Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Florida > Tampa Bay
 [Register]
Tampa Bay Tampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 02-16-2014, 10:21 AM
 
Location: says MA on my license but can be found wandering the beaches of RI
1,432 posts, read 1,831,158 times
Reputation: 907

Advertisements

Before our latest snowstorm yesterday, I got together with a couple of girlfriends and it didn't take much to recruit them to come with me for a visit to the Tampa Bay area

I would love some input on "must-see" places, parks, restaurants, beaches to check out or comments on what I've loosely put together so far. I want to see somewhat of a varied list of things and areas because it's very possibly one of my friends might be interested in moving at some point as well.

Anyway, here is what I'm thinking of for day trips:
  • Clearwater (incl. Sunset Pier 60)
  • Sarasota (Caspersen and Siesta Key beaches, Myakka Canopy Walkway)
  • John's Pass Village and Boardwalk
  • Pass-A-Grille (incl. using the shuttle to Shell Key)
  • Fort DeSoto Park
  • St. Pete (Botanical Gardens, Grand Central District, Weedon Island Preserve, Rays game [of course!])
  • Tampa (100% open to suggestions)
  • other areas??
Thank you!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-16-2014, 10:32 AM
 
56 posts, read 110,606 times
Reputation: 184
You should really check out the Sponge Docks in Tarpon Springs for lunch at an authentic Greek restaurant... Hella's is excellent and their desserts are tremendous !! It is a very unique village to browse and shop in as well ...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-16-2014, 10:38 AM
 
Location: N.H Gods Country
2,360 posts, read 5,264,691 times
Reputation: 2015
If you go to the Sponge Docks try a Gyro at Platkas. You wont find better.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-16-2014, 10:52 AM
 
Location: The Northeast - hoping one day the Northwest!
1,107 posts, read 1,459,254 times
Reputation: 1012
One thing I've wanted to do since I moved here, but haven't got around to it yet is to go swimming/snorkeling w/ the manatees! It's up in Crystal River. I've heard from friends that it's a lot of fun!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-16-2014, 10:58 AM
 
Location: says MA on my license but can be found wandering the beaches of RI
1,432 posts, read 1,831,158 times
Reputation: 907
Ken & NY-TAMPA...thank you for the suggestion of Tarpon Springs. I've been concentrating so much on learning the area of St. Pete (which is where I plan on moving to) that I've skimmed over all the other wonderful areas and didn't realize 'til mapping it just now that it's under an hour's drive.

Both restaurants look like great choices. Fortunately the two friends I'll be traveling with both like to try new and different foods. And I've read Hella's as being a good choice several times in this forum.


Shorty, that sounds like fun. Do you know if there are any swamp boat tours in the area? I've taken the same tour two years in a row in Wakulla Springs and neither time disappointed. You're in an entirely different landscape, all natural and so beautiful. You're so close to the alligators, birds, turtles, etc.. At one point, the tour guide shut the engine off so we could drift and listen to all the nature sounds. It was incredible.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-16-2014, 12:13 PM
 
35,308 posts, read 52,504,060 times
Reputation: 31002
You can rent Kayaks or canoes at the Weeki Wachee theme park and float down the Weeki wachee river, very scenic and takes abour 4 hours,
Weeki Wachee Kayak Rental Florida Paddling Adventures
If you are in St Pete the Salvadore Dali museum is a treat especially with one of the many free guides that tell you the story behind many paintings.
The Dali Museum (Salvador Dali Museum, St Petersburg, Florida USA)
If you are into Manatees the Lowery Park Zoo in Tampa has an impressive display.Or it did the last time i was there.
http://www.lowryparkzoo.com/
Homossassa has manatee tours
.https://www.google.ca/#q=homosassa+m...rs&safe=active
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-16-2014, 02:17 PM
 
1,759 posts, read 2,176,317 times
Reputation: 742
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sunshinecc View Post
Before our latest snowstorm yesterday, I got together with a couple of girlfriends and it didn't take much to recruit them to come with me for a visit to the Tampa Bay area

I would love some input on "must-see" places, parks, restaurants, beaches to check out or comments on what I've loosely put together so far. I want to see somewhat of a varied list of things and areas because it's very possibly one of my friends might be interested in moving at some point as well.

