Miami or Ft Lauderdale.. What to do??

[momtoty2001]

We are flying in to FLL 2 days before our cruise.. We will have our 10 year old daughter and 11 year old son with us and are having a really hard time trying to figure out where to stay and what to do prior to our cruise.

 

We would like to find a decent priced hotel (not opposed to chain hotels) in either FLL area or Miami.. I have looked into Intercontinental near Bayside Marketplace in Miami but am worried we not have enough to keep us busy for 2 days.

 

I am not sure if there are any other areas that are similar to Bayside marketplace but also near the beach with reasonably priced hotels that are close to "touristy" type shopping and restaurants.

 

Also any "must do's" in southern florida? My son would like to go on a Everglades Airboat tour so that is on our list as well.

 

Thank you for any help!!

[Ashland]

Why not stay in Ft. Lauderdale...the Embassy Suites is our favorite..We had a car rental and loved the day we did the airboat and animal show at Sawgrass Recreational...it was very entertaining to my family of 6 adults :)

[momtoty2001]

Why not stay in Ft. Lauderdale...the Embassy Suites is our favorite..We had a car rental and loved the day we did the airboat and animal show at Sawgrass Recreational...it was very entertaining to my family of 6 adults :)

 

 

Thank you for the recommendations. I will take a look at Embassy Suites..

 

We are trying to decide if we should stay in FLL area or Miami.. We would prefer NOT to rent a car and that's why we are looking for a hotel that is near shopping, "touristy stuff", restaurants, beach etc..

[JohninDC]

Hotels are generally cheaper in the FLL area than comparable properties in Miami or Miami Beach and if you are flying into FLL it's usually simpler to stay near FLL and then shuttle to POM the day of your cruise.

 

Check www.sunny.org for info on most FLL area hotels.

 

If you choose to stay near Bayside in downtown Miami you are not near a beach -- witha 10 and 11 year old you are better off (IMHO) to stay in Fort Lauderdale near the beach.

 

 

FLL area hotels near the beach:

Beach Place

Ritz Carlton

Alhambra

Westin

W

Hilton

Courtyard

Bahia Mar

B Ocean is near a few restaurants and walking distance to Galleria Mall.

Marriott Harbor Beach, Sheraton, and Best Western Oceanside are a little further but also walk-able.

 

Good luck! :)

[cstrycha]

We've stayed in a FLL airport hotel, a Fort Lauderdale beachfront chain and at an independent little place in Hollywood Florida for pre cruise stays.

 

Hollywood is adorable. There is a trolley that you can ride to town and a beautiful beach.

 

Fort Lauderdale beach area is also nice. I found it to be a bit pricier than Hollywood for restaurants, etc.

 

The only one I wouldn't recommend is the airport area as there is nothing to do there. Since our preference is not to drive or rent a car, I like to be able to walk out the door and find some fun.

[capriccio]

Hotels are generally cheaper in the FLL area than comparable properties in Miami or Miami Beach and if you are flying into FLL it's usually simpler to stay near FLL and then shuttle to POM the day of your cruise.

 

Check www.sunny.org for info on most FLL area hotels.

 

If you choose to stay near Bayside in downtown Miami you are not near a beach -- witha 10 and 11 year old you are better off (IMHO) to stay in Fort Lauderdale near the beach.

 

 

FLL area hotels near the beach:

Beach Place

Ritz Carlton

Alhambra

Westin

W

Hilton

Courtyard

Bahia Mar

B Ocean is near a few restaurants and walking distance to Galleria Mall.

Marriott Harbor Beach, Sheraton, and Best Western Oceanside are a little further but also walk-able.

 

Good luck! :)

 

And http://www.sunny.org has lots of info about tourist attractions, public transportation, etc.

[momtoty2001]

Thank you for your replies! We are leaning towards Fort Lauderdale area as of now.. Are there any areas in ft Lauderdale that have shopping/restaurant centrally located like bayside marketplace? Because we won't have a car we are looking for a place that we could walk to for shopping etc and not have to pay a lot for taxis?

 

Thank you again!!

 

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[JohninDC]

The 17th Street area has what you want - look at the Embassy Suites and other nearby hotels. Several dining options within walking distance as well as shopping (Publix grocery, Total Wine :D and others). Good Luck! :)

[momtoty2001]

Thank you all for the recommendations. One more question... How about the Los Olas Boulevard as far as shopping and restaurants?

We are looking for touristy stores like Wings etc.. with the option to get to a grocery store, market etc. to buy some wine for the cruise..

 

Because we are traveling in October I am trying to plan for a potential beach day with the kids but if the weather doesn't cooperate I want to have a back up plan and thought if we had some nearby shopping, restaurants etc..

 

Thank you all again!

[capriccio]

Because we are traveling in October ...

 

When in October? The last week is Boat Show week. If you are there then, make sure you ride around on the water taxi because the boats are incredible (and the houses you see are always fabulous).

[royalcruz]

Thank you all for the recommendations. One more question... How about the Los Olas Boulevard as far as shopping and restaurants?

