Palm Beach County extends warm welcome to families

Renowned for catering to America’s elite for generations, the enclave of Palm Beach County may surprise families seeking a destination that is just as appealing to kids as it is to their parents.

According to the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA), more than half the trips where children are present are spear-headed by Baby Boomers, that infamous group of well-heeled, well-traveled grown-ups who understand and expect the level of service and accommodation that Palm Beach County provides. Consider this condensed list of opportunities offered by this year-round destination, to help make vacation planning a little easier for parents facing the joys and challenges of traveling with kids.

Great Places to Stay

The Breakers, Palm Beach is a classic among America’s most distinguished hotels. With $225 million invested in revitalization since 1990, The Breakers Palm Beach continues to be one of the world’s most luxurious oceanfront destinations as well as the ultimate kid-friendly luxury resort. The Resort recently unveiled the highly anticipated Beach Bungalows, a collection of 20 luxury “Old Florida” style day cottages.

The Beach Bungalows situated beachside and directly across from the resort’s new Active Fun Pool—a free form family pool with zero entry—are ideal for guests with children. Moreover, each bungalow comes complete with a full bathroom, 32” LCD flat screen TV, refrigerator filled with chilled water, personal amenity packages and beach concierge service to assist with personal requests.

A family favorite for generations, this resort has also invested in family-fun programs – from the Coconut Crew, an interactive day camp including sports-oriented games and scavenger hunts, to a secure and self-contained Family Entertainment Center which includes a 20-game arcade, a toddlers’ playroom and craft area, children’s movie theater and a separate room with computers and the latest Xbox games.

The Boca Raton Resort & Club isn’t just for grown-ups!

Through the Resort’s innovative Camp Boca program, kids of all ages are bound to have a great vacation experience. Camp Boca is directed toward two distinctive age groups: Boca Tots (ages 3-5) and Boca Bunch (ages 6-11). The program runs year-round and offers a variety of family activities designed to allow parents and children to learn and play together. Activities for Boca Tots range from interactive exploration of the Resort’s natural habitat to typical kid fun like play-dough sessions.

PBC/FAMILY

The Boca Bunch activities, for a slightly older group, range from scavenger hunts to fishing to themed dinner parties. Teen programs, such as “Dive In Movies” (in which teens can watch movies from the pool) and other activities are scheduled on demand and during holidays. All activities offered through Camp Boca are supervised and staffed by adult childcare professionals. Moreover, each guardian or parent of an enrolled child is given a pager that allows staff immediate access, should an emergency arise.

The resort also includes a mini waterpark, which includes a “spraying” palm tree and fire hydrant; and a playground featuring a tricycle track – for those practicing on three wheels.

The Ritz Kids program at The Ritz-Carlton, Palm Beach is a supervised children's program that is filled with sports, games, arts and crafts, swimming pool play, nature tours, and exciting adventures geared to entice the younger traveler.

The Ritz Kids program recently unveiled two innovative youth programs, the Aquanuts for Ritz Kids 5 to 12 years old and Coast for Ritz Teens 13 to 17 years old. Aquanuts provides a playful atmosphere where kids can discover their theatrical talents in costume plays at the Sandcastle Theater, relax and watch movies on a large overhead projector or make new friends during a friendly Xbox tournament.

Putting a new twist on traditional hide and seek, Aquanuts kids can even chase each other through sunken ships and underwater caves. For tweens and teens, Coast lets guests mingle at a “beach shack” themed lounge where they can be a DJ, upload a mix to an ipod, surf the internet, play video games or star in short films. On many evenings, Coast by night is a lively hangout for teens to relax after with their peers after having dinner with the family.

When parents travel with their children to Four Seasons, Palm Beach, they are warmly welcomed with a host of amenities including a child-size bathrobe, welcome gift, complimentary baby or children’s toiletries and a list of children’s offers at various restaurants across the resort. At the Four Seasons, other perks include complimentary use of video game units, games and toys, plus complimentary diapers and use of bottles.

