Where Else in Florida To Visit?

[who's ur daddy?]

What cities/towns have lotsa stuff for the kids to do?

For our May trip, we will be hitting Disney just for a couple days, maybe three. Then we'd like to explore other parts of Florida.

Been to Clearwater and have had a good time.

Ft. Lauderdale? Or is that just party town for the college kids?

Miami? Want to see David Caruso LOL.

Suggestions please and thanks.

 

[calena]

We were in Fort Lauderdale and really loved it. We loved the beach there. Stayed right on the beach at the Westin and it was lots of fun. Felt safe and nice to walk along the beach.
We also went to the Florida Keys once and really enjoyed that. The drive is interesting and there are all these tiny towns. The weather was much warmer there and the water warmer too.
I've always wanted to go to Saint Augustine because of the history which would be interesting I think.

 

[retiredkid]

We love St Augustine..... a beautiful old city..

 

[Sue M]

You know you'll only really have time to hit 2 parks with only 2 days in WDW?
Just asking, cause I don't know if you've been or not!

Depends how old your kids are,
We like the gulf coast & Busch Gardens.

In Orlando there is also SeaWorld & Universal

Cocoa Beach- has Kennedy Space Centre, nice beach. My daughters love RonJons Surf Shop, and Surf School. They've taken lessons twice.

Ft. Lauderdale- great beach, taking the water taxi is a fun way to explore. You can get on and off at the different stops, and you go through the waterways with mansions backing on to it, they tell you what stars lived where.
We loved the Everglades, Shark Valley Tram Tour. There is also the Miami Metro Zoo, and Aquarium.
North Miami Beach is also a nice area, but we prefer Ft. Lauderdale.

Key West is beautiful. We drove down from Ft. Lauderdale and stayed 2 nights, want to go back for longer!

 

[mermaid&cinderella]

We really like the gulf side.......Clearwater, St Petes but our fave beach is Jupiter Beach....gorgeous area. Ft Lauderdale is also great and a quick drive to Miami and the Keys are beautiful. So many choices

 

[who's ur daddy?]

You know you'll only really have time to hit 2 parks with only 2 days in WDW?
Just asking, cause I don't know if you've been or not!

Depends how old your kids are,
We like the gulf coast & Busch Gardens.

In Orlando there is also SeaWorld & Universal

Cocoa Beach- has Kennedy Space Centre, nice beach. My daughters love RonJons Surf Shop, and Surf School. They've taken lessons twice.

Ft. Lauderdale- great beach, taking the water taxi is a fun way to explore. You can get on and off at the different stops, and you go through the waterways with mansions backing on to it, they tell you what stars lived where.
We loved the Everglades, Shark Valley Tram Tour. There is also the Miami Metro Zoo, and Aquarium.
North Miami Beach is also a nice area, but we prefer Ft. Lauderdale.

Key West is beautiful. We drove down from Ft. Lauderdale and stayed 2 nights, want to go back for longer!

Way too much Orlando! We've probably been to WDW eight times in the last 3 years...lol. Even have a 2 year SeaWorld passport!

In any event, want to explore other Florida areas. Doesn't seem too long to get to Ft. Lauderdale, so will give it a shot. Key West sounds neat as do the Everglades! St. Augustine...will have to research that a little more.

Thanks for the advice, all. Keep it coming!

 

[tone.def]

Skip Seaworld and Universal. They are so not worth the price of admission!

The Florida Keys are a really cool historic place! The highway is a little scary, but you'll never see anything like it again.

 

[formill]

Skip Seaworld and Universal. They are so not worth the price of admission!

The Florida Keys are a really cool historic place! The highway is a little scary, but you'll never see anything like it again.

Everyone is different- we LOVED sea world and universal. My kids preferred Sea World over Disney the year we took them!

 

[photomama]

Destin is gorgeous!!

 

[Sue M]

Way too much Orlando! We've probably been to WDW eight times in the last 3 years...lol. Even have a 2 year SeaWorld passport!

In any event, want to explore other Florida areas. Doesn't seem too long to get to Ft. Lauderdale, so will give it a shot. Key West sounds neat as do the Everglades! St. Augustine...will have to research that a little more.

Thanks for the advice, all. Keep it coming!

It's about a 3 hr drive to Ft. Lauderdale via Turnpike. My mom lives there, so I go quite a bit. PM me if you need any info.

 

[ccgirl]

You can go to Tampa. Beautiful beaches and Busch Gardens. There is also Sarasota. Even more beautiful beaches and Mote Aquarium, St Armands Circle etc. If you go there, go to Kilwins, they have the most amazing ice cream. Sarasota is actually our favorite.

 

[strawberrygirl]

I believe Lego Land is now where Cypress gardens was. We went to the one in California about 3 yrs ago. It was good for my son who was in Kindergarten at the time. I wouldn't go with children much older than that.

What was the Manatee swim like in Crystal gardens? Hope to go to them too.

 

[hcoker1]

We go to Ft. Lauderdale most March Breaks and love it, we find it isn't the party town that it is reputed to be. The water taxi is great and the shopping on Los Olas Blvd is a nice treat once a year (that's all my wallet can handle!).
We have also been to the Kennedy Space Centre (good day trip) and last year we drove from F.L. to Sarasota and went to the Ringling Museum. It is amazing! Gorgeous mansion built in the Venetian style on the bay, top notch art gallery, Ringling circus museum and the best part was a miniature circus that was the size of a gymnasium where all of the people were 2-3 inches high. It was fascinating.

Have a great trip!

 

[strawberrygirl]

What is a good place to stay at Crystal River? We want to go swimming with the manatees.
Is St. Petes safer?
I have never really been to the beach on the ocean when it wasn't cold lol