Fun & Sun in Miami

When most people think of Miami, they think of a hot, sexy city crowded with bikini bods, exotic drinks and trendy boutiques and restaurants that cater to only the hip, kid-free crowd.

While a part of Miami is exactly that, if you look past the art deco neon lights, the bouncers posted at clubs and $1000 bottles of champagne, you’ll find that Miami dances to many different beats.
And one of those beats is my kind of beat: the kid-friendly beat.

During the sunlight hours, Miami comes alive with family-friendly activities. Besides miles and miles of gorgeous white sand beaches, Miami is home to a fantastic zoo, a unique seaquarium and one of the best children’s museums around.

Of course, after soaking up all the fun and sun that Miami offers, your family is going to need a great kid-friendly hotel to recuperate at and get all that sand out of your toes.

If you’re looking for a high end resort to relax at, the Acqualina Resort and Spa is the perfect spot. While it’s a splurge, it’s a very worthy splurge for Moms and Dads that are exhausted and would love a little relief.

While you relax and soak up some much needed adult-amenities, your kids can get a dose of education at the AcquaMarine kids club. Revolving around all things marine related, kids can learn about waves, sea creatures and even the Coast Guard.

On hotel grounds the Acqualina offers a zero entry pool perfect for toddlers, a kid specific computer room and special menus geared just for kiddie appetites.

A great mid-range hotel in Miami that caters to families is the Loews Miami Beach Hotel. The motto at Loews is “Lowes Loves Kids” and boy, do they mean it!

Loews offers a great kids camp complete with fun counselors that organize games and contests to keep kids involved.

Besides the kids camp, Loews has a toy library where kids can rent out beach toys. On site is also a DVD library with age-appropriate movies and games for even more entertainment and even more quiet time for Mom and Dad.

All restaurants on the Loews property, with the exception of Emeril’s, have kid menus.

The Marriott Doral Golf Resort is priced more reasonably but that doesn’t mean it lacks any of the fun amenities. A specifically designed kids club is cheerfully called Camp Doral. For kids 5-12 (babysitting services are offered for kiddies under 5), Camp Doral appeals to kids with fun activities like art and crafts, tug of war games, tennis, sandcastle contests and more.

Not only does the Marriott have Camp Doral, it is home to a 125 foot water slide at the Blue Lagoon water park with pools themed just for kids.

More great amenities at the Marriott Doral Golf Resort include family friendly golf and kid-themed menus at the restaurants.

With these three resorts offering tons of stuff for kids and families to do, either together or separately, Miami is the perfect choice for your next family vacation. So forget the images of Miami being just for singles and replace it with your family tanned and having fun.

This is a Traveling Mom dedicated post.