Holidays in sunny Florida - a dream for many families. And rightly so. Because in Florida you not only enjoy a pleasant climate, but there is also a lot on offer for families. In addition to the countless theme parks around Orlando, there are also many other sights and attractions to discover.
How do I spend vacations with children in Florida?
Three weeks of vacation in Florida are filled up very quickly. I've been fortunate enough to visit this state a number of times. My recommendation for a first trip is: at least one to two weeks- round trip and one week spent in a villa with a pool. Renting a car in the USA is very easy. There are also plenty of hotels and motels, which make planning for a round tip seamless. Having said that, though, I still book accommodation in advance via common platforms ( e.g. hotels.com or booking.com) or directly via the respective hotel website.
Booking a flight to Tampa or Orlando is an ideal starting point. Edelweiss normally flies directly from Zurich twice a week. A night spent in an airport hotel (e.g. ‘B. Home2 Suites’ by Hilton or ‘Hampton Inn’), after your arrival is also not a bad idea. This means you can simply use the hotel’s free shuttle service the next morning and book that rental car, stress-free.
Once you have selected the car you want, the trip can begin! For those complicated multi-lane highways, a navigation system is a must. Because the rental companies charge a daily rental fee for this, it is advisable to use your iPhone with Apple Car Play (equip your iPhone with a data package). Of course, an additional physical map can’t hurt.
2 weeks round trip Florida with children - My recommendations / My travel report
Following stations in the round trip:
B) Orlando
The Eldorado: for all children and young at heart! There is a huge range of theme parks around this city (www.visitorlando.com). It is therefore worth making your choice in advance and choosing the hotel according to the location of the park. On www.hotels.com you can select the map view and see how the hotels are distributed around the parks. After a lot of research, we booked the Hyatt Regency Orlando on International Drive. We were so pleased with this hotel, that we chose it again for our next visit, four years later. You can leave the car in the underground garage and take the shuttle bus to the nearby theme parks. The hotel is within walking distance to the "I-Drive" district, with many attractions (e.g. Madame Tussaud's, etc.), various restaurants and shops on offer.
The hotel also has a spacious, beautiful pool area. Ideal to relax after a jam-packed day in the park!
For a visit to one of the major theme parks (disney or Universal) you have to prepare to spend at least an entire day. You’ll find the amount of exciting activities, as well as the rather high entrance fees, quite overwhelming. I definitely think that one or two parks during a visit to Florida is plenty enough.
My suggestion for Orlando is to book three nights: on the first night you could use the hotel (pool, restaurants, etc.) or visit the I-Drive; spend the entire second day at a park of your choice; and on day three, spend a day strolling around Disney Springs (soaking up the atmosphere, shopping, eating...). By the way, there is no entrance fee for the beautiful Disney Springs complex (definitely worth a visit!) and you can park directly there in one of the many multi-storey car parks.
We chose Walt Disney's Animal Kingdom and Lego Land in Winter Haven on our first trip with our kids.
We can highly recommend Animal Kingdom, especially if you’re an animal lover. The safari park is well kept, offers a fascinating safari experience and many exciting rides.
To get to Lego Land Florida in Winterhaven from Orlando, it takes around an hour in the car. It has over 50 rides, attractions and shows. In addition to this, those models made out of the famous small coloured building blocks can be found everywhere, especially in the "Miniland USA" area, in which various American buildings and sights have been replicated beautifully. ‘Lego Land Florida’ was created on the site of the former Cypress Gardens Park, and therefore, has left some attractions and facilities looking a bit outdated.
On our second trip to Florida, we spent a day at Disney's Magic Kingdom, the well-known original Disney World.
This park is especially recommended for families with small children. You dive into the world of Disney characters and feel like you're in ‘Duckburg’.
C) Cape Canaveral
About an hour further on the east coast of Florida, lies Cape Canaveral. All space fans will love the Kennedy Space Center, which can be visited here. But a visit to NASA's spaceport will also cast its spell over many others.
Admission, currently $57 for adults, includes IMAX-quality 3D movies and a tour of the grounds by bus. You can also book so-called "Special Interest Tours" for an extra charge. For a tour of the Kennedy Space Center I would plan three to four hours. Space enthusiasts can also spend a whole day or half a day there. But in that case, an overnight stay nearby would make sense.
We, however visited the KSC when driving between Orlando and Jensen Beach.
D) Hutchinson Island (in front of Jensen Beach)
The journey via US1 to Jensen Beach or Hutchinson Island is not so interesting. You can choose the faster route via Interstate 95 too. But what awaits on the offshore, elongated islands between the Atlantic and the Indian River is simply wonderful. 35 km of sandy beach on one side, idyllic mongrove swamp landscape on the other.
We absolutely loved Hutchinson Shores Resort & Spa. A fantastic location right on the beach with stylish decor and a good restaurant (Drift). A very worthy spot to spend my 40th birthday! We also ate the best waffles and delicious French toast the next morning.
