These 7 tips for Miami music week are specifically for those traveling alone, however some of them can be useful for groups as well. And with Ultra Miami starting in just a few days (and the waitlist for 2025 already open!), I figured this was a great time to update these tips and tricks to help you survive and enjoy your time in Miami.
Tip 1 – Get to know the city
Prior to arriving to Miami, I had looked up Miami Beach and Bayfront park. I had heard of both so I figured that would be enough. However, when I arrived, I did not realize just how far these were from each other. Additionally, I did not realize how each of these locations served the broader groups of parties and the events that take place during Miami music week.
For example, the airport is about 20mins from the 17th ave on Miami Beach, which is around the mid-way point of the beach. This was $25-$35USD by Uber.
However, when I took an Uber from south beach to the Intercontinental Hotel, which is the hotel that looks at the Ultra Miami MainStage, it took another 25-30mins and cost around $45USD.
And finally, from the intercontinental hotel to Factory Town, one of the primary party locations for Miami music week, it was another 20 mins and another $35USD (depending on when you call an Uber. It was around this price to go from Factory Town back to the beach as well.
So when you are planning your Miami music week experience, search the different party locations you anticipate you’ll be visiting and then try to find accommodations that keep you close enough to all the events so you’re not spending a pretty penny on Ubers.
Tip 2 – Save, Save, Save
Speaking of pretty pennies – this is definitely a city where you want to save your money. Especially when you travel alone, you’re on the hook for the full bill, whereas if you travelled with friends, you could be splitting the bill.
Here’s a budget for when you’re in Miami (this excludes all the tickets, flights, and accommodations you’ll book before Miami music week).
- Ubers: $100/day. This should give you more than enough to go from the beach to any of the party locations and back to the beach. Add another $50 if you plan to stop in at a friends hotel, AirBnb, restaurant etc.
- Food: if you’re keeping things cheap and getting just the essentials from snack shops, you could probably survive on ~$40-$50/day. If you want to try a restaurant or two and not survive on crackers and Gatorade, add another $50 to that total.
- Drinks: $100-$150/day. This was the most shocking cost for me. In Canada, when you go out, you’re spending ~$12/drink. So even for a full day at a festival, you might spend around $80 (~6 drinks or 1/hr, assuming to skip the first few artists). But oh my god – I checked my bank statement and spent $45 on a single drink. I have no idea how, but here I was, spending 3X what I would normally spend on 1 drink on a small vodka red bull.
- Tourist fees: there are tourist fees when you books hostels and hotels. I arrived at my hostel, where I thought I had prepaid for everything, but was asked to pay a $20 deposit and 4% tourist charge for every day I was there. When you think you’ve brought enough, this can mean 1 less drink or 1 less Uber ride if you haven’t budgeted for it.
Tip 3 – Learn basic Spanish
I knew before going that the US is a mix of English and Spanish. It is similar to Canada where you’ll encounter English and French speakers. What I failed to realize was spanish-speaking folks will make up a good portion of the staff you’ll meet during your stay. Whether it is the people checking you in to your hotel/hostel, or your Uber driver, knowing some Spanish will help you get around the city and connect with the those who will be taking care of your travel, accommodations, food and drink.
To help you get started, I’d recommend trying Duolingo or Babbel. Duolingo has free options, but Babbel is the more comprehensive language learning tool and follows linguistics science to teach you how to speak spanish.
Tip 4 – Buy Tickets as Early as Possible
If you’ve ever gone to any type of event you know that the early bird tickets are the best price, but for Miami Music Week, the tickets prices really jump.
I took a look at the Ultra 2024 ticket prices and they are $299.95 USD. When I was debating going to Ultra when I arrived in Miami, they were close to $499 for the 3 days, which comes out to $700+ CAD.
So if you want to go – buy those tickets as early as possible, and use the next 12 months to save up for the rest of your experiences.
The pool parties that happen during Miami Music Week are typically announced 2-3 months ahead of Miami Music Week, which is set for March 17- March 24th, with Ultra happening on the 22nd – 24th. So keep an eye out on your favourite artists and artist labels Instagram pages in January and February so you get your ticket at the cheapest price.
Tip 5 – Check Out the Pool Parties
I actually booked my Miami music week around a pool party. I knew I had always wanted to check out the events of that week, but when a pool party from my favourite artist lined up with some cheap flights that I could buy with points, it was a match made in heaven.
The pool parties are great ways to see your favourite DJs for extended and B2B sets. You’ll also get a more intimate experience with the DJs and see them up close, instead of trying to see them from the back of the Ultra crowd.
A final bonus is that you may get to party beside some of your favourite artists. Lots of DJs will attend their friend’s pool parties and club sets. Martin Garrix, one of the biggest DJs in the world who can very difficult to see up close, showed up to a small pool party put on by Vintage Culture – which I just so happened to see! It was a really fun moment and made an already fun event even more memorable!
Pool parties are happening all over the city, but the SLS hotel chain have great spaces for these parties. I went to SLS south beach for Vintage Culture, but I also almost went to a pool party at SLS Brickell.
Most (if not all) tickets can be purchased at tixr.com
Tip 6 – Avoid South Beach
If you don’t have to go south of 15th ave, then don’t. Before Miami Music Week is Spring break for 3 weeks. All of the spring break parties happen from 5th ave to 15th ave and this year they ended in 2 shootings.
As a Canadian, I am very fortunate to not (really) have to worry about this when I am out and about on my own. I do still have to be careful, but gun violence is not really a main fear.
In response to this, Miami put in place a curfew, which meant that you can’t buy alcohol after 6PM, unless you’re in a contained event space. Although Miami Music Week brings in a more international crowd, there’s still the risk of Spring Breakers extending their vacation into MMW. So the risk still exists.
South beach (5th – 15th) includes some of the major clubs on Miami Beach, so if you buy tickets to places like Story, just make sure you have a plan to arrive and leave with people and preferably by Uber or Taxi.
I stayed around 17th avenue and was about 3 blocks from the beach (stay away from Ocean Drive), and didn’t feel unsafe. I just walk like I own the city and try to only be out when the sun is out. This area also put me close to beaches, stores, restaurants, nice hotels (the Ritz Carlton, Loews, and the Setai are all within a block) and inexpensive hostels!
You’ll also finds AirBnB’s there, but be wary about these. I heard stories about hosts accepting bookings and then cancelling a few days before Ultra just to repost for 3-4X the price.
Tip 7 – Give yourself at least 1 recovery day between coming home and returning to life
If you’re anything like me – you go all in when you’re on vacation. I prioritized activities and soaking up as much sun as possible over sleep and eating 3 complete meals. This meant that when I got back, I was running on empty.
Could I have avoided this? Yes. Do I regret how I chose to spend my time/money? Absolutely not. So the fact that I had Saturday and Sunday night to get a full night’s rest, and all day Sunday to get myself ready to return to reality was perfect.
In fact, I am writing this after a perfectly productive Monday, complete with meal prepped meals and a full night of rest.
It makes a difference and people don’t always think about the end of the trip. So I hope this final tip is the perfect ending to this article all about planning your trip to Miami Music Week.
And of course – have fun :)
Riley Pearce 