Family Road Trip To Jacksonville, Leg 3 of Vacation Adventures

Disclosure: Marriott Courtyard Hotel in Jacksonville provided accommodations for our family. However, this blog is our own honest opinions.

Starting our road trip in the Woodlands TX, we cruised the Gulf Coast of Biloxi MS and Mobile, AL and made our way to Jacksonville, FL. Jacksonville was an excellent stop for leg three of our family road trip adventure. Known as the “first coast”, Jacksonville is a small city on the Atlantic Ocean featuring pristine beaches, a variety of outdoor sports, the Jacksonville Jaguars, interesting museums, fine dining and much more.

We spent the night at the new Marriott Courtyard hotel on Lantern Street.The Lantern Street area is a development with lovely shops and dining surrounded by a brand new condo complex. More modern and hip than the typical Courtyard Marriott, the hotel decor featured tons of comfy couches, pillows and wide-screen TVs overlooking a gorgeous pool and hot tub.

Marriott Courtyard Lobby, Lantern Street, Jacksonville, FL

Lodging Logistics:

Robert at the front desk checked us in very quickly offering a variety of sundries such as mouth wash and gifts from the “Tots Travel Too” program. Our tween just loved the mini mouth wash bottles and decided to store them in his backpack in case he met someone famous during our trip. The “Tots Travel Too” program impressed us with its kiddie friendly offering of outlet covers, night lights, Johnson baby shampoo and lotion samples. Our daughter loved the gift of a cute rubber ducky to make bath time away from home fun. The hotel also provides cribs and COVERPLAY removable slip covers.

Since we arrived at the hotel at dinner time, we debated going out to enjoy the local scene but we decided to save the touring for the morning and eat in the Courtyard Marriott’s Bistro area. The Bistro offered traditional seating or wooden booths with comfortable leather oversized seats with a private wide-screen TV. The TV distraction stopped the children from bickering after the long trip in the car. We enjoyed a simple meal of chicken quesadillas and salads. Not only, was the meal delicious and reasonable, but the waiter gave us good service.

After dinner, we enjoyed a game of sharks and minnows in the pool with the children. The boys even did a quick work-out in the Fitness center which offered basic weight lifting equipment and exercise machines. Next door in the business center, we used the free computer to print out the baseball tickets for the next leg of our adventure: family baseball road trip to the Tampa Bay Rays. Before heading off to bed, we replenished our breakfast supplies in the hotel “mini-market” which saved money when traveling with a family of five.

Family Friendly Room in the Jacksonville Marriott Courtyard

Our family of five slept really well in two connecting rooms. The pillows, bed and linens were very comfy. Each room had a microwave, mini fridge, and coffee maker enabling us to easily serve a quick cereal breakfast to the kids. After breakfast, we had a great time exploring all the wonderful things to do in Jacksonville especially lounging at the beach.

Fun Things to do in Jacksonville:

The Jacksonville Beach is known as the “first coast”. Surfers love the waves at Hannah Park and the pier areas of the beach

Family Fun At Jacksonville Beach

Jacksonville Landing has entertainment and fireworks on the weekend and wonderful dining options on the water like American Grill, Koja Sushi, and Chicago Pizza and Sports Grille which was the perfect spot for watching the Stanley Cup Series. Valet parking makes it easy on a weekend
Shipwreck Island is a water park at Jax Beach’s with a lazy river and wave pool
Jacksonville Zoo, a 120 acre park, opens 7 days a week offering something for everyone in the family from elephants and rhinos to Florida wildlife like alligators, and sting rays
The Museum of Science and History (M.O.S.H) provides wonderful “ morning out” programs for moms who need a break to hit Starbucks
World Golf Hall of Fame & Museum is in nearby St. Augustine. The golf village could be an exciting option for a future family golf trip
LEGOLAND boasts rave reviews for keeping children occupied for hours
Another great lodging option is renting a house or staying at a B&B via Dwellable.com

The Next Leg: Baseball Family Road Trip

We had a wonderful time in Jacksonville and plan to go back for a longer trip next round. Now~ on to the next leg of our travel~ baseball family road trip to the Tampa Bay Rays. We can’t wait to tell you about our family tradition of hitting every baseball park in America. What are you favorite family travel traditions?