We are looking for touristy stores like Wings etc.. with the option to get to a grocery store, market etc. to buy some wine for the cruise..

 

Because we are traveling in October I am trying to plan for a potential beach day with the kids but if the weather doesn't cooperate I want to have a back up plan and thought if we had some nearby shopping, restaurants etc..

 

Thank you all again!

Las Olas Blvd is downtown and does not have touristy stores like Wings, only boutiques and galleries. It is an adult area and is a couple of miles from the beach. If you stay at Fort Lauderdale beach in the hotels that Capriccio suggested, you will find lots of little stores that sell beachy things....there is no grocery store but you can buy wine at the CVS in the area or in the little liquor stores.

 

There is a Wings in Lauderdale by the Sea but no big hotels, just mom & pops...it's also going to cost more cabfare as it's about 10 miles north of the area.

[boo214]

if you stay in ft lauderdale you gotta go to this place.

www.jaxsonsicecream.com. the kids will love it.

[Florissouri]

if you stay in ft lauderdale you gotta go to this place.

www.jaxsonsicecream.com. the kids will love it.

 

Nice idea, but unless they have a rental car they wouldn't be able to get there. The closest hotels would be a mile away on Stirling near Oakwood Plaza Mall.

[Florissouri]

We are flying in to FLL 2 days before our cruise.. We will have our 10 year old daughter and 11 year old son with us and are having a really hard time trying to figure out where to stay and what to do prior to our cruise.

 

We would like to find a decent priced hotel (not opposed to chain hotels) in either FLL area or Miami.. I have looked into Intercontinental near Bayside Marketplace in Miami but am worried we not have enough to keep us busy for 2 days.

 

I am not sure if there are any other areas that are similar to Bayside marketplace but also near the beach with reasonably priced hotels that are close to "touristy" type shopping and restaurants.

 

Also any "must do's" in southern florida? My son would like to go on a Everglades Airboat tour so that is on our list as well.

 

Thank you for any help!!

 

You might want to consider Downtown Hollywood where you'll find a very unusual boutique Ramada Inn.

 

http://www.ramada.com/hotels/florida/hollywood/ramada-downtown-hollywood/hotel-overview

 

Downtown Hollywood has dozens of restaurants, bistros, coffee shops, pizza parlors, burgers and about every ethnic genre under the sun...Argentinian, Mexican, Italian, French, Middle Eastern, Greek, Spanish, Eastern European, Asian, Jamaican and on and on all door to door to door with sidewalk dining on a tree lined boulevard.

 

http://www.visithollywoodfl.org/dining_nightlife.aspx

 

You can get to the beach and around the rest of Hollywood via the Hollywood Trolley...

 

http://www.visithollywoodfl.org/trolley.aspx

[BlueHerons]

I would suggest Courtyard Marriott Fort Lauderdale Beach.

 

Tons of stuff within walking distance.

 

Yes, October will definitely be beach weather.

 

Don't miss the water taxi, the boat show will be setting up by then.

[wisteria1019]

We have stayed at the Hyatt Pier 66 - you can watch the ships sail from that location and there is very much a resort like feel to the property. We have walked to the beach from there (albeit a healthy walk, but very doable) and have taken the trolley to the Publix grocery store.

 

Have a great time,

Dawn

[momtoty2001]

We are now looking at the Doubletree Gallery One because of its location next to Galleria Mall and on the Water Taxi route.. Any thoughts on this hotel/location?

 

We are not debating on renting a car or not.. The Doubletree Charges $25/day to park the car but I'm not sure if we would need it or not for the 2 days we will be in FLL.

 

Thoughts on renting a car vs. not?

*we found a car rental for $75 total for the 2 days which with the parking fee at the hotel we would pay roughly $125 total for a car rental and parking but that would save us from the taxi cost to the hotel as well as the transportation cost to Port of Miami..

Does anyone know how much a taxi would cost from FLL airport to Doubletree?

 

 

Thank you!!

[FlaGrl4Evr]

Not sure if this would interest you, but there is a one-day Key West tour that will pick you up at either FLL or a Miami hotel and then take you to Key West for the day. It looks like the first hotel pick-up is the Embassy Suites in FLL.

 

Here is the link for more info. http://keywestbustour.com/1-day-from-fort-lauderdale.html

 

 

 

Also, I have read a few cruise reviews where some folks stayed at the Savoy Hotel on the beach in Miami. More Family style than party style and near the area where you can walk down to see the cruise ships leave port. Nice pool area, on the beach and in a good location. http://www.savoymiami.com/

 

 

Good luck to you.

 

:)

 

.

[momtoty2001]

Thank you for the reply. We have looked at Savoy and it looks like a very nice hotel but is coming in at around $275/ night which for 2 nights is out of our budget.

 

We are leaning towards the Doubletree Gallery one but are still deciding. Does anyone know if there are any beachy/touristy type shopping for trinkets, tshirts etc near Doubletree or near any of the water taxi stops?

 

We are thinking of getting the water taxi passes for the day/night on 1 of days.

 

Thank you all for the great help! :)