When most people think of South Florida, they may think of people on the beach soaking up some sun, great food, live music, and amazing nightlife. If you are looking for a great place to escape to, South Florida should be at the top of your list. In addition to beautiful scenery, southern Florida is a great area for family vacations. Kids of all ages will find fun as well as educational things to do all while enjoying the beauty of South Florida. From West Palm Beach to the Keys, we have compiled some great family-friendly places.

Things to do in South Florida With Kids

If you are taking a trip to South Florida with the kiddos, these locations below are worth adding to your itinerary.

Biscayne National Park

Biscayne National Park is a watery wonderland filled with beautiful and exotic marine life. With more than one hundred seventy-two thousand acres of oasis to explore, Biscayne National Park offers visitors dolphin, turtle, and pelican sightings and is home to the world’s third-largest coral reef.

Take a boat out to Boca Chita Key, the most visited island in the park, and visit the iconic light built in the late 1930s or sail over to Adams Key where you can have a picnic with the family and enjoy the short trail that leads through the hardwood hammock.

Elliott Key is the largest island in the park and is perfect for camping, picnics, and hiking. Water sports are abundant here and include snorkeling, diving, and swimming.

The Dante Fascell Visitor Center is filled with educational, interactive exhibits and is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm.

After one visit to Biscayne National Park, it is certain to become an annual family event.

Butterfly World

Butterfly World is a southern Florida hidden gem. Open since 1988, and located in Coconut Creek in Tradewinds Park, the interactive exhibits have more than 20,000 butterflies on display and more than 50 species fluttering throughout the aviaries.

Butterfly World is open Monday through Saturday from 9 am to 5 pm and Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm. Butterfly World is a great place for the whole family to enjoy. Children of all ages are welcome, however, children three and older will really get the most out of the experience.

Dry Tortugas National Park

Turn back the hands of time and experience the nineteenth-century fort at the Dry Tortugas National Park in Key West. The adventure begins just getting there – located about seventy miles west of Key West, the park is only accessible by boat or seaplane. Because of this Dry Tortugas National Park is one of the least visited national parks in the US, but don’t let the fact that a little harder to access deter you from going.

The family will not complain once they are on the island – crystal blue waters, gorgeous marine life, coral reefs, and the world-famous Fort Jefferson.

Younger children can enjoy the island by swimming in its shallow waters while older kids can snorkel and get a bird’s eye view of shipwrecks and underwater statues.

If you don’t feel like hitting the water, stay on land and see the wildlife areas on the island or walk the nature trails. Tour Fort Jefferson and learn about its important role during the Civil War.

Visiting Dry Tortugas National Park is an experience your family will not soon forget.

Good to note: If you have a 4th grader, you can get a free National Parks Pass allowing you to access all national parks in the US free for a year.

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Everglades Alligator Farm

South Florida has beautiful gardens, gorgeous beaches, and native wildlife – alligators! These prehistoric creatures and others can be seen at the Everglades Alligator Farm in West Palm Beach.

Very close to the entrance of the Everglades National Park and with more than two thousand alligators on the farm, the Everglades Alligator Farm is a great place for the whole family to learn about the most feared animal in Florida.

When visiting the farm, check out the alligator shows to learn about the swamp creatures and watch almost five hundred gators crawl over each other to feed and chop down on some good eats!

If you are feeling really adventurous, take an airboat tour through the Everglades and see wildlife like turtles, birds, fish, and of course, alligators in their natural habitat.

The Everglades Alligator Farm will entertain the entire family, however, most of the activities are recommended for children nine and older. The farm is open daily from 9 am to 5:30 pm ad is only closed on Christmas Day.

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

Voted the best botanical garden in North America, a visit to the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables is sure to be a good time had by the entire family. Lush tropical plants fill the 83-acre gardens that have amazed visitors since 1938.

Take a relaxing, narrated forty-five-minute walking tour of the Gardens, highlighting some of the favorite spots and exhibits. When you’re done with the tour, make sure to stop by the Wings of the Tropics exhibit where you will find hundreds of gorgeous butterflies from more than forty species. Or, visit the Children’s Garden where children young and old will have a good time while interacting with nature.

