Things to do after cruise before flight(on a budget)

[chowdan]

Hey everyone,

 

Girlfriend and I are leaving for our first cruise come the 14th. We'll be back on the 21st, and our flight leaves at 10:30PM back to Seattle.

 

We are both young(college students), and do not have much to blow in terms of money.

 

I was thinking about renting a car and doing our own thing, but wasn't sure if its worth it.

 

We dont want to lug bags around, so being able to store them in the car for the day seems easiest, however I know the airport allows storage for around 20$ a day. Since we will 2 checked bags and have 2 carry-ons, that means we'd be spending at least $40 to store them.

 

Having a car I was thinking we could go to venice beach, walk and explore around there for a few hours, have lunch then maybe go find a mall for the gf to shop.

 

So here comes my questions!

 

Any good beach areas that ahve small shops/lunch places similar to Venice Beach in LA?

Any good lunch places anyone recommends? Doesn't need to be where we are, but someplace cheap and delicious

 

Anyone have any good malls that they recommend checking out? Sawgrass Mills is what i was thinking if we go to one(I'm sure the GF would love it since she loves shopping).

 

What is the traffic like in Miami? LA style bumper to bumper slow moving?

 

I'm open to suggestions/ideas since I've never been to the east coast!

Edited December 4, 2014 by chowdan

[BlueHerons]

Hey everyone,

 

Girlfriend and I are leaving for our first cruise come the 14th. We'll be back on the 21st, and our flight leaves at 10:30PM back to Seattle.

 

We are both young(college students), and do not have much to blow in terms of money.

 

I was thinking about renting a car and doing our own thing, but wasn't sure if its worth it.

 

We dont want to lug bags around, so being able to store them in the car for the day seems easiest, however I know the airport allows storage for around 20$ a day. Since we will 2 checked bags and have 2 carry-ons, that means we'd be spending at least $40 to store them.

 

Having a car I was thinking we could go to venice beach, walk and explore around there for a few hours, have lunch then maybe go find a mall for the gf to shop.

 

So here comes my questions!

 

Any good beach areas that ahve small shops/lunch places similar to Venice Beach in LA?

Any good lunch places anyone recommends? Doesn't need to be where we are, but someplace cheap and delicious

 

Anyone have any good malls that they recommend checking out? Sawgrass Mills is what i was thinking if we go to one(I'm sure the GF would love it since she loves shopping).

 

What is the traffic like in Miami? LA style bumper to bumper slow moving?

 

I'm open to suggestions/ideas since I've never been to the east coast!

 

 

 

What city?

 

Traffic in Miami is horrific. It is either a parking lot or people drive 100 mph. About 1/3 of our drivers are uninsured. That isn't an exaggeration. It is one of the reasons our car insurance is so high.

[chowdan]

What city?

 

Traffic in Miami is horrific. It is either a parking lot or people drive 100 mph. About 1/3 of our drivers are uninsured. That isn't an exaggeration. It is one of the reasons our car insurance is so high.

 

Well then that sucks traffic is terrible!

 

Our Port is Port of Miami. I guess since Aventura Mall and Sawgrass Mills are large, we might be able to burn the day there however I dont think that would be the "best" way to spend our last few hours in Miami.

[FreestyleNovice]

Well then that sucks traffic is terrible!

 

Our Port is Port of Miami. I guess since Aventura Mall and Sawgrass Mills are large, we might be able to burn the day there however I dont think that would be the "best" way to spend our last few hours in Miami.

 

Try Dolphin Mall, a 15 minute ride back to MIA. And also much closer to PoM, so you can get a rental, visit SoBe for an early lunch and some sun, do some mall shopping in the afternoon and dining somewhere before you go to MIA.

[FreestyleNovice]

And welcome to CruiseCritic. :D

[eandj]

You could go to Mia and drop your bags to store and then catch the airport flier bus to South Beach. Only about $7.00 round trip per person. South beach has lots to offer for the whole day and evening. No need then to rent and struggle with traffic and parking.

Do some research of the sobe area ahead of time. It will be a memorable day.;)

[BlueHerons]

You could go to Mia and drop your bags to store and then catch the airport flier bus to South Beach. Only about $7.00 round trip per person. South beach has lots to offer for the whole day and evening. No need then to rent and struggle with traffic and parking.

Do some research of the sobe area ahead of time. It will be a memorable day.;)

 

This is exactly what I would do.

 

You can eat cheaply at Puerta Saga (Cuban) or Tap Tap (Haitian) Pizza Rustica or pack a cooler and spend the day on the beach.

 

There are public bathrooms at Lummas park and you can rent beach chairs anywhere. There are showers (not private but you can rinse off in your bathing suit), change in the bathrooms, eat a late dinner, then head out to the airport.

[chowdan]

Thanks for the tips! South beach looks awesome! I like the idea of not having to deal with traffic/parking. If traffic wasn't terrible, i'd be fine, however being on vacation, that is not something i want to have to deal with:)

 

I think we found a winner on what we are going to do

[zoicca]

I'd check out South Beach if I were you (assuming you're in Miami). Yes, the traffic is horrible. We had a few hours in Miami and couldn't find parking, so we just drove around and enjoyed the sites.