Florida is a a top vacation spot: inland, Orlando wows families with all its theme parks; meanwhile Florida's warm coasts --Gulf side and Atlantic side-- offer beautiful beaches and family-friendly beach resorts. Below are a number of ideas, moving roughly clockwise around the Sunshine State. (Be sure to scholl all the way down!)
1. Northeast Florida: Amelia Island
Amelia Island-- in the northeast near Jacksonville-- has lovely beaches, a historic fort complete with actors who play period characters, a quaint town to explore.
Want a resort? Amelia Island Plantation covers 1350 acres, has Kids' Camps, family activites, nature programs. The Ritz Carlton has Ritz Kids, fine dining, kiddie pool, indoor pool, and beach where shallow lagoons are great for tots. Both properties have golf, fitness centers, etc. The Ritz celebrates holidays big-time.
2. Orlando/Central Florida Family Vacations
How much more fun can one city take?
Top Things to Do in Orlando include: "the extras" at Disney World, such as the fireworks or live shows or the waterparks; tot-pleasers (Seuss Landing) and teen-pleasers (The Hulk thrill ride) at Universal Studios theme parks, and Blue Man Group; Discovery Cove (a Caribbean experience in the middle of Florida.)
It's fun to visit the theme parks at a special time: such as Star Wars Weekends, at Disney World in May, or Disney Christmas. Or head to Mardi Gras Weekends at Universal Orlando, late Feb. to April.
Orlando resorts are colossal at family fun. For Disney-philes,
Where to Stay at Disney World covers the perks of staying at a Disney World Resort, whether it's Luxury, Moderate, or Value.
Universal Orlando, meanwhile, has three great hotels right near its two theme parks and CityWalk entertainment zone; and guests get Front of the Line Passes for popular rides.
But that's not all, folks: NickHotel has two waterparks, and themed fun by Nickelodeon; other top Orlando Resorts have a lazy river pool, or 1500 acres with nature trails and horse-riding, or an annual winter event with ice sculptures and ice caves...
45 minutes east of Orlando lies 72 miles of shore known as Florida's Space Coast: the place where the moon launches blasted away from earth, and site of the shuttle launches today. Big draw is the Kennedy Space Center, and beautiful beaches. Less known are the eco-tours: this area has saltwater estuaries, marshes, and 250 sq. miles of wildlife refuges. The Space Coast also has cute towns to visit, such as
Cocoa.
5. Florida Family Vacations: Treasure Coast
Photo courtesy of Disney's Vero Beach Resort.Further south: the "Treasure Coast" has beautiful beaches, surfing, coral reef in some areas.
Disney's Vero Beach Resort -- in the style of "Old Florida" grand beach hotels-- has 71 acres on a barrier island. Two hours SE of Disney; pool with 163-foot water slide; Pirate Ship wet-deck; miniature golf; kayaks, hobie cats; biking; and maybe the chance to see sea turtles.
Club Med Sandpiper -- two hours from Miami or Orlando airports--is (gasp) an all-inclusive in the US, with terrific friendly ambiance, Baby Club Med, outstanding kids programs. resort activities include waterskiing, wakeboarding, trapeze, inline skating, golf. Guests can take excursions to Disney World or Kennedy Space Center. This resort is on the St. Lucie River, not the beach; nearest beach is the Treasure Coast.
Cheeca offers: snorkelling over North America's only natural coral reef; "snuba", a way to dive 20 feet down without scuba gear, ok for kids as young as eight; saltwater lagoon stocked with fish; and Camp Cheeca for ages 6-12, is "an award-winning marine education/environmental awareness program".
Light-years away from theme parks and busy beaches, and yet only a few hours south of Miami by car, the legendary Everglades are a wonderful place to visit, and can easily include education-as-fun as kids learn about this unique ecosystem. Read about the Everglades at the link, above; see also
Tips for Visiting the Florida Everglades.
On the (west) Gulf Ccoast and near the bottom of the Florida peninsula are Sanibel Island and Captiva Island: two beautiful islands for nature lovers. No beach pollution; visitors find miles and miles of beaches perfect for kids because of the gentle waves and shallow shoreline. The islands are famous for shelling, too. Several family-friendly resorts have activities, watersports, and miles of beach to explore.
It dubs itself "Orlando's Beach", and this affordable west coast area two hours from Orlando has nature outings, miles of top-rated beaches, and some cultural gems in St. Petersburg. Fun outings include dolphin-spotting, shelling, and Captain Memo's Pirate Cruise.
