Trip Motivation
In January 2022, we took a weekend trip to Coconut Point to spend some time at a family resort near Naples, FL. This hotel has been on our list for a while and is always highly ranked with other families who love traveling. We had promotional Southwest companion passes and lots of Hyatt points so this trip was very inexpensive! This was a quick but wonderful relaxing weekend.
Flight: BNA to RSW (2 hrs)
Getting There: Nashville (BNA) to SFt Myers (RSW) Sat 6:20-9:25a (2h 5m)
Coming Back: RSW to DCA to BNA Tue 4:00-8:35p (5h 35m with 1h layover)
Southwest Flight Cost: Points + $44.80!
Ben + Jenn: 10k points/person RT
Carter + Ellie: Companion pass!
We love flying Southwest. You can earn Southwest points from Southwest Credit Cards or by transferring Chase points using the Chase portal. See more tips on using points and miles here. We had a pair of promotional companion passes for this trip. Companion passes are a perk of getting a ton of Southwest miles in a year. Because of our companion passes, we just had to pay taxes of $11.20 for each person. This is an amazing perk and we definitely took advantage of the kids flying for free when we had the pass previously and will continue to do so again in the next few years. We will earn a full companion pass in 2022-2023 from credit card sign-ups. Be sure to read if you’re interested in learning more
Nashville Airport Breakfast
Although early morning flights can be not fun, it’s a nice way to save costs because these flights are usually cheap and you can still maximize your time in the city you’re visiting without paying for additional nights of accommodations. For early flights, we arrive an hour early instead of 1.5-2 hours. We ate some breakfast pizza, pastries, smoothies, and coffee to start our day.
Other Airport Tips
When traveling with layovers or to new cities, we always check the website of the airport and the Priority Pass Lounge website prior to the trip (link here). The Chase Sapphire Reserve card (in addition to others) comes with Priority Pass, which gives you access to lounges at various airports. Often, it is more common internationally.
Another perk we get from several credit cards is Global Entry/PreCheck. PreCheck is a program that offers faster TSA lines at airports. There are separate lines for PreCheck travelers, and you don’t have to remove shoes, laptops, liquids, etc. It is amazing and has saved us so much time and makes it SO much easier to travel with kids. For more on this benefit and how to use a credit card to receive it for free, see here.
Parking, Car Rentals, and Lyft Rides
In Nashville, 4 days is our threshold where we prefer to take a Lyft instead of paying for parking. In Florida, because we knew we would be staying at the resort for our whole visit, it was more cost effective for us to take a Lyft from the airport to and from the resort. We still compared the cost for renting a car for 2 days versus taking a Lyft. I like to use Costco Travel for estimates. For more info on car rentals and the best credit card to use, see this post.
Hotel
We spent 1 night at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point. Total cost was 20k points. This was a HUGE value as nights at this hotel were going for $830 a night. I would never pay that value but I would say $300-$400 is more than fair for all the perks. Considering that you may pay $50 a person for a water-park, these resorts have tons of included activities you should consider when looking at the cost. You can earn Hyatt points from Hyatt stays, the Hyatt credit card and Chase points, which can be transferred to Hyatt. Learn more about points here.
Hotel Stay at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point
We spent almost 2 full days at the resort playing, eating, and enjoying the activities. For more on the fantastic pools and all the fun family activities at this hotel, see our full post here. The room rate was paid for with points so the additional costs we paid were only food, drinks, and childcare.
Final Thoughts
This was a really fun trip we may look into repeating soon. We will need to return again in the warmer summer months and when we have a longer period of time to do more activities. This location would also be good as part of a multi-city itinerary with Tampa, Orlando, and Miami all being within 3 hours
