Miami: some prices and tips that will help you save
If you are planning a trip to this Florida city, it is important that you set up a budget to know all your expenses. Get to know some tips and price averages.
Putting together your budget to travel to Miami will depend on the month in which you want to travel. Going in December is not the same as going in January or March, and staying in a 5-star hotel is not the same as renting an apartment.
How much does a week of vacation in Miami cost?
Leaving aside the price of the ticket, there are other important expenses that must be taken into account: car rental, gasoline, meals, lodging and supermarket, among others. You should also take into account how much you want to invest in shopping and other more specific activities.
It is important to know that sometimes the prices you quote online vary depending on where you connect. In other words, renting a car can be cheaper (it can even be half the price) if you search for it from a computer in the United States than in Argentina.
For example:
Renting a car for a week in November, from Argentina, costs almost US $1,500, while in the United States, between US $600 and 700.
A one-week car rental in January from the US costs US $522 (from the Thrifty company).
If you're looking for a price, Fox is a car rental company that offers up to half the prices listed above. However, to pick up your car you will have to take the train from the airport to the car rental station (like the rest of the companies), but then you will have to take a Fox bus to their offices, which are 10 minutes away. Sometimes the bus can take 15 minutes to arrive.
Tolls: US$53 or less
Although it is possible to get from one place to another without paying a toll, it is not worth it. Journeys can take up to twice as long simply because you don't want to spend on tolls. That, in any case, you will pay for it in gasoline.
Car rental companies offer a day pass, to avoid paying the toll in cash, which is US $4 plus the toll itself.
You can buy this Sunpass at Publix, Wallgreens or CVS for US $16 and associate it to your credit card. Once your trip is over, remove the pass from the car and unlink the license plate of the rental car on the web.
Gasoline: US $40 a tank
For a small or intermediate car, filling a tank can cost US $42. A minivan for families is around US$57.
The distances in Miami are long, so you would have to think about two tanks in a week. If you plan to go to Disney, that trip will take 70% of the tank.
Parking: $1 to $4 an hour
Depending on each city and day of the week, parking can cost anywhere from $1 an hour to $4 an hour (especially on weekends). It's not a major expense, but if you drive to the beach or walk through any tourist spot, you'll have to pay for parking.
In Miami Beach, for example, one hour of parking during the weekdays costs US $1 and you can pay for it in cash or with a card at the automatic station on site or through the ParkMobile application.
Tip: Hollywood Beach has a more expensive rate: $3 an hour from Monday to Thursday, and $4 from Friday to Sunday. If you plan to go to this beach, we recommend finding a parking lot that offers a flat rate of $10 and $8 respectively to park all day.
Public transport
Nowadays, getting around in Miami without a car is not as difficult as before. Now you have Uber and the public transportation system is getting bigger and bigger.
The most used transportation systems are the Metrobus (US$2.25 per section or US$5.65 for the daily pass).
From the Miami airport, buses to Miami Beach run every 30 minutes from 6 a.m. to 11:40 p.m. daily. The buses even have a place to store luggage.
On the other hand, an Uber from the Miami airport to Miami Beach costs between 25 and 30 dollars. Up to Sunny Isles or Aventura about 5 to 8 dollars more.
Lodging: from US $1200 per week
Renting an apartment is usually always the cheapest option. An apartment for a week can cost US$1,200 with one bedroom, and from US$1,600 with two bedrooms.
Tip: Airbnb charges a commission and makes the final price more expensive. So renting privately or through Mercado Libre is the best option.
In the case of hotels, it varies greatly by location and brand. A room on the beach can start at US$200 a night, but goes to US$2000 a week with taxes and resort fee. In addition, the cost of parking must be added in general, which can reach US $30 per day. Farther from the beach a hotel room can be found for as little as $1,000 a week.
Meals: from US$9 to US$30
In the US there is a wide variety of chains with options to eat for less than US $10 such as: Chipotle, ChickfilA, Checkers, KFC, Taco Bell, Subway, among others.
A meal at a chain restaurant like the Cheesecake Factory can cost $20-25 per person, without wine. But, an average price for a meal that is a step above fast food is between $12 and $18: Chilly's, Applebees, Flanigans, Olive Garden, California Pizza Kitchen, or Red Robin.
For a week of meals out, a minimum of US $210 per person must be foreseen, without counting the tip.
Supermarket: US$140
Another option to not eat out is to eat at home. A plate of food can cost US $10 and is better food than a fast food menu. Whole Foods supermarkets have a food court that pays by weight. There are meats, purées, soups, salads, pastas and a portion costs about US$12 and US$15, something similar to what can be paid in a cheap restaurant but without the expense of tips, and the possibility of choosing a variety of food.
I have given you information about Miami: some prices and tips that will help you save so if you read this post till the end, then your Thanks.
