Backpacking on the Brightline - Miami to West Palm Beach

Hey Readers!

In my last blog post, I wrote about visiting the Sandi Tree in West Palm Beach. But I left out how I actually got there! I took the Brightline train, which has stations in the downtown areas of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach. Here in South Florida, you usually have to drive everywhere... So the new Brightline system of train travel has opened up an affordable and easy way to get to the different cities along the south-east coast. Read on to find out my tips and experiences I had while on board.

*Disclaimer: I may earn a small commission for purchases made through some of the links on this page. My views and opinions are never swayed and will only recommend products or places I love. 

It was my first time riding the Brightline, and it's the coolest mode of transportation I've tried! Since I live in Miami, my journey started in the Downtown Miami Central station. 

If you drive to the station, you can park your car in their designated parking garage (for $6 a day, or hourly via Pay-by-Phone app).

I recommend planning your trip ahead of time. That way you can book your tickets on their website or mobile app. Which guarantees you a seat. Plus you can choose which service and type of seat you want. (Just make sure to have your tickets printed when you get to the station!)

But you can always just buy your tickets at the stations as well. They have a plethora of employees to help you pick them out on these fancy touchscreens. That's what I did when I arrived at the Miami location, and they were super understanding of a newcomer like me.

Once you have your passes printed and ready to go, you can head up the escalators to the lounge areas. There you can pick up snacks, drinks, or just chill out until they call "AAAAALLLL ABOARD!"

Okay fine, they don't actually yell that... but they will let you know when you can head over to the train.

The seats are quite comfortable, and are equipped with a flip down table and arm rests. There are areas to put your bag or luggage in the overhead shelves. Best of all, each pair of seats has two outlets and two USB ports to charge your devices. 🙌🙌

This train was decorated with festive garland, as they were doing a special "Polar Express" themed ride at certain times during December.

If you get hungry on your journey, they do come around with a few snack and drink options any Smart Service passenger can purchase. If your ticket is SmartPlus Service, one complimentary item is included. Or if you chose Select Service, you get a more first-class lounge experience.

It took about half an hour to go from Miami to Fort Lauderdale. Where a few passengers got off, and a few more came on. Then it was another half hour to reach our final destination of West Palm Beach.

From there, I walked all around downtown. I was already familiar with the area from my last visit in November, so I decided to have lunch at Hullabaloo again.

Turned out to be a great decision because burgers are only $5 on Tuesdays! It was a great size, and was super delicious inside the brioche bun with a side of zucchini chips.

 I then headed East on Clematis Street all the way to the Sandi Tree, which you can read about here.

  
Side note: this location of Sloan's Ice Cream Shop is so cute!

And I really liked these leaves too...

I wore my favorite pink boots I bought from my Amazon Storefront and they were honestly SO COMFORTABLE! I walked through Downtown West Palm Beach for 3-4 hours without any problems. Great boots at a great price!

After a few hours of exploring, I went back to the station to head home.

This time I chose to sit at a proper table, so I can have a bit of a different experience on the ride back. It's great if you want to have more table space to eat or work on the go. I was pleasantly surprised by additional outlets embedded in the table top too!

Since there was no one across from me I put my Lowepro Backpack on the seat. It wasn't until later that I noticed it matched the grey and yellow of the Brightline!

Then my Blender's Eyewear had to have they're own little photoshoot as well...

And just like that, I was back in the #305 with a view of the Freedom Tower to welcome me home.

If you're coming from the Broward or Palm Beach locations down to Miami, the Brightline station is close to some popular museums and Bayside marketplace. You could always check out they're special offers to see if there's a deal you might be interested in as well.

I know that I'm very excited for them to finish the expansion all the way to Orlando. (They haven't announced a completion date yet.) But I'm sure plenty of South Floridians will consider it when planning their next trip to Disney!

I had a great experience traveling using the Brightline. There's really nothing bad I have to say about it, and I would definitely do it again! Maybe next time I'll take it to Fort Lauderdale. There's gotta be some fun things I can do there. (If you have any suggestions, DM me on Instagram.)

I hope I've given you some insight to the coolest mode of transportation South Florida has to offer.

xx

-Lala