Are you planning to have a road trip with your family in the Florida Keys? Indulge in the fantastic place of Florida with beautiful scenery for your kids and the whole family. It is located on Florida’s southern coast, which provides a breathtaking view. The Florida Keys is a 113-mile journey across islands with some of the most astonishing and splendid scenery that you could see. Educational, historical, or just for entertainment? You can name it all!
Some places are kid-friendly, where they can see any animal and plant species, beautiful attractions, and many more. A heart-pounding experience is what they will get as they step into the place. Many popular kid-friendly activities are here that would positively bring the most of their stay.
The island has 5 unique destinations that you can visit, and 3 of these are our favorites which are Key West, Marathon Island, and Islamorada. Find out more about these places and how you can plan the perfect trip that your kids will love!
Key West
A breathtaking part of the Florida Keys is known for its world-class diving and snorkeling, lovely conch-shaped houses, and vibrant reefs. Key West has so many fun activities that children will enjoy. Your toddlers will have fun making sandcastles on shallow waters at private beaches, knowing that the company gives backcountry safe services. They will also have fun interacting with unique activities, like watching dolphins. It said that most of the services offered by the company are suitable for older kids and teenagers. However, the small ones can still have their best family gateway to other beautiful places and fun activities in Key West.
1. Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory
The natural beauty of Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory is accessible to anyone. One of the rare and fun activities you can do with the kids is to stroll and see the 27 different species of birds and 1,200 fluttering butterflies inside the greenhouse. There are galleries also like the ‘Wings of Imagination’ art gallery, where your children will see the various shades of Mother Nature. The learning centre will be an excellent location for providing educational activities for your children to engage in. Kids will have a great experience in the metamorphosis process, breeding, and migrating habits of these critters. The place is best for kids of all ages. It also gives free admission to those kids aged under 4 years old. Every part of the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory will be worth it to visit together with your little ones!
A place that you won’t let slip away of your gateway list in Key West is Mallory Square. It is the center attraction of all things in commercial and social. Mallory Square is one of the most popular attractions, restaurants, museums, shops, theaters, and live entertainment. It is considered the home of these surprising places. Kids of all ages will have the best of their trip, especially if they experience the most significant event, the Sunset Celebration, that draws people in thousands.
Discover the Best Hotels in Key West
Marathon Island
In your stay at the Florida Keys, make sure to visit the beautiful place of Marathon that gives your kids and family a splendid vacation! Marathon set on 13 islands in the Florida Keys that brings spectacular fishing, sailing, reef diving, snorkeling, and a world-class wreck. It keeps your loved ones happy with distinctive scenery and natural history together with unforgettable wildfire encounters. The best boating activities, deep-sea, flats, or reef fishing, are also found here. There are activities that kids would love, whether for entertainment, experience, and educational purposes. People can interact with dolphins, feed stingrays, and more. Have the most unforgettable and extraordinary vacation in this city, you shouldn’t miss it!
1. Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters
Experience marine life here in Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters. It allows you to interact with sea creatures through tanks, tours, and other activities. Your sea lover kids would be so amazed with how beautiful the place is. Visiting this aquarium will let you see the sharks, moray eels, gators, seahorses, fishes, rays, 300lb grouper, turtles, tortoises, and many more. Furthermore, you can touch, see, and feed the sea animals. Kids would have fun snorkeling in a thriving coral reef, diving, and swimming with the animals. Suppose you want activities that don’t get your kids wet. In that case, you can take them on guided tours around the aquarium or the exciting and interactive touch tank. Most of the offered activities and services in the aquarium don’t have any age limit, and you can bring your cute little ones as young as 2 years old. The age limit will only vary for the Coral Reef Encounter, where your child must be 5 or 8, depending on the experience they get.
Take a lifetime experience in a charitable animal hospital that caters to the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of sick sea turtles. The hospital has four main goals. These are the followings :
1. Rehab the injured sea turtles and return them to their natural habitat
2. Educate the people through the outreach programs and visit local schools.
3. Assist and conduct research aiding sea turtles.
4. Work towards the environmental legislation that maintains the safety and cleanliness of the beaches and water for sea turtles.
Moreover, the hospital offers 7 days a week of guided educational experience. Kids will grow a sense of care and appreciation for the turtles here. The young ones will learn many things, like what the hospital does behind the scenes and all about turtles. The kids can feed them up too after the tour. The hospital is open for all ages, but animal lovers ages 8 and up will more appreciate the presentation.
3. Dolphin Research Center — Grassy Key
Visit the home of dolphins and California sea lions in the Dolphin Research Center. The center is an aquarium on Grassy Key that will bring excitement and joy to you and your kids. This location offers a variety of educational and entertaining activities where you may meet, interact, and watch the local dolphins and California sea lions. You can do all that in the saltwater lagoons.
There are activities in the center that offer an educational presentation every half an hour and fun-filled narrated behavior sessions. In addition, kids will learn all about dolphin maternity, physiology, social groupings, natural abilities, and more. The center is open for everyone, but various activities are best for kids ages 5 and up. Others will need to be a 10-year-old kid to experience some encounter. Your cute little ones will have a blast here, where they will develop a greater passion for animals.
