How Much Spending Money to Take To Miami (2024)

I visited Miami for the first time last year and was lost on how much to budget for spending money.

I spent $125 per day on a three-day trip to Miami. This included transport, food, drinks, attraction tickets, and miscellaneous spending. However, it did not include my flights or hotel.

Of course, this is just an average. You’ll want to budget more if you want to eat at luxury restaurants for dinner and party into the evening. But, if you’re happy getting take-out and doing free or cheap activities in Miami, you could budget less.

Miami Spending Money Influencers

There are a handful of things that will influence how much you should budget for your trip to Miami. These include:

• Duration of your trip
• Domestic or international travel
• Car hire or public transport
• Staying somewhere with a kitchen or kitchenette
• Number of people you’re travelling with
• Type of holiday (once in a lifetime or semi-regular summer vacation)

Things to Budget for on a Trip to Miami

Whether you’re visiting Miami solo, as a couple or as a family, there are five categories you’ll need to budget for:

1. Transport
2. Accommodation
3. Attractions
4. Food & Drink
5. Miscellaneous

I’ve broken down these five categories below to help you understand the costs and ways to save on each.

Travel

There are two types of travel you’re going to want to consider for your Miami vacation:

• Getting to Miami
• Getting around Miami

Since I’m covering spending money, I assume you’ve covered the ‘getting to Miami’ part. Instead, now you’ll need to consider the costs of getting around the city.

Most of the neighbourhoods in Miami are very walkable. However, you’ll still need a way of getting between them. With that, there are three ways you can travel around Miami:

1. Driving
2. Uber / Lyft
3. Public Transport

Public transport in Miami is limited, especially outside of Downtown and Brickell. Subsequently, most visitors need to decide between a rental car or Uber.

Accommodation

Miami offers a variety of accommodation options available. From budget motels to luxury resorts and everything in between.

If you don’t plan to hire a car in Miami, you’ll want to be very strategic about where you stay. However, if you do, try to find somewhere with free or cheap parking, given the high associated cost.

I was travelling to Miami with my wife and our 18-month-old son on this occasion. We wanted to be by the beach, so I chose the Loews Miami Beach Hotel on South Beach and loved it!

Attractions

There are plenty of things to see and do in Miami. As such, it’s very easy to splurge on attractions and entertainment here. As a family of three, we spent $96 on attractions in Miami over three days:

• South Beach – $0
• Miami Children’s Museum – $72
• Wynwood Walls – $24
• Little Havana – $0

Personally, this was more of a beach break between our flight from the UK to the US and our cruise out of Miami. Subsequently, while exploring the city, we didn’t do as much as we might have had this been a dedicated trip.

Food & Drink

Much like the cost of attractions, the amount you spend on food and drink while in Miami can vary a lot. One person might be happy spending $20 daily on food, while the other could easily spend $200.

As such, it’s really up to you to understand the dining experience you want in the city.

As a family of three, we spent $498 on food and drink in Miami, which is $166 a night. Again, we were travelling with my son, who was only 18 months old, so most of that cost was from two adults.

This consisted of a small take-out breakfast, such as coffee and pastry. For lunch, we’d have something casual from a café. Then, depending on what we’d been doing that day, we’d either have a DoorDash or eat at a restaurant for dinner.

Miscellaneous

Finally, there’s miscellaneous spending. Before having kids, this category was often $5 to $10 a day. However, with kids, there’s a lot more miscellaneous spending. Some of the miscellaneous expenses you might want to consider:

• Airport magazines
• Tips at restaurants, hotels, etc.
• First aid
• Excess baggage charges
• Laundry fees
• Hiring pushchairs & wheelchairs

Miscellaneous expenses are difficult to budget for in advance. However, based on my experience, I recommend budgeting $10 per person, per day.

As a family of three, we rarely spend more than $100 in this category, even on trips lasting as long as two weeks. However, it’s nice knowing I’ve budgeted for it in advance.