Before I start, may I just mention my dread of realizing my desire and the fact that I went to Miami alone?!

I would have never thought in the 5 years since I turned 16 that I would want to visit Miami, even less ALONE!

But I did. YEEEE *Scheming hands.

If you don't want to read my sermon:

My Experience (in short):

Yes!

Miami is safe for solo female travelers. It just depends:

WHERE you stay (are you in a safe area?)
HOW late at night you plan on going out.
And make sure you're able to cognitively think (so don't plan on getting drunk in the city alone.)

*Many locals recommended to not go out at night alone. I decided to ignore them on Day 1, but after an uncomfortable approach during sunset near the boardwalk, I decided to take their advice and explore around the hostel at night.

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For the in-depth readers:

I will be adding this "unnecessary" part for girls who felt like me and may have experienced something similar.

When people think of Miami (for the most part) you think party scene, sex, clubs, and drugs. While some people may choose to see Miami that way (and neither is wrong) I realized it matters more what you PLAN on doing in Miami or wherever you go.

Some place can be known to be crazy, but what YOU CHOOSE to do is a whole other story and how you relate to that place, person, thing, or event.

Mindset.

When I was explaining to someone how I wanted to visit Miami, they kept telling me how "ungodly" the place was and how it was full of hell-like activities (note that I love this person so don't throw shade haha).

As I was searching and searching and SEARCHING online to find some answers if Miami was safe for solo travel (me being a 21 year old female who looks 12) I wanted to make sure I was going to be safe. I found videos of women who already looked older and were planning to LIVE it up in Miami, but all I wanted, was to see how Miami, Fl was and visit the beach?!).

I spoke to people that I really trusted asking them for their take on the safety of Miami.

Almost everyone said DON'T go by yourself.

When I went to Virginia, I met this guy, friend of a family friend, who was born and raised in Miami. He was kind enough to give me the tips on safety. He said it would be best to go with a local (a story for ANOTHER day 🙃).

Moving on!

He said it wasn't safe to go alone as a female and to make sure to NOT leave things unattended at the beach etc.

Okay, asked another local but he was from Fort Lauderdale, Fl. He said the same thing. To NOT go alone, he doesn't even feel safe being with his child in Miami.

Asked another local who relocated to my city, she was way older, she didn't like the idea of me going alone. I think most people don't like the idea of women traveling alone and I understand the concern.

But regardless of all the "no's", I still decided to go. Why? Because I wasn't going to be upset that I didn't do what I wanted to do.

I made sure to do my research, I looked at some other girls who solo traveled to Miami- reviewed their tips and researched "How to stay safe as a solo female travel" and researched places to visit and avoid in Miami.

That is why I decided to go.

Now, this trip was life changing moment, for the BEST (I learned a lot about myself, learned that I CAN do things alone, and to not be afraid to take public transportation- but STILL use caution).

Where to stay

I stayed in Generator Miami.

I was reviewing hostels for the first time to stay in one. Was I scared? Yes, but was it as bad as I thought it would be? No.

In fact, I realized that there are so many young people doing the EXACT same thing! Staying in hostels to lower expenses, to be in community, etc.

The hostel room in Generator Miami were modern, clean, and posh.

I learned that hostels aren't as scary, gross, or crazy as they seem- depending on the roommates you get and the hostel you stay at, so do your research; Make sure to read the reviews on Google.

You can choose to be in a mixed or same gender hostel.

I chose a 4 bed female dorm and for one of the nights I had the ENTIRE room to myself.

Generator Miami was in a posh area.

Don't believe me? Our neighbors were FAENA hotel (a 5 star hotel) and Club LIV, located inside Fontainebleau (another 5 star hotel) .

Drake and PartyNextDoor rap about club LIV in their song, Preach, from 2015.

"I'm in Miami...Hey, let's pop the E off at LIV..."

While it may be great for celebrities the reviews are sitting at 3.4 stars (on the date of this post) on Google.

What to do

I had one family member tell me, "What's the point of going if you don't even like partying?". I'm glad I didn't listen to her, because if I did I wouldn't be able to share this trip with you and help someone who might be wanting to go (like me) but was scared because of what "other's" were saying.

What to do is total up to YOU! Like I said, you can choose to party, visit the beach, go shopping, explore free attractions, meet new people, etc. IT IS ALL UP TO YOU!

Google some itinerary ideas based on the type of fun/adventure that you would want to do.

For example, I wish I knew about the MIAMI run club, I kind of would have liked being able to go running with locals in Miami to stay fit and talk to locals about their experience living in the Dade county. Since I didn't do that I promised myself next time I went to my next beach trip. And I did. On my trip to Hawaii, I ran a mile on the boardwalk and it felt amazing. :)

Don't allow the typical Miami perception to make you believe that in order to have a great time in MIAMI you have to go clubbing, drinking, hook up with some stranger, or whatever you may associate MIA that makes you dread or "fear" going to Miami.

Unless you want to then go for it. But, if you don't NEVER force yourself to do something you don't want to and that won't benefit you in the long run- unless you learn a lesson from all the craziness and monetize your experiences.

In my opinion, there are better ways of having fun that will benefit your future and most importantly not make you wake up feeling horrible the next day.

This was my itinerary (use it as you please)

*I changed my itinerary ideas several times, so never feel like you have to stick to it 100%.

Day 1

Check in to Generator Miami
Visit the Beach

Day 2

Gator Baits Wakeboarding
Hobie Beach
Uber from Hobie Beach to Versailles Restaurant Cuban Cuisine
Walked from Versailles Restaurant Cuban Cuisine to Little Havana, Calle Ocho (*DO NOT recommend going by yourself at night. Even the locals gave me a heads up on that. lol)

Day 3

Early morning beach day.
Met my new hostel roommate.
Checked out and left my things in the free storage section at Generator Miami (tip: take your essentials, passport, wallet, etc.)
Went to the beach (again!!) LOVED IT.
Took pictures.
Walked to the trolley (to see the routes and stops click here).
Visited Lincoln Rd. (BEAUTIFUL. For some reason, I thought it was going to be run down, with all due respect, but it turns out it was a posh area. This made me realize that street names mean nothing. It can correlate to a safe area in one city or an unsafe region in another (so always do research- Niche.com is great to see local reviews and gradings of cities).
Went to Ross and local shops. (P.S- If you go to Ross this is where A LOT of international visitors were and let me tell you, cute one's too.)
Walked all the way to Publix.
Trolleyed out and HURRIED to catch the bus.
Arrive to MIA Airport. :)

Overall Experience

I loved Miami. The beaches were beautiful, the locals mind their business and seem pretty nice, the area where I stayed was beautiful and overall pretty safe (I just don't recommend going out at night by yourself).

MIAMI does not have to equal party if you don't want to. You can have a great time with or without partying. Do what you want to do and make sure to exercise precaution. There were a lot of families in Miami as well! So don't think it's only young people.

If you have any questions on safety, overall if you use common sense, share your location and plans to TRUSTED family members, and maybe have a security alarm or pepper spray. I believe security alarms pass through security checkpoint on the airport in carry ons or personal items.

For more safety tips --> Click Here

If you have any questions feel free to email me at Charlineorozcofeedback@gmail.com or message me via Instagram @CharlineOrozco.

MIA = MIAMI

*This post is unsponsored. All views expressed are my own and should not be taken as legal advice. :)

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