11/22/2012 to 11/25/2012
Public transportation from Miami airport to south beach?
When you arrive at the terminal look for a pink sign that says Mia Mover. You find it on the map in the airport. Follow the sign and it'll take you to a light train that will take you to metro bus/central station. The bus # is 150. The fee is $2.35 as of today. You can pay it with cash. Exact amount.
Where to stay?
Ocean drive is the heart of south beach and close to the beach and many restaurants. It's very noisy. Drinks and food are very expensive. But if you like doing tourist things, ocean drive is for you.
What are the things to do in south beach?
Miami beach is not typical for water adventures. You can enjoy yourself at the beach, stroll around ocean drive up to Lincoln road mall for shopping, enjoy the outdoor seating with drinks and food. Go to wet willies on ocean drive.They have deck seating and drinks and food are decent price. Boardwalk, Segway, bike rental etc. those are great ways to see Miami beach. Check out the night life if you are also into that.
My Two Cents
Stayed at starlite on ocean drive for 3 nights. This ocean drive is the heart of south beach hence noisy but tolerable (for me). Each hotel has restaurant with outdoor sitting but the price for food and drinks are very expensive. Each bill include about 17 or 18% gratitude so be careful not to over tip twice. My favorite good and decent place to eat and drink is wet willies. large glass is $12. They have deck seating which is nice. For Cuban food go to puerto sagua on Collins ave. their shredded beef menu was good and decent price. It's indoor seating. If you want Cuban food buffet, go to David's cafe but they only served mon-Friday. I missed that but was very happy with puerto sagua.
Lincoln road is full of shopping stores. Little bit away from ocean drive but it is walkable distance. You will be walking a lot so get good shoes. Always check for weather. Was here nov 22nd to nov 25 weather was around 55 for low and high 75. Was nice at the beach.
If you would like to see the ocean/beach along the board walk, rent Segway or bike to cruise around. It's a nice way to see this town of Miami beach.
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Visited Date: - Year 2009: 02/10, 02/11, 02/12 & 02/16
My Two Cents:- I love the Oahu Island. It's one of the best place ever that I have been to. There are so many things to do and see, especially the beach is just beautiful and people there are very friendly. Oh, and don't forget the nice weather that they have. I would love to go back again.
Things To Do:- I was fortunate to stay with my friend, John. His condo was close to the Waikiki Beach. I would say if you can afford a place by that beach, that would be awesome. Take a walk there during day time and there are tons of stores around. One of my favorite ones is the International Market. Stuff there are cheap. You can also go for a walk at night at the beach, it's really soothing.
(View of the city from John's condo)
- Make sure you check out the pink hotel called Royal Hawaiian. It's on the Waikiki beach. It's really cool.
(View of the pink hotel from the Diamond Head Crater)
- If you like to hike up, go for the Diamond Head Crater. Keep in mind that, their parking lot is not that big. When we were there, the parking lot was full and we had to drive to a near by park and parked the car there, then walked to the Diamond Head's entrance. It was quite a walk, actually, haha... but not bad (look at the picture). I would strongly recommend you to hike up there though because it has incredible view once you get to the top. It's a long hike but well worth it. There was a table on the top that you can buy a certificate that you have hiked to the top ;)
(We walked through that tunnel to the entrance/parking lot)
- You can also go to visit the USS Arizona Memorial featuring the Pearl Harbor. When we were there, the parking was free. One thing to keep in mind though you cannot carry any bags into the Memorial, even a camera's bag. Everything was free unless you want a self-guided audio. There will be a documentary movie, and then you get on a boat to go to the Memorial. It's really neat looking.
- Love to snorkel? Hanauma Bay is about 45 minutes from Waikiki beach. You park the car, then you go down to the bay. You can rent snorkeling stuff there or rent them before hand if you can find a better deal. There will be a locker rent as well if you don't want to leave your stuff on the beach or have no one to guard them. The water was cold, but I had so much fun there. It was my first time snorkeling. It was uncomfortable a little before I got used to it. Oh, and don't forget to get an under water camera if you want to take pictures. You can get those from Walmart.
- There is this hiking spot called Makapuu. The view was amazing. Check it out if you have time. You can even hike down to a tide pool. The wave down there was WOW!
- This is one of my best favorite spots about Oahu island. The North Shore! Actually, it is not a spot, it's a shore that you drive along. You will see so many things including the Sea Turtles, and stop at so many places/beaches. I asked John to send me the word document that his friend send to him. The document lists many tourist attractions that you can stop in an order as you are driving along the shore. You can print it out here. North Shore is the best experience that I have ever done. Please read that guide to look for things that strike your interests. There's one beach that is my favorite. The water is very green and people were kayaking and wind surfing there. The name starts with a K, I will have to look it up.
(Sea Turtle at Sharks Cove)
- There are more that you can do such as surfing, kayaking, and more. If I go back there again, I will be looking for new things to do ;)
Restaurants:- We did not go to many fancy restaurants, and I hardly remember the names now. But we ate at Costco, an oriental place (I can't remember), Shabu-Shabu by John's condo, and finally a pretty neat looking restaurant by the University. Sorry, I know this doesn't help much, but I don't really recall the names of those places. Oh, and Cheesecake Factory by Waikiki ;)
- Shave Ice at M. Matsumoto Grocery Store at North Shore (strongly recommend).
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Visited Date:- 02/13/09 & 02/14/09
My Two Cents:- The time we spent in Maui wasn't that long. But the island itself is more calm than the Oahu Island. If you are looking for somewhere to get away from the crowd in Oahu, then Maui will be an option for you.
Things To Do:- We went to the Luau there. It's called Old Lahaina. If you have never been to Luau before, let me tell you. It's like a performance event that takes about 3 hours. Basically, you go there to eat, drink, and look at the Hawaiian culture and performance. It's not cheap either but it's worth it. And the food is Hawaiin Buffet. Yum! If you are couple or just married, then you can dance. I am not sure if they do this at all the Luau's though.
- We also went to a volcano national park called Haleakala National Park. It was my first time going to a volcano park, which was really nice.
- If you have a quest for nature and scenery, then take a drive to Hana. It's on the island. But on the way there, you will see many beautiful nature and sceneries.
(Peacock at a garden's entrance on our way to Hana.
The garden is not free, and we didn't do it.)
- I heard Maui has many beautiful beaches. We didn't stop at many beaches, but we did drive along them ;)
(Taken on our way to Hana)
- We had some time, so we also went for a drive to Kihei. It's just another town, but it's something for you to check out if you are interested.
(In Kihei)
- I'm sure there are more things to do there. Check out "More Info" below to see for yourself.
Things To Know:- If you are going to the Haleakala National Park, don't assume that Hawaii's weather is always warm. You are going up to the mountain to the park. It's freezing up there. We didn't know so we were cold when we were up there. So make sure take a coat/jacket with you, that way you will enjoy outside more ;)
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Restaurants:- Old Lahaina Luau and just some quick check out places.
(My buffet plate at Luau)
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