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Three Days in Fort Lauderdale

Posted by Sprinter
Mar 03, 2009
Family TRavel, Passenger Van Rental, Sprinter van Rental, Travel Plans, Vacations Ideas, Family TRavel, Florida Van Rental, Fort Lauderdale Van Rentals, Sprinter Rentals, Vacation, Van Rentals, Van Rentals Fort Lauderdale Airport
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Once upon a time, it would have been difficult to walk along Fort Lauderdale’s beaches without covering the eyes of a young child, but the days of “Girls Gone Wild” on the public sands have long passed. Now you are more likely to see families just like yours enjoying the sunshine, taking advantage of the beautiful weather and delighting in the resorts and attractions that have graced the area in recent years.

Family venues have become the norm in Greater Fort Lauderdale, whether it’s the multitude of canal-side dining spots with menus for kids or the beachfront mega-resorts that cater to families, with kids’ clubs, playgrounds, children’s pools and other amenities.

Amazing Freebies Worth Pursuing: Anne Kolb Nature Center, Downtown A & E Trolley, Old Dillard Museum, watching the fishing boats come in with the catch of the day, enjoying the in-line skaters and street theater on the Hollywood Broadwalk, wandering the Swap Shop indoor/outdoor flea market, walking along the marina docks looking at the boats, gazing at the mega-yachts along the Intercoastal waterways, seeing a real live alligator at one of the parks.

Home Away From Home
Choosing a hotel or resort in Greater Fort Lauderdale isn’t hard; it just depends on the time of year and your budget. There are a couple of highly lauded beachfront family spots that generally range from pricey to moderate (we’ve listed them in that order, though prices are subject to change based on availability and season).

Marriott’s Harbor Beach Resort and Spa: This full-service beachfront property has all of the trappings you expect at a family resort, including a complimentary kids’ club for children between the ages of 5 to 12, tennis courts, two pools, playgrounds and a European spa, plus beach sports, toys, and plenty of activities for both the folks and the kids such as hula hoop contests, table tennis, shuffleboard and sand volleyball.

Quality Inn & Suites Airport/Cruise Port || 2440 West State Road 84, Fort Lauderdale, FL, US, 33312 | Phone: (954) 792-8181 Fax: (954) 792-4202 Toll-Free: (877) 792-8181

The hotel is conveniently located off Interstate 95, Florida’s Turnpike and Interstate 595. The Quality Inn & Suites® Airport/Cruise Port is near the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center, the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Port Everglades cruise port. The hotel offers courtesy shuttle service to the airport and cruise port . Be sure to ask about the Stay & Fly and cruise packages available at the hotel.

This pet friendly Fort Lauderdale Hotel, FL hotel is also continently close to world-class shopping, most notibly Sawgrass Mills mall, Fort Lauderdale Beach and the Las Olas Riverfront, featuring a variety of restaurants, boutiques, bars and entertainment.

The hotel is also close to Seminole Hard Rock Casino, the Port of Miami cruise port and Dolphin Stadium, home to the Miami Dolphins and the Florida Marlins. Visitors will enjoy walking, jogging and rollerblading along the popular Fort Lauderdale’s beachfront promenade.

The on-site All Stars Sports Bar and Grill is great for guests seeking an extraordinary interactive fun and entertainment with HD televisions in every booth and state of the art sound, lights, audio and video.

The Quality Inn and Suites is proud to offer an on-site rental car agency IMAGE Rent A Car. Hop the shuttle from the airport, and check-in to the hotel and rent a car. No need to wait in the long airport rental car lines. Additionally, ask us about our Park & Fly packages

Lago Mar: Almost all of the units in this sprawling beachfront resort are suites with kitchens, making it ideal for families on vacation. Its location, on a private beach in an upscale neighborhood, is central to everything. The resort has a beachfront playground and lots of family-centric activities including beach volleyball, a giant outdoor chessboard, shuffleboard, a soda shop and a lagoon-style pool.

Sheraton Yankee Clipper: Located beachfront with 500 rooms, the hotel has recently added a new “sports deck” which features everything from hopscotch to shuffleboard. It’s a high-rise hotel with plenty of activities for families and includes in-room coffee makers and high-speed Internet. An active kids’ program rounds out the amenities package.

Day One
After your arrival, get yourself a car from the Auto Rental Center at the Fort Lauderdale airport and head to your hotel. You’ll want a bit of time to settle in and take advantage of the amenities your hotel provides. If you aren’t right on a beach, rest up and head for one of the fabulous beach areas near your lodging. One of the nice things about Fort Lauderdale is that you can do a lot or a little and still have a wonderful family vacation.