Anyway, here is what I'm thinking of for day trips:
  • Clearwater (incl. Sunset Pier 60)
  • Sarasota (Caspersen and Siesta Key beaches, Myakka Canopy Walkway)
  • John's Pass Village and Boardwalk
  • Pass-A-Grille (incl. using the shuttle to Shell Key)
  • Fort DeSoto Park
  • St. Pete (Botanical Gardens, Grand Central District, Weedon Island Preserve, Rays game [of course!])
  • Tampa (100% open to suggestions)
  • other areas??
Thank you!

Do you know which hotel or ? you'll be staying? There are some great and cool places in the area. Have fun. YOU are so lucky.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-16-2014, 03:14 PM
 
Location: says MA on my license but can be found wandering the beaches of RI
1,432 posts, read 1,831,158 times
Reputation: 907
Quote:
Originally Posted by jambo101 View Post
You can rent Kayaks or canoes at the Weeki Wachee theme park and float down the Weeki wachee river, very scenic and takes abour 4 hours,
Weeki Wachee Kayak Rental Florida Paddling Adventures
If you are in St Pete the Salvadore Dali museum is a treat especially with one of the many free guides that tell you the story behind many paintings.
The Dali Museum (Salvador Dali Museum, St Petersburg, Florida USA)
If you are into Manatees the Lowery Park Zoo in Tampa has an impressive display.Or it did the last time i was there.
Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo | Voted #1 By Parents Magazine
Homossassa has manatee tours
.https://www.google.ca/#q=homosassa+m...rs&safe=active
I forgot about Lowery, I've seen it on several shows I've watched lately, they seem to do alot with rehabilitation. Kayaking on the river sounds very nice!

Quote:
Originally Posted by 071402 View Post
Do you know which hotel or ? you'll be staying? There are some great and cool places in the area. Have fun. YOU are so lucky.
We have an idea, we are going to be staying more inland St. Pete, to be more central to all the options we have (one of my friends has relatives in the greater Orlando area so she will be visiting with them as well).

Thank you. I do feel lucky that I have the opportunity to visit and to move when I get everything in order.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-17-2014, 09:13 AM
 
6,625 posts, read 5,038,993 times
Reputation: 3695
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shorty458 View Post
One thing I've wanted to do since I moved here, but haven't got around to it yet is to go swimming/snorkeling w/ the manatees! It's up in Crystal River. I've heard from friends that it's a lot of fun!
That water is freezing in the summer, right now you would probably need to be in the polar bear club to go in it, it's a cool float down the river but it's like 4 hours it's 2 hours too long imo.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-17-2014, 09:33 AM
 
Location: North of South, South of North
8,704 posts, read 10,951,287 times
Reputation: 5152
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sunshinecc View Post
Before our latest snowstorm yesterday, I got together with a couple of girlfriends and it didn't take much to recruit them to come with me for a visit to the Tampa Bay area

I would love some input on "must-see" places, parks, restaurants, beaches to check out or comments on what I've loosely put together so far. I want to see somewhat of a varied list of things and areas because it's very possibly one of my friends might be interested in moving at some point as well.

Anyway, here is what I'm thinking of for day trips:
  • Clearwater (incl. Sunset Pier 60)
  • Sarasota (Caspersen and Siesta Key beaches, Myakka Canopy Walkway)
  • John's Pass Village and Boardwalk
  • Pass-A-Grille (incl. using the shuttle to Shell Key)
  • Fort DeSoto Park
  • St. Pete (Botanical Gardens, Grand Central District, Weedon Island Preserve, Rays game [of course!])
  • Tampa (100% open to suggestions)
  • other areas??
Thank you!
Make sure you go over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2022 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Florida > Tampa Bay
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top