What to Pack For Miami Beach

While the simple answer to the question of what to pack for Miami Beach would be a bag, you’re quite right in checking it out before you start organising what you want to take with you. Your first impulse might be to cram your bags full of beachwear and nothing else. Do that and you’ll more than likely run into a few problems during your stay.

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And, whatever you end up packing, remember that there are lots of options for luggage storage in Miami Beach so that you don’t have to carry more than you need to.

Miami Beach Dress Code

Miami Beach is a fashionable place. It’s somewhere folks go to show off, so looking good, whatever your gender, is going to be important for more reasons than your self-esteem. Miami Beach is not the sort of resort city where you can slob around in a pair of tatty old denim cut-offs and a stained t-shirt. Go dressed like that, and you’re likely to be denied entry to a multitude of places, if not everywhere, apart from the local homeless shelter.

It’s a sad fact of social life in Miami Beach that the majority of bars, restaurants and even beach clubs have images to maintain. With that in mind, they enforce fairly strict dress codes. Don the wrong outfit, and you’ll be turned away at the door, so leave your sweatpants and hoodies in the closet.

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Best Day Wear For Miami Beach

Hit the Beach in Style

If you plan on spending time at the beach, and who wouldn’t when they’re in Miami Beach, you’ll need some decent swimwear and a cover-up, too, if you plan on leaving the sand to have lunch somewhere like Nikki Beach. That goes for everyone, so if you’re not into floaty floral kaftans that don’t show an inch of bare flesh, make sure you pack something to change into that will be deemed suitable by this beach club’s doormen.

Get Sporty

There are many great outdoor activities you can do while in Miami Beach, like cycling, golf, tennis, and fishing. If you want to participate in any of those, you’ll need the proper clothing and shoes to do it, so make sure you have space in your case for what you need.

Going sightseeing or on a tour of Miami Beach, whether on land or the water, is something you can’t do in swimwear. When you’re walking around in the sun or sitting in one spot for too long, you’ll need a hat of some description to keep off the sun. Caps are easy enough to pack, but big floppy sun hats are not, so you might want to consider buying one when you get there rather than arriving with a squashed-up version that’s no longer any good for anything but the trash.  

Be Colour Wise

During the day, Miami Beach can be hot, hot, hot, and once you’ve started to tan, there’s really only one colour to wear to stay and look cool, and that’s white. White reflects the sun, and you’ll feel a lot fresher if you’re wearing white daytime outfits. Black for the daytime is a total no-no as it absorbs the sun’s rays, and you’ll get overheated. Sweaty armpits or a perspiring forehead aren’t in fashion in Miami Beach.  

Best Night Wear For Miami Beach

Nights in Miami Beach are when everyone gets dressed up, not always because they particularly want to, but because dress codes demand it. Men don’t need to wear a tuxedo, it’s not that formal, but they do need to be presentable and look smart from head to toe.

What’s presentable? Most places, unless they’re totally pretentious, are happy to see men dressed in smart casuals. Jeans are okay so long as they’re not ripped or look as though you’ve had them for three decades. Going out at night in shorts, even if they’re smart ones, is not acceptable in Miami Beach, nor are t-shirts with offensive slogans, so leave them at home.

Short-sleeved shirts are good as long as they’ve been well pressed, so you may want to consider packing a travel iron or check to see if where you’re staying has a laundry service that can get rid of your wrinkles for you.

For the ladies, the nighttime in Miami Beach is the time to get your glam on. As you’re going through your wardrobe checking what you have, make sure to fish out that one thing that’s just too posh for a regular night out where you live. Guaranteed, it’ll be perfect for Miami Beach.

While you may have already decided to throw some flats and flip-flops in your case for the daytime, leave space for a pair or two of heels. If you’ve only got room in your bag for one pair, check that they coordinate with your nighttime outfits. Going out at night in flats isn’t something that’s done in Miami Beach.

Will you need a jacket or a sweater? Probably not, although packing a light one or a thin sweater just to be on the safe side isn’t a bad idea. What you might need more than a jacket is a folding umbrella. One that you can slip into your day bag and have to hand should it start to rain while you’re out.  

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Packing Extras

Depending on the size of your suitcase and how long you’re going to be staying in Miami Beach, you might want to slip in a few extra items like the following:

• High SPF sunscreen
• A neck wallet
• Cooling wet wipes
• Waterproof phone case
• Aftersun lotion or aloe vera gel
• Portable speaker
• Sunglasses
• Insect repellent

If you’re travelling light and don’t have room, don’t worry. These things, while not essential packing for Miami Beach, will come in useful if you have them with you, but most are readily available in the Miami Beach stores.