4 days in Miami Beach: things to do. Shopping in Miami: Sawgrass Mills

A few years back, we spent 4 days in Miami Beach and loved the place! In this post, you will find out about things to do in Miami Beach and all about shopping in Miami.

I must admit that we really loved Miami Beach! It’s a great place with a vibrant atmosphere, great weather all year long and the most delicious breakfasts. Unlike NYC (I honestly don’t like New York City that much and here’s why), it’s far less crowded and has a lot of fresh air.

Check the availability & price of flights to Miami now!

Where did we stay in Miami?

However, in order to enjoy Miami Beach, you need to stay in a really nice hotel/hostel, that’s why I recommend you to spend some time researching places with good reviews. We definitely liked our hotel: Mondrian South Beach: it was very stylish and had a wonderful view from the window (in the photo below). Waking up to this view was really priceless.

As you probably already know (in case you checked our previous posts), we usually manage to do a lot of sightseeing and get back home extra tired after walking the whole day. Miami Beach wasn’t our typical holiday, though. Most of the time we were chilling, walking around and eating. And shopping, of course.

Best places to stay in Miami / South Beach for any budget

If you’re researching some great places to stay in Miami / Miami Beach, look no further, I’ve got some suggestions for you. Simply click on the name of the hotel to see the availability.  

Luxury hotels: EAST Miami, 1 Hotel South Beach.

3*-4* Hotels in Miami / Miami Beach: Urbanica Hotel,  Blanc Kara (Adults only)

Superb affordable hotels: TRYP By Wyndham MIAMI Bay, Sorrento Villas. 

Hostels in Miami / Miami beach: Rock Hostel, Hudson House Wynwood. 

Shopping in Miami

Shopping in Miami Beach is beyond expectations. Apart from the famous shopping street (Lincoln Rd), where you can find all the possible and impossible brands, you can go to two huge shopping malls and outlets: Dolphin Mall and Sawgrass Mills. We chose the last one and spent there the WHOLE day. That’s proper shopping in Miami!

Sawgrass Mills is the biggest shopping mall I’ve seen in my entire life. I’ve been to 56 countries, did shopping in Dubai and Hong Kong, but I haven’t seen anything like Sawgrass Mills. It’s just enormously huge & full of great offers. For example, there’s a designer outlet with some fabulous flash sales: not only the prices were lower than in the retail stores ($100 dollars for a Kate Spade bag, for example), but there were also flash sales (which lasted only one day) in Gucci and Coach. You can see the shops with flash sales from far away: there is usually a long queue waiting to enter the shop. We got inside the Coach shop and they were selling the bags for just 90-120 dollars there. It’s actually really cheap for this brand and I really can’t imagine how it was in the Gucci store. So in case, you have a spare day and some money to spend, head to Sawgrass Mills. Of course, there are also cheaper brands, like Aeropostale, selling their T-shirts for $6 each (I bought 3) and Guess jeans for $25.

If you like shopping for brands online and looking for a great online designer outlet, I can recommend the Outnet, Fashionesta and Bluefly.

Besides shopping, there are many activities to do in Miami and Miami Beach. 

Things to do in Miami Beach (besides shopping):

1. Take a Billionairs’ cruise from Miami Downtown

This cruise is a great opportunity to hear more about the history of Miami and stare at some of the most luxurious villas in the world. You tour guide will tell you a bit about every single villa you encounter on your way. You’ll see villas of David Beckham (we were even lucky to see David Beckham himself there, though I’m pretty sure it’s really annoying for the owners of the villas), Shakira and many other billionaires and celebrities. Check the availability of the cruises now. 

2. Drink a huge Margarita in one of the Cuban places near the South Beach

Even though Margaritas a bit pricey in Miami (well, what isn’t pricey in Miami?), they are absolutely fabulous. If you aren’t a drinking legend, I wouldn’t recommend you to try the biggest of the Margaritas, unless you want to get wasted right away.

3. Head to the South Beach and swim in the Atlantic ocean

You can swim in Miami all year round. Even if you’re visiting Miami Beach in January, don’t worry, you will be still able to swim and sunbathe there (unless it’s raining). Miami Beach is really impressive – you’ll see this never-ending beach full of cheerful people and special planes flying around carrying ads for the best clubs in town.

4. Go clubbing to Miami Downtown

Miami is home to some of the best nightclubs in the world and the desired nightlife destination for many clubbing lovers. In case you aren’t familiar with any of the nightclubs in Miami – head to the beach and stay there for a while – you can spot few planes carrying banners for the upcoming shows in Miami Clubs. Or head to one of these nightclubs, they have made it to the 100 best clubs in the world (by DJ Mag) – Club Space Miami, ICON and E11LEVEN.

5. Stare at the alligators in Everglades

Everglades is the destination for wildlife lovers – you can hop on the airboat and go for a ride to see the alligators, crocodiles and various snakes not so far from Miami. You can book a tour and simply check the prices for that here. 

6. Visit various Museums of Miami

Miami residents cannot complain about the lack of museums in their city, there are really many of them. In case you’re heading to Miami / Miami Beach for quite a while, some of Miami’s museums might be really interesting for you. Vizcaya Museum, the whole Design District, Ernest Hemingway’s Museum, Art Basel and plenty of other interesting places are available for you to visit.

7. Take a duck tour of Miami and South Beach

Explore the highlights of Miami in this cool duck tour of Miami and South Beach and see all the highlights in a couple of hours. Check the availability of the tour here. 

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