The resorts’ complimentary Kids for All Seasons program, aimed at children 3 to 12 years of age, offers supervised activities such as outdoor games; arts and crafts; sandcastle building; music and nature programs; and indoor co-operative games. A kid's dinner club, which includes themed events and dinner programs, is available Friday and Saturday nights from 6pm-9pm (for an additional charge).

Jupiter Beach Resort & Spa, situated directly on the Atlantic Ocean, features the largest private beach in Palm Beach County. Jupiter resort offers a wealth of recreational options for guests of all ages, including a heating swimming pool, lighted tennis courts, private beach cabanas, and a variety of watersports.

With the resort’s Little Loggerheads Kids Program, children from 5- to 12-years old can enjoy supervised activities such as arts & crafts, seashell searching and sandcastle building.

DivaDuck’s Adventurous Amphibious Tour is a 75-minute fully narrated, musical tour that begins on land at CityPlace in downtown West Palm Beach and plunges into the sea for an excursion along South Florida’s Intracoastal Waterway to learn about Palm Beach County’s rich natural world.

Since 1967, Lion Country Safari has been welcoming families to its 500 acre drive-through animal safari and walk-through park, featuring an Animal Theater with daily animal presentations on reptiles, rain forest animals, feathered friends and mighty beasts. There is a petting zoo with giraffe and bird feeding, boat tours, paddle boats, water play area, miniature golf, a restaurant picnic area; and a 4,000-square-foot children’s wet-play area and a 55-foot Ferris wheel.

At The Palm Beach Zoo at Dreher Park, families can enjoy 23 acres of tropical splendor with over 1,200 animals from North, Central, South America, Asia and Australia. Now opened is the new Tropics of America exhibit. A celebration of Mayan culture, the exhibit begins with two multi-level 45' temples displaying hand-carved hieroglyphics that house jaguar families and bush dogs—wild canines from South America that are able to dive and swim underwater. The Mayan Observatory allows guests to view a unique nocturnal collection of bats, snakes, frogs, spiders, rat run and more.

Guests become explorers as they stroll across a suspension bridge to view lush savannah lands and ponds - home to giant anteaters, Patagonian cavies, emus, Baird's tapirs and South American water fowl—and venture through a primate cave to see tropical fish and stalagmites.

At the South Florida Science Museum, there are dozens of fun, hands-on interactive exhibits based on scientific principles. Young and old alike will marvel at optical illusions, create fluffy clouds, generate electricity or build their very own robot. The Natural History Exhibit brings history to life with authentic and reproduction skeletons of whales, sharks and dinosaurs. Native and exotic sea life from warm waters around the world populate the museum’s aquariums and exciting laser shows and star shows thrill in viewers in the Aldrin Planetarium.

A world-renowned shell collection is the centerpiece of the Sandoway House Nature Center, a marine and coastal life children’s museum in Delray Beach. As an active nature center, the Sandoway House provides a window into the working of marine and freshwater ecosystems of the area. This is a recommended first stop for families intending to observe the moonlight loggerhead turtle walks that take place each May through July. Shark-feedings are also scheduled to the delight of visitors and children.

Coconut Cove Waterpark is the beach alternative, with plenty of twists. Kids can take in the sun and fresh air while enjoying the Sea Monster Walk Pool, Twin Tubes Water Slides, waterfalls, a tubing river and children’s water playground. The park is open on weekends through May, then everyday from June 1 to August 13; back again to weekends from August 14 to September 2; and it's closed during the winter until March.

Palm Beach County presents “The Best of Everything” – from a multitude of accommodations, including more than 200 hotels, resorts, spas, golf courses, world-class shopping, 47 miles of pristine beaches, distinctive attractions and an assortment of cultural venues to top-notch festivals and edge-of-your-seat sporting activities.

All who visit this sub-tropical paradise will find cities that are rich in diversity and home to warm, friendly people. For more information visit Palmbeachfl.com.