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Your family is certain to enjoy a visit to Miami, Florida. Why? The great outdoors, fun attractions and a kid-friendly hotel.

You'll be forgiven if your image of Miami is of a frightened Elian Gonzales accosted by a gun-wielding federal agent, or of a stern-looking Secretary of State trying to explain the tortuous election that almost wasn't.  Truth is, Miami is a very family-friendly place, rich in cultural diversity and just plain fun.  Perhaps it's the pervasive influence of the Latin culture with its multigenerational families, close and comfortable with each other.

Maybe it's the warm climate that encourages relaxation, or the fact that most of Miami's family attractions are built around the outdoors, incorporating palm trees, water and open sky.  Whatever the reason, it's a fun and affordable place for a long weekend, or even a full week. 

Most of the really good, large, beachfront hotels have smart and well designed Kids Clubs of one sort or another, a trend we saw start at the Caribbean resorts and move to the States, in recognition that family travel is a huge market.

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Some kids programs are outstanding, like the one at the Bal Harbour Sheraton (305/865-7511, 866/716-8106) a half-hour drive from the airport. Somewhat upscale but never pretentious, the Bal Harbor has managed to create the right mix of luxury and accessibility. Surrounded by palm trees, carefully placed and sculptured water falls, pools inhabited by variously colored fish, rope bridges, flowering plants and wonderfully terraced walkways, the Bal Harbor is beautiful and classy. 

At the same time, however, there is a sort of "creative chaos" to the place. A steel drum duo plays live by the heated pool (itself a marvel of pastel bridges and islands) making it impossible not to move with the rhythm. Somewhere, kids are singing "Happy Birthday" to Amanda, which the musicians pick up and render in Calypso. The shrieks of children trying to break the Piñata at Amanda's party mix with the cries of the tropical birds and the laugher of guests, so the entire "feel" is one of care, fun and spontaneity.

For adults, the resort has a fully equipped Exercise Room and Spa, where I had one of the best, well-deserved massages of my life. The staff, naturally gracious and helpful, are comfortable with the guests, their jobs and each other. 

Plan an afternoon in the town of Bal Harbor, which boasts some elegant shops, too rich for my blood but exciting to look at. Oxygene Mini-Kids Shop, tucked among the outdoor cafes and boutiques (in the Bal Harbor "Mall") is a  one-of-a-kind children's clothing shop. And there is Versace, Tiffany's, Lacoste, Gap Kids, and so on. 

Situated a few feet from the ocean you will find the Bal Harbor Kids Club where the staff is CPR-trained and educated in childhood development. The director points out that the objective is to teach the little ones but let them have fun, with activities like arts and crafts classes (using only the natural materials of the land and ocean) and water basketball for the older children. Apparently, around Halloween, the Haunted House is as scary as it gets.

Look for that maddeningly funny little frog, Loqui, who grins out at everyone from the colorful brochures, T-shirts and signs that invite parents to the Harbor Kids Club.