We can also highly recommend a visit to the nearby Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center. On 57 hectares you can learn a lot about Florida's maritime flora and fauna. There is an informative nature trail through the mangrove swamps. More than 35 species of fish swim in the huge pond and injured turtles are protected and cared for here.
E) Miami Beach
As you travel further south, the coast becomes more and more populated. Of course, you can also add one or more overnight stays in one of the trendy east coast towns. We, on the other hand, travelled directly to Miami Beach and chose the Grand Beach Hotel. This is located in the middle of the long stretch of Miami Beach in Mid-Beach, one of the most beautiful parts. The hotel hosts an elegant interior design, a modern pool area and the perfect location, right on the beach. Be sure to ask for a room on a higher floor and enjoy the view!
Of course, Miami offers a lot of sights too. From Mid-Beach you can visit both Downtown Miami and South Beach. There are also some huge shopping malls nearby, e.g. the Aventura Mall. You can easily spend several days here. We only stayed two nights before moving on to the Keys.
F) Long Key
The 100-mile stretch that connects the Florida Keys with more than 200 coral islands is one of the most scenic drives in the United States. A trip to Key West or at least a few of the islands is always worthwhile. On our first trip to Long Key we stayed at the Lime Tree Bay Resort.
The hotels on the Keys are relatively expensive, but given the spectacular location is understandable too. Lime Tree Bay Resort is a very pretty colonial style resort with a pool and jacuzzi. From here we made a detour to Key West. However, the route is long and we would recommend including a night in Key West on your itinerary.
The drive via Route 41 through the Everglades is exciting, most of all, because you can see alligators everywhere on the roadside. The Everglades is a tropical marshland, part of which is protected as a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is an incredible variety of animals to see here.
A must-do when visiting Florida is to take an airboat tour of the swamplands. There are many companies doing it in the Everglades. But you can also take trips further north. We went on an airboat tour in Kissimmee, near Orlando.
This one hour drive was a phenomenal experience!
One week pool villa (with boat)
G) Cape Coral
After such a trip around the state, I find it perfect to relax in a Florida rental home for a week. Cape Coral in Southwest Florida is the second largest city in the state by landmass. The city with more than 640 km of navigable waterways offers around 40,000 properties right by the water. There is a wealth of holiday homes to choose from. I booked our villas via Airbnb and VRBO and had good experiences with both. Practically every house has a boat dock. I strongly recommend that you either rent a property with a boat or rent a boat for a few days at a boat rental company nearby. In the USA, no boat test is required, the driver's license is sufficient.
When selecting a house, it was important to me that it was located on a canal that leads quickly and easily to the open sea. There you can really pick up the gas and sail to the islands of Sanibel or Captiva and, with a bit of luck, spot some dolphins.
A Florida home almost always comes with an outdoor pool protected by a mosquito screen. Most of the time, the properties are large enough for two families to use, and since the rooms are mostly "double-winged" around the pool, each party has enough privacy.
Cape Coral is a great starting point for excursions of all kinds. The nearby islands of Sanibel and Captiva Island are very popular and home to the largest collection of shells. A trip there and to the lighthouse is definitely worth it.
Why not make a detour to chic Naples, Marco Island or the Everglades?
The "Miromar Outlets" in Fort Myers is recommended for shopping.
H) Venice Heading
On our way up north we spent a night in Venice at the Inn at the Beach. Did you know that most of the prehistoric, fossilized shark teeth are washed ashore in Venice? In any case, it is almost a sport here to look for such finds in the sand. You can even borrow suitable tools for "shark tooth hunting" from the hotel.
I) St. Petersburg Beach, resp. Indian Rocks Beach
If you drive further north in the direction of Tampa, after the Sunshine Skyway Bridge (worth seeing!), you will soon reach St. Petersburg with the adjoining St. Petersburg Beach. Here one beach follows the other, from very busy and touristy to secluded and natural. I found an absolute gem on VRBO at Indian Rocks Beach!
The apartment was situated directly on the sandy beach and accommodated four adults, two children and a baby. The sea view was just fantastic!
From here you can take trips to lively St. Petersburg Beach, visit Fisherman’s Wharf, Weedon Island State Preserve (a statepark with swamps and a variety of species), and of course visit the cities of St. Petersburg and Tampa. If you haven't experienced enough action, make a detour to the Busch Gardens.
We had spent a whole week at Indian Rocks Beach before we began our journey home from Tampa with a very heavy heart. We took our direct flight back to Zurich with Edelweiss, adding more wonderful memories to the bag.
Conclusion:
Florida is a travel dream for families! Here you can easily travel around on your own with a rental car. There are countless attractions for young and old. You can enjoy a pleasant tropical climate and enjoy a lot of beaches with over 2000 km of coastline. A one to two week round trip and a one week pool villa is our ultimate travel recommendation!
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