Trip Motivation In May 2023, Our family wanted to enjoy a relaxing beach vacay in Panama City Beach for 2 nights (Memorial Day weekend). We had a wonderful time enjoying the beach and pool at this new-ish hotel and would definitely come back again! Driving: Nashville to Panama City Beach: 8 hrs The closest beaches to Nashville are on the Gulf of Mexico, specifically the coasts of Florida and Alabama. You can make it here in 7 hours! Just close enough for a weekend trip and perfect for a 3-day weekend. Check out and this post for tips for road trips with kids. There are numerous options along the coast for every type of beach vacation. We have family in Pensacola and have made family trips over 10 times with kids as young as 1 month old. A few years ago, we took a minivan full of friends to a wedding in Grayton Beach on 30A. Nearby, we also visited Orange Beachin AL. From Nashville, you’ll take I-65 down through TN and AL towards Montgomery and then, depending on which area of the gulf you’re heading towards, you’ll cut down on smaller highways to get to the beach. See this post here for a few of our favorite stops on this well-traveled path that make the long drive with kids more fun. Hyatt Place Panama City Beach We spent 2 nights at the Hyatt Place Panama City Beach. The hotel is about 20 minutes from the airport and right across the street from the beach. We paid $0 out of pocket thanks to our credit card perks!  Hyatt Place is a lower brand but the hotel is great for families as it has space with a pull-out couch and free breakfast.  When sleeping with kids, extra space to spread is always a great perk.   Chase Sapphire Preferred Apply Here Chase Sapphire Reserve Apply Here Chase Hyatt Apply Here 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. Between the beach and hotel activities, we filled our days full. Read on to learn more about what to do in this cute city. Beach Time The water temp was still a little chilly but that doesn’t stop our kiddos!  They loved the sand, and adventuring out for sand dollars and shells. We spent several hours playing and relaxing on the beach. It was very convenient to the hotel where there were showers and bathrooms nearby. Pool Time Our hotel had a fantastic heated pool. This is one of the reasons we planned this trip! Although it was advertised as a lazy river, it was really a fantastic pool with a small area with currents. lol. There was a zero entry area and a lot of space to spread out. We packed goggles and dive sticks and had a blast. My favorite kind of vacations involve pina coladas and sitter-vising. Virgin with cherries for the littles. Other Activities We took a break from the beach on one of the days and went to Wongo Adventure to play a round of mini-golf. This was in walking distance from the hotel! There were also go-karts, carnival games, small rides, and lots of fun things! Eat, Eat, Eat! Hotel breakfast: Our kiddos are becoming spoiled from hotel breakfast! This hotel had a free breakfast buffet for all guests and it was a step above typical hotel food. Loved the waffles and breakfast burittos! Lunches and Dinners: We weren’t too impressed by the hotel offerings for lunch and dinner. We enjoyed the poolside drinks but the food could use some work. Along the main street, there are tons of choices for yummy seafood and other delicious options. Our favorite spot was Shuckums right next to the hotel. Crab legs and fried shrimp! Yum! We also drove to a nearby strip mall and had some fantastic burgers at Craft Bar.  Other Panama City Recommendations Gulf World Marine Park Shipwreck Waterpark Shell Island Boat Tour Pier Park Final Thoughts This was a quick trip but so much fun!

