RSS
Home
Babes in Paradise: Kids have fun in Naples and Marco Island, Florida
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Family Beach Fun courtesy Naples Marco Island Everglades CVB
Water, Water Everywhere
If your kids are water babies who just can’t spend enough time in the ocean (or Gulf), they’ll revel in the Paradise Coast’s fabulous beaches. The warm white sand will tickle their toes, and the gentle surf will be all the entertainment they need. Collecting seashells, building sandcastles, and splashing in the calm waters—what more could a child from the landlocked Midwest wish for?
Finding Flipper
But there are even more kid-friendly attractions on the Paradise Coast, ones that will keep the whole family happy. What child isn’t enchanted by playful dolphins? Take a “dolphin experience” sightseeing cruise aboard the Dolphin Explorer, operated by Sea Excursions, an experience guaranteed to seem “cool” even to jaded teens. This extremely unique tour gets kids involved with dolphin researchers, as they participate in the 10,000 Islands Dolphin Project, a five-year scientific research study to identify and track the movements of resident dolphins in the Marco Island and Naples areas. Children complete tasks onboard that earn them entry into the Dolphin Explorer’s Club, and can each get a survey patch, a newsletter, and follow-up activities to do at home after the vacation is over. There’s nothing exactly like it anywhere else in the world.
Natural Wonders
Naples Botanical Garden is currently closed while undergoing a massive expansion, but will re-open in November 2009. In addition to wildlife nature trails and a butterfly house, the Garden will include a birding tower, and a hands-on, interactive Children’s Garden. (Kids and dirt go together like peanut butter and jelly.)
Monkey See, Monkey Do
My favorite family attraction in the area is the non-profit Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens. I love the primate expedition cruise, a boat ride to view the cage-free island homes of the zoo’s many primate species, including colobus monkeys, spider monkeys, and gibbons. As the cute little monkeys peek at you from the treetops, you’ll begin to wonder just who is watching whom!
The Naples Zoo is the only zoo in the Southeastern United States to exhibit the fosa, a rare predator from Madagascar. There’s also a large population of Madagascar lemurs, the fosa’s main prey. Not to worry, though—the lemurs are perfectly safe from the fosa, which is visible through a glass pane while the lemurs stalk their rocky habitat.
Other state-of-the-art exhibits include the Black Bear Hammock, with native Florida black bears, and Leopard Rock, featuring a floor-to-ceiling glass window that allows visitors to get eye-to-eye with the carnivorous cats.
Paved pathways throughout the 52-acre tropical botanical garden environment provide ease of passage for babies in strollers, and toddling tots. And kids of all ages will delight in the daily multimedia shows that include live animal participation. The ZOO Gift Shop offers “wild gifts at tame prices” (and I confess to going a little “wild” in there myself). You’ll find many unusual plush animals—from kangaroos to African wild dogs! Your kids will most likely leave the Zoo clutching stuffed animals, and you’ll feel gratified to know that the purchase price of these cuddly souvenirs helps not only the animals in the zoo, but also a portion is donated towards conservation projects to help them in the wild.
This is the fifth in a six-part series on the Paradise Coast. You can also read about dining, shopping, spas, and vacation values in beautiful Naples and Marco Island.
Up next: Lovers in Paradise.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
