buzymom3

Help!
My 16 year old daughter and her best friend are heading to West Palm Beach to stay with Grandma! Great idea right?? Well 6 days in West Palm is not going to be enough for these two teens. A couple of days at the beach and a couple of days pool-side and they will be getting nuts.

So I was hoping someone out there would have an idea on how to get them from West Palm to either Busch Gardens OR to one of the Orlando theme parks.

I did find a bus service that runs from WPB to Tampa Airport, but no idea how to get them to the park...cab it? But they cannot do the routing in a day, the bus schedule does not work.

yes we would like to have them do it all in a day? Is this crazy? If so then maybe they could spend the night at a resort attached to one of the parks.

Basically I need transportation from WBP to either Tampa or Orlando. Any one have any ideas?
j

Marginal

Are you seriously going to allow two 16 year-olds to check into a hotel?

I don't think most hotels would accept those under 18.

Does Grandma want to do something with them? Perhaps they could find something to do together. I sort of thought this might be about grandmothers and their grandaughters, but it's starting to sound like a spoiled teenager saga.
Perhaps they could learn to search around what might be fun to do with Grandma in Palm Beach, instead of focusing on themselves.

nolefan1

Yes it's crazy. I couldn't tell by your post but, I hope grandma would be travelling with the teens. They can't check into a hotel at 16 and there is no way I would send my 16yr old in a cab all the way from Palm Beach to Tampa.

Surely they can find plenty of shopping and excursions aroung West Palm Beach, it isn't a hole-in-the-wall.

gail

This is not practical as a day trip to either place. She can't stay in a hotel alone at 16.

I more than understand about bored teenagers - as a parent of a 17 and 22 year old. But it is not going to work.

mclaurie

There is a bus from Miami to Orlando that stops in WPB.
http://www.miamibeach411.com/disney/...sportation.htm
It's a long way to go just for a day.

I will grant WBP may not be the most interesting place for teens, but Ft. Lauderdale and Miami are a lot closer and have more things for them to see/do. There's a commuter train service.
http://www.tri-rail.com/

buzymom3

Ummm Marginal - Please do not judge my teen by a couple of paragraphs. My DD has worked her butt off all summer to afford the airfare and other costs. She is a lifeguard, and works two other jobs one day a week. So that being said, this is not about visiting with Grandma...it is the other girls grandma and grandma has been here staying with them for the past 6 weeks.

I have always used these forums for help and advice. I have always treated those I respond to respectfully and I guess I am surprised by the assumption that this is a case of spoiled teens.

I guess I was hoping that there was some way to get them back and forth in a day, but obviously that is not possible. I really apprecaite your input on that...so we will scratch that off our list of possiblities. ( I know the hotel idea was 'out there', but I was just throwing it out there )

Does anyone have any idea on what they can do locally? On local transportation...Grandma does not drive much. My daugher is a 'doer', she loves new experiences and does not want to spend all her time at the pool or playing bunco.

Is there anyway that they could get to the Everglades? Or to the Keys? What about any other noteworthy tourist destination locally?

I am looking for a creative solution if there is one, and this forum has never let me down!

Thanks so much everyone - I really appreciate your help and advice.
j

mclaurie

http://www.bluewaterboatrental.com/l...boat-tour.html

http://www.southflorida.com/sfe-topt...0,523111.story


http://www.zerve.com/DivaDuck/Calendar


http://www.palmbeachpost.com/attract...tions_pbc.html

buzymom3

Wow Mclaurie! Thank you so much...this is a great start. I am going to go over these websites with my DD tonight.

I know they would love the Everglades tour and the snorkling tour. Maybe a day at the water park and a day at CityPlace??

Thank you again!
j

flapenny

If you feel that the girls are very responsible, I might suggest them using the PalmTran bus system to get to a TriRail station. Then, they could take the TriRail to places in Miami like Bayside, the Miami Zoo, Vizcaya. I'd have to add, though, that I would be a little uncomfortable about my teenage nieces (15 & 18) going to Miami alone. Having said that, many kids that age use the trains to go back and forth daily for school.
Where will they be staying in WPB? A fun day might be going to the Rapids Waterpark. WPB does have something of a transit system, but it may depend on where they are staying as to whether the buses run in that area. If grandma lives in a retirement community, they frequently have trips to different places for those who live there. Not exactly what teens may consider their age group, but it is a way to get there.
There are no hotels that will allow anyone under 18 to get a room. And, as much as I love living in South Florida, I'm not sure it's the safest place for 16 year old girls to be on their own.

gail

"Grandma does not drive much" implies that she has a car. Do you live in a state where either of the 16 year olds have drivers licenses and would Grandma loan use of her car for local trips? That would make things a little easier for local day trips.