If you are looking for endless sandy beaches, pastel-colored sunsets and relaxed vacation vibes on Florida’s Gulf Coast, Naples is the place to be. The region in southwest Florida is perfect for anyone looking for a mix of beach vacation, family activities and nature adventures. In our detailed report, you can find out more about the region, our accommodation and suggestions on how to spend 3 days in Naples with small children.
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Things to know about the Naples & Marco Island region
Located in Collier County on Florida’s Gulf Coast, Naples is a city that feels deliberately “upscale relaxed” rather than loud and hectic. The city itself is comparatively small, while the surrounding region is much larger – it is precisely this mix that makes it so appealing: You get a manageable city with beautiful neighborhoods, restaurants and boutique flair, but surrounded by nature, waterways and beaches like something out of a picture book.
Climatically, the area is ideal if you love sun and warmth: The weather is mild to hot for much of the year, and the months when it is warm but less humid are often particularly pleasant. In November we had super pleasant temperatures of 25-29 degrees. Another advantage: Naples is known for its long, soft coastline – you’ll find many different stretches of beach, from lively to quiet. What makes the region so special is its proximity to real Florida nature. The landscape around Naples and Marco Island is characterized by mangroves, lagoons, estuaries and chains of islands. This is exactly where the most beautiful experiences take place: Dolphins in the wild, seabirds, dozens of waterways and that feeling that you are suddenly in the middle of a natural landscape just a few minutes away from the chic cityscape.
Getting here is also uncomplicated: The nearest airport is usually Fort Myers (RSW). From there you can usually reach Naples in under an hour, depending on traffic. Mimai International Airport – where we arrived – is just over 2 hours away.
The city of Naples on the Gulf Coast of Florida
Our accommodation: Compass Hotel by Margaritaville Naples
For our days in Naples, we stayed at the Compass Hotel by Margaritaville Naples – a modern all-suite hotel with a relaxed vacation feel and a good location as a starting point for the beach, excursions and city program.
The hotel is located directly on the Tamiami Trail / US-41 (location in Google Maps) – handy if you want to get to beaches, shopping and restaurants quickly. Many of the well-known destinations in Naples (e.g. Clam Pass/Vanderbilt Beach or the area around Downtown/5th Avenue) are easily accessible by car. The hotel also has plenty of free parking spaces.
The Compass Hotel by Margaritaville Naples is designed as an all-suite hotel and offers around 120 suites. Instead of classic standard rooms, there are mainly studio suites, one-bedroom suites and two-bedroom suites – ideal if you want more space or separate sleeping areas. Typical of the concept: suites that are designed for “staying longer” and “more comfort” rather than just overnight stays.
Important facilities include a restaurant/bar option (5 o’Clock Somewhere Bar & Grill), a souvenir/gift store, a fitness area and practical services such as laundry facilities. There are also lounge areas where you can quickly grab a free coffee or something refreshing during the day. The hotel is not located directly on the beach, but there is a free beach shuttle. The free “Compass Clam Pass Beach Shuttle” departs from the hotel daily at 10 am.
We had a really nice two bedroom suite. This is tailored to families and groups who appreciate separate bedrooms. Typically, there is a master bedroom with a king bed and a second bedroom with two queen beds. In addition, there is the suite character: more space, a more homely feeling, 2 bathrooms and a fully equipped kitchen.
The hotel has a lovely little outdoor pool for relaxed afternoons: sun loungers, a laid-back atmosphere and short distances to the bar and social area make it easy to switch between swimming and chilling out.
The area around the pool is deliberately designed as a meeting place – with restaurants (5 o’Clock Somewhere Bar & Grill), fire pits, yard games such as cornhole and other outdoor games. This makes the area look less like a pure lounging area and more like a small courtyard. Those who like entertainment will benefit from live music times depending on the day of the week.
In the morning there is a free delicious American-style breakfast buffet (“Sunrise at Compass”).
What can you do in Naples in 3 days?
3-4 days is a good starting point to experience Naples intensively and at the same time include a detour to the natural world around Marco Island, the Ten Thousand Islands and the Everglades. A mix of city highlights, family program, beach and a real “Florida Wildlife” moment on the water works best. The following activities can be wonderfully combined and together provide a wonderful insight into the region.
