Living in Wisconsin, February can be pretty miserable. That’s why my family and I try to escape the cold as we wait for Spring. This year, we were using unpaid time off from work, so our vacation had to be planned with a tighter budget. We chose Florida! This post explains how to travel to Florida with toddlers.
Step 1: Choosing a Toddler Friendly Location
After a bit of research, while traveling with a 3 year old and a 9 month old baby, we decided the Gulf side of Florida seemed most appropriate for our needs. A few areas I read about were, 30A in South Walton (still on my bucket-list!) Tampa Bay area, Sarasota/Siesta Key, and Fort Myers. Additionally, we considered pairing Everglades National Park with a visit to Fort Myers or Miami. After all, we love a good National Park trip!
After looking at the weather near 30A, we decided it would probably be too cold during our visit, so we ruled that out. If we had been visiting from May-September this would have been my top pick! Next, I learned most activities within the Everglades take place on a boat…in waters full of American alligators. Keeping two toddlers in a boat vs alligator bait didn’t see very relaxing. So…that narrowed the search down to focus on flights into Tampa, Sarasota, or Fort Myers and go from there – this was a budget trip after all! Tampa was the winner when I found a $500 flight for the entire family on a major airline (which is important with all of that baby gear!)
Tip: When purchasing a flight with children, consider the following:
- What time would be most ideal to fly? When traveling alone we typically buy the cheapest flight. When traveling with toddlers, we try to fly when they might be napping or have already expended some energy.
- How many bags will you be taking? This was a budget trip for us, but had I chosen a budget airline, we could have spent a lot of money on baggage. Read about the airline’s baggage policy and pricing before purchasing seats. Another thing we have started to do is pack ALL of our belongings into one larger checked bag. This way we only have to pay $35 each way, which is much cheaper than the added ticket price for a seat that includes a carry on. BEWARE: We are always very close to the 50 pound limit.
- How many connections does the flight have? Traveling with toddlers is already hectic. Make things easier by booking a nonstop flight. There are pros and cons to anything, and connections can be helpful if you have a long haul flight to give toddlers time to stretch, expel energy, change diapers in a proper bathroom, etc. However, connections risk more flight delays or cancellations! I can’t think of many situations where the connection feels worth the risk, but you know your family best!
- Basic economy seats limit your carry on baggage and can separate your family if you don’t pay for seats together. Typically our family still flies basic economy, but we accept the risk of the flight being a little inconvenient for us if separated. Most of the time, the airlines seat us together anyways!
Step 2: Selecting an Accommodation
Ok, so we purchased our flight to Tampa!! Now, to find the perfect accommodation! After researching the different communities along Tampa area’s Gulf coast, we chose a peaceful (less commercialized) community – Indian Shores! It is a south of Clearwater Beach and North of St. Pete Beach. Everyone’s accommodation criteria is different, but since we were on a budget, we knew we’d need something with a full kitchen as we were planning to eat in most of the time. This ruled out most traditional hotels.
In addition to a full kitchen, we also wanted a place close to the beach, preferably on the first floor (nobody wants to lug toddler gear up flights of stairs repeatedly), with enough bedrooms for our kids to sleep in a separate room as us, and our goal was to stay under $350 per night. I know this might still seem expensive for a “budget” trip, but that’s about as low as I could go with all of our needs. Check out this (almost) perfect Airbnb I found!
Step 3: Renting Gear for Toddlers
Traveling with toddlers requires a bit more gear than with older kids or adults. Since our Airbnb did not provide some of these items (crib, high chair, etc.), we rented from Karin through BabyQuip. It was a great first experience and now I recommend this company to all my friends who love to travel with their kids. On a budget, we rented as few things as possible, but BabyQuip has everything you could possibly want to make your vacation with little ones easier! BabyQuip uses locals who live in the area, which was great since we could make last minute add ons once we fully assessed our Airbnb in person. One thing I have learned through traveling, is to make sure to look at other local rental options too! A few things packed from home for our toddlers were: eating utensils, bibs, baby monitor, and a lot of snacks.
Tip: When on a budget, always compare all the options out there to find the best deal!
Step 4: Planning an Itinerary with Toddlers
We’re all familiar with how traveling (or any planned activity) with a toddlers can totally blow up our plans. This is why I keep most trips with our children flexible. However, when we travel without our children, like our recent trip to London, we plan more things into each day. Powering through with tired, hungry or cranky toddlers, is not fun for anyone. Here’s a list of places we visited in Florida (bonus! I noted which ones are free):
- Seaside Seabird Sanctuary (Free – donations appreciated)
- Sunken Gardens (Kids under 2 years old are free)
- Great Explorations Children’s Museum – right next to Sunken Gardens so do these activities together!
- The Florida Aquarium – (2 years and younger are free)
Indian Rocks Beach Nature Preserve (Free)
Step 5: Plan Your Meals (if you’re on a budget!)
We like to go out to eat on vacation, so we planned for 2-3 meals out during our week in Florida. Outside of those meals, we made food at our Airbnb from food purchased at the grocery store. We enjoyed our meals out and highly recommend you check out the following establishments if they fit within your budget.
- Salt Rock Grill – this was our big splurge, but it was so worth it. Make sure you have a reservation or expect to wait a long time. We had a reservation and we still had to wait a bit, but it was delicious!
- Pipo’s Cuban Cafe – delicious for lunch with huge portions! We definitely could have shared one sandwich meal.
- Frenchy’s Rockaway Grille – we went here for dinner and it was such a family friendly place. We loved eating just before sunset, then heading to the beach for some of our favorite sunset photos of the week!
Step 6: Enjoy your vacation!
Traveling with toddlers is such a sweet experience. Our kids love learning about new places, and while it’s not always easy, we never regret taking them along for the journey. Some people say “but they won’t remember it!”, and to that we say, “but we will!” and hopefully the feelings they have while making these memories, stick with them forever.
Happy Travels!
