The Official Visitors Guide of Sarasota County® - 2025

Fun for all ages and stages, discover exciting activities, fun-filled excursions and kid-approved attractions for the whole family to get behind.

Wildlife Encounters

At the tropical Sarasota Jungle Gardens, children can feed a flock of free-roaming pink flamingos, pose with brightly plumed parrots and watch mischievous ringtailed lemurs. See the Children’s Rainforest Garden at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens for its centerpiece, a century-old banyan tree, plus cascading water features and an adventurous rope bridge. Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium offers an up-close look at Florida marine species like manatees, otters and sharks, plus a gigantic megalodon jaw replica. For a family outing the kids will remember forever, visit the Farm Market at Dakin Dairy Farms, the only family dairy farm in Florida open to the public that produces and bottles their own milk right on the farm. Big Cat Habitat & Gulf Coast Sanctuary provides a haven for more than 150 exotic animals like lions, tigers, bears, primates and more. On a two-hour Sarasota Bay Explorers’ Sea Life Encounter Cruise, you’ll spot playful bottlenose dolphins and nesting egrets with the help of a friendly marine biologist.

Game On Sports

Jumpin Fun Inflata Park, an indoor inflatable theme park in Lakewood Ranch, keeps youngsters joyously busy with amusements like the 250-foot AirRider Zip Rail Coaster. Fill up on peanuts and hot dogs for nine action-packed innings of a Spring Training game. Cheer on the Baltimore Orioles at Sarasota’s Ed Smith Stadium or the Atlanta Braves at North Port’s CoolToday Park. At Smugglers Cove Adventure Golf, navigate 18 minigolf holes through obstacles like ponds, caves, a floating pirate ship and sunbathing alligators. Young golfers and putt-putters of all ages will also love PopStroke for its two Tiger Woods-approved putting courses, not to mention its remarkably rich milkshakes of homemade ice cream and its yard games like outdoor ping pong. Step up to the challenge at Escape Rooms Unlocked, offering plenty of twisty mind puzzles for the whole fam with themes like the Wild West and spy games.

Off-Screen Entertainment

From circus camps to fitness classes, adventurous families can become a part of the circus by learning the flying trapeze, aerial skills and trampoline at the Circus Arts Conservatory. Get your groove on to live music, learn pickleball, gaze up at the stars and planets with a telescope, catch an outdoor movie, head out on a guided nature walk or kayak paddle at The Bay Park—there’s no end to the many free community programs and activities the park offers year-round. To see an aquatic wonder, take the family to Sarasota Ski-A-Rees Water Ski Show, a thrilling Sarasota entertainment tradition since 1957. Experience a cornerstone of racing in Sarasota with a visit to Sarasota BMX. Established in 1974, this is the oldest continuously running bicycle motocross track in America.

What's NEW?

Head to the new master-planned community of Downtown Wellen Park to keep your kids entertained. After working up a sweat on the playground, let them cool off in the Splash Pad set beside a 100-year-old Heritage Oak tree. For some fish and fin fun, visit Kind Vibes Outfitters to rent the equipment you need for an afternoon cast or paddle around the 80-acre Grand Lake. Finally, dine waterside at The Yard, featuring food-truck fare, then stretch out on the Great Lawn, a centerpiece for live music and events.