Trip Motivation In October 2022, we took a quick trip to Clearwater Beach, FL. Ben was originally planning on doing a half-marathon race in September that was canceled due to the hurricane. Although the race wasn’t rescheduled, we decided it would still be fun to travel for a quick trip. We still have double  Southwest companion passes so this trip was very inexpensive!  We made the repeat trip a year later in October 2023 for the race and spent a few more days exploring the area. Flying: BNA to TPA: 2 hrs We purchased tickets from Southwest Airlines for $200 RT/person. One of the main reasons we flew, even though the cost was high, was due to Southwest’s promotion  (expired now) to fly before November to earn a companion pass for Jan/Feb. If you’re not working on a promotion, you can fly use Southwest points from Southwest credit cards or by transferring Chase points using the Chase portal.  Read more about tips for airline trips here.  When traveling with layovers or to new cities, we always check the local airport website and the Priority Pass Lounge website prior to the trip. The Chase Sapphire Reserve card (in addition to others) comes with Priority Pass access. This card gets you access to various airport lounges. It is much more common internationally. In Nashville, there is a Minute Suites lounge in terminal D.  Another perk you can get from several credit cards we have used is Global Entry/Pre-Check. This is always helpful for avoiding long lines and spending as little time as possible with others. After you activate your credit card, you’ll use it to pay for the Global Entry fee and get reimbursed immediately. If you want more on this particular benefit and how to use a credit card to receive it for free, check out our tips here.  Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach We love the Hyatt Regency Clearwater Beach. The hotel is about 40 minutes from the Tampa airport and right across the street from the beach.  Prices vary and can get quick expensive on wedding weekends. The price came with a ton of perks, some available to all guests, and some because of our hotel status. We received free arrival drinks, bar drinks, free breakfast, and a nice suite upgrade to an awesome space. When sleeping with kids, extra space to spread is always a great perk.  Chase Sapphire Preferred Apply Here Chase Sapphire Reserve Apply Here Chase Hyatt Apply Here 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.   Between the beach and hotel activities, we filled our days full. Read on to learn more about what to do in this cute city. Beach Time It was a little chilly (70 degrees) in late October but that doesn’t stop our kiddos! We spent several hours playing and relaxing on the beach. There were bathroom and showers and lots of restaurant options, all very walkable. Pier 60 is a close walkable distance and had a playground and giant waterslides. <3  Pool Time Our hotel had a small heated pool. We packed goggles and dive sticks and had a blast. My favorite kind of vacations involve pina coladas and sitter-vising. Virgin with cherries for the littles.  Sunrise Near the Docks We woke up everyone at 7am and walked a block to the docks to watch the gorgeous sunrise. We’re a lot more likely in our house to see sunsets than sunrises and it was a joy. Hotel Recreation Although not as large a property as others we’ve stayed at in Orlando, Maui, Lost Pines, or Coconut Point, there was still an excellent recreation staff ready to make the day fun. There were hourly activities ranging from snow cones to scavenger hunts, watermelon contests, and more. There were also cornhole and foosball tables set up around the rooftop pool. Carter loved it. Ben scoffs that we would spend any time doing something that wasn’t the pool or the beach but the kids had so much fun.  Dolphin Cruise There are several options for boat cruises to find dolphins. We found a groupon for a cruise that promised dolphins and ice cream. A fun quick 2 hour adventure but super fun.  Eat, Eat, Eat! Arrival evening: Right next to our hotel, there was a great pizza spot, a burger and milkshake spot, and even a McDonalds next door. We picked up some late night munchies before heading to bed. Hotel breakfast: Our kiddos are becoming spoiled from hotel breakfast omelets! As a perk of our hotel status, we were able to enjoy free breakfast buffet with omelets, bacon, pancakes, crab benedicts and more! Lunch: Along the main street, there are tons of choices for yummy seafood and other delicious options. Our lyft driver recommended Frenchy’s, Coco’s and Spotted Donkey. We ate some yummy crab at Frenchy’s south beach and the kids loved an adult portion of shrimp alfredo.  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Frenchy’s South Beach Cafe (@frenchyssouthbeach) Other Clearwater Recommendations Marine Aquarium Sunset at Pier 60 Great Explorations Children’s Museum Botanical Gardens Pirate Cruise Final Thoughts This was a quick trip but so much fun! 

This hotel has been on our list for a while and is always highly ranked with other families who love traveling. We had a fantastic time playing in the pools, water slides and doing all the activities!

We used points and miles to take this amazing trip for close to nothing out of pocket! Read more to learn about all the credit card perks we took advantage of!

We made the long drive to Fort Lauderdale, FL to enjoy some beach time, some family time, and some good food & activities

Fort Lauderdale is a long drive from Nashville, so if you’re making this trek or a similar one, you’ll want to check out this post for more info on how we made this trip work with kids. We’re always stocked on activities, but it’s good to stock up on patience and flexibility too!

Read about the best Key West activities for families and kids! We enjoyed fantastic beach weather 🌊, delicious food 🍲, and a gorgeous snorkel adventure🥽!