The city is located on a barrier island off the eastern coast of Florida between the Atlantic Ocean and the Miami Intracoastal Waterway. Nearby cities include North Miami Beach to the west and Bal Harbour just south of Sunny Isles.

For our first visit to Sunny Isles Beach, we stayed at a condo in the Plaza of the Americas complex located on North Bay Road near Sunny Isles Blvd (826).

It was a short walk across Collins Ave, also known as North Ocean Blvd or 1A, to reach the Sunny Isles Beach public access point.

Sunny Isles Beach features 2.5 miles of golden brown sand with the warm and (usually) calm waters of the Atlantic Ocean.