Hello, I'm Simon Calder and thanks for listening to today's independent travel podcast,

bringing you ideas and inspiration, I hope, whether you are planning a great escape or, like me,

lucky enough to be on one.

Today I want to talk about the beaches of Florida. It's a subject very close to my heart because I've been lucky enough to visit many of them and I do also seem to be

on one at the moment at Cocoa Beach in Florida. Of course this podcast

is completely free as is my weekly travel email. You can of course subscribe at

independent.com.uk forward slash newsletters.

Miami South Beach has become synonymous with aspirational travel.

Oh my goodness me.

There is an absolutely huge jellyfish which has come ashore and is sadly no more there. I was there first in the would you believe it

1980s when it was a very dark and shadowy place. It was a retirement community, lots of fairly

run-down hotels which have been big and successful in the 50s and 60s but which had fallen on hard times.

Of course it is completely rejuvenated now and I am very very fond of the place.

In terms of the beach itself, yeah it's absolutely fine but you are in Miami Beach because you are in Miami Beach and all the things that go with it.

Life, the great food and drink, the experience, the indulgence, the star quality, which it has.

And actually, I find the most important thing to do on Miami Beach

we're in Miami Beach is to go and have a look at all the fantastic Art Deco

buildings one of the world's greatest collections in terms of other Atlantic beaches well I guide you slightly north

from Miami I really like the beaches around Fort Lauderdale and as a place to be a

place to stay Fort Lauderdale I think has an awful lot going for it. It's a lot cheaper,

a lot easier as a location to navigate the Miami, fantastic downtown and gorgeous beaches,

which are less crowded and more accessible than those in Miami.

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