Things To Do In Tampa, St. Petersburg, And Clearwater Beach
Keeping up with Pia and Alex! At this time we arrived in Tampa, and we stay here for a while. It’s a good location for exploring the town itself and go quickly to places nearby as such St. Petersburg or Clearwater. Well, we stayed here for two days. That is enough time to explore Tampa and get a first glimpse of what is going on in this town and to have a look at St. Pete and Clearwater.
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Day 12 – Tampa
Tampa Downtown and Riverwalk
But first things first! The day was meant to be to stay in Tampa*. No crazy driving day or to be stressed out because we want to check in somewhere before sunset. 😀
So we spent the day in Tampa, starting with a stroll at the Riverwalk. Which was a super brilliant activity because it is a gorgeous area with loving attention to detail designed path side by side with the river.
There are a lot of information signs and displays about Tampa´s history, a fantastic view of the river and the skyline. We watched at museums, the University of Tampa, the Cass Street bridge, and Manatees. At least, at a sign that this is a Manatee area. Unfortunately, again, we haven´t seen any of them. Two days of looking after them and still not one Manatee appeared. However, we walked down alongside the river and enjoyed this fabulous and relaxed day.
On the way back we walked through the downtown, grabbed a coffee at Starbucks and googled a further opportunity to watch some real Manatees. And we found one!!!
Manatee Viewing Center
The Manatee Viewing Center, located at the Big Bend Power Station in Apollo Beach, is a brilliant opportunity to watch Manatees. And the best thing is, it´s for free!! Undoubtedly, they appreciate any donations, but no admission fees as such to view the Manatees. The only thing you need is a little bit of luck. And this day, we were lucky!! Yeah!!
Day 13
St. Petersburg
The next day we explored the area around Tampa. We went to St. Petersburg* for a walk in the art district and had some delicious sweets from a French bakery. The art district is located around central avenue which you could find in the middle of downtown. It´s such a lovely, colorful and relaxed street with little shops and galleries.
But the best in St. Petersburg was the Sawgrass Lake Park. The park is a free possibility to view plants and wild animals like birds and alligators. We walked on elevated boardwalks winding through the maple swamp and ended up at an observation tower to get a panoramic view of the Sawgrass Lake. We found a big alligator with its babies, turtles, and some chicks with their mother in a nest. It was awesome. That was such an indescribable experience. This park is definitely worth a visit, and if you don´t, you have missed something.
Clearwater Beach
As pretty St. Pete and unbelievable the Sawgrass Lake Park was, as disappointing was Clearwater Beach*. We hoped to find one more beach with white sand and crystal blue water. Instead, it was just another touristy styled with high towers of hotel chains cluttered area where to expect one more packed beach with people laying on their beach towels as close as sardines in their can. However, we had a little walk at the beach, and on the Pier as long it was admission free.
Both of us were sure that we didn´t want to stay here. Therefore we hurried to flee to another more laid-back and silent place with something to eat, which we found at the Bahama Breeze restaurant near Tampa. I had some delicious Ahi Tuna with Nachos and an unbelievable delicious Guacamole and as a dessert a Bermuda-styled rum cake. The location offered an impressive overlook on to Tampa Bay and a literally Bahama breeze; we had a delicious dinner which made the experience in Clearwater beach almost be forgotten.
We headed back to our hotel in Tampa and called it a day with laying at the pool followed by a homelike evening watching TV.
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This post is so informative! I am going to Florida next month, to try to get away from the cold, and these places are definitely the ones to visit. I do hope, I can see some manatees!
Hey Anna, that’s awesome! It´s been way too long that I visited 😀 Let me know if you could see some! And what else you have experienced during your journey to Florida!
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That is such a beautiful area! We were just a little south of there recently in Longboat Key. The Gulf Coast is lovely!
I agree. I love the Gulf Coast area, especially, the beaches!
Nach Tampa habe ich es auf meiner Florida-Reise leider wegen Hurricane-Warnung nicht geschafft. Die Ecke steht definitiv auf meiner Bucket Liste. Außerdem steht das Tauchen mit den Manatees im Crystal River auf meinem Reisewunschzettel – on day, seufz.
Danke für Deinen Bericht und die schönen Fotos. Nun hab ich Fernweh…
Unbedingt, Tampa hat mich echt positiv überrascht. Ist auf jeden Fall eine Reise wert.