If you have fur babies, bring them along too and take them to Fairchild’s Dog Dates. Walk through the tropical oasis with your pup and take in the lush scenery and fresh air.

The Botanical Gardens is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is free if you are a Fairchild member; if you are not a Fairchild member, the cost for admission range from $11.95 to $24.95.

Visiting the Gardens really is a perfect way to spend the day with the whole family.

 Great South Florida Tours to add to your itinerary

Little Havana Food and Walking Tour with Tastings – Can’t go wrong with a food tour
Speedboat Sightseeing Tour of Miami – If you feel the need for some speed!
Mangrove Tunnel Kayak Adventure in Key Largo – Experience the natural beauty of Key Largo
Key West Reef 1/2 Day Snorkeling – Go snorkeling at North America’s only living coral barrier reef

Flamingo Gardens

If you happen to be in Davie and looking for something unique and fun to do with the whole family, then make sure that you visit the Flamingo Gardens.  Built in 1927, it is one of the oldest botanical gardens in southern Florida.

This sixty-acre wildlife sanctuary is home to more than three thousand species of tropical plants, trees, and animals native to Florida. The Flamingo Pond exhibit showcases these stunning creatures in their natural environment against the background of a sparkling waterfall while the Turtle Walk has African tortoises, snapping turtles, and the like.

Kids of all ages will enjoy seeing Josh the six hundred-pound black bear, and complete your visit by seeing the American Crocodilian Habitat and saying hello to Elvis and Priscilla.

The Wray Home Museum is another interactive exhibit that you will not want to miss while visiting the gardens.  Flamingo Gardens is open daily from 9:30 am to 5 pm and is a great time for the family.

Jaxson’s Ice Cream

Jaxson’s Ice Cream is a family-owned business that has been keeping children in South Florida happy and fed since 1956. Located in Dania Beach, Jaxson’s Ice Cream still makes their ice cream, including soft drink syrups and ice cream toppings, in-house every day.

The food is just as great with tasty sandwiches, burgers, and hotdogs that are sure to satisfy the entire family. If you and the family just want to stop in for a sweet treat, you will have more than fifty flavors of ice cream to choose from but with their huge servings and fabulous banana splits, this will be no easy task!

Jaxson’s is open Monday through Thursday from 11:30 am to 11 pm and on Friday and Saturday, from 11:30 am to midnight.

A visit to Jaxson’s Ice Cream should be on the list of great places to visit when in South Florida.

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

Key Largo is popular in music, but did you know that it is also home to the country’s first-ever underwater park?

The John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park offers visitors a chance to explore above water and below. Snorkel and swim with younger children to see manatees, fish, and reef fish.

Older kids may want to dive deeper to see the underwater statues. For a family adventure, take a glass-bottom boat tour to see the coral reefs and marine life below the water.

Cool off after a full day of family fun and stop by the Blue Heron Café for some good food and refreshing drinks. The park is open from 8 am to sunset every day.

Did you know that the Miami cruise port is not just the largest in North America, but the world? A 3 or 4 day cruise out of Miami would be great to combine with your South Florida vacation.

Jungle Island

Get ready to explore! Jungle Island in Miami has so many fun things to do with kids.The eco-adventure park is filled with plenty of activities for the whole family to enjoy such as the interactive animal encounters exhibit with lemurs, sloths, and flamingoes too.

Older children and teens can venture out and go treetop trekking to get a great view of the park. Each activity has an age restriction, so it is best to plan out your family’s day in advance.

The park is open daily from 10 am to 4 pm with the last entrance permitted at 3 pm.

Lion Country Safari

Looking for a drive-through safari and water park all in one location? If so, then you must visit Lion Country Safari in Loxahatchee.

Just about twenty miles west of downtown West Palm Beach, Lion Country Safari is an experience like no other.  This 600-acre cageless zoo is one of the only drive-through safaris in Florida. The four-mile safari trail has seven natural habitats where you will find a variety of beautiful animals like zebras, rhinos, and giraffes.

After walking through the trails, cool off at the Safari Splash Sprayground waterpark. The waterpark has a variety of water features, water slides, and the awesome Safari Falls with a combination of slides, water sprayers, and dump buckets. Younger kids will enjoy the sprayground while the older kids will have a great time on the slides and in the Falls.

