Visiting The Villages with Children?

[pegotty]

I am considering spending a week in a vacation rental with my husband and 4 kids in the Villages in June. My mom lives in the Villages and we have family in other Florida locations 3 hours drive from there so The Villages is a good central location for us to see family and spend some time relaxing.

Are there activities that would be fun for a family with four children? They are ages 6, 10, 13 and 15 so we don't need things for very young children. I'm not looking for theme parks or anything, just basic family friendly activities specifically in the Villages. My teens don't like to swim, but the younger kids do. My mom told me that there are summer camps so I am aware of that but I got the impression online that they are for younger kids or more of a babysitting service. We're looking for things we can do together rather than apart. We enjoy one another's company. :-)

Will all the activities for retirees be available to us as a family? Can we do crafts, dance, etc together as a family? That's more our style...we enjoy spending time together doing activities that everyone enjoys.

[redwitch]

Your younger kids will have a great time. Your 15 YO maybe. Depends a lot on the attitude. You and your family will be welcomed at the town squares where there is live music every evening until nine pm. You'll be welcome at some if the recreational events such as bunco and bingo, not so much others. A lot will depend on the leaders and the group itself.

Golf cart rides are always popular with kids. The boat ride around Lake Sumter is kitschy but cute. There are a lot activities for kids near here. The summer camps are broken down into age appropriate activities. Many of them are ones in which parents and grandparents can partipate as well.

So, have no fear, there is a lot to do.

[Brencpa]

When our grandchildren visited (ages 4,7,10) they enjoyed the bocce ball, basketball, tennis, pickleball, shuffleboard and bean bag toss and swimming. There is a nice park at the Wildwood Community Center for the younger kids. Golf cart rides were a favorite through the tunnels and looking for alligators. The kids were not bored at all. They loved dancing at the squares too. There are several nice state parks that are reasonable priced too within an hour drive.