ocean Dr
Ocean Drive hotel with a rooftop pool, live jazz and beach service across the street.
Check rates on Expedia →Hotel · Expedia
Loews Miami Beach Hotel
1601 Collins Ave
Big oceanfront resort on Collins with a pool deck on the sand and Rao’s on site. Daily resort fee.
Check rates on Expedia →
Vacation rentals
Prefer an apartment or whole home in this neighborhood? Browse Vrbo listings for South Beach.
Miami Beach restricts short-term rentals in most residential areas, so Vrbo stays here are mostly in buildings zoned for them. Check the listing’s rules before you book.
Browse vacation rentals in South Beach on Vrbo →Other ways to spend 48 hours in Miami
- Mid-Beach — The Fontainebleau, the Faena District and a boardwalk along the sand.
- Bal Harbour / Surfside — Quiet north-end beaches, Bal Harbour Shops and Thomas Keller in a 1930s beach club.
- Wynwood / Design District — Murals at Wynwood Walls, Panther Coffee, KYU, then designer shops and ICA a few blocks north.
- Downtown / Bayfront — Bayfront Park, PAMM on the water and a free Metromover around the towers.
- Brickell — Glass towers, Brickell City Centre, Brickell Key at sunset and dinner at Komodo.
- Little Havana — Dominoes at Máximo Gómez Park, live music at Ball & Chain, a ventanita cafecito at Versailles.
- Coconut Grove — Banyan-shaded streets, Vizcaya’s gardens and dinner by the bay at Glass & Vine.
- Coral Gables — The Biltmore’s tower, a swim at the Venetian Pool, books and tapas off Miracle Mile.
- Key Biscayne — An island of beaches across the Rickenbacker, with the 1825 Cape Florida Lighthouse at the tip.