Lion Country Safari also has a petting zoo, giraffe and lorikeet feeding, mini golf, and so much more for the entire family to enjoy..

The park is open daily 9:30 am to 5:30 pm with the last car admitted at 4:30 pm.

A visit to South Florida definitely should include a visit to Lion Country Safari!

Miami Children’s Museum

Located on beautiful Watson Island, the Miami Children’s Museum is filled with interactive exhibits that children of all ages will enjoy.  The exhibits are designed to give children a play-filled experience while providing a safe space.

if you are looking for something to fill your child’s day during the summer months, the museum offers one-day camps. Each camp has a different theme so your little one will have a new adventure daily. Family events like birthday parties are also welcomed at the museum.

The museum is open daily from 10 am to 1:30 pm, closes for lunch and then reopens from 2:30 to 6 pm.

A visit to MCM will keep kids of all ages delighted and having a good time while sparking their curiosity for learning.

Rapids Water Park

Sun in the fun in South Florida means a visit to South Beach or a visit to Rapids Waterpark. Located in West Palm Beach, this thirty-acre park offers plenty of activities for the whole family to enjoy.

Being the largest waterpark in south Florida means that it is jam-packed with aquatic fun including a FlowRider and waterslides with great names like the Pirates Plunge, Big Thunder, and the Rapids Racer.

If you want a good time but a little less exhilarating, then spend your day in the Lazy River, or take the younger children to have a good time in the interactive Barefootin Bay splash pad or in Splish Splash Lagoon.

Once you have worked up an appetite, head over to the Big Surf Café which has great burgers and hotdogs or visit Kayak Jack’s for healthier eating options. Looking for something cool to drink, then you will want to visit the High Tide Tiki Bar or Slush Factory. You can also satisfy your sweet tooth at the park with funnel cakes, Dippin Dots and Snow Cones.

The park has varying hours so it is recommended to check the website before setting off on a family adventure.

South Beach

How can the family visit south Florida without visiting the world-famous South Beach?

Known for its gorgeous beaches and party atmosphere, the neighborhood of South Beach is actually quite family-friendly. There are plenty of eateries around that cater to good old-fashioned Americana or you can go a little more high-end with some surf and turf.

Head over to the beach and enjoy a family day there or do a duck tour of Miami and South Beach. if you would like to be a little more active, rent bicycles and ride over to Lincoln Road and check out some of the shops and restaurants.

Don’t think that you will have to limit your family time to just the daytime – SoBe has great nighttime family-oriented activities too like live music, entertainment, and shows.

Sun-N-Fun Lagoon

With a name like Sun-N-Fun, how could you not have a good time? The Sun-N-Fun Lagoon, located in Naples, is about twenty minutes north of downtown Naples and has something to do for everyone in the family.

Sun-N-Fun Lagoon has five water slides and four pools. The little ones have a space all their own in the Tadpole Pool, while older kids and adults can make use of Family Falls, Dolphin Cove and the Lap Pool.

When it comes to slides, speed junkies will love the thrills of the Stingray. If you are not looking to get your heart pumping, but instead want to relax, then go for a relaxing turn on Sunny’s River.

The Cove is the biggest attraction for kids in the park. It is like a playground in the water with lilypads for children to climb on and a mesh top overhead that they can use for balance.

Park hours vary because of inclement weather so it is best to check the website before visiting.

Please Note: Sun-N-Fun Lagoon is currently undergoing renovations throughout the park and will reopen Memorial Day weekend 2023. It is going to be a family event that will be like no other so make sure you plan to be a part of the fun!

Venetian Pool

If you and the family are looking to include a little bit of history while having fun in south Florida, well then a trip to the Venetian Pool should be top of the list.

Built in 1923, this Venetian Pool is the United States’ largest freshwater pool refilling nearly 820,000 gallons of water daily from an underground aquifer. The pool has two waterfalls and cave-like grottos for little explorers.

If you are traveling with little ones that are just learning to get their feet wet, there is a children’s pool located near the lifeguard house. More experienced swimmers will enjoy the massive pool or just relax poolside.

The pool is open Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 4:30 pm, closed Monday, then Tuesday through Friday from 10 am to 5:30 pm.