Stuart, FL
Bathtub Reef Beach
A worm-rock reef sits just offshore and turns the water inside into a warm, calm, waist-deep pool full of fish at low tide.
- Snorkeling
- Ages 3+
- ~3h
- Free
Things to Do 2–3 Hours from Miami with Kids
8 kid-friendly adventures about 2 to 3 hours from Miami, nearest first.
- 1-2 hours (10)
- 2-3 hours (8)
About these times. Each estimate is a straight-line measurement from downtown Miami — the Keys run south on US-1 and the Everglades west on US-41, padded by 17% for winding roads and divided by a 55 mph average — so “about 2 to 3 hours” means roughly that, not a routed time. Traffic, where in Miami you start, and the last few miles of park road can all move it by half an hour. Check a map before you load the car.
about 2 hr drive
about 2 hr 15 min drive
Naples, FL
Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park
A mile of quiet Naples beach with five separate parking areas so you are never far from the car, and calm shallow Gulf water.
- Swimming
- Ages 2+
- ~4h
- Paid
about 2 hr 15 min drive
Big Pine Key, FL
Bahia Honda State Park
The best natural beach in the Keys - shallow, warm, clear water off Sandspur Beach, with the old railroad bridge as the backdrop.
- Swimming
- Ages 2+
- ~5h
- Paid
about 2 hr 30 min drive
Fort Myers Beach, FL
Lovers Key State Park
Manatees and dolphins in the back bay, a two-mile beach reached on foot, and a five-mile mangrove paddling trail through the tunnels.
- Kayaking
- Ages 3+
- ~4h
- Paid
about 2 hr 30 min drive
Sanibel, FL
Bowman's Beach
One of the best shelling beaches in America, on an island that faces the wrong way on purpose. Come at low tide after a storm with a mesh bag.
- Swimming
- Ages 2+
- ~4h
- Paid
about 2 hr 30 min drive
Sanibel, FL
J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge
A four-mile drive through mangrove estuary where roseate spoonbills, ibis and alligators feed at close range on a falling tide.
- Nature
- Ages 3+
- ~3h
- Paid
about 2 hr 45 min drive
Key West, FL
Dry Tortugas National Park
Seventy miles out from Key West: a vast brick fort on an empty island, ringed by the clearest snorkelling water in Florida.
- Snorkeling
- Ages 6+
- ~12h
- Paid
about 2 hr 45 min drive
Key West, FL
Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park
Key West's best swimming beach, with genuine snorkelling off the rocks and a Civil War fort full of seacoast cannon to explore between swims.
- Swimming
- Ages 4+
- ~3h
- Paid