Ocean Beach

Updated 30 October 2026 · Fan site. Not affiliated with Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive.

Ocean Beach is the southernmost district of Vice City's beach island in GTA: Vice City (2002) and Vice City Stories (2006). It is based on South Beach in Miami Beach. Tommy Vercetti starts the 1986 story at the Ocean View Hotel on Ocean Drive, and the first missions take place in the surrounding streets.

Where is Ocean Beach in Vice City?

Ocean Beach sits at the southern tip of the beach island of Vice City, the Miami stand-in of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. GTA Wiki calls it a shopping district and neighbourhood, and lists Washington Beach, Vice Point and Leaf Links among its neighbours. Ocean Drive, a long road lined with hotels, runs along its eastern edge next to the sand, and a lighthouse stands on a small peninsula in the southeast.

The name and look come from South Beach in Miami Beach, Florida, and the real Ocean Drive that runs through it. Wikipedia notes that the 2002 game is set in 1986 and draws heavily on Miami. The same district returns in Vice City Stories, set two years earlier in 1984.

What is the Ocean View Hotel?

The Ocean View Hotel is where Tommy Vercetti lives at the start of Vice City. It sits on the beachfront side of Ocean Drive and becomes a save point after the opening mission, In The Beginning. GTA Wiki says its main model is the Clevelander Hotel at 1020 Ocean Drive, with doors and a wider front borrowed from The Tides at 1220 Ocean Drive. During development the building briefly carried the real Clevelander sign.

The hotel room also works as a trophy shelf. GTA Wiki lists souvenirs that appear there after certain missions, such as a hockey mask after The Job, and weapon rewards that spawn as Tommy collects hidden packages. The room cannot store cars. Later, Tommy can buy a second home in the district, the Ocean Heights apartment. For other homes across the series, see safehouses.

Which missions take place in Ocean Beach?

Ocean Beach is the setting for most of the early game. After the botched drug deal that opens the story, the run of early missions begins with An Old Friend, and the lawyer Ken Rosenberg is Tommy's first ally. In Back Alley Brawl, Tommy kills a dealer named Leo Teal and meets Lance Vance, who is chasing the same people. Later, in Autocide, he hunts down three members of a European gang. Colonel Juan Cortez, whose yacht is moored in the area, also starts his missions here.

GTA Wiki lists Cortez, Lance Vance, Leo Teal and Tommy among the district's residents. It also lists Victor Vance as living there between 1984 and 1986, which ties the area to the prequel.

What can you find in Ocean Beach?

Besides hotels, the district has the services a new arrival needs early on. GTA Wiki lists an Ammu-Nation, a Pay 'n' Spray, the Ocean View Hospital, the Ocean Bay Marina and the Washington Mall. A beach patrol headquarters is the only law-enforcement site in the area. In Vice City, extra Ammu-Nation weapons unlock as missions such as In The Beginning and Mall Shootout are completed.

Traffic and nightlife change between the two games as well. GTA Wiki lists fast sports cars such as the Banshee, Cheetah and Stallion among the vehicles seen here in Vice City, and notes that a Hunter attack helicopter appears only once all 100 hidden packages are found. The Pole Position Club is a fixture of the district in both games. In the prequel, the Infernus, Stinger and stretch limousines are among the cars on its streets.

How is Ocean Beach different in Vice City Stories?

Vice City Stories keeps the street plan but swaps many businesses. GTA Wiki lists shops such as Gorilla Salad, Hermit Clothing and Skinny Dicks Surf Shack that only exist in 1984, while some Vice City names are missing. The Ocean View Hotel is still there but redesigned, has no sign and plays no part in the story. Vehicle spawns and pickup spots change too. In the prequel, most of the stronger weapons unlock after the mission From Zero to Hero.

Vice City itself returns in GTA VI. For what Rockstar has actually shown of the modern city, see our GTA 6 Vice City guide.