4. Explore Crane Point Museum & Nature Center
Let’s fill up your curious little ones with a bunch of knowledge in the Crane Point Museum and Nature Center. It will unleash the different cultures and many things worth your visit. It features a fish pedicure, a natural history museum, and beautiful nature trails throughout the 63-acre hardwood hammock.
Kids will love the replica of the 17th-century galleon. In addition, they can have fun with the pirate dress-up room re-create Cracker House filled with insects, sea turtle exhibits, and other children’s activities. The place offers an educational program where kids will learn about the local marine life. Interpretative displays provide fascinating facts about the Florida Keys that will captivate your kids’ interest.
In addition, kids will have fun with the native sea animals in the area, like turtles, whales, and snakes. The slow-paced activity will fill your young one’s little minds, ages 6 and older. It will grow an appreciation for exploring more about it.
5. Relive History at Pigeon Key
Explore history at the Pigeon Key with your whole family! Let your kids experience the unique historical landmark that the place offers. It is a 5-acre island in the middle of the Overseas Highway to 8 historic buildings. You can visit the railroad museum onsite, where the exhibits outline the history of the structure and spotlight the lives of the workers. This tiny island is best for ages 1-year-old and up.
Pack a picnic or grab your snorkelling gear and head to the island’s tidal shoreline. In addition, they also offer a program that runs a summer camp for the kids. They can go hiking at the Old Seven-Mile Bridge, or you can access the island through the Pigeon Key Ferry running from Marathon. There will also be a ferry for 10-minute, where you see the 100-year-old cottages and unique views of the ocean.
A 1,000-acre uninhabited park between Key Largo and Key West is a must here in the Florida Keys. Curry Hammock State Park protects the largest area of various ecosystems within the state, including Rocklands hammocks, mangrove swamps, and seagrass beds. Kids can spend their best vacation here, where they can go hiking, biking, swimming, kayaking, and camping during your trip. You can do some cheap family fun that will be worth your stay here. You can keep an eye out for wildfires like birds, crabs, starfish, hermits, and dolphins together with your toddlers. Also, kids can play in the playground.
Furthermore, a picnic is also an excellent idea for staying or visiting the park and having some BBQs. The park is best for family bonding. There are relaxing activities that are great for kids ages starts at 2 years old, while some other activities, like hiking and biking, require kids ages 7 and up.
7. Dolphin Connection — Duck Key
A fun and exciting experience are what you get here in Dolphin Connection! It is a marine life facility that focuses on dolphin conservation. The place locates in the ocean-fed saltwater lagoon. You will learn the importance of protecting Florida’s marine ecosystem together with your young ones. There are many exciting activities for kids here, like having interactive activities. If kids love to see and feed dolphins jumping out of the water, they would also love being in the water with the animals and pet them. The required age limit will always vary on what activities they would do. Still, kids ages 5 and up generally can do most of the encounters. Dolphin Connection is a great environment for splashing, swimming, touching, and playing with the charming and beautiful dolphins while having an unforgettable experience.
Here is an ideal gateway for your aspiring little pilots! The EAA Air Museum is an aviation museum that focuses on experimental and historic aircraft. This attraction is among the most comprehensive in the world. The museum has a collection of more than 200 historic airplanes along with world-class displays and galleries. It’s a year-round destination, combining that passion of aviation’s past with the promise of its fun and exciting future. In addition, kids will positively fall in love with the different airplanes, from the 1918 Thomas-Morse Scout to the 1944 North American F-51D Mustang. They would also be captivated by the museum full of authentic aircraft. Bring your children, ages 4 and up, to this great museum for an unforgettable experience.
9. Have a Swim at Sombrero Beach
You can’t leave the Florida Keys without visiting the relaxing and refreshing beach in Sombrero Beach! The beach is a sandy stretch of land facing the ocean. The beach offers a variety of activities for your children to enjoy and make the most of their time there. Your family will enjoy plenty of shallow water and gentle Atlantic surf.
In addition, you can have a splendid meal at the Keys Fisheries Market Marina. It is known for its fresh-fried entrees and a distinctive lobster Reuben sandwich. In addition, you can spend your day in a picnic session with your young ones, go fishing or barbecuing and wade on the crystal clear waters of this shoreline. The kids would love feeding the tarpon right from the docks and letting them experience the beautiful sunset. You will have a great family bonding under the sun with your kids’ ages 1 and up.
Find the Best Places to Stay in Marathon, Florida
Islamorada
A paradise that your family and kids would love to explore and experience!
Islamorada is known as the “Sportfishing Capital of the World” It is a village of 6 islands. It only takes 90 minutes to travel by sea or land. It hosts the largest fishing fleet per square mile around the world. Lots of activities under, near, or above the water will keep you having fun all day.
