Rosemary Beach with a Toddler!
Rosemary Beach is our favorite place on the planet to visit. Because we have been so many times, it feel so comfortable and easy, making it the perfect place to relax and unwind when we visit each year. However, now that we have a 16 month old, the trip looks a little different. There is a lot less relaxation, and a lot more running around/chasing a toddler happening. There are also a lot more giggles and lots of joy watching him get to experience the ocean, the pool, and all the fun vacation things!
I wanted to write about a few of the things that made this trip a little easier on us with a toddler in tow. Obviously, this season is so short and each kid is different, but here are some of the things that really helped us!
Kid friendly spots-
Coquina Pool - has a great pool shelf that’s nice and shallow. This is where we hung out when we spent time at the pool and even if it's busy, there is still some good space for toddlers to hang.
Alys Beach playground - Just past Raw and Juicy, there is a wonderful turf playground that we had a lot of fun at! Davis had so much fun climbing around and it was nice and shady, too!
The Western Green - a great grassy area where lots of kids run around! Unfortunately, it was roped off this year for our visit, but is typically a great space to play and get some energy out!
Kid friendly (and not so kid friendly) restaurants-
-Amici 30a
-LaCo
-La Crema
-Kilwins
-Charlie’s Donuts ( we did donut holes from here for breakfast each morning!)
-Summer Kitchen Cafe
-Fonville Press (Alys Beach)
-Edwards
Not so kid-friendly-
-Pescado- one of our favorite restaurants because of the rooftop views, but they don’t allow kids except for brunch! We went for brunch one day and took Davis because we didn’t want to skip out on the beautiful views!
-Gallions- kid friendly for lunch only, but no children during dinner! We ordered Davis’s lunch to-go from here each day, but never actually dined in the restaurant with him.
-Paradis- so lovely and fancy! We did my birthday dinner here, and while they allow kids, they do not have high chairs, so we had to leave Davis in his stroller for dinner. Their kids menu options are also not great (mostly seafood that was pretty expensive).
Random tips-
-Check out Rosemary Beach’s events calendar - they have lots of fun, family activities going in the summer like face painting, music, and even a free build your own trucker hat event on Fridays that we got to take part in!
-Beach Baby Rentals - though we didn’t use it, this rental company came highly recommended to us! We brought our own pack&play and stroller, but this company has just about everything you could need! They drop it off/pick it up, and we have heard wonderful things! I think we may try to use them in the future to bring less stuff!
-This pop up pool was a game changer at the beach! It folds down super small to fit in our suitcase, and we took it to the beach with us each day. We would put some water in it, and Davis would hang/splash around in it. It felt like a great way to keep him cool while hanging by the ocean!
-Trading nap times- we got super lucky each day that Davis took about a 2 hour nap (thank you overtired baby!!!), so each day we would each trade off getting about an hour to ourselves to do whatever we wanted while the other one stayed in the room with Davis. It was a great way to break up the day, and get a bit of rest time.
-Silicone bucket/shovel - these were so easy to pack because they folded down, and they kept Davis busy! Truly the only toys we needed at the pool to keep him entertained!
Closing thoughts— traveling with a 16 month old is so fun AND there are some extra considerations that make it a little easier. Rosemary Beach is a perfect spot to visit with kids this age because there are so many families, everything is so walkable, and there is so much to do! We love this little town and the memories we made this summer!