My friend and I stayed in a hotel on Ocean Drive for five days. We hit the beach every single day--it was hard not to, since we were literally right across the street from it. Your close-to-the-beach options are to either stay on Ocean Drive (we were on 740) and be right across the street from Lummus Park and the beach, or stay on the street behind Ocean Drive, which is Collins Avenue, or the street behind that, which is Washington Avenue. On any of those streets, you are within walking distance of the beach (clothing optional), lots of restaurants, lots of shopping (on any of those roads as well as at nearby Lincoln, which is basically an outdoor walkway lined with stores), and plenty of nightlife attractions in the way of clubs, bars, and....Starbucks.

We spent our entire vacation without a car and walked to every single attraction we hit--you can choose to walk a little or a lot, and still get to visit all of these kinds of places. Part of our stay was during the week, and part was on the weekend. If you like crowds, go on a weekend; if you like things a little sparse, go during the week--everyplace still has plenty of people, but it's not as congested. This, at least, is the experience we had when we went. Do a little research, though, before you go, if this matters, because there are peak times to go, and sometimes special events can literally crowd the streets. My friend went to Miami last year during BET Hip Hop Week, and she said that there are so many people there at that time, that they actually block off sections of the road to expand the sidewalks, and even then, it's really crowded.
We enjoyed ourselves, and as two single gals, there was not a single day when at least a few guys at one time or another did not approach us, ask us for numbers, whistle, or even send drinks over to our table, amongst other things---despite running into a few guys who gave us the ickies (based on their approach), it was usually very friendly and positive attention. Kind of weird, but I guess it's either the town or the tourism that makes people so open to approaching strangers.

South Beach is a only a little while way from the main part of Miami. It is a really fun place to go to with a whole bunch of people. Boating is the best part of the this beach along with driving motor bikes. You have to have a license to drive the motor bikes and the boats. The prices are reasonable and they are usually according to how much time you spend on the boats and bikes.

South Beach is a much visit in the Miami area. The beach itself is a typical beach- wide sand, waves, surf. The waves aren't big, you probably won't get great surfing there, but they are good for boogie boarding or taking in the waves. The beach is not the prettiest beach I've ever been to, but its not really famous for being pretty- but rather for being South Beach itself.

It lives up to everything you've seen on TV. and everything you might imagine about South Beach. There are tons of beautiful ocean front hotels, some of which host pool parties at their luxurious pools, with beautiful landscaping and waterfalls.

There is wonderful dining at South Beach. Ocean Drive is dotted with great restaurants- we went to Sushi Samba, a great fusion cuisine restaurant which has Japanese food, Brazilian & Peruvian. The restaurants are not cheap but they are fun to go to, get dressed up and have a nice night on the town.

The bars are where South Beach really shines. There are many, dotting the coast, and they are all crowded and have unique drink offerings and specials. Around Spring break especially, people pack into the bars. The drinks are expensive, but they have some unique specials that are really great to try- not just your old boring draft beers. The people are all beautiful, and beautifully dressed- so make sure you really go all out for your South Beach night. Expect to probably pay a cover at some of the nicer places- but it can be worth it.

Overall, I'd definitely recommend a visit to South Beach, perhaps even staying the night in one of those luxury oceanfront hotels if you can afford the hefty price tag that goes along with the South Beach glamour.

Ocean Drive strip is very fun to walk on, you get to see different people and different cultures, beautiful sets of restaurants. Eat outside with a view of the ocean.

Long strip full of beautiful people and friendly. Can find affordable variety of food. Can shop near by, and can walk up and down the strip and not get bored.