Florida to Dallas Road trip 2024

[Hillsmakeyoustrong]

Hi all. So I've just booked flights to Miami for our family of 4 next March (yes I have just realised it's spring break 🙃) and wanted to know where we could go for a beach holiday for a few nights before heading to Dallas to see old friends. We are in the US for 2.5 weeks in total My 7 year old kids are absolutely not interested in Disney. We would be interested in beach and family friendly. I've heard the keys are more adult and lack beaches (but DH and i do fancy it) and obviously not going to hit south beach Miami in spring break! Anyone have any suggestions? Also I thought we could drive to Dallas if it would be an interesting road trip or am I being rose tinted? Never been to this part of USA so have no idea where to start.

I wouldn’t stay in Miami, I’d recommend flying straight to Houston, hiring a car there and driving out to Galveston. It’s a coastal resort with a family-friendly vibe and lots to do within easy day-trip distance - space centre, Zoo, aquarium, science museum etc… Galveston is about 5 hours from Dallas so easily doable in a day.

South Beach in Miami is nice for a few days .

a bit late now but I’d have booked flights into Miami and out of Dallas. Driving one way between the two would be ok I think but I wouldn’t want to drive there and back!

even if kids not interested in Disney I’d consider other theme parks around Orlando. Eg Universal, one of the water parks, maybe Animal kingdom.

@StillWantingADog thanks. We have booked into miami and out of dallas! OK will do...more likely Animal Kingdom..DS struggles with queues and is a red head so won't want to be standing around too much!

Oh good. As I said south beach is ok but pretty sure some places on the gulf coast would be nicer.

everglades are good for alligator watching boat trips but very weather dependent- ours was cancelled last minute

We did Atlanta to Dallas last year to visit friends, we loved Texas and the people. We never got into Dallas, as driving on the freeways surrounding the city was akin to entering The Seven Circles of Hell😮 (and my DH drove lorries for 40 years, so nothing fazes him!)
Nashville was a bit of a disappointment, but we really liked Fort Worth.

I would totally rethink your ideas of driving between Florida and Texas given you have 2.5 weeks.

It is 1300 miles (so longer than the length of the U.K.) between these two cities so it world save both time and money catching a flight. You would also need to consider that the hire car company could charge you a lot more for leaving the car in another state. Your 7 year old may get fed up with the car as would you because all you would end up seeing a lot of is the steering wheel. Filing up the car is not going to be cheap either.

Fort lauderdale is more family friendly than spring break types these days. Galveston in Texas has nice beaches and town atmosphere.

I wouldn't consider driving the Keys given you're on a really tight timescale and it's in the wrong direction! I absolutely loved Vero Beach and was lucky enough to see a huge loggerhead turtle laying her eggs there one night. The nesting season starts in March. The beaches are generally nicer on the west coast though, i'd be happy staying at any of them and you could also visit Crystal River and swim with the manatees. Animal Kingdom was rubbish imo I honestly wouldn't bother!

@AttilaTheMeerkat you are right. Im always over ambitious and have since decided we will fly to texas. @PinkPondQueen as we are now flying, we do fancy the keys. Only I've heard that the West Coast is still rebuilding after storm Ian.

@Hillsmakeyoustrong just spotted you've changed your flights - but in case you ever do the Florida-Texas drive again - we lived in TX for a few years and drove from Fort Worth to Florida a few times. We stayed in Port St Joe one year which was beautiful - the beaches were stunning.
We used to stop off in New Orleans on the way as had good friends who loved there and it was one of our favourite places to visit - our DCs were young at the time & there was so much to do for families.
Fort Worth was great for families too 30min drive from Dallas - stockyards, water gardens, botanical gardens, zoo, excellent art galleries and family-friendly museums. Have an amazing trip!

Well in that case definitely do the Keys! We flew one way to Key West from Miami and that was amazingly beautiful seeing them from the air, I highly recommend it!

A must-do is a boat trip from Key West out to the Dry Tortugas National Park. Absolutely breathtaking beaches!

Amazing @PinkPondQueen. Did you travel around the keys or stay the duration in key west? @Gherkingreen we are staying in Mckinney as our friends are in Prosper. I think that is near Fort Worth?

If planning to fly into Miami and back from Dallas be very careful of car rental one way drop off fees, can be very expensive

It's a long way but interstate 10 is nice so you can travel further more quickly than one can practically when driving the length of the uk. There will be lots of lovely beaches and towns on the way, as well as other interesting things - there used to be a singer cinema in Pensacola down by the docks. Getting to dfw isn't that bad but you absolutely need an up to date satnav and all eyes on the road, they've done a terrible job there with the multiple spaghetti junctions.

Yes we travelled the Keys and drove back to Miami before heading up the coast. It's a lovely little road trip! I remember a particularly lovely beach at Bahia Honda Key.

@Hillsmakeyoustrong I think McKinney and Prosper are north of Dallas, FW is west, we lived in a suburb to the north of FW, about 30min drive from downtown.
Agree with PP about the driving - the suburbs are fine but driving closer to/into the cities is manic.

I've just been on the West coast of Florida and it is fine. Little sign of damage. The Keys are very expensive and not a beachy place as such. I would suggest a couple of places for you on the West coast - Marco Island, Anna Maria Island or the Clearwater/St Petersburg area.

@Gherkingreen we have no intention of driving into the city itself! Will get an uber if we go into the city. @NoNotMyHair that is good to hear! I had noted Marco Island, also Naples and Sanibel.

We do fancy one full day after we arrive in South Beach (so a couple of nights) but I'm aware it's going to be spring break and the kids are only 7.

Key West doesn’t really have any proper beaches and those that are there are literally covered in stinky seaweed at certain times of the year (we were there in August last year and you couldn’t access the beach because of it). I do really like KW though but it’s pool life.

If you want the proper big beaches like Miami then head north to West Palm Beach. Upscale resort town about an hour away.

If you drive down the Keys then the dolphin research centre is a great day out here. It's about half way down the Keys at Grassy Key.

Thanks everyone, appreciate the replies x