Last week, Thiago and I escaped from New York and went to spend a long weekend in Florida – more precisely in West Palm Beach. We were looking forward to enjoying a beach, warm weather, and a pool and bought last-minute tickets – like two weeks before. We left on a Thursday, early in the morning, and returned on Sunday morning, too. As Florida is a destination for many people, I thought it would be worth writing about our days there.
Firstly, I think it is good to make it clear – West Palm Beach is not Miami. This is another town, which is north of Fort Lauderdale. Miami is located about 1h and 15 minutes from West Palm Beach. I’m clarifying this because many people who saw me posting on social media thought I was in Miami. Overall, this is a cheaper destination than Miami and we also wanted to visit a place we did not know yet. Our goal was not to explore anything – just relax – because we only had three whole days. Below, you will check out some tips that I thought would be worth sharing.
Hotel – we stayed on Singer Island, where most of the hotels and resorts in West Palm Beach are located. It is about a 20-minute drive from the city’s airport and it is a super quiet beach. You will see a hotel next to the other. We stayed at Hilton Singer Island Oceanfront/Palm Beaches Resort, and our room rate included breakfast (with pancakes, omelet, waffle, potatoes, fruit, bread, yogurt, juices, etc), fitness center, bikes, access to the pool (with towels), chair and umbrella on the beach. Our room was super spacious and equipped with TV, desk, and coffee maker. The Wi-Fi was free and fast. All the staff were super friendly and helpful. It is a good family hotel with a lot of accessibility. The only downside of staying at Singer Island is the access to restaurants. There are few options on the island – most of them are restricted to hotel restaurants. So every night, we took an Uber to go downtown to have dinner.
Transportation – to get out of the airport, we used Uber – Lyft also works well in the city. We always took an Uber Pool or Lyft Line, and we ended up paying less for the rides – from the hotel to downtown, we spent about $5 or $6, and we never waited more than 7 minutes for a car. The airport is small, and there is also a bus service. As our idea was to enjoy and relax, we only left the hotel for a walk on the beach and for dinner at night.
Food – as I mentioned, our hotel had a great breakfast. On the first day, we looked for a lunch restaurant and went to Guakamole, a Mexican restaurant at Singer Island. I don’t recommend it, the food was okay. After this frustrating experience, we ended up having lunch at the hotel – the menu included salads, burgers, and sandwiches – and we went out for dinner at night. We have been to excellent restaurants. The first was Hullabaloo, a trendy gastropub. We ordered the zucchini chips (delicious, $5) and a portion of fried calamari ($14). Then we ordered a pizza and shared it. We ended up having some pizza leftovers since the appetizers were super generous. The pub also has a selection of very interesting beers. The next night we had dinner at Lynora, a famous and traditional Italian restaurant. Very nice atmosphere – and they have fresh pasta. We had the ravioli and the gnocchi with pork – $25 each – a bit pricey but worth every penny. The pasta were delicious! On our last night, we were in the mood to eat sushi and went to the Kabuki Sushi Thai Tapas and ordered three rolls – two classic and one special. Try the Lava Drops – it’s fried sushi, a delight. Prices were great – simple rolls are $6 and specials $14 on average. Tip: Clematis Street is full of restaurants.
City Place – a kind of shopping center with movie theaters, ice cream, stores and other restaurants. It’s cool to walk at night, an illuminated promenade – we went there and had ice cream, and the vibe is super cool.
I think that’s it! I do not have much more to say because, as I said, we were in relaxed mode! It is a very different place from Miami. And the beach is so beautiful!
Content creator and journalist in New York City. Here, I share lifestyle, beauty, NYC tips, thoughts, and the struggles about living in the most amazing city in the world! I’m not gonna pretend to be another person: I’m a Brazilian immigrant and I think this is my soul, it is part of who I am. I hope you enjoy my content! Follow me on Instagram!
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