Is Miami safe?

The danger most likely to touch you in Miami has four wheels. Florida ranks among the deadliest US states for pedestrians, and Biscayne Boulevard and US-1 run six lanes wide with drivers who turn right on red without looking. Wait for the walk signal at every crossing on Biscayne, even when the road looks empty. The second risk is the Atlantic: rip currents pull along South Beach on windy days, so swim near a staffed lifeguard tower and read the flags, where red means strong surf and purple means jellyfish or Portuguese man o' war are in the water. October still falls inside the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, so we'd buy travel insurance that covers storm cancellations before booking a fall trip. The air was already 23.3°C and 87% humid at 7am on October 13, and that damp heat sticks a shirt to your back by 9am. Carry a litre of water on Calle Ocho.

After dark, we think Miami Beach south of 23rd Street is the easiest place in the county to be alone. Lincoln Road and Española Way stay lit and crowded past 11pm, with salsa spilling out of the restaurant patios, and Ocean Drive between 5th and 15th Streets is loud and rowdy more than dangerous, though it tends to get sloppy after 1am on Fridays and Saturdays. Brickell and Coconut Grove feel calm at night too. Downtown is different: Flagler Street empties when the offices close around 6pm, and the blocks around Government Center can feel deserted by 9pm. Wynwood needs the most care. The mural blocks along NW 2nd Avenue are busy until late, but the streets west toward I-95 and south toward NW 20th Street go dark and empty within three blocks, so order a rideshare from the door of the bar. Model City and Opa-locka, along with the two districts named above, carry much of Miami-Dade's violent crime, and no visitor attraction requires walking through them.

Ocean Drive's signature trick is legal. Many sidewalk restaurants pour 2-for-1 fishbowl cocktails with no price on the menu, then add an automatic service charge of 18 to 20 percent, and a round can reach $60 or more. Ask for the price before ordering and check the receipt for the gratuity line before you add a tip. Drink spiking has been reported in South Beach clubs, with solo men wearing expensive watches among the targets, so watch your glass being poured and leave the Rolex at home. Rental cars get broken into at beach lots and at Wynwood meters, and a bag left on the seat is usually the reason. For transit, the Metromover is free and loops Downtown and Brickell until about midnight, making it the simplest way out of Kaseya Center after a show such as KATSEYE on Tuesday 13 October, when thousands of fans pour onto the pavement at once. Metrorail's Orange Line links Miami International Airport to Brickell for $2.25, and after midnight, we'd skip the buses and pay for an Uber or Lyft.

Eating alone is easy in Miami. The ventanita, the walk-up coffee window at Versailles on SW 8th Street, serves a sweet, scalding cafecito for roughly $2 to people who are standing alone by design, and bar seats at most Brickell and Wynwood restaurants take a party of one without a reservation. For company on the first day, look for a Little Havana food tour capped at 12 people. Most of them stop at Máximo Gómez Park, where the dominoes clack on the tables and cigar smoke hangs over 15th Avenue. Solo women report that the catcalling on Ocean Drive and Washington Avenue is more tiring than threatening, and that Collins Avenue north of 23rd Street is quieter. Generator Miami and Freehand Miami, both in Mid-Beach, sell private rooms alongside dorms, which sidesteps paying a double-occupancy rate at a South Beach hotel. Miami Beach Police answer non-emergency calls on 305-673-7900.