Brightline: A Kid and Budget-Friendly Day Trip from Miami to West Palm Beach

Brightline: A Kid and Budget-Friendly Day Trip from Miami to West Palm Beach

Our Last Summer Adventure  

“One last summer adventure,” I declared to my kids who were busy playing Fortnight, ignoring me.  It was two days before school started and I’d been wanting to check out Brightline all summer. Brightline is a new high-speed train traveling between Miami and West Palm Beach several times each day, with plans to extend the service into Orlando. https://gobrightline.com  Growing up in the Northeast, train travel was a way of life.  Intrigued, I decided to kick back and catch a ride.

A west coast summer vacation and a baseball tournament in Tennessee earlier this summer left us looking for deals by mid-August.  I very much welcomed Brightline’s Kids Ride Free deal. I booked online and saved an extra $10 off my fare, so all three of us rode roundtrip for $30.  It was a fantastic deal.

Miami Central Station 

 

Like most big cities, getting downtown can be tricky.  You never know what the morning traffic will be like.  I was grateful to pull into the Brightline garage about 45 minutes prior to our 9:13 am train.  A quick stop at Einstein’s for a coffee and we were passing through the front doors with 30 minutes to spare.  My first impression? The station is AMAZING! It’s sleek, modern, bright and well thought out. Everything feels high tech, even the bathrooms.  Apparently, Dyson helped design the bathrooms in the station and onboard, so they have a very modern “Jetsons” kind of feel. This was nothing like the trains I took in and between New York City and Boston growing up. The differences are almost laughable.

We scanned our boarding passes, breezed through security and wandered into the extremely comfortable lounge area.  It was everything a mom could want in a lounge – plugs everywhere to keep connected and charged, hands-on play area for the kids and ultra-clean bathrooms.  They even have a nice café that serves frozen vodka lemonade drinks – in the morning!  Of course, I sampled the cocktail and was so tempted to get a full size because, “Hey! It’s five o’clock somewhere, right?”  However, I decided to be a good mom and stuck with coffee.

 

The super-friendly staff announces your departure and requests that you head towards the platform to board the train about ten minutes prior to departure.  We had assigned seats but it did not matter as the train was empty. The seats were amazing. They reclined, had cup holders, outlets and plugs. The kids and I were able to spread out and as we rolled out of the station, I kept thinking how quiet the train was. I could barely tell we were moving. I had to admit that I secretly missed the rambling and noisy trains I grew up with.  

West Palm with Kids:

About an hour and fifteen minutes later, we arrived at West Palm Station.  I admit it was hard to get off the air-conditioned train and venture into the heat and humidity of South Florida, but explore we must.

The West Palm Station is located a few blocks from City Place.www.cityplace.com  My husband always says I plan too much.  So, this time, I purposely did not plan anything to do in West Palm.  I did, however, have a few thoughts of what we didn’t want to do.  No museums, my kids get bored.  No beach, I did not want to ride home sandy and sticky. And definitely, no browsing the fancy shops at City Place, I could just hear my son moaning, “another store, mom?”.  Pedaling around town on a Sky Bike https://skybikewpb.com sounded fun, but the bikes don’t come in kid sizes.  These options look great in the glossy magazines but in reality, they don’t work for some kids.   

We thought about the Diva Duck Tour, https://divaduck.com but my daughter is not a boat fan.  I’ve learned over the years not to push my kids. If they really don’t want to do something, I make like Elsa and just  “let it go.” It’s just not worth paying an entrance fee and watching one of them melt down. 

 

We passed by the free Downtown Trolley and glanced at the map.  http://www.downtownwpb.com/trolley  Now this is more our speed.  The trolley connects major destinations around the downtown area.  We decided to give it a go.  We jumped aboard and enjoyed the breeze.  Twenty minutes later we were walking along the Waterfront and admiring the enormous yachts.  My daughter picked out the biggest one and declared it as “hers” as I then reminded her she hated boats.   But now she wants a mega-yacht?  Kids. 

Where to Eat:

And then we were starving.  Let the great food debate begin! If you have a picky eater you know what  I’m talking about.  Pizza, pasta, steak, burgers. Sit inside, sit outside?  I ignore their requests to have ice cream first.

We decided on ER Bradley’s Saloon by the water.  https://www.erbradleys.com  My kids wanted to sit outside in the oversized chair by the sand-pit but I refused. It was almost 100 degrees outside so we settled on an air-conditioned room by the small game area.  The kids dashed out and played ping pong before lunch. I charged my phone and enjoyed a Mommy drink. E.R. Bradleys has one of the most diverse kid’s menus I’d seen in a long while.  It was a refreshing change from the usual chicken nuggets and mac n cheese options.  The kids ordered rice bowls with steak and shrimp.  They looked and tasted delicious.

Another fun food spot was Pizza Girls, which looked kid-friendly and seemed to be priced right.  Maybe next time.

After lunch, we walked a few streets and ran through a small splash pad while waiting for the trolley.  Great way to cool off on a hot day.

Back in City Place, we stopped for ice cream at Rita’s Italian Ice https://www.ritasice.com.  We indulged in the icy goodness of, well, ices, before heading back to the train station.

The Ride Home:

Security was a breeze again and I relaxed in the lounge while watching the kids enjoy the play area. 

 

We boarded the train and prepared for the ride home and the end of our adventure.  It was a great day.   The train is totally fabulous.  The kids keep asking when it will start running to Orlando, which should be in 2019 or maybe 2020. Hard to say as the tracks are currently under construction.   I think even the kids would agree that our last summer adventure was better than a Fortnite marathon? Hrmmm…

6 Responses to Brightline: A Kid and Budget-Friendly Day Trip from Miami to West Palm Beach

  1. we are so used to having easy train travel here in the NE, I had never though of train travel in Florida, but awesome that its coming! I also didnt realize Miami and West Palm were over an hour apart. What a fun day out!

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