We love our trips to Florida. There really is something about the sunshine state that makes us feel happy. For us it’s all about getting the balance right. Enough theme park fun for the kids mixed in with wild beaches and old school Floridian charm for us. We spent two weeks in Florida with kids visiting the best of the state. So here is our 14 day Florida itinerary taking in Orlando, St Petersburg, Tampa, Miami and more. We love this route as it hits all the classic sites and really does give a great overview to this gorgeous state.
Check out our ultimate guide to Florida with kids here.
*AD / This post contains affiliate links & as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. We may also have been compensated in this post either financially or with products / stays. To read more see our Disclosure Policy.
Table of Contents
DAY 1 – Arrive in Orlando – 14 day Florida itinerary – our 2 week Florida itinerary: Schedule
Pick up a car at the airport and head into the city.
We always spend the first day acclimatising. Orlando is a great place to start your travels, there’s so much to do here. Just taking a trip down International Drive with its huge number of restaurants, shops and attractions would be the perfect way to get in to the Orlando vibe.
DAY 2 – Orlando
Spend your first full day in Orlando soaking up the atmosphere of one of the great theme parks.
Depending on the age of your kids (and whether you’ve been to Orlando before) you could spend it at Disneyland, Animal Kingdom, Universal Florida or one of the great water parks.
It’s tempting to try and squeeze in more than one park but I would say it’s better to do one park well than have snippets of many.
Read more:
Secrets of Universal Resort you won’t believe
A guide to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Universal Orlando Resort for toddlers and under 5 year olds
DAY 3 – Orlando – Florida itinerary
Take a day trip out of the city to Legoland. Or for another view of Orlando visit Winter Park with its sophisticated waterfront setting (taking a boat trip here is a wonderful trip out).
We love Celebration, the town that Walt built which is perfect for some old school USA charm. There are plenty of attractions within Orlando from the Orlando Eye to Crayola.
DAY 4 – Orlando
Spend a day at one of the other theme parks on offer in Orlando. There is so much to do that even with three full days in the city it won’t feel enough.
DAY 5 – Two weeks in Florida with kids – our 14 day Florida itinerary – Drive to Tampa
Drive out from Orlando via Weeki Wachi Springs.
Florida is filled with beautiful National Parks, many of which have been attracting visitors for decades. Lots of these parks have a real retro feel to them with old school attractions and Weeki Wachi really leads the pack.
Entertaining the crowds for over 70 years you can go visit and watch the mermaid show which is the star attraction.
The crystal clear waters here are also beautiful. Taking a gentle boat trip down the spring waters where you can look out for manatees is delightful.
Day 6 – Tampa
Spend a day exploring Tampa. There’s so much to do in this interesting city like visiting Busch Gardens.
We visited and loved the huge Florida Aquarium. Here as well as all the fish to see there’s also a wonderful boat trip out in to the Tampa Bay where you might see wild dolphins and manatees.
There’s a great water play area as part of the aquarium too which is ideal for cooling off.
Day 7 – St Petersburg
The beaches of St Petersburg are legendary and with good reason. They really are beautiful.
Our favourite is at Pass-a-Grille where the sea waters are warm and scattered with gorgeous shells. We loved spending time at the beaches here, they are beautiful and relaxing.
Spend a day having fun here by the sea.
Day 8 – driving
The trip down to Miami from the west coast isn’t inconsiderable, especially with children in tow. But driving through the Everglades National Park is pretty special.
There are numerous places to stop off for a break. We picked up a huge picnic at the supermarket in St Petersburg, full of treats, so we could have plenty of stops to stretch our legs.
At one of the breaks we even came face to face with an alligator (and soon jumped back in the car to head away from him too).
Day 9 – Miami beaches
After a day of driving down to Miami spend some time chilling out.
We stayed on Sunny Isles Beach and thought the beaches here were fantastic: quiet, clean and with loads for kids to do. For a refreshing break, you can find healthy food in Miami as well as fast food options, fancy restaurants and much more.
We did head out to Miami Beach and had a good couple of hours here (loved the free sun screen stations and stopping for a burger at one of the beach side restaurants).
Read More:
The best hotels in Miami for families
A three day itinerary for Miami
Day 10 – Miami – A 14 day Florida itinerary (Orlando, St Petersburg, Miami & more)
Miami is a cool city but beware the traffic. We found ourselves losing so much time to the traffic here that it was hard to do much.
We loved exploring the Little Havana area of the city that had an unmistakable Cuban vibe. I would advise seeing the area by water instead and taking a boat ride around.
Day 11 – Drive to New Smyrna
We drove from Miami to New Smyrna Beach near Orlando for some old school seaside fun at the end of our trip.
It’s another big car journey but a nice coastal drive through Florida with plenty of opportunities to stop off and dip your toes in the sea en route.
Read More:
A few days in New Smyrna Beach (there’s a video too!)
Day 12 – New Smyrna Beach
New Smyrna Beach is a wonderful area to chill out. The beaches here are gorgeous and you can take boat trips out into the rivers where you can spot wild dolphins (we saw a number on our boat trip out).
Cocoa Beach is close by with its cool pier and you can take a day trip or half day trip out to Kennedy Space Center from here.
Read more:
The best day trips from Orlando
Day 13 – Last day at Orlando Parks
For our last day in Florida we revisited Universal. This was a brilliant way to end a two-week journey through Florida.
You could equally spend this as a final day relaxing on New Smyrna Beach which really is beautiful and would be a great way to finish in relaxing style.
Otherwise if you wanted to spend more time in Miami this would be a great day to add in, so you have another full day there.
Day 14 – Last day – Florida itinerary
Pick up the last of the clothes at the outlet malls (my favourite is Vineland Outlet). Stock up the suitcase with corn tortillas and Hersheys (is that just me?!) and bid farewell, see you soon to beautiful Florida.
We also have a road trip through Florida and Georgia if you’re looking for something different to do.
Your Florida checklist
- ✈️ Find great flights to Florida with Opodo
- 🏨 Check out the best family resorts in Florida
- 🎫 Get your visa for the USA from iVisa who will organise all the forms for you
- 💳 Get a Currensea Card to easily pay for purchases abroad
- 🎢 Buy your themepark tickets at a fantastic price from Attractiontix
- 📚 Get planning your trip with the Lonely Planet guide to Florida
Please let me know if our ‘A 14 day Florida itinerary (Orlando, St Petersburg, Miami & more)’ helps you with your journey. We’d love to know anything you did differently or something that worked particularly well.
Check out our ultimate guide to Florida with kids here.
Find our full guide to the USA with kids here.
Pin this 2 week Florida itinerary post here