Naples Zoo – A combination of zoo and tropical garden
The Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens in Naples (Florida) is a combination of zoo and tropical garden. Its roots go back to 1919, when the botanist and ornithologist Henry Nehrling began to develop the site as a botanical garden. After his death, it initially fell into oblivion before Julius Fleischmann developed the area further in the 1950s and opened it to visitors in 1954 as the “Caribbean Gardens”. From 1969, exotic animals were added under Lawrence (“Jungle Larry”) and Nancy Jane Tetzlaff – this year is considered the starting point of today’s zoo. The site covers a total of around 43 acres, or about 17 hectares.
In terms of content, the zoo relies heavily on the interplay of lush vegetation and animal encounters: Visitors walk a circular route of about a mile through palm and tropical plantations, passing various habitats and enclosures along the way. The approximately 70 animal species include lions, giraffes, monkeys, pythons and bears, as well as more specialized species such as the giant anteater.
The Naples Zoo is run as a non-profit, accredited institution and has over 400,000 visitors per year. It is open daily from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm, with the last admission at 3:30 pm. Regular admission is 26.95 US dollars for adults (13-64 years) and 17.95 US dollars for children (3-12 years). Children under 3 years have free admission. Some offers cost extra – for example, feeding the giraffes for 5 US dollars (typically between 10:00 and 15:00). A special feature are primates that live on islands in the garden’s lakes – they can also be observed up close on a boat trip (“Primate Expedition Cruise”).
The zoo is nice for a short family outing, but we weren’t really impressed. Feeding the giraffes was of course a highlight and we had never seen a boat trip to the Monkey Islands like this before at any zoo. But compared to other zoos in Florida such as the Miami Zoo or Tampa Zoo, we saw relatively few animals and if we did, they were only hidden by a narrow wire mesh fence.
Naples C’mon Childrens Museum – kids can experience & try out lots here
The Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples (C’MON) is the children’s and family museum in Naples and was born out of a very personal idea: after the death of her 13-month-old daughter Bianca, founder Allyson Loos wanted to create a place where families could play, learn and make memories together. The organization was founded in 2002 based on this vision; after years of planning and fundraising, the museum finally opened its doors to the public in 2012. Today, C’MON sees itself as a non-profit institution that focuses on learning through play – not as a classic “exhibition” museum, but as an experience space where children can actively try things out.
In terms of space, C’MON is a two-story facility with around 3,500 m² filled with interactive play and learning areas. In terms of content, much revolves around the natural and living world of South Florida: for example, children can discover themes such as the coast, the sea and the Everglades in role-play and experimental stations – from fishing on the replica pier to nature and weather themes, which are implemented as games, courses or research tasks.
A visit to a children’s museum is always a highlight for our kids. There is so much to experience and try out, it’s always great 🙂
Naples Trolley Tours – An informative hop-on hop-off tour
A trolley tour is perfect if you want to get a feel for Naples in a short time. You’ll get an overview of the city’s districts, sights and exciting corners that you can head for later.
Naples Trolley Tours is one of the most popular sightseeing tours in Naples – and a convenient hop-on hop-off transportation option for visitors. The company behind the offer is Naples Transportation & Tours, a family business that has been offering tours and transportation in the region since 1988. The starting and meeting point is often the Experience Naples visitor center near Tin City (location in Google Maps), from where the classic, vintage-looking trolleys set off on a fully commented tour of the city.
The tour is designed as a 31-mile circuit and is ridden in such a way that you can get off at many points and get back on later. There are a total of 16 stops along the route; depending on traffic and stops, the complete loop takes around 2 hours. As a hop-on hop-off, however, you can easily spread them out over the whole day. Typical stops include Tin City, 5th Avenue South, Naples Pier, City Dock and Vanderbilt Beach; in between, the route takes you through downtown, along the waterfront and through residential neighborhoods where you can see Naples’ famous homes and gardens.
