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Methodology and sources

What we measure, where it comes from, and how we checked it.

Why no resort rankings

Despite the name, this site doesn't rank hotels or resorts. We have no honest hotel data to rank them with, and invented rankings would be worthless to you. Instead it covers what every resort guest shares: the beaches, the water and the weather, from official sources.

Live data and update schedule

The site rebuilds at 5:10 a.m., 11:10 a.m. and 5:10 p.m. Miami time. Each block shows when its source was read. If a source fails, the page keeps the last good value and says so.

Water-temperature climatology, and how we checked it

"Typical for this month" comes from each station's own record: every hourly NOAA reading from 1996 (Virginia Key) and 2011 (Lake Worth Pier) to 2025. We average each day with at least 18 hourly readings, drop sensor spikes outside 10–36°C, then take the mean of the daily averages and their 10th–90th percentile range for each calendar month.

We compared our monthly means with the averages NOAA published in its Coastal Water Temperature Guide (decommissioned in May 2025; read from the archived table of December 2025). NOAA's figures use each station's whole record rather than a fixed period, so small differences are expected. The build refuses to publish if any month differs by more than 1°F.

Virginia Key, Biscayne Bay, FL (NOS tide-station row)

°FJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Ours71.673.075.078.382.085.287.287.485.882.177.374.0
NOAA71.672.975.078.382.085.287.187.385.882.277.373.9
Difference-0.0+0.1+0.0+0.0-0.0+0.0+0.1+0.1+0.0-0.1+0.0+0.1
NOAA, second Virginia Key row72.674.275.679.182.485.587.688.086.582.878.275.1
Difference-1.0-1.2-0.6-0.8-0.5-0.3-0.4-0.6-0.7-0.7-0.9-1.1

Largest difference: 0.1°F. NOAA's table lists Virginia Key twice; the second row (8723214 - Virginia Key, FL (second row in the same table)) runs about 1°F warmer than the first and differs from ours by up to 1.2°F. NOAA doesn't explain the two rows; the first matches the hourly record we use.

8722670 - Lake Worth Pier, FL

°FJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Ours74.674.875.878.080.482.885.185.985.482.279.176.8
NOAA74.574.875.677.880.382.685.085.785.182.279.076.6
Difference+0.1+0.0+0.2+0.2+0.1+0.2+0.1+0.2+0.3+0.0+0.1+0.2

Largest difference: 0.3°F.

NOAA table: Coastal Water Temperature Guide, monthly averages (archived), checked 2026-10-26.

Air temperature and rain

Monthly highs, lows, rainfall and rainy days are NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 climate normals for the Miami Beach station (USW00092811), read directly from NCEI's files. We use the beach station rather than the airport because it describes the coast: Miami Beach's average highs run 2–3°F below Miami International Airport's in winter and summer alike (for example January 73.6°F vs 76.2°F, July 87.8°F vs 90.6°F). Seasons, crowd notes and "our take" are our own judgement and are labelled as such.

How beach facts were checked

Every beach's hours, fees, lifeguards, facilities, dog rules and accessibility come from its managing agency's own page (county, state park or city), read on the date shown, and are written in our own words. Where an official page doesn't state something, the beach page says so instead of guessing. Where two official pages disagree, we say that too. Coordinates come from OpenStreetMap.

BeachManaged byFactsNot confirmedChecked
21st Street Beach and Collins ParkCity of Miami Beach; lifeguards by Miami Beach Ocean Rescue612026-10-26
Bill Baggs Cape Florida State ParkFlorida State Parks (Florida DEP)1022026-10-26
Crandon Park BeachMiami-Dade County Parks; lifeguards by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue822026-10-26
Dania Beach Ocean Park and PierCity of Dania Beach; Dania Beach Ocean Rescue622026-10-26
Deerfield Beach and International Fishing PierCity of Deerfield Beach; Deerfield Beach Ocean Rescue522026-10-26
Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State ParkFlorida State Parks (Florida DEP)912026-10-26
Fort Lauderdale Beach (Las Olas)City of Fort Lauderdale; Fort Lauderdale Ocean Rescue722026-10-26
Hallandale Beach City Beach ParksCity of Hallandale Beach632026-10-26
Haulover Park BeachMiami-Dade County Parks; lifeguards by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue822026-10-26
Historic Virginia Key Beach ParkCity of Miami, run by the Virginia Key Beach Park Trust622026-10-26
Hollywood Beach and BroadwalkCity of Hollywood; Hollywood Fire Rescue & Beach Safety622026-10-26
Homestead Bayfront ParkMiami-Dade County Parks432026-10-26
Hugh Taylor Birch State ParkFlorida State Parks (Florida DEP)822026-10-26
Lauderdale-By-The-Sea BeachTown of Lauderdale-By-The-Sea912026-10-26
Lummus Park Beach (South Beach)City of Miami Beach; lifeguards by Miami Beach Ocean Rescue712026-10-26
Matheson Hammock Park Atoll PoolMiami-Dade County Parks632026-10-26
Mid Beach Park (46th Street)City of Miami Beach; lifeguards by Miami Beach Ocean Rescue622026-10-26
North Beach Oceanside ParkCity of Miami Beach; lifeguards by Miami Beach Ocean Rescue612026-10-26
Oleta River State ParkFlorida State Parks (Florida DEP)822026-10-26
Pier Park and Newport Fishing PierCity of Sunny Isles Beach712026-10-26
Pompano Beach and Fisher Family PierCity of Pompano Beach; Pompano Beach Ocean Rescue732026-10-26
Samson Oceanfront ParkCity of Sunny Isles Beach622026-10-26
South Pointe Park and BeachCity of Miami Beach; lifeguards by Miami Beach Ocean Rescue722026-10-26
Surfside BeachTown of Surfside432026-10-26

Left out on purpose: the Village of Key Biscayne's Beach Park (residents only since 2009, by key fob), Golden Beach (resident-only beach), Hobie Island Beach Park (no official park page found to confirm hours, lifeguards or dog rules) and Bal Harbour's beach (too little confirmed: lifeguards, parking and public access points are not stated officially).

Photos

All photos are from Wikimedia Commons, chosen by eye and re-checked for licence on every download: public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA only. Each is credited under the image.

Map

The coastline is drawn from OpenStreetMap coastline data (natural=coastline), © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License, simplified to about 35 m. Fetched 2026-10-26.

Sources and licences