Trip Motivation
In December, 2021, we spontaneously decided to take a trip to Fort Lauderdale. This would allow us to spend some time in the sun and meet up with some of Ben’s family. For more on our long drive from Nashville, see here.
Where We Stayed
For this stay, we initially looked at staying near the beach. There are several options in Miami and in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Because one of the reasons for the visit was spending time with Ben’s sister, we decided to stay the Hyatt House Fort Lauderdale near the airport for 12,000 points/night for 3 nights. This hotel was going for a cash rate of $472 over the New Years Eve holiday! We were in a standard room and unable to be upgraded but still had enough room with the kids on one bed and a small living and kitchen area. You can earn Hyatt points from Hyatt stays, the Hyatt credit card and Chase points which can be transferred to Hyatt. Learn more about miles and hotel points here. We liked this hotel and will probably stay here again on a future visit!
Activities with Kids
Hollywood Beach Boardwalk
Hollywood, FL is located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. The beach here is warm and wonderful and generally less busy than some of the other south beaches. There is a long brick boardwalk with a lane dedicated to bikes you can rent. There are multiple restaurants and bars along the boardwalk as well. Highly recommend pina coladas and beers from any of the bars along the path.
We parked at a large lot near Ocean Drive and Nevada Ave, and there are several spots for street parking.
Museum of Science and Discovery
This museum is huge. It is an ASTC reciprocal science center. If you don’t have one, you should look into getting one. Having a membership at any of these science centers will give you free admission to museums all over the country, including some really awesome ones in Chicago. There are multiple stories full of interesting and varied exhibits. Downstairs, there are aquarium areas and a large Florida-themed play area. Upstairs, there are planes and wind exhibits and traveling exhibits. When we visited, there was a Dora the Explorer area and a block building area. We spent several hours here and had a blast. If you visit on New Year’s eve, they have a fun noon countdown with arts and crafts and ball drop.
Flamingo Gardens
There’s a lot to see at Flamingo Gardens, including yes, flamingos and gardens. There is a large botanical garden, and lots of cool animals to see including otters, alligators and flamingos. We purchased some food to feed them which was really cool. There is an inexpensive snack area on site. At the end of the day, we took a tram ride through some of the back area. The kids ended up being a little bored. For the Christmas season, they put lights out which were fun!
Delray Beach New Year's Eve
We looked up fireworks for NYE and found this event 40 minutes north of Fort Lauderdale that was doing 9pm fireworks instead of midnight. This cute town had a large square with a carousel, bandshell and a small 5-minute fireworks show. A fun end to the New Year if you’re in town around this time.
Other Activities
Water Taxi: We didn’t visit with the kids on this trip, but several sites recommended this inexpensive hop-on hop-off canal boat ride.
Riverwalk In Fort Lauderdale, there is a large area around the river, with lots of parks and restaurants. A fun activity that could be cool would be renting kayaks and boating along the river.
Bluefoot Pirate Adventures: A fun activity with pirate loving kids could be this pirate-themed adventure. I think our kids would love this, although it is a little pricey
Restaurants
Our favorite beach spot on Hollywood beach was a tiki bar near the beach. They had $10 drinks, $5 smoothies, pizzas and sandwiches. By the beach, there were many options, although many were pricey.
Around dinnertime, we were in the Hollywood area visiting Ben’s sister and searched for outdoor patios. This area of town had more strip mall areas, so it was difficult to find a patio. We visited Tijuana flats, a taco chain with yummy queso and good kid options.
Near downtown Fort Lauderdale, we had lunch one day at Rendezvous, a slightly fancy spot overlooking the marina. A little pricey ($15-$20 entrees) but delicious seafood. No kid’s meals, but the kids split an adult portion of shrimp alfredo and asked for more.
If you’re visiting Flamingo gardens as mentioned above, recommended restaurants nearby include Italian at Mazzolas and BBQ at Rob’s BBQ. Neither had patios so we ended up driving to a pizza spot close to our hotel area: Pizza Spot. This simple spot had yummy New York style pizza and lots of outdoor seating.
While we are out and about doing activities, I’ll usually do a quick google search to find nearby restaurants. I also like using the beer app untappd since Ben loves finding new spots for beer. Near the Museum of Discovery and Science, there are lots of options nearby. We ate lunch at The Brass Tap. They had several options for food and new beers for Ben to try. They had kid menus and a nice outdoor space
On New Year’s eve, we ate dinner at a really cool elevated food hall called Delray Beach Market. I love places where I can get poke, Ben can get a burrito bowl, and the kids can get mac and cheese and ice cream! They also have an efficient online ordering system, multiple bars and outdoor seating with yard games.
Final Thoughts
There’s so much to explore in Ft. Lauderdale and Hollywood! We told friends that we were traveling to Miami, but we didn’t actually make it down to Miami on this trip. The weather was gorgeous and there was lots of options for eating outdoors and enjoying time together in the sunshine. We will definitely be making this trip again!
