The family vacation is a time-honored tradition experienced by people all over the world. We plan around dates and schedules, find the perfect location, book the plane tickets, and finally find a property. Just as not all family vacations are created equal, not all vacation rental properties are designed for the average family. Looking at St. Louis? At JZ Vacation Rentals, we offer a family vacation home that will become an integral part of your getaway. Here’s our guide to all the family-friendly features in our homes!
Cheerful and Spacious
Families come in all sizes, and conveniently, so do our St. Louis vacation homes! Whether your family is small or large, we’ve got properties from 2 bedrooms all the way up to 5! Next important family-friendly feature is the number of bathrooms! No one wants to wait in the bathroom line, so our properties come with as many as 3 bathrooms.
Your Home Away from Home
A home needs more than large bedrooms and multiple bathrooms to be considered a “family” home. Our properties offer that something extra that shows we understand the needs of your traveling party! Like kitchens with updated appliances, plenty of storage space, and in some cases, the glamour of granite countertops. More importantly, however, is the feeling that these are the spaces where secrets will be shared, jokes told, and chocolate doled out freely.
The dining rooms offer large tables that serve multiple purposes. Family dinners will definitely be enjoyed here. However, these spaces can also be used for board games, puzzles, or conversation. Families with the very youngest of children will be pleased to learn that we also provide high chairs and pack and play travel cribs, so you won’t have to drag these very important baby accessories cross country with you!
Living rooms are the spaces in which we live. We binge watch our favorite shows, we read for homework or for pleasure, and on a lazy Sunday afternoon, we stretch out on the couch for a little nap—all things that can be enjoyed in the living areas of our JZ Vacation Rentals family homes!
The televisions are state of the art, the sofas are plush and inviting, and that chair by the window offers the perfect place to sit and read for as long as you desire—some properties offer children’s books and games, as well! At night, when the moon rises high in the sky and the shadows under your eyes grow darker, our bedroom retreats are private, quiet, and designed to give the best night’s sleep of your life!
Living the Good Life
The good life does not end at the door to the outside in our unique and charming family homes. Large decks offer the space to sit watching the kids play in the yard; alternatively, because most homes have grills, perhaps watch dad or mom grill their favorite dinner choices!
Located close to where you want to be, the home you choose could be in the shadow of the Gateway Arch or just a short drive away from Busch Stadium, where the St. Louis Cardinals come home to roost. The City Museum at 750 N 16th Street is open again, much to the relief of locals and visitors, offering a safe place to have fun once more! The 100-year-old warehouse in which the museum is housed is chock full of activities that will be enjoyed by ALL members of your family and includes secret passageways, ball pits, and a school bus located on the roof of the structure.
Putting the Family Back into Vacation
In a world that does not easily accept children, it is a wonderful feeling knowing that your JZ Vacation Rentals family home away from home is designed to make your travel with children easier! Reserve your stay with us today.
We love to hear our guests’ travel stories! To know why they’re in town and who they came to see. Mostly, what they’re most excited about doing while traveling through St. Louis. We also love recommending our best day trips while they’re in our area!
Many of our guests are return visitors. And well, we’d love to give ourselves credit for that, but we know we can’t. At least not totally! Mostly, it’s the amazing city of St. Louis and everything it has to offer.
Saint Louis is a magical town. It was settled by French-Europeans, mixing their culture with the native people. Did you know that St. Louis is named after Louis IX of France? We think it’s a mysterious place, with winding rivers, mountainous hilltops, and dark caves. All in the middle of the US!
Twenty-five million visitors travel to this midwestern town each year, and we understand why!
The vibrancy of the downtown culture. A sports culture that could make even the biggest of Saint Louis rival fans have the time of their life. And course, the natural beauty of this sparkling city. St. Louis is a place like no other.
Once you’ve visited the breweries, cheered on your favorite team, and checked out the Arch, there’s still more to do. Here are a few of our best day trips.
Here are JZ Vacation Rentals best day trips to St Louis Missouri:
Augusta, Missouri
Did you know that Missouri has its very own wine country? One that rivals even Napa and Tuscany?
Augusta, Missouri is a small town in the city of St. Charles. It’s home to dozens of wineries, breathtaking scenery, and delicious local restaurants. Augusta has earned the American Viticulture Area title! This means that the grounds are perfect for growing wine grapes. Interestingly, this title was earned eight months before the Napa area… but who’s counting!
In Augusta, you’ll spend your day nestled along the winding Missouri River with friends and family. Here, you’ll taste internationally known wines that hide out in the Missouri countryside.
If wine tasting sounds like the perfect day trip, take a look at our property which is situated right in St. Charles, near Augusta!
