Any tips about Miami?

If you can afford it, I'd suggest staying on Miami Beach. It's a separate city actually on the water, and is pretty lively for restaurants and night life. I have no experience with public transportation there, but it's generally very poor in most of the USA.

Miami is a wonderful city! It’s effectively the business hub for South America, and you’ll hear as much Spanish spoken as English. Public transit is limited. Unless you stay only in the main part of Miami Beach or in downtown Miami you’ll need a car to get around. There is some light rail around downtown and a train for commuters that runs north through Fort Lauderdale but that’s it. I can’t speak to nightlife but for restaurants, be sure to visit the Cuban community along Southwest 8th Street (“Calle Ocho”) for traditional Cuban food. Good luck with the trip!

If you are staying in Miami Beach (South Beach or North Beach) or Miami and all your activities are there, it's not hard to get around at all. There is a bus from the airport and a trolley that runs down the main drag of Miami Beach. You can also do a lot of things on foot. I took a bus to the Design District and Wynwood to see the amazing murals.

However, if you want to go outside the dense areas of Miami and Miami Beach, a car really helps. You can probably just rent one for the day (and return it that day). Parking overnight in Miami Beach can get really expensive.

South Beach is quite expensive, look for places to stay either in North Beach or maybe hostels.

You definitely need a car. I would stay in Brickell Key, Brickell or Coconut Grove which are very nice areas with bars and restaurants and are centrally located. Traffic is horrific, I avoid going out after 3:00pm. I would avoid Calle Ocho. I see the tourist buses there and I don’t get what the attraction is. Not a fan of Miami Beach either. With a week, I would spend 3 nights in Palm Beach / Boca and the rest in Miami opposed to just Miami.

Marco - if not Calle Ocho, what restaurant do you recommend for Cuban “home cooking”?

John - Havanna Harry's Little Havana Restaurant, Versailles and La Casita. Versailles and La Casita are on 8th street but are west of what's known as Calle Ocho and where the tourist buses go.

Be careful where you go in the Miami area, there are some areas definitely to be avoided.
https://www.travelsafe-abroad.com/safest-neighborhoods-in-miami/

Avoid dangerous neighborhoods. Miami is truly a tourist destination. It attracts people from all over the world every year. Yet there are dangerous neighborhoods that should be avoided at all costs while visiting Miami, particularly Liberty City, Allapatah, and Overtown. These neighborhoods have higher crime rates than other parts of Miami and are deemed unsafe for tourists.

Thanks for all the replyes.

It's good to know there are a lot of Latinos and that language won't be a problem. I'm using Google Translate to some extent to write this, haha. Yes, La Casita will definitely be one of my options, like the recommendation above. And Wynnwood too, since I've heard it's a lot of fun. In fact, I've been recommended to go on a Miami pub crawl? Has anyone ever done it? I'm a traveler in my early 30s looking to have fun.

How expensive can it be to be on the coast for a few days? What's the average cost of restaurants and bars? Here in Spain, a good restaurant menu can cost between €12 and €20, and you'll end up bursting at the seams. Do clubs or bars offer free entry and drinks for €12? A night in a good hotel can cost between €100 and €150 (although I'd opt for an Airbnb).

Thank you all in advance for your responses, and YOU ARE WELCOME TO MADRID!

You don't indicate what time of the year you are going. In the US, this time of the year from March to April, I would avoid Miami (maybe Florida in General,)- as it is the time for Spring Break for High School and College Students (it is like the northern states open a flood gate and everyone heads to Florida). They are really trying to crack down on students travelling there as there have been a lot of problems. If you google Miami Spring Break you can find more information. Any other time of the year I say go for it.

We stayed in South Beach, Miami, right in the heart of it and had a wonderful time.
We stayed at the Tony Hotel and had a room overlooking Ocean Drive and the beach. It's not cheap, so I don't know what your budget is.

Lots of restaurants and nightclubs along Ocean Drive and it's best to walk Ocean Drive in the evening when all the neon lights. highlight the Art Deco buildings.

We ate at moderately expensive restaurants. A favorite was A fish called Wanda. And also at the famous Joe's Stone Crab.

We did a dinner and a show at Mango's. Lots of fun. In the evenings, the nightclubs are blasting their music. so make sure your hotel isn't directly above those places.

We had a car. Tony's Hotel had free parking in a public parking garage a block over, so that was convenient, otherwise parking is a nightmare.

