Whether you’re craving a quick beach escape, a cozy mountain getaway, or the bright lights of a big city, living in Jacksonville makes it easy to get there. From hot Florida travel spots to charming nearby mountain towns — and even bucket-list trips to New York City and Puerto Rico — these top destinations are all within reach when you’re ready to pack the bags and get out of town. Here’s where Jacksonville families are heading next, along with some of our top travel tips!
Top Travel Destinations From Jacksonville
“If you’re dreaming of a family vacation that checks all the boxes — beaches, adventure, culture, and kid-friendly fun — Puerto Rico deserves a top spot on your list.
We’ve spent time exploring the island as a family, and let me tell you: It’s one of those rare places where parents actually get to relax while kids stay endlessly entertained.
From crystal-clear waters to waterfall hikes and sunset views that stop you in your tracks, here’s our tried-and-true guide to planning an unforgettable Puerto Rico getaway with kids.”
“Sometimes you don’t need a long road trip to feel like you’ve escaped. Just an hour and a half north of Jacksonville is Valdosta, Georgia — a sweet little town that turned out to be the perfect family getaway for us. My husband and I packed up our girls (ages 8 and 3) and headed up for the weekend, and we were surprised at how much Valdosta has to offer families. (And the kids are both already begging to go back, which is a great sign in my book!)”
“Move over Asheville, there’s a new destination in the Blue Ridge Mountains gaining popularity for its quaint, family-friendly, small-town allure.About 7.5 hours to our north is Blowing Rock, North Carolina, aka “the Crown of the Blue Ridge.” Just a 15-minute drive from Boone for geographical reference, Blowing Rock is named after The Blowing Rock, an enormous cliff high above the Johns River Gorge with views for days of other nearby mountain ranges.”
“We recently wanted to take a road trip to somewhere new, within six hours of Jacksonville. We hadn’t heard of the town of LaGrange, Georgia, but it looked like a family-friendly destination that we would enjoy.
We decided to give it a try and it was a nice change of pace for our family (we normally travel for club soccer) — three days together in a new town with fun activities on the agenda, which included a stay at the Great Wolf Lodge, bass fishing, and a drive-thru safari.”
“My mom, sister, and our children decided to venture to Asheville, North Carolina, last month for a girls’ trip/birthday celebration with the kids. From Jacksonville, the drive was just about seven hours, well, more like nine, after a two-hour stop at Cracker Barrel! We arrived in the evening at our hotel, the Omni Grove Park Inn, the perfect home away from home for our time in Asheville.
The weather, gorgeous mountain views, and incredible hospitality made for an excellent trip! My son turned three on the day of our arrival, and on the morning of check-in, the hotel texted me to see if there was anything we were celebrating or if we had any special requests. I shared about our special birthday boy, and that evening, we were greeted with a birthday bag for my son, and he couldn’t have felt more special. It was a great way to kick off our trip.”
“Nestled deep into the High Country of North Carolina, at an elevation of 3,333 feet, is our favorite family destination: Boone, North Carolina. We love them so much, we like to call them our mountains, but I’d love to share them with you!”
“Swifties worldwide eagerly anticipated the release of Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department. One of her edgier songs was a spicy one, featuring hurricanes, swamps, and timeshares, appropriately entitled, “Florida!!!”
When interviewed about the song, she said, “When you just want to escape from everything you’ve ever known. Is there a place you can go?” And the answer to her was very clear: Florida!!!
Now, there are many fabulous places you could escape to in our great state. However, I have to agree with T Swift that I would totally “work your life away just to pay for a timeshare down in Destin.” If I were to book a vacation, Destin would absolutely be at the top of my list. Here’s why.”
“Most people don’t consider Alaska as a vacation destination until they are well into their retirement years. After all, they do call it the “Last Frontier.” But what if the mountains were calling and you must go… now?
We had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a cross-country trek with my grandmother to mark this trip off of her bucket list. Technically, she’d already been four times, but she had always wanted to experience it with us as well.
We went into the trip expecting the unexpected. Having only gone on warm-weather cruises, we anticipated a “cold cruise” to be filled with a lot of relaxation and reading time; maybe seeing a bear and a whale or two. What we didn’t expect was to have the most thrilling trip of our lives. There was so much to do. While part of our family went salmon fishing, others took a seaplane to the glacial waterfalls. The next day, some took a gold mining train ride, while others mushed sled dogs or rode a hovercraft. Each day’s activity was a new favorite that completely beat out the previous day’s excitement.”
“Fun Fact: Florida spans just under 450 miles from north to south! The Sunshine State covers a lot of land, and as we know, one of the more sought-after vacation spots in our amazing state is the Florida Keys. There are roughly 800 keys (islands), so when I started planning my family’s Spring Break trip, I was immediately overwhelmed! However, after some diligent research, we came up with some relaxing but fun activities for exploring the Florida Keys with kids.”
“Just south and a bit west of Tampa lies an oasis of happiness called Anna Maria Island. My family has vacationed there every summer since our soon-to-be 11-year-old was 9 months old. It has become our family tradition. One where we wake up daily, get donuts from a unique shop on Pine Avenue, walk to the beach, return to the pool, find a great place to eat dinner, watch the sunset, and repeat the next day. It is blissful relaxation (as much as it can be with the kiddos in tow), and one we will continue to repeat hopefully forever. Let’s break it down.”
“The Tampa Bay area — consisting of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater — is about a four-hour jaunt from Jacksonville. Born and raised in St. Petersburg and a graduate from the University of South Florida in Tampa, I was thrilled to show my family where I grew up. We drove by my childhood home, my schools, my favorite park where I had most of my birthday parties, my friends’ houses, my favorite ice cream shops, the mall, and various places I worked.
We spent the majority of our recent vacation in St. Pete Beach, which has an average of 360 days of sunshine a year. This explains why I need a lot of vitamin sea to this day — sun, sand, and saltwater is my recipe for happiness.”
“Maybe, like me, the only thing you know about St. Louis is the iconic Gateway Arch, but there’s more to the city! Sure, it’s not making any top 10 lists of honeymoon destinations, but I had the opportunity to drag my husband along on a work trip to St. Louis, Missouri, and much to our surprise, it was an inexpensive romantic getaway spot with plenty to do.
Conveniently located on the Mississippi River, it was a bustling manufacturing hub from the 1890s through the 1920s and boasts numerous ornate, historically significant factories, buildings, and skyscrapers. The Gateway Arch National Park, while impressive, is but one of St. Louis’s many beautiful public parks, and there is no lack of delicious restaurants or fun attractions, either!”
“New York City is a must for every family. In addition to being one of the biggest cities in America with literally endless things to do, it’s also pretty eye-opening for kids to experience the city that never sleeps.
This summer, we took our littles to the Big Apple. Our family of four, two boys ages 5 and 12, spent four nights in New York City and packed in as much as we could during our visit. Because our kids are seven years apart, we did divide and conquer different activities and still made time to make memories as a family.”
Where are your go-to family-friendly destinations from Northeast Florida? Let us know in the comments!