Bonne Terre Mine
If you’re like the team at JZ, you’ve spent countless hours scrolling through travel magazines, dreaming of faraway lands filled with close up wildlife, adventure opportunities lurking around every corner, and hundreds of years of history. If that sounds like you, the day trip from Saint Louis to Bonne Terre Mine is perfect for you!
Named one of National Geographic’s Best Adventures, Bonne Terre, which is French for good earth, was founded by French Miners back in 1750.
If you’re the adventure seeker in your group, you can explore the underwater world of lead mines year-round, which have been left exactly as they were when last used in 1961. Keep an eye out for abandoned ore cats, picks, shovels, mining structures, and even a few lunch pails (who forgot to take theirs home?!).
But perhaps being on the ground is more your speed, Bonne Terre Mine has a narrated walking tour and a boat ride throughout the mines underground tunnels.
Great River Road
The Great River Road is known as the best-kept secret in the United States… but we’re here to tell you all its secrets!
The Great River Road is a collection of both state and local roads that wind down and flow alongside the Mississippi River through TEN states, those of which include Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
Even though the surface area of this “day trip” would take you much more than one day to complete, we highly recommend touring the Great River Road, at least on the Missouri roads, for the most picturesque views (family photo opp?)!
Ste. Genevieve
European culture and decent might be a little closer than we thought…
Instead of traveling 12 hours or 4,000 miles in the middle seat of an airplane to enjoy French culture, travel 60 miles from Saint Louis city center to Ste. Genevieve! Ste. Genevieve is the first permanent European settlement in the United States, located right here in Missouri.
This small town is currently taking over the tourism world due to its antique and specialty shops, fine dining, and french heritage art events happening all year. The French brought over their culture, fine food and all, and it was here to stay!
Hannibal, Missouri
Travel from French history, art, and fine dining (and perhaps a few glasses of French wine), to the All-American village of Hannibal, Missouri, home of the one and only Mark Twain. The famous American writer not only grew up here, but Hannibal, and it’s winding caves, served as inspiration for much of his writing.
Head to the Mark Twain Museum, where you can see exactly where Twain sat to write his novels, and even the typewriter he created all his work on. When you’re finished learning about the history of the town and writer, watch the sunset on the Mark Twain Riverboat, gliding down the Mississippi river.
Eureka, Missouri
No day trip is complete without a few ups and downs along the way… and by that we mean roller coasters!
Eureka Missouri is home to 6 Flags amusement park, here to give the whole family some excitement and adventure that rivals your favorite amusement park rides from all over the world.
The word Eureka is about finding joy and excitement during new adventures, and that’s exactly what will be delivered during your day trip to Eureka!
Johnson’s Shut-Ins
Johnson’s Shut-ins is an all-natural attraction sitting right outside of Saint Louis. Long ago, this natural landscape was actually created by erupting volcanic activity (we couldn’t believe it either!), where now, natural pools, rapids, and waterfalls make for a fun adventure!
Whether you want to go for a swim or take a hike, there’s plenty of intriguing spots for anyone in your group to enjoy.
Now that your next day trip from Saint Louis is planned, and you can leave the accommodation up to JZ Vacation Rentals.
Our recommended vacation rentals for your next trip to Saint Louis, Missouri:
Lovely Three Bedroom, One Bathroom Home:
This beautiful home is a 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom home located in a perfect location. Close to forest park, the Saint Louis Zoo, and many local restaurants, this home sits next to Franz park – a great place for a dog lover.
Book your stay!
We can’t wait to see you in Saint Louis!
Every time I think of Fall, I smell freshly baked pies and imagine seeing leaves turning countless shades of gold in the earthy air of an October morning.
The season continues to get better as soon as I take a seat at my laptop with a hot cup of coffee and discover the areas with the best travel value and the least holiday crowd rush. With cultural city celebrations and flamboyant food festivals, it’s the best time to exploit travel experiences avoiding the high costs.
I always look at 4 main things when I decide on the best place to be for Fall: nature, entertainment, unique characteristics and especially, any food-related events.
So, after diligently and zealously peering through countless wonderful resources available online, I have uncovered the perfect vacation destination that caters to all my needs. From breathtaking sights filled with lush, vibrant foliage, to electric entertainment energy in multiple multi-cultural melting pots around the metropolitan area, to mouth-watering delights and the artistry involved in brewing pure liquid gold, here are 5 of the best things to do in fall in St Louis.
Missouri Botanical Garden
As temperatures cool off, it’s finally starting to feel like autumn but I wanted my eyes to know that it’s Fall as well, so it was time to enjoy some bold fall foliage. With red, orange, and yellow leaves crunching under my feet accompanied with grasses, shrubs, and showy berries, the 79 acres of the impressive horticultural display at the Missouri Botanical Garden and to my surprise, it also had some signature events and the luxury to shop and dine.
