Family RV Camping in Central Florida

Central Florida's combination of attractions makes it a major destination for family vacations in America. Disney World is in Orlando, almost in the middle of the state. Due west of Orlando is Tampa with its manatee snorkeling tours, while due east is Cape Canaveral with its space center. The region is densely packed with RV campgrounds, so RV owners will find it a simple matter to find an RV park well situated to their vacation needs.

Considerations

Central Florida is packed with hundreds of RV campgrounds, but many of these are parking lots with hook-ups, a bath house and little else. RV campers on vacation with their family need to avoid these in favor of campgrounds with plenty of amenities. An RV campground should have facilities that entertain the children on the premises, which might be especially complicated if the children cover a broad age range (one child is 16 and the other is 10, for example). As RV camping vacations usually involve long road-trips, the campground should also be located near whatever the main point of interest for the vacation is. This minimizes the time spent driving back and forth during the actual vacation.

Attractions

Choosing a campground near the point of interest for your vacation not only saves on gas, but minimizes the time spent on the road with the children cooped up in the RV. Disneyworld is probably the biggest family vacation destination in the state, but there is also the Kennedy Space Center, long stretches of beach on two separate coasts, and more than two dozen state parks in the central Florida area. When one of these attractions has been thoroughly enjoyed, pack up the RV and move on to the next one.

Campground Amenities

Common features for a family-oriented RV campground in central Florida include a playground, courts for sports like basketball or volleyball, and swimming pool. Free Wi-Fi is a plus, since it enables the kids to eat up time staying in touch with friends at home on the internet. TV lounges, libraries and game rooms are also venues where kids can socialize at the campground. However, not everything should be tailored strictly for the kids. Some of the better equipped RV camps in central Florida have features like saunas and hot tubs, and these are real boons for tired parents. An activities program, such as outdoor cinema screenings or hay rides, is another feature that is often aimed at keeping kids entertained without leaving the campground.

Locations

Florida's state park system and the KOA chain of "kampgrounds" are logical places to start looking for a family-oriented RV campground. Central Florida hosts 11 KOAs, and although the exact amenities vary from KOA to KOA, campgrounds in the chain are never merely parking lots with hook-ups.

Most of the parks in the Florida state park system have campsites with water and electrical hook-ups, as well as dump stations and other RV facilities. The parks also have outdoor activities like hiking and fishing, and are often tourist attractions in their own right.

Outside of these two chains, central Florida has a number of individual RV campgrounds. Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort is well-known among RVers and especially convenient for visitors to Disneyworld, but the region boasts plenty of RV campgrounds that are not mere parking lots with hook-ups. Some are on the beach, while others are in rural areas or on the outskirts of cities. Because each of these campgrounds is a self-contained operation, each must be studied and weighed on its own merits.

Climate

Even with air conditioning inside the RV, RV campers are more exposed to the elements than vacationers staying in a hotel. For this reason, the brutal climate of central Florida is a major concern for camping families. Summer is especially bad in central Florida, as it is the region least marked by cooling sea breezes. The region is marked by high heat and humidity from mid-spring to mid-autumn. For this reason, choosing a campground with a swimming pool, beach access or set on a spring or lake with swimming access for relief from the heat is critical.

Sources: floridastateparks.org; koa.com; disneyworld.disney.go.com