Miami, Florida : An introvert’s guide to South Beach.

There are two kinds of beach-goers. The kind who like a shaded, quiet area to read or sleep under, and the kind who come with 20 friends, a Bluetooth speaker, and brown paper bags. Both are there to have a good time, they just have different definitions of what that is.

I lean heavily to the former category. If you find me hanging out in the water seemingly staring into its depths, I’m not sad. I just find it calming.

So I decided to put together this quick guide to South Beach for anyone out there who’s more like me. As bustling as the South Beach area is, I’ve found that it caters to people with varying interests -this is what I love about it.

So, let’s get into it.

1) Bike along the path at South Pointe Park: There are several spots to rent bikes all over the beach, and the great thing about them is you don’t have to return it where you picked it up. The park (each time I’ve been there) is not very crowded and there are a lot of quiet spots to relax if you get tired of riding. It’s also a lovely place to watch the sunset.

2) Grab lunch away from Ocean Drive:If you’re trying to avoid loud, obnoxious tourists and locals, you want to run far away from Ocean drive. I love the street for its art deco style buildings but that’s about it. Some of my favorite spots to grab a quiet lunch are The Big Pink and Alma Mexicana.

3) Take a dip in the ocean:Or if you can stand all that saltwater in your eyes, go for a full on swim. The views differ depending on the what side of the beach you go to. Sometimes all you see are bottles and cans, other times its soft white sand and clear blue sea. My favorite and least crowded beach entrance is the one closest to the South Beach Pier.

4) Disappear into a bookstore:On one of my solo trips in the South Beach area, I found the fairly obscure Books & Books while walking through Lincoln road mall (this outdoor mall can be crowded too, so finding somewhere to dip into is essential). Read a book, buy one, or just enjoy some respite from the heat and crowds.

5) Kayak in a peaceful marina: Kayaking can be a lot of work, but being in control means you can also rest when you want to. My sister (Ekama) & sister-in-love (Mofi) tried out SouthBeach Kayak on a lovely spring evening. Being the lazy bones that we are, we didn’t paddle far, but it was enough to just sit and enjoy the views.

Feel free to explore one or more of these suggestions and see how YOU like it. I hope this post has been helpful. Share your thoughts with me in the comments down below!

As always, 

Thank you for reading!

All photos shot on iPhone 6 and 6S+

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same footprints, different sands