The locals call it Mobot (it rhymes with robot) and head here to wander all of the specialty gardens. It was so peaceful that I could even meditate by a waterfall in the Japanese Garden and I soon realized that was not for me as I began to doze off which made me want to explore the futuristic-sounding Climatron (a domed greenhouse). That was nothing short of adventure since a vibrant tropical rainforest thrives inside the Climatron conservatory, while the adjoining Temperate House is home to a multitude of Mediterranean species. I also found out that the Japanese Garden covers 14 acres, making it one of the largest Japanese strolling gardens in North America.
Fall in St Louis Zoo
Bears, beers, and bands! I, personally do not like zoos but upon discovering that it was recently voted Best Zoo and America’s Top Free Attraction, I wanted to see was the commotion was all about. The Saint Louis Zoo is doing a great job in connecting people to animals.
Apart from the good vibes of the Fall season, I got to enjoy the scheduled daily events and was a bit sad when I heard that I was going to miss all the special events throughout the season. The company of wildlife, including both rare and endangered species really made a huge difference from the usual crowd of people.
At one point I got tired before I got to explore everything because the Zoo is 90 acres large, full of animal exhibits, attractions, shopping, and dining. This is miles apart from your normal zoo with caged animals because I found Zoo activities and programs for people of all ages and abilities.
Annually, approximately 3 million visitors get the opportunity to experience 16,000+ animals in the Zoo’s care and frankly speaking, I’m not surprised. The Zoo’s innovative approaches to animal management, wildlife conservation, research, and education really make a difference from the normal depressing zoo atmosphere. The best part of this experience was that it was absolutely free. I wanted to go back again and I would have if my stay hadn’t been so short.
Budweiser Brew House
The history of the Budweiser Brew House had me giggling like a toddler on Christmas especially when I heard that it offers 239 beer taps, from Budweiser—proudly brewed in St. Louis since 1876—to new and exciting beers I’ve yet to try.
I am a huge fan of the uniqueness factor and I felt like I struck gold when I heard about the self-serve 21-foot Tap Wall featuring a variety of brews. I was determined to go on an adventure for my taste buds by pouring and exploring generations and generations of beers. With the help of an in-house beer ambassador, I got to visit the Tap Wall and watch as their chosen tap dispenses a perfectly chilled beer as I breathed the scents heavily.
If you’re looking for a unique dining experience, from wings and lobster tacos to St. Louis-style ribs, fresh salads and more, each Budweiser Brew House menu item was created by a chef with a specific beer pairing in mind. At this point, my mind was blown, I obviously went with the suggested beer with my entrée even though my favorites were slightly tempting but had an absolutely stellar dining experience by following the suggestions of the chef.
Pi Pizzeria
Love at First Bite. Normal people have a bucket list of activities but I have a bucket list for food and this was an addition for all ages and a perfect fit for Fall. Proud to say that my mouth is watering as I type this out, but a visit to the home of the irrationally delicious deep dish and thin cornmeal crust pizza, paired with prime craft beers, is definitely a highlight of my life.
Pi Pizzeria is the first place that should come to mind when you think of St.Louis style pizza. It’s a prime example of first-rate pizza and it was born in St. Louis on Pi Day March 14, 2008. Pi Pizzeria definitely satisfied my appetite of being a modern urban consumer who was seeking high quality “real” pizza at reasonable prices in a distinct and service-oriented environment.
Famous for being Former President Obama’s go-to for pizza, everyone loves the signature cornmeal crust that they are famous for but my favorite bit was having the option to design my very own pizza, making it an unparalleled experience.
Three Sixty Rooftop Bar
Cooler temperatures and shorter days really kept pushing me to simply curl up and stay home for dinner since I had everything I needed to make dinner at the JZ Vacation Rentals home. However, I thought of all the things that I’d miss out on, such as some of the great food and ambiance that the St. Louis restaurant scene has to offer during the fall and winter months.
This hidden treasure was a lucky find based on a hunch and is located at the top of the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark. On my last day in Saint Louis, like the last days of any vacation, I didn’t want to leave and this place presented the perfect goodbye. Three Sixty gave me sweeping views in all directions – including a birds’ eye view into Busch Stadium. With a cocktail in hand and a tasty bite to savor, it is the perfect perch to take in the St. Louis Cardinals, the Gateway Arch, the mighty Mississippi and the surrounding sites of St. Louis – both near and far.
This rooftop bar is the ultimate in chic. In addition to the high-end menu, two-story waterfall, and stellar views, I also noticed the patio’s classy fire pits and fire-lit bars. This place made me feel so fancy that everything felt like it was moving in slow-mo. It was the perfect send off the city could have offered.
Saint Louis truly offered an amazing Fall experience and JZ Vacation Rentals was close to all the highlights of my journey. Since most of their homes are consistent in terms of comfort, safety, and trust becoming a hermit will be the last thing you want to do.