Art Basel Miami Beach: Essential Tips for First-Time Visitors
Life is a never-ending bucket list of places to visit, people to meet, and experiences to have. After a few years, I finally attended Art Miami Basel- A decision made 10 days before its commencement! I traveled to Fort Lauderdale for the Black Travel Summit a week before Thanksgiving and decided to extend my trip at the last minute. I’m a planner by nature but always leave space for impromptu excursions in life. Those are some of my most cherished memories. Whether you plan 6 months or 6 days ahead, hopefully, these tips can make the trip even more enjoyable for you.
Choose Your Area
Art Basel provides a great resource for local hotels and Airbnbs near the Miami Convention Center. As you can imagine, most hotels & Airbnb were sold out less than 2 weeks away. Most content creators, locals, and people I met during the weekend overwhelmingly suggested staying on or near the beach. Below are neighborhoods and hotel recommendations for your next visit.
Neighborhoods/Areas
South Beach, Brickell, Wynwood, Mid Beach & South Beach
Hotels
The Betsy South Beach
1 South Beach Hotel
SLS Lux Brickell
Loews Miami Beach
The Setai Miami Beach
When to Arrive
Art Basel at the Miami Convention Center was open to the public Friday, Dec 6-8th. Many, if not most brand events, began as early as Monday or Tuesday leading up to the weekend. If you want to network or view as many art exhibits as possible, it’s worth catching a flight out on Tuesday or Wednesday morning at the latest. In addition, many private VIP exhibits are open earlier in the week. If you’re short on time, Thursday through Sunday will give you a taste of what the weekend offers.
traffic
Get ready, it’s a lot! This time, I stayed with family nearly 25 miles north of Miami and rented a car for the weekend. On average, plan for a 60-minute commute into Miami. As you probably have guessed, the bottleneck occurred approaching and crossing MacArthur Bridge into Miami Beach. Ride-share surges are nearly constant especially Thursday through Saturday evening. Traffic and street closure near the convention center will almost double your commute time, plan accordingly. It’s best to attack your exhibits & restaurants by neighborhood per day. A private driver may be a convenient option for weekends, especially for smaller groups.
Dress To Impress
I’ll start with the more practical advice. Wearing comfortable shoes based on the venue. With numerous exhibits on the beach, some sections of the beaches are not to be covered by plastic boardwalks convenient for attendees. If you’re aiming to hit 10k steps a day, you will hit your target easily! Comfortable & practical doesn’t mean boring. Art Basel is one of the best times to showcase your style and experiment with something more daring. People-watching is one of my favorite sports and admiring everyone’s fashion game was one of the best forms of art!
SCOPE Contemporary Art Show
Where to Eat
Now that I’ve experienced it, I realize I was ambitious with my goals for Art Basel this year. I initially planned to visit at least one art exhibit and target two restaurants each day…one of the main reasons for renting a car. Well, I had two hiccups in my plan. The traffic was even worse than I imagined. I also caught a little bug (allergies that morphed into a cold) late Friday night. With my sporadic ability to smell and a strong desire for anything salty, I knew I couldn’t objectively taste and evaluate my meals the way I intended. Ugh! Luckily, I had 1-night pre-cold to enjoy my small plates at the Setai Hotel-Miami Beach.
I quickly accepted my defeat and survived on a diet of chicken noodle soup, hot tea, allergy medication, and Thera-flu. The good news I had slightly more time to enjoy the art rather than rush to a dinner reservation. Every art exhibit I visited provided on-site small plates and plenty of libations. The Miami Convention Center had beautiful mini-restaurants that showcased Hong Kong cuisine, Sushi, and my fave Ruinart Champagne complemented with large chilled shrimp and raspberry point oysters. You can always head straight to the source in France. There may be a little sticker shock, but it’s Art Basel. Treat yourself!
Urban Fried Catfish & Grits
Next Eats: South Florida
The Setai-Miami Beach (South Asian)
Old’s Havana Cuban Bar & Cocina (Cuban)
Forte Dei Marmi (Italian)
Red Rooster-Overtown (Caribbean Fusion)
Cev.che105 (Peruvian & Seafood)
Regina’s Farm- Brazilian (Fort Lauderdale)
Just Spoons Cafe- American Southern (Plantation)
Sak Pase Foodtruck- Haitian (Davie)
Maple & Ash-Miami Coming 2025- Iconic Chicago Steakhouse
Note: I delighted in my meals at Just Spoons & The Setai-Miami Beach before my cold. It was great!
Where to Next-Art Basel Edition?
Hong Kong March 28-30, 2025
Basel June 19-22, 2025
Paris Oct 24-26, 2025
Miami Beach 5-7, 2025