Family vacation in florida

Hi,

We are planning our first trip to florida in July. We are a family with 3 kids (8,6,4). We are looking for a resort/place either in house or hotel. prefarably within a complex with kids pools, play grounds etc. and other children.

The resort should be within resonably driving distance to funparks and beaches.

Any suggestions?

Family vacation in florida

Kiddy pools are few on the island. Casa Ybel has one and a children%26#39;s program. No true kiddy pool, but with a kids program is Sundial - rent from owner or agency. Kids are generally well accommodated, but for some odd reason, Sanibel and Captiva do not play host to any resorts with big fantasy pools or kids pools.

I%26#39;m sure you%26#39;ll get good recommendations for those with kids.

Family vacation in florida

HI mrrick

We have two kids almost 3, and 5. We stayed at a resort like you are talking about several years ago on Duck Key, in the Florida keys. Hawk%26#39;s Cay the resort is called.

We love sanibel - we have never required a playground or kids pool. The ocean and beach provide hours of fun - flying kites, digging, wading in the ocean, walking, shelling, etc, etc. They are so exhausted from all the exercise and fresh air, they just go straight to sleep at night. Sanibel also is full of bike trails - we rent bike and ride everywhere.

We choose to stay in a comfortable, moderate priced condo at Waterside Inn - just easy, close to beach and in a great location. There are more expensive and less expensive places - Point Santo, Casa Ybel and Sundial - all seem to be kid friendly.

Sanibel is about 3-4 hours away from Orlando and the Disney type parks.

There is a small playground at Periwinkle Place and the City of Sanibel has a beautiful new recreation center, but nothing for skateboarding or stuff like that. 24 miles of bike paths.

Busch Gardens is 2.5 to 3 hours away. Disney 4 hours away.

mrrick, We have been going to Sanibel for years, and a couple of summers ago we took a trip to Disney World in Orlando. Maybe it is just our family, although I have heard from others who feel the same, but we didn%26#39;t care for it at all. We felt like it was very stressful. Too much planning involved. My kids said over and again how they would rather be in Sanibel. Maybe we just are not Disney type people, but we would much rather play on the beach, fish, ride bikes and everything else you do in Sanibel than see Mickey Mouse any old day.

Tour - I keep forgetting about the playground - My kids never want to go there.

mrrick - there is also kayaking on Tarpon Bay, fishing on the beach, dolphin watching cruises, ';Nascrab races'; at Tween Waters, Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Center with a nature center, butterfly house, walking trails and a touch tank.

The greatest thing to do, imho, is to walk on the beach before dawn to collect shells and watch the sunrise. Have the best time!