When you think of Florida with kids, most families assume theme parks. But there is a wonderland outside of Orlando waiting to be explored.
In early June, my husband and I took our 4 kids on a weeklong summer “vacation” (and by vacation, you know I really mean “trip”) to Florida. We hoped to get a little use out of my son’s Every Kid Outdoors National Parks pass and have wanted to visit the Everglades for years. When we started our research, we learned there were three parks we could visit: Everglades, Biscayne, and Dry Tortugas. Given the duration of our trip and budget, we decided that we would focus on the first two. Side note: Dry Tortuga looks really amazing. And our tour guide at Biscayne advised that if you go, absolutely take the flight–not the boat. I think I recall her referencing the boat as, “the vomit comet.” 😐 Seemed invaluable, so if you learn anything from this, you’re welcome. We travel mostly on credit card points, and that often dictates where we fly in and where we stay. Miami would have been the closer airport for sure, but we needed to fly into Orlando, so we had to find some fun, kid-friendly spots to make the drive from central to south Florida more enjoyable. The list below is not a ranking but the order in which we traveled.
And if you would prefer to listen find me on Substack for the full audio.
1. Bioluminescence Raft Tour
We booked a few weeks ahead of our trip with BK Adventures. Our tour was the first night of our trip. After waiting for a storm to pass, our guide determined it was safe and loaded us up. Now, you need to know this experience will not be like Moana. A glowing, giant sting ray will not glide past you. The bioluminescence is visible when movement happens in the water, but it needs to be quite swift and repeated. So if you put your oar in the water or switch your hand in the water quickly, you can see light. Our tour guide found lots of small jellyfish that glow. They are harmless and my 4 year old had a time picking them up and watching them glow in her hand. My 10 year old got to take the net and catch them as we rafted through the channel. I’m glad we did it, and I think there are better nights and worse nights. But, I probably went in with a little too high of expectations. Although we went during the right season, we were on the early side, so late July might have been better. We also went on the early evening tour (8:30pm) and later at night is known for being better. I’m glad I experienced it, and my kid gained valuable practice at being brave on night adventures.
⏱️: 1.5 hours
Know before you go: If you go during the rainy season, the experience I am writing from, you will absolutely need to bring lots of bug repellent. The moment you open the car door they swarm inside. It’s not as bad on the water though, especially if your guide stays away from the mangroves which is what our guide did. Also, there are no potties out there, so be aware and plan accordingly. * See Substack post for a short video, it won’t let me add it to WordPress without premium. 😞
2. Loggerhead MarineLife Center
This was my favorite stop. A complete sea turtle hospital that sees four different types of sea turtles. There are a number of pools that are labeled with the turtle’s name, diagnosis, when they arrived, and how they are being treated. We got there in time to see a fish feeding, which I believe they do daily, in their outdoor aquarium. The eel was a cool sight. They also have a small water table for littles and an indoor aquarium with moon jellies and lionfish. This is a great spot for kids big and small. The big kids will enjoy the turtles, indoor and outdoor aquariums, and the different stations to touch turtle shells and explore. The center is free, but they do accept donations. We also enjoyed the gift shop, a little something for everyone there at a reasonable price.
⏱️: 1-1.5 Hours
3. Manatee Lagoon
This was another quick but enjoyable stop for kids and adults. I would recommend starting with the animated video about a manatee’s life and the dangers they face in Florida waters. It was cute, informative, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. We searched and waited for a while to see a manatee in the waters right outside, but to no avail. They are more common in the winter when they come closer to shore to warm up. But from the second floor observation deck we saw a ray and possibly barracuda. The kids loved running up and down the stairs to see marine life from afar and up close on the first level of the observation deck. There is lots of space to run around outside on the first level. They have cases of bones that you can take out and explore with the help of staff. This is another spot that is free but accepts donations.
Know before you go: little (and big) explorers may enjoy having binoculars for the observation deck.
⏱️: 1 Hour
🏨: Vistana Beach Club at Jensen Beach
4. Everglades National Park
We took a few days to explore this park. There are lots of different ways to explore, but given our larger, younger family, we kept it simple. We drove A LOT and did a tram. I would have loved to do some kayaking and hiking, but it wasn’t the best fit for us given our season and the season. We visited all four welcome centers and here are a few takeaways from each:
Shark Valley Visitor Center
This was our starting point in the Everglades and where we picked up our tram. The tram was a great way to see this part of the park. The tram tour is about 2 hours. The gift shop and visitor center is quaint, but I do remember appreciating the variety of books they were selling. They also had some supplies like bug spray and such in case you forgot to pack the necessities. The bug spray is definitely a must while here. Because the tram stays moving most of the time, the mosquitos are pretty manageable while on the tour, but halfway through the tour, there is a short stop. You are given the option at this point to walk up a large observation tower. There are also bathrooms if you need them. Here you definitely need to have bug spray on or long pants, but it was way too hot for anything long on our June tour. From the observation tower we saw an American Crocodile which was cool (they have a more slender snout). We also saw quite a few American Alligators, these beautiful grasshopper locust guys, soft shell turtles, egrets, and one water snake very briefly. We visited during the wet season, and that can mean less wildlife. I also was quite surprised by the landscape. I expected to see more swamp, and although there are definitely swamps, this part of the park feels like a grassland. It reminded me a lot of the prairies we saw in the Dakotas last summer. That is something unique about the Everglades, it covers such a large amount of land- 1.5 million acres to be exact- that there are many different landscapes in the park. Visiting the visitor’s centers is one way to see and experience these different landscapes.
Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center
These bathrooms were a marked improvement from Shark Valley, so much so that it was the only thing I wrote in my notes about this center. But, there was also a simple gift shop, a porch that you could walk out to look in the water (murky from what I remember), a small museum, and walking trails. There is a unique fruitstand and smoothie place out this way called Robert is Here that was recommended, but unfortunately we weren’t paying attention to the itinerary and missed it.
Guy Bradley Visitor Center (at Flamingo)
This was a really cool facility BUT the mosquitos were the worst we have ever seen. Just to get from our car to the center we were swarmed. At least in June, get out of your car quickly and swiftly walk to the center. Some bug spray wouldn’t hurt either. The center is positioned up high so it serves as an observation deck as well. Spoonbills and manatees can be seen, but we didn’t find any. There is historical and marine information in the lobby for readers to enjoy and littles to look at. Nothing elaborate, but something to explore. With our crew, I mostly get to just read the first 1-2 sentences of every display, but I’m sure it’s interesting. Again, there might be more wildlife to observe in the dry season– November to May. The gift shop was small but had some unique things in there. Lots of space outside to look into the water and walk around – it just was kinda miserable during our visit, so we didn’t stay long.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas Visitor Center (Gulf Coast)
This center is pretty simple. We also ended up visiting this one on a Sunday morning, so we missed The Museum of the Everglades, which I was pretty bummed about. Not a ton out this way, but I did enjoy driving down a side road and seeing wildlife. Every road feels like an adventure, and Florida is brimming with wildlife in these more remote places. There are many panther crossings out this way. Although we didn’t see one on our trip, we did see many signs blinking, which means they were in a 3-5 mile vicinity. We all kept our eyes peeled, and it felt like a safari of its own looking for panthers along our drive. The likelihood of seeing them increases in the early morning and later evening, but we tried to keep to our bedtime rhythm more often than not over our trip. Had it just been us two adults, we probably would have gone out during prime time to see if we could spot one.
5. Biscayne National Park
O, I wish we had spent more time at this park. We explored mostly by boat, which was a great experience for our family. The kids didn’t have to sit the whole time but could walk to the front of the boat and back to their seats throughout the trip. The boat trip was about 2 hours and dropped us off on Boca Chita Key for about an hour. That hour went by quick- we walked up the lighthouse to get a few photos, ate our lunch (we used one of these giant bento boxes with freezer pack, and it has been a great help on our summer travels), put our feet in the water, potty break, and then back on the boat. We could have spent at least an hour in the water. It was crystal clear, warm, and could have been a great opportunity for the kids to practice snorkeling. I am not sure if the boat tour had longer options, but this is something I would look into next time. The tour guide and boat captain were great. The tour guide (look up name) was born and raised in Key West and the keys were her backyard. It was fascinating to hear her stories, key lime pie recommendations, and tips for exploring the keys. Listening to the locals, I find, is always the best way to travel. After our boating adventure we went back to the visitor center. We watched the NPS video and explored the museum. The park rangers were really engaging, and they have a nice setup for kids – shelves of fossils to touch, space to draw, a small aquarium with live coral, and I believe I remember books to read.
Know before you go: The boat is not ideal for pottying, so go before. There were porta-potties there at the visitor center, but no facilities indoors. Also don’t forget your sunscreen and bug spray. There is shade on the boat but lots of sun everywhere else and the bugs were plentiful on the key.
⏱️: 4-5 Hours
6. Save Our Seabirds Wildlife Rescue
This is a small but neat little spot doing cool work for all kinds of birds. It is another free spot, but donations are totally welcome and help them do the amazing work of wildlife rescue. We loved seeing an owl up close and hearing about its story. They have a quaint gift shop you can peruse and take a breath of a/c – I remember it feeling amazing on such a hot day. The beach is right across the way and there were picnic tables quite close to the parking lot. We stopped and ate our lunch before visiting the rescue. There aren’t bathrooms at the rescue, but public restrooms are located right across the street.
7. Venice Beach
This place did not disappoint. In 50 minutes we found 5 shark teeth. I have 30 years of summer vacations at Carolina beaches with not a tooth to show for it. It really was a beachcomber’s paradise. We weren’t here long (poor planning on my part), but we would have loved a longer stay. We visited a little later in the afternoon but were able to find parking pretty easily and walk to the beach.
Know before you go: There is a yummy, cheap ice cream shop not too far away after all your paleontology work.
Our trip to Florida was a success. We had fun, explored, saw wildlife, practiced bravery, learned many new things and bonded as a family. While we accomplished a lot, I still have a list of things that I would add to our trip if we did this trip again solo, or our kids were older. I probably would look into a python hunt, some kind of water exploration or biking in the Everglades, snorkeling in Biscayne or exploring some of the smaller keys, thrifting in Miami, a longer stay at Venice Beach, and maybe a few slow, cautious drives in the later evening to look for Panthers.
I also came across this website which looks to have a lot of helpful logistical information if you are looking for more resources to help plan your trip.
Bon Voyage!
*In full disclosure, I am an Amazon Affiliate and am working on becoming a Marriott Affiliate as well. We use Marriott for a majority of our travels so it only made sense to represent them. 🙂
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