A Budget-Friendly Vacation in Miami

Miami Riverwalk

Being raised in an expensive city like Miami I learned to find the less pricey, yet still authentic places to visit. My skills were put to the test when my friends visited me during Spring Break with their only request being to not spend a lot of money. 

Before their arrival, I researched outdoor places they would enjoy. The first stop would be to the largest historic town in Miami, Coconut Grove (the Grove). With a scenic bayfront, numerous restaurants, shops and parks it was the perfect option. 

When my friends arrived we piled into my dad's eight-seater sedan and started our adventures. Our first stop was Barnacle Park in Coconut Grove. It’s known for having the oldest house still in its original location in Miami-Dade County. The house was built in 1891.

The Barnacle Historic State Park

To explore the grounds, the admission fee is usually two dollars. But with no guard on duty, we walked into the park for free. As we crossed a tree-shaded cobblestone pathway, we got a glimpse of the house and its picturesque ocean backyard. Unaware that a reservation had to be made to have a walkthrough of the house, we walked towards the end of the property instead and stood on some old wooden planks of what used to be a boat dock. Our hair swayed with the palm trees as we looked out into the ocean and at the sailboats anchored a few yards away. 

After Barnacle, we walked around the Grove and came across a few peculiar shops that resembled a circus gift shop. We also stumbled upon Books and Books; a two-story charming window-front bookstore, which we remained in for about half an hour. 

Books and Books

The bottom floor of the bookstore was pretty tight. The cashier counter took up the whole side entrance of the shop and an array of tables with stacked books encompassed the rest. Placed on one of the tables was a map of Miami, which a friend of mine and I opened to locate where we were and where my house was. After our success, we humbly with a dose of humiliation tried to fold the map to its original form. The bookstore worker laughed as we struggled, but eventually, we got it folded. 

Books and Books

On the second floor, a low bookshelf lined the window, its low height, left enough window space for us to see the other shops on the strip. On this floor, there were puzzles, which I loved and was tempted to buy, as well as chess books, nature books, and a children's section with books and toys. Within the nature book section, there was a tree book with wise sayings and different drawn trees on each page, I thought it was the cutest thing, but again, I didn’t buy it. 

As hunger arose, we waited until dinner to spend our money and decided to take a walk to the pier to see more sailboats. When we arrived at the dock it started to rain and we retreated towards the car. 

After being stuck in traffic for over an hour, food was now on everyone's mind. Once we arrived at my house, we quickly changed and headed to Versailles; a famous Cuban restaurant in Miami since 1971. Most of us ordered the ropa vieja, which is slowly cooked beef with different vegetables in tomato sauce. Balanced with a pile of white rice, not only was the flavor of the food delicious, but the pricing was good too. Most of our meals came out to $14 for a full plate of food and a drink. 

We ended the night with a nice seaside stroll alongside the Miami Riverwalk in downtown Miami. The pathway was lit by the lights of the hotels overlooking the bay. We felt relaxed on our walk from the sounds of the crashing waves and the wind blowing through our flowy pants. 

The next day, we ate blueberry pancakes at my house and drove to Hollywood Beach. Exhausted from the night before, some relaxed under the blue, beach tent on lounge chairs to avoid getting too much sun, others laid in direct sunlight to return to school with a vacation glow and others played volleyball with strangers. 

For dinner, another friend of ours lived in Miami and his mom cooked authentic Puerto Rican food for us. On the menu were: tostones, pork chops, rice with beans and for dessert flan. After our savory dinner, we played board games on his fluffy, white rug in the living room. 

The following day we finished our Miami adventures with a Party Cake Bakery run. After we bought pastries, coffee and pineapple juice, we sat in my living room as we ate our guava and cheese filled baked goods and watched The Bachelor. It was a perfect ending to a well-priced Miami vacation.