As someone who has lived in Florida for most of my life, I’ve always loved the phrase, “I live where you vacation,” because it’s so true! Who hasn’t come to Florida for at least one vacation? This year, I brought the kids (3, 5, and 7) to Tampa for their school spring break. It was an active, yet relaxing week with a good amount of local, less commercialized fun. If you’re looking for activities besides a beach or Disney week, I’ve got some suggestions for you!

The Florida Aquarium (Channelside in Tampa) is an excellent destination for any marine animal loving kiddos. You could easily spend 3 or more hours exploring all of the exhibits. We visited on a rainy Monday and the Aquarium was quite busy with field trips and visitors from cruise ships. Some of the highlights for us were the Wetlands of Florida exhibit, where we saw alligators, otters, and spoonbills; the Journey to Madagascar, where we got to see lemurs and chameleons; Stingray Beach, where we got to touch stingrays; Moon Bay, where we got to touch moon jellyfish; and of course, the large coral reef habitat, where we saw sea turtles, sharks, stingray, fish, and eels. If you’re wanting to go and read all of the information at each exhibit, I’d plan for a longer trip, but my kids preferred moving at a quicker pace. If you have any stroller-aged kiddos, I’d recommend something compact so you can easily navigate the crowds. Cost: varies, depending on time of year and when you purchase, but around $30 per person (children 2 and under are free).

Dinosaur World in Plant City is an outdoor dinosaur museum that is perfect for preschool and elementary-aged kids. A basic entry ticket includes access to the dinosaur museum with real fossils, a full trail through life-sized dinosaurs and ice age creatures, two dinosaur-themed playgrounds, miniature golf, and a splash pad. There are several points of interest along the path, like a boneyard, exploration cave, paleontology exhibit, and even a large puzzle, so it’s easy to enjoy the path in parts. For an additional fee, your child can participate in a fossil dig or gem excavation or ride on the Dino Express Train. We opted to sign our kids up for the fossil dig for an additional $3 each. They were able to dig through sand for fossils and could each take home 3 fossils! You enter the park through a massive gift shop so be prepared for lots of additions to their wish lists! Food delivery is available on site or you can bring your own picnic. Cost: $25 for adults, $20 for children for regular general admission. Fossil dig add on is $3 per child.

Just a few minutes from Dinosaur World are the famed Florida strawberry farms. It is the perfect stop for a cold treat before your drive home. We visited Parkesdale Market, where we ordered delicious strawberry shortcake and strawberry milkshakes. We also stopped at Keel Farms for a peek at their tasting room. We didn’t have time to stay long, but it is very kid-friendly and would be another great stop. Kids can say hi to the pigs and goats, tour the garden, visit the chickens, and play on the playground, while parents enjoy craft beer, cider, or wine. Most of the wines are sweet dessert wines, but the bottle of sauvignon blanc we brought home was dry and crisp!

Another day, we visited Carrollwood Village Park. This is one of the best parks I’ve been to. We would be regulars if we lived nearby! The park includes a playground, splash pad, dog park, band shell, fitness area, outdoor chess, walking trail, and book walk. We spent several hours doing everything! The kids of course loved the playground and splash pad and were also very intrigued by the fitness challenge course (think American Ninja Warrior style!).

My kids don’t get a lot of screen time, so after an active few days, I treated my older two kids to a movie date at NCG Cinema. The theater offers self-serve bottomless popcorn. I thought there was no way we’d be able to finish it and refill the huge bowl, but we did! We saw Paddington in Peru, which was a cute movie about Paddington Bear – we all loved it!

Our final day trip of spring break was to visit Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park to see manatees. Being March, we were a little late for their season, but it had been cold in the area so we hoped we’d see a few. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any wild manatees, but the park has four injured manatees that live there permanently, so we were still able to see the gentle river creatures. If you’re interested in learning more about manatees, a ranger talk is given daily at 11 am and 1 pm. Homosassa Springs State Park is also home to many Florida species that are unable to live in the wild, including the endangered Florida panther, red wolf, black bear, alligator, flamingo, eagles, and many other bird species. There is even a hippo named Lu – the oldest hippopotamus in captivity! Cost: Adults: $13, children ages 6-12: $5, and children 5 and under: Free.

Visitors can take a boat tour or shuttle from the Visitor Center to the entrance of the state park. As of this post (April 2025), some of the park is closed due to hurricane damage, including the Discovery Center, Underwater Observatory, two sets of bathrooms, and part of the 1.1 mile accessible trail. Due to the trail closure, you have to walk the full 1.1 mile loop. I didn’t bring our stroller and ended up carrying my 3-year-old much of the trail, not knowing how long it was. Make sure you bring sunscreen and a stroller for little ones!

On previous travels to Tampa, we’ve also enjoyed visiting Busch Gardens and the Tampa Zoo. Both are excellent places for animal-loving kiddos. Busch Gardens is great for all ages – for older kids, there are roller coasters and water rides, whereas the younger set will enjoy the Sesame Street Safari of Fun play area. Everyone can enjoy seeing animals from all over the world throughout the park or from the train or safari. Zoo Tampa also has animals from around the world and multiple opportunities for animal encounters.

Tampa is an excellent place to visit with kids. There is so much to do and it is continually growing! Have you ever been to Tampa? I’d love to hear your favorite kids’ activities in the comments!