Budget vacation to Ft Lauderdale/Miami/Pompano Beach

[kandb]

We usually go to Disney every year but my husband was getting tired of it, it is getting very expensive and don't care much for the recent changes, therefore, this April we are going on a 8 night trip to Ft Lauderdale/Miami/Pompano Beach. The reason for the change in the hotels is because we get the government rate from Marriott and are paying around $140/night for nice hotels on the beach, plus I got our family (5 of us) round trip airfare from NJ for $650 (had jetblue points from signing up for credit card and previous flights).

Can anyone recommend fun things to do with kids (age 10,10 and 5) around that area? I also have around $700 in restaurant gift cards for our nightly dinner out. I am super excited about our "budget" trip. Going to keep track of how much the total vacation costs us.

 

[jm0925]

We usually go to Disney every year but my husband was getting tired of it, it is getting very expensive and don't care much for the recent changes, therefore, this April we are going on a 8 night trip to Ft Lauderdale/Miami/Pompano Beach. The reason for the change in the hotels is because we get the government rate from Marriott and are paying around $140/night for nice hotels on the beach, plus I got our family (5 of us) round trip airfare from NJ for $650 (had jetblue points from signing up for credit card and previous flights).

Can anyone recommend fun things to do with kids (age 10,10 and 5) around that area? I also have around $700 in restaurant gift cards for our nightly dinner out. I am super excited about our "budget" trip. Going to keep track of how much the total vacation costs us.

Hello from Miami!

We have a few fun things to see and do down here, but I guess it all depends on where you are staying and how far you are willing to travel to do some of it.

Here are a couple suggestions the kids may enjoy. You can google them and see what you think.

**These first two listed are close to each other **

Jungle Island

Miami Children's Museum

Zoo Miami - (More in South Miami)

Miami Museum of Science

The one place that I wouldn't recommend is the Miami Seaquarium. I really hate saying that. Its been around a long time and was once a great place to go to but not anymore unfortunately. Since you are trying to do a budget trip I would say skip this one. The tickets are too expensive for what you get out of it.

Something else you could look into are Miami tours. There are quite a few that take you in a boat around Star Island which is where the celebrity homes are.

There really is much to see in Miami if you have never been here. If you decide to go to the beaches, prepare yourself for the crowds. My only advice there is to go on a weekday if you can.

My final piece of advice.....avoid our highways during the weekdays between 4:00 & 6:30. Our traffic is the pits.

Enjoy your vacation!
Jen

 

[lindsey]

Plan a trip to Everglades, there are several options. Research online Everglade national park. If you decide on shark valley, call day before and reserve your spot on tram.

 

[cndij]

I second the advice on the Everglades tour, and there are many vendors in the area to choose from. I also recommend the Jungle Queen river cruise in Ft Lauderdale as an option to the Star Island one. Depending on your kid's interests, Butterfly World and Lion Country Safari might make for a good half day trip each. When we had kids those ages, they also enjoyed the snorkeling right off the beach at Red Reef Park, or if yours are up to a little more than that, the snorkeling at John Pennenkamp State park at Key Largo. Kids also really enjoyed just playing on the beach with a kite if its during the week and not too crowded. I would go ahead and sign up for both the Miami and Ft Lauderdale Visitor guides online, they usually come with discount coupons to attractions, water taxis etc. Lincoln Rd Mall near Miami Beach is a wonderful area to just people watch. If your kids are not averse to different cuisines, our favorite Cuban restaurant, Versaille is right in the middle of town. Summer is the off season for South Florida, so lot of deals to be found. Its been our favorite vacation site for the past 20 years, clear waters, soft sand, lots of good food.

 

[DisneyFun51464]

We were just in the Ft.Lauderdale/Miami area in January. We went to Everglades Holiday park. The kids loved the airboat ride and the gator show. Then we went to "Jimmy Riffles old family BBQ". They were filming "Gator Boys" that day so we met most of the cast.

 

[1buckeyegirl]

Yes go to the Everglades we went a few weeks ago after our Disney cruise out of Miami and the kids loved it! We went to sawgrass park.