During the day, we did a food tour of Calle Ocho in Little Havana and enjoyed it a lot. We visited Wynwood Walls, the Vizcaya museum and took a boat cruise of Millionaire's row on Biscayne Bay.

We took three years of Spanish, so we were happy for the opportunity to speak Spanish and English to all the wait staff and service people.
You will find that the Spanish spoken here is primarily Cuban Spanish, so some accents and pronunciations that are different from Castilian Spanish.

Public transportation isn't very good in Miami. You'll need a car or rely on uber/Lyft to get around.
I
also agree with some of the other posters-

DONT VISIT HERE DURING SPRING BREAK.
Have fun and bon voyage.

My son lives in Brickell which is a very fun neighborhood for the 30 to 40 crowd. Lots of nice restaurants with outdoor seating. My son is also very fond of Miami Beach. Downtown Miami seems pretty desolate. While my son has a car he either walks or Ubers everywhere. Happy hour which seems to be 5pm-7pm can be a good deal but otherwise restaurants are expensive as most large cities in the US are these days.

It's good to know there are a lot of Latinos and that language won't be a problem. I'm using Google Translate to some extent to write this, haha. Yes, La Casita will definitely be one of my options, like the recommendation above. And Wynnwood too, since I've heard it's a lot of fun. In fact, I've been recommended to go on a Miami pub crawl? Has anyone ever done it? I'm a traveler in my early 30s looking to have fun.
How expensive can it be to be on the coast for a few days? What's the average cost of restaurants and bars? Here in Spain, a good restaurant menu can cost between €12 and €20, and you'll end up bursting at the seams. Do clubs or bars offer free entry and drinks for €12? A night in a good hotel can cost between €100 and €150 (although I'd opt for an Airbnb).

Hotels and Airbnbs are probable $250+ a night. In the restaurants I mentioned you can eat well with $20 - $30 but that’s cheap for Miami. I like Cuban restaurants where locals go, not in touristy areas. For most Miami restaurants you’re looking at $50+. You should go to Versailles Restaurant, it’s a Miami institution, it’s full of tourist but also full of locals.

Have not been to Miami or Miami Beach in some years but they re beautiful, interesting, fun with lots to do and great nightlife. As some posted, Miami is one city and Miami Beach another.

But I m going to caution you.

You say that you are from Madrid so you know about thieves and pickpockets. And Miami has the same types of people.

You do not say if you are traveling alone or with another but do not leave any thing on your beach towel unattended or it is going to be gone. Do not trust ny stranger who tells you they will watch it for you.

In the clubs, do not accept. drinks from a stranger because it could be drugged. If you are in a club alone and need to go to the bathroom, take your drink with you.

Be cautious about who you get involved with because you could wake up somewhere thoroughly naked with everything gone.

I have heard of all of the above things happening. It makes the news.

In America, you need to be careful about personal safety. Most of us living in The United States are familiar with violence but a European visiting might not be.

Watch youtube videos and read up on violence and personal safety. Talk to your consulate before coming. Talk to friends and relatives who have traveled to the United States.

Be aware.

Miami and Miami Beach are wonderful but I want you to have. a really good time so I am cautioning you.

I live in Texas and Miami area gets very very hot very early. It is also very humid. Maybe this will not bother you but it bothered me.

You might try booking.com for. hotels. And then you cn post the hotel and neighborhood on forum and see what feedback you get.

I thought that public transportation was pretty decent in Miami. There is a monorail which I think runs mainly downtown and I think that i remember trolleys but public transportation is not going to be anywhere as good as Madrid or other cities in Europe.

I am going to look at some of my pictures and if I find any things to recommend, I will begin another post.

Adding some suggestions

I loved the Perez Art Museum. Check out the Bayside Marketplace. Lots of places to eat for all budgets. Take a tour of the Everglades

In Miami Beach, I believed that I stayed in the art deco district and stayed at a boutique hotel called something like Flamingo/Lummus. In any case, try the art deco district in Miami Beach

My first time in Miami, I stayed at the Miami Sun. This was about 10 years ago and this so called hotel was being used for other things besides a hotel. I believe that it has been sold and cleaned up. It is in a. wonderful location in Central Miami so you might check it out. It had real potential.

And another time I stayed at Eurostars Langford which was new at the time but in a historic buidling.

Do not know if any of these hotels have the same name.