Islamorada is a great gateway to relax and have fun together with your children. The area has eco-adventure tours, beautiful hiking trails, and water sport rentals. It can still manage to acquire over 500,000 visitors annually. Your stay will be worth it because of the calming water, great weather, white sandy beaches, and breathtaking sunsets that the place has.
Don’t let such an extraordinary island as Islamorada be out of your plans if you’re going to the Florida Keys!
1. Explore The Theater of the Sea
Since 1946, the Theater of the Sea in Islamorada, FL, gives the best kids activities and lets them enjoy and experience fun interaction with sea animals, like sea lions, dolphins, sea turtles, alligators, sharks, and more. The kids will learn to value animals here because the place has a mission of providing a comfortable and marvelous home for the animals while sharing them with the visitors. They can go up close to see personal shows and interaction programs with the animals. Furthermore, you can spend a day watching a show at the theater and see the cuteness and unique sea creatures. A magical show you will experience as the dolphins dance in and out of the way, or you can swim with them too. There are age requirements where your kids can participate in the activities. Kids at 5 years old can swim with sharks, and the others will have specific activities that will suit their ages.
2. Visit The History of Diving Museum
The History of Diving Museum is a perfect place for kids! The museum was established in 2005 with a remarkable collection of diving gear, equipment, and memorabilia. It provides custom programming for the children, including presentations, guided tours, and hands-on activities. The Parade of Nations, 20,000 League Under the Sea, and other exhibits can be found here. The program provides an opportunity for visitors to touch, immerse, and explore themselves in the exhibits. You can have a great time discovering what goes on underwater as the divers spend time searching for facts and treasure behind the gear they used.
The Parade of Nations showcases all the different diving headgear side-by-side from 24 nations. In the Aquarium section, kids would love to see the waters from a diver’s perspective. They can capture cute photos of the moments they spend at the History of Diving Museum. The place is best for all ages interested in learning more about underwater life.
3. Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park
In 1912, the railroad finished. In the 1960s, it was used to create beautiful Keystone ornamental stone pieces. Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park can be found at Mile Marker 84.9 on Windley Key, close to Islamorada. The vicinity will let you enjoy hiking, picnicking, tours, and wildlife viewing. It would be fantastic to bring your children here and allow them to enjoy the island’s natural beauty while walking the 5 short self-guided pathways.
Picnics are also a great activity to do with your kids right here in the park, as are informative exhibits about the park’s history. Kids might be surprised by the preserved quarry equipment in the park. They can take a stroll alongside the quarry’s 8-foot-high partitions to learn about the quarry operation and see past parts of the old coral. The park is open to all ages. However, for some activities, you must have legal age to participate. The park has it all, whether it’s for fun or for learning!
4. Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park
Experience island living in Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park. It gives a virgin tropical hardwood hammock and a very excellent historic site. There are also exciting flora and fauna that will automatically capture the visitor’s heart. A wealthy Miami chemist bought this tiny island and built a caretaker’s home with a cistern for rainwater and a windmill for electricity. They provide a self-guided tour brochure for you to use to learn more about the place and other features. There are also rangers to guide you all around the tropical island. Ride on a boat or kayak to reach the beautiful island. If you have your kids with you, make sure that they are not too little and too young. Put them all the safety gear like a life jacket. Keep safe while having an extraordinary experience on this beautiful island.
5. Explore The Indian Key Historic State Park
Since 1972 Indian Key State Historic Site has been a part of the National Register of Historic Places. It’s the perfect way to get away from the city noise for a while and feel rested and refreshed by its natural beauty. The 11-acre island is only accessible by a kayak. The kayak ride rentals are available from local charter companies. You get on that kayak and have a peaceful vacation in this beautiful spot while appreciating the scenic views and learning about the city that once existed on the island.
The kids will positively have a great time during the short trip via kayak. When the visitors get there, they can do fun activities like swimming, sunbathing, hiking, and snorkeling. Just be careful because the snorkeling area is a bit rocky. In addition, kids can learn about the remains of an 1830s wrecking community. All traveling families and tourists are welcome to visit the site and explore the history at the Indian Key Historic Site. Some encounters have a desired age to perform, and the guidance of the parents is a must. Have fun and discover more in this beautiful scenery!
Find the Best Hotel Deals in Islamorada
Spending time in the Florida Keys, with all of its beauties, is one of the best decisions you can make when planning a tropical getaway with your family. As you can see, there are many places that the Florida Keys offers to entertain and educate your kids. They will positively enjoy their stay while experiencing the different Aquarius activities through one of the many diving trips.
Aside from the fun sight the place offers, kids will also feel enchanted by the beautiful beaches, lots of restaurants, and lovely shops. Moreover, kids can interact with many animals like dolphins, sharks, birds, and more. Kids will grow a sense of love and appreciation towards the animals. They will discover lots of educational information on the historical places there.
The Florida Keys will be worth adding to your bucket list. Your whole family and kids will positively have a wonderful time here.
What is your favorite place listed above? Let us know in the comment!
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Geesh, you’re having a ball traveling. I’m definitely referencing your website if I get to travel like you one day!
Aw thanks Sharonda!