Hey y'all,
I'll be staying in the area for my first time visiting my parents. They're also pretty new to the area.
I would love to some recommendations for good restaurants, fun activities, and some reasonable day trips (we have a vehicle). I was planning on catching a lightnings game, and (hopefully) heading to Disneyland!
Posted Feb 19, 2019, 9:48 PM UTC
It depends on when you are coming. If you want a really unique experience, do a kayak/canoe trip down the Weeki Wachee from the spring to Roger's park. They pick you up and drive you back to your car. During spring, you are almost guaranteed to see a Manatee. Book in advance here...
https://weekiwachee.com/kayak-rentals/
Afterwards, watch the Mermaid Show at the Park. (after April 18)
I'm down here right now! My family isn't the most active/sporty type, but thank you for the suggestion!
Downtown St Pete. Walk along Beach Dr to Central Ave and then down Central Ave. There are cafes, coffee shops, breweries, art galleries, boutiques, etc. for a good 30 or so blocks. You'll love it here. Heaven on Earth, imo.
If you're looking for something super unique to do, Saturday, Feb 23, Florida's ONLY banked track roller derby league, Deadly Rival Roller Derby is having a bout! It's Rocky Horror Picture Show Themed. There's free beer, wine and jello shots!
Check out the event page here.
This actually looks really cool! You think it's the kind of event I can check out with my dad?
Absolutely! I'm not sure how old your dad is, but my dad is about 60 and loves roller derby.The Slayground is wheelchair accessible, and we have great viewing from around the track (I mention this because my dad is confined to a motorized scooter for the most part). Let me know if you have any questions, I'm happy to answer! :)
There's so much to do in Tampa Bay that you'll need to be a little more specific. Outdoors? Canoe? Boating? Shopping? Nudist colony? Heavy metal venue? What kind of food? Antiques? EArly bird dinner theater? Clay shooting? Cigar bars? Beaches? Beach bars? Beach themed bars? Beach bars with a jukebox? Beach bars with live music? BEach bars with a view? Dive bars?
Basically we have almost anything you want (with the exception of a freshwater spring and mountain bike trails). Other than that, let us know what's interesting to you and we'll be happy to respond.
These are very popular questions that are asked frequently, please check out the sidebar for plenty of info.
Mazzaro's
Mazzaro's
What is this place? It sorta just looks like a supermarket?
It has the best Italian food you'll find in st pete. You can either eat there or get food to go.
Disney is insanely busy (and expensive),and if you don't plan and get fast passes for rides you'll spend hours just waiting in lines. I do not get the appeal. Friends who go talk about how much advance planning is needed and it doesn't sound that great, but I guess lots of people love it.
So much to do around St. Pete and Tampa, explore Ft. Desoto, rent kayaks at Weedon Mangrove, Dali museum, Sunken Garden, spend time at the beaches (pass-a-grille is really nice).
Lightning games are awesome, pregame at a place called Hattricks before the game. It's filled with hockey fans. Leave plenty of time to enjoy the plaza outside the rink too, they have bars and bands out there. Get across the bridge to Tampa by 4pm at the latest.
Thanks for tips!
Just an FYI, Disney Land is in California, Disney world is in Orlando, and includes not only the Magic Kingdom but Epcot, animal kingdom and Hollywood studios. Sorry for the weird capitalizations I'm on mobile.
The Dali museum is awesome.
If you're only here for a week or so, and want to hit the local tourist hot spots you should check out citypass.com. for a little more than you'd pay for a Busch gardens ticket, you get a ticket to Busch gardens, zoo Tampa at Lowry Park, two aquariums and the chihuly art exhibit.
If you are a beer enthusiast I highly recommend the local loop in Tampa from brewbususa.com. for $10 you can hop on and off the Brew bus as many times as you like at multiple breweries and restaurants.
If you're looking for any specific recommendations, let us know and we'll try to help. The sidebar over there ----> does have a lot of good info. I'd also recommend a Google search for "Reddit Tampa X" where x is what you are interested in. These questions get asked a lot and some of the local folks get towed of answering the same questions