Dog Friendly Vacations Florida – Several people thought we were crazy for a long trip with 3 kids in the same car. It’s also the people who understand me
Having said that, our grandmother was with us! Some people travel with small dogs, when we go we like to go big.
Dog Friendly Vacations Florida
Of programming. Luckily, our Great Dane, Minerva, is very sweet and loves to drive the car. It will be very different if he has a strong temper or is not used to driving the car often.
Tips On Choosing The Right Pet-friendly Vacation Home
About programming… Gotta give a big shout out to BringFido. I could not have planned this trip without using this amazing website and app. If you have a dog, download the app
. Since then we’ve used it frequently to find local restaurants and places that are dog friendly. I saw BringFido at almost every hotel and restaurant on this trip. Seriously, I could do a commercial for BringFido…that would be awesome!
We drove to Florida for two days and decided to make a quick stop in Columbia, SC. We wanted for nothing and the Red Roof Inn is definitely not a four star hotel. However, they are always pretty clean and most of them are dog friendly, so it was a decent stop on our trip. I will say that Minerva is not as sweet as we thought when sleeping in a new place. Plus, with the rooms facing the parking lot, he could hear every sound (and at the Red Roof Inn, you
Strange sounds). So that he doesn’t get angry and bark, we agreed and fell asleep watching TV. It helped block out all the strange sounds in the parking lot.
Key Largo Pet-friendly Vacation Rentals
Along the way we changed our habits by traveling with the dog. We are more used to eating at takeaways or fast food places so we don’t have to leave him in the car. Using the BringFido app (did I mention how awesome this app is?), we found an amazing Mexican restaurant with an outdoor patio for our meal. There’s something important to remember when traveling with a dog—if you don’t want to limit where you eat or the types of places you visit, you might want to leave the dog at home. We deliberately took this trip around Minerva so we were fine. We also stayed at a house in Florida, and were fine leaving him at home for a few hours. Many hotels and inns will do
Be okay with that – especially if your dog is a barker. Some Airbnbs are okay with pets, but always
We had a great stay in Port Charlotte and the house we rented was beautiful. Not a vacation spot I would choose, but when you get the chance to stay somewhere, why not go? This home’s pool/patio is beautiful and who doesn’t love this backyard view:
During our stop in Florida, Brian broke his ankle in a fast food parking lot. She went to an urgent care unit to see him. The doctor who treated him warned him about the bacteria currently in the water on Florida’s Gulf Coast. We had heard about the bacteria but weren’t too worried about it until Brian’s doctor gave us a stern warning not to submerge in the water. So much for my dreams of enjoying the white sand beaches and crystal blue waters of the Gulf. However, we didn’t let that put us off. We are a family just looking for something positive. If you travel a lot with kids, you learn not to let things like this get you down. You want to make it fun for everyone and the kids will read your mood and respond accordingly. Okay, we can’t go to the beach. Next…what are our other options?
The 20 Best Family-friendly Beach Hotels In Florida
Most of our days in Port Charlotte, we enjoyed the pool at home and left Minerva for a few hours here and there to explore some of the restaurants in the area. As you can see the pool area of the house is beautiful and we certainly did not suffer during our stay!
In the summer, we usually only go to restaurants that offer outdoor dining. When you’re on vacation, and near the water, who
What outdoor dining in front of the sea?? Farlow’s on the Water in Englewood, FL was one of the best restaurants we ate at on this trip. After enjoying dinner, we took some pictures by the waterfront.
One restaurant we visited that had a really fun atmosphere and live music (always a bonus for us!) was Hurricane Charlie in Punta Gorda. There is also a large park and a shopping area nearby.
Melbourne Beach Pet-friendly Vacation Rentals
Since we hadn’t explored the Gulf Coast beaches, we decided to take a day trip and treat the kids to something special. We tossed around the idea of Disney and Universal or the Disney water park, but we got there and decided to go there so the kids weren’t gone yet. We chose Sea World. Now, I know there is controversy at Sea World. However, we are looking into it. Sea World no longer accepts new orcas, but maintains and cares for those already in captivity. It also focuses on education and conservation. Animals are no longer forced to “surrender”. If they don’t respond to a project, they just try something else. We had a great experience here.
To spend the day, drive to Orlando, etc., we had to stay at the Minerva. We don’t think he’ll be home alone for long. We boarded him for the day at Camp BowWow in Port Charlotte. The staff there are amazing, they thoroughly inspect the menorah, ask for wet papers (which you have to
Carry when traveling with a dog) and check if it gets along with other dogs. It was a clean facility and they provided lots of activities for the dogs. It was Minerva
When we let him in after a day of playing and socializing with other dogs. If there was no such facility, we would not have planned the day trip.
St. George Island Florida Affordable Rental House
We really enjoyed the programs, rides and atmosphere at Sea World. When he bought our tickets, Brian bought a ridiculous meal plan that was very cheap. This allows each of us to have a full course, side dish and dessert all day long. The only problem is that you have to wait an hour before taking your next meal. We could literally spend days eating non-stop. Brian was up for the challenge, but after a while he was overwhelmed. Suddenly he looked for snacks and came out of the counter with a steak!
One of the most amazing and sweet moments of our day was walking through the Sesame Street area of Sea World. Our kids have always been huge Sesame Street fans and it was great to see them get excited and excited to see some of our old favorite characters. Here is a side view of the kids at Sesame Place in PA and one at Sea World. As you can see, my photography skills have improved quite a bit. (Note: If you have small children, sesame is the place to be
On our way out of Florida, we stopped at the Apollo Beach Nature Reserve. We like to push the kids and the dog a little further, and it’s a beach-friendly beach. We still didn’t feel safe enough to go in the water and the area wasn’t very clean…there was quite a bit of rubbish around. However, it’s good to let kids and dogs out of the car once in a while!
We are probably looking forward to our stop in Savannah, GA as much as our stay in Florida. Brian and I went to Savannah when we took a road trip for our honeymoon and it was one of our favorite stops on the trip. Savannah has a lot of history and the city is very beautiful. It also happens to be ranked as one of the most dog-friendly cities on the East Coast! We booked a hotel here because we knew Minerva would always be with us. Other than that, the hotel is serious
Three Days In Orlando, Florida
If you didn’t check out the link at the top of the post, check it out now: The Thunderbird Inn. I like this place because of them
Dogs… free dog treats and small grass dog run. I also consider everything retro from the 1950s, and only this place
See more photos on their website. I also can’t find the place