Later in the day, head over to Hollywood Beach for a walk along the Broadwalk and dinner at Dave & Buster’s, a family restaurant featuring a “Million Dollar Midway” with arcade games aplenty. Mom and Dad can either relax while the kids play or join in the fun. Menu items run from cheeseburgers to char-grilled salmon, plus several chicken and seafood dishes. The place includes state-of-the-art virtual reality machines, arcade games and midway games with prizes. By the end of your evening, everyone should be tired enough to go back and rest up for an early morning and a busy day.

We Service ! Scouting Groups – Church Groups – Nonprofit Organizations – Conventions – Music Bands – Hotels – Limousine Companies Family Reunions – Professional Associations - Student Group Trips – Sports Teams – Summer Camps – Political Campaigns – Universities

Day Two
Get up early and set out for the Billie Swamp Safari where you can learn about the land and culture of the Seminole Indians. Here you’ll be able to take an airboat ride, walk the swamp trail, paddle a canoe or ride a Swamp Buggy — a customized, elevated four-wheeler designed for the best (and safest) way of viewing alligators.

When it starts getting too hot, somewhere around 11:30 or noon, head back to Fort Lauderdale and park in the Arts and Entertainment Parking Garage. From there, take the free trolley to SW 3rd for lunch at Shirttail Charlie’s, a casual waterfront restaurant where you can relax and watch the boats go down the New River. After lunch, get back on the trolley for a loop around the area, and get off again just before the garage, at SW 2nd. There you will enter the Museum of Discovery and Science and spend the rest of the day exploring such exhibits as Florida Ecoscapes and Living in the Everglades, watching IMAX movies and enjoying the air-conditioning.

If the kids are older, walking around Las Olas Blvd. and the Riverwalk is great fun, especially for teens who love to shop. Or a trip on a riverfront cruise might be in order; a luxury yacht takes you through the waterways and canals of the downtown area. You can catch one on the Las Olas Riverfront.

The Jungle Queen Riverboat has been a Fort Lauderdale institution for 60 years. It leaves promptly at 7 p.m. every night from the Bahia Mar docks and heads to a little island for an all-you-can-eat dinner of barbecued shrimp and ribs. Entertainment is provided, and the trip lasts four hours. Older kids will love the experience; the little ones will fall asleep on the peaceful trip back to the dock. We recommend reservations.

An alternative is to head back to your hotel and rest up, then go over to Tarks Clam Stand in Dania, where there’s a kids’ menu for the under 10’s. And then have a thrill ride on the Dania Beach Hurricane, a wooden rollercoaster with 3,200 feet of rails and speeds up to 55 miles per hour. It’s open Sunday through Thursday until 11:30 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday nights until 2 a.m. You have to be 48 inches, but for those big enough, a $12 pass is available for unlimited rides.

Day Three
After a busy night, this is a perfect time to just enjoy the beach during the morning hours, and set off at lunchtime for some excitement.

You’re going west, to the edge of the Everglades, so have lunch at Stevie B’s Rib Cafe in Weston, where you can happily munch on Chicago-style barbecue before heading to Sawgrass Recreation Park. Here you can rent a boat, go fishing, and visit the live alligators, reptiles and birds of prey. There’s an 18th-century Indian village to explore, and more airboat tours through the Everglades. Afterwards, go to one of the largest indoor/outdoor swap meets in North America, The Swap Shop, featuring entertainment, food, great shopping and live circus acts, too!

An alternate schedule for kids who love the beach (and moms and dads who would love some alone time) is to take advantage of the Funky Fish Kid’s Day, a kind of day camp for kids aged 4 to 14. Its primary location is at the Villas by the Sea Resort in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, but there are other locations, too. The day package is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and includes snorkeling lessons, fishing, boating, scuba camp and other activities based on your child’s desires. There’s an overnight camp as well if Mom and Dad need some alone time, with “Beach Hotel Camp Sleepovers.”

A third alternative would be to spend a tranquil afternoon at Butterfly World, the largest of its kind in the world, located about 10 miles north of Fort Lauderdale in Coconut Creek. Kids will love the tropical gardens and waterfalls where thousands of butterflies and hummingbirds fly around. There’s an insectarium too, with exhibits of all sorts of squiggly things. If you choose this activity, stop for lunch first at Fisherman’s Wharf (222 N Pompano Beach Boulevard, 954-941-5522) in Pompano Beach, situated on one of the longest fishing piers on the east coast.

For supper, go back downtown and take the kids to the Ugly Tuna Saloona on the New River. Think ultra-casual, pretty views of the boats and the water, and a motto that kids love: “Fresh fish, ugly owners.” And then, if you happen to be spending the last night of your mini-break on a Wednesday, Friday or Saturday night, go to the Buehler Planetarium and Observatory on the campus of Broward County Community College for some stargazing (free entry on these evenings) before you pack up and head for home.