Destination Guides
Vero Beach with Kids: The Orchid Island Guide We Give Our Own Guests
Vero Beach is the Florida coast without the theme-park gravity. Here's the Orchid Island week we plan for families staying at our own house.
Guide Collection
Family Travel Planning Guides
Everything that makes a family trip run smoothly — how to book, what to load the car with, and the small local rules worth knowing before you go.
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The Overview
After eighteen years of hosting families, we have learned where trips get easier or harder. These guides pull together the booking, packing, and day-planning lessons that apply whether you are heading to the Florida coast or the Smoky Mountains.
Book it right
Direct versus Airbnb, pet policies, and how hurricane season affects Florida dates — the choices you make before you pay shape the whole trip. Start here.
Days out with kids
Gardens, inlets, historic drives, and beaches that actually work with children in tow. These guides come from towns we host in, not a search engine.
Read Before You Go
Family Travel Guides
Things to Do
The Jungle Trail: Vero Beach's Unpaved Road Back in Time
A shaded, unpaved 1920s road winds up Orchid Island past mangroves and refuge overlooks. Here's how our guest families actually use it.
Things to Do
McKee Botanical Garden With Kids: A Vero Beach Host's Family Visit Guide
How to visit McKee Botanical Garden with kids the easy way — the historic hammock, lily ponds, Hall of Giants, stroller notes, and what to pair it wi…
Things to Do
A Family Day at Sebastian Inlet State Park: Jetty Fishing, a Calm Cove for Kids, and How We Do It
Snook and redfish off the jetty, a calm cove that's perfect for little kids, surf at First Peak, and two small museums — here's how families staying…
Booking Smarter
What 'Pet-Friendly' Actually Means When You Book a Vacation Rental
"Pet-friendly" is a filter checkbox, not a policy. Here's what to confirm in writing before you drive eleven hours with a dog in the back.
Rentals & Toys
Florida Golf Cart Rules for Visitors: Who Can Drive, and Where
Since 2023, your 14-year-old can't drive the cart. That's one of several rules families break every week without knowing — and the rest change by cit…
Rentals & Toys
Renting an RV in Florida: What First-Timers Get Wrong
Peer-to-peer RV rental turned every driveway into a rental lot. Here's how it works, what it really costs, and the honest case for not doing it.
Booking Smarter
Booking Direct vs Airbnb and VRBO: An Honest Breakdown From the Other Side
We list on Airbnb and VRBO and we take direct bookings. Here is the honest version of what changes, including when the platform is genuinely the bett…
Booking Smarter
How to Book a Florida Vacation During Hurricane Season Without Losing Your Money
Hurricane season is six months long and it is also the cheapest half of the Florida year. Here is how to take the discount without taking the risk.
Hosting Notes
Eighteen Years of Hosting Families: What We Actually Learned
Since 2007. Five homes. Here's what eighteen years of hosting families actually taught us — including the parts that cost us money to learn.
Destination Guides
Pigeon Forge and the Great Smoky Mountains: A Family Guide That Admits the Trade-offs
Two things share one road here: the most-visited national park in America, and a strip of go-karts. Here's how to get both without hating either.
Things to Do
Dollywood With Kids: How to Plan a Day That Nobody Melts Down On
How families actually structure a Dollywood day from a Pigeon Forge cabin — arrival timing, age-by-area planning, and heat and crowd realities.
Where to Stay
Homes in This Region
Good to Know
Frequently Asked
Is it cheaper to book direct or through Airbnb?
Booking direct often avoids some platform service fees, and it puts you in touch with the host directly. Our direct-versus-Airbnb guide breaks down the trade-offs.
Only 5 Exclusive Properties
Plan Your Family Travel Trip
Stay with a family-run collection that has hosted travelers here for years. Pick your dates and let our team handle the rest.