Naples Trolle Tours: Route and stops
The trolley tour usually operates daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (except Thanksgiving and Christmas), usually with hourly departures until around mid-afternoon. You should expect to pay 35 US-$ per adult, children (11 and younger) 20 US-$. In terms of content, you get a mixture of “best of” sightseeing and local stories: In addition to beach and water views (Naples Bay, pier, dock), you’ll see shopping and restaurant districts (e.g. 5th Avenue South), historic corners of the city and, depending on the section, well-known destinations such as the Naples Zoo – plus lots of smaller “hidden gems” that the guides are happy to point out (photo spots, cafés, short detours on foot).
We did a complete tour with the trolley (starting point was directly at our hotel) and were able to gain some nice insights into Naples.
Clam Pass Beach – relaxing on Florida’s Gulf Coast
Clam Pass Beach is one of the most beautiful natural beaches in Naples because getting there is part of the experience: from the parking lot (location in Googe Maps), you walk along a three-quarter mile wooden boardwalk through mangroves and coastal vegetation – alternatively, a free small tram/shuttle runs the route to the beach. The park area covers around 14 hectares. There are 171 public parking spaces ($10 parking fee), which can fill up early in high season or on sunny weekends.
The park is open all year round, typically from 8:00 am to sunset (often described as “dawn to dusk”). On site you will find basic infrastructure such as toilets, foot showers and changing areas – all in all enough comfort without the beach losing its natural character.
At the water’s edge, the wide, light-colored sandy beach on the Gulf of Mexico awaits you – and, depending on the tide, the eponymous opening “Clam Pass”, where water from the hinterland moves towards the sea or vice versa. This can look like a small, natural canal and is particularly interesting if you like wading through shallow water or simply observing the landscape.
We spent 4 hours here with our kids on the beach. By the way: the water temperature in November is still a pleasant 24°C to 26°C 🙂
Dolphin tour & collecting shells
A dolphin tour in Naples & Marco Island is the experience that feels most like “real Florida”. Instead of seeing dolphins somewhere, you will experience them in the wild – in a landscape of bays, mangrove channels and island chains.
We did such a dolphin tour from Marco Island. We went to East Marco Bay with The Dolphin Explorer and spent 2 hours watching dolphins in the wild. And this tour doesn’t just offer dolphin watching, but an eco-tour with a real research focus. Behind the tour is the 10,000 Islands Dolphin Study Team, which observes bottlenose dolphins in the waters around the Marco River and the offshore island worlds via photo identification. The dorsal fins serve as a kind of fingerprint: notches, shapes and markings help to recognize individual animals. The cool thing about it is that you don’t sit passively in the boat, but get the feeling of being part of an expedition – including exciting stories about individual dolphins, their relationships and behavioral patterns.
After the definition observation, we drove through the island channels to Marco Bay and stopped at a beautiful sand island. Here you have time for shelling – collecting mussels directly on the freshly washed up waterline. Precisely because the beach is secluded and natural, you can often find particularly beautiful, undamaged shells here.
You can read our detailed travel report on the dolphin tour in Marco Island here.
Other sights and activities in Naples
Of course, 3 or 4 days are not enough to explore Naples and the surrounding region in detail. Especially if you also want to explore the Everglades, for example. Here you can find more great experiences and activities in the Naples, Florida region:
Naples Pier: Walking, photos, often dolphins – especially beautiful at sunset
Old Naples (5th Avenue S & Third Street S): strolling, galleries, boutiques, cafés and dining
Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park: wide sandy beach, quiet nature spot, perfect for a classic beach day
Naples Botanical Garden: Tropical plant worlds and relaxing paths as a “green break”
Artis-Naples: Museum + concerts/shows – ideal for a cultural evening
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary: boardwalk through cypress swamp, great for bird and nature watching
Rookery Bay: kayak/eco tours and mangrove landscape
Naples Bay & Gordon River: sunset cruise or kayak/SUP – great water views right by the city
Freedom Park: Short, beautiful nature loop by the water – great for a relaxing walk
Audubon’s Corkscrew/Big Cypress Area (Scenic Drives): “Old Florida” from the car, ideal for wildlife spotting
Everglades Day Trip: Airboat feeling or bike tour/boardwalks – alligators included
Shopping/Outlets: From designer shopping to souvenirs and food stalls (Waterside Shops)
Take a look at GetYourGuide, where you can find lots of other exciting excursions, activities and tours: