Tampa - Family vacation ideas

[momandkidslovedisney]

What are some fun things to do in and around the Tampa area? The vacation party will consist of a DH, DW, DD11, DD9, and DS7.

Thanks!

 

[mommycrawford]

I believe Siesta Key beach is not too far from Tampa, and it is lovely! Great for kite flying too!

 

[flamom]

tampa has a great zoo,they also have an aquarium that my kids love, there's also a science museum and of course Busch Gardens.

 

[Luvchefmic]

Bush Gardens is really nice! They also have tours (about $40.00 each I believe above the park admission) I did this about 2 years ago, Sunset Safari, a small group of us went in an open jeep and got right up to the animals. Hand feeding the giraffes was especially fun & the pictures are fantastic, they even have a photgrapher that takes wonderful close-ups (seperate purchase but so worth it) I think if you did a Sunrise Safari it also includes breakfast. We had beer and snacks in the late afternoon one.

Whatever you do have a great time!

 

[Luvchefmic]

Oh! you can always check www.visittampabay.com for alot of info

 

[budbeerlady]

The aquarium was really fun. We spent the afternoon there after our cruise. We plan to take Dd sometime for a weekend away.

We bought discount tickets across the drive at the cruise desk, I think we saved $3 or 4 a person. They have a little kids water play area there I think Dd would love. And we plan to do the zoo and maybe Busch Gardens. I got a great Priceline deal on the Grand Hyatt Tampa bay, it was a little bit away from the aquarium but for $39 I didnt care.

 

[melsherard]

I highly reccomend Busch Gardens. We have had a blast every time we have gone. Also, Clearwater Beach is wonderful!

 

[doclegler]

Captain Memo's Pirate Cruise in Clearