Naples With Kids

The Gulf off Naples has almost no surf, a very gradual slope and warm water for eight months of the year. For anyone with a four-year-old, that combination is worth more than any attraction.

Beaches, ranked for kids

• Lowdermilk Park — playground, pavilions, restrooms, gentle water. The clear first choice.
• Vanderbilt Beach — guaranteed parking, rentals, food within walking distance
• Clam Pass — the tram is an attraction in itself, and the shallow tidal channel is a natural paddling pool. Watch the current on a running tide.
• Delnor-Wiggins, Lots 3–4 — the nicest sand, but bring everything and skip the pass end

Non-beach days

• Golisano Children's Museum of Naples (C'mon) — purpose-built, indoor, absorbs three hours
• Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens — historic botanical setting, a primate boat ride, big cats; mostly shaded
• Naples Botanical Garden — the Children's Garden has a butterfly house, treehouse and water play
• Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary — a boardwalk through old-growth cypress; alligators, and easy with a stroller

Boats with children

This works better than parents expect, with two conditions: go in the morning, when the water is flat, and keep it short unless the child has done it before. Two hours in calm bay water looking for dolphins is a hit at almost any age. A long open-Gulf run in afternoon chop is not.

Florida law requires children under six to wear a life jacket on vessels under 26 feet while underway, and any decent operator carries child sizes — but confirm when booking rather than at the dock. A small private trip out of Naples is generally far easier with young children than a large ticketed cruise, because you can turn around when the day turns.

Eating out

Naples dines late and formally in season, but Mercato in North Naples, Tin City and Bayfront on the water, and the casual end of Fifth Avenue South all handle families easily. Eat at 5:30pm and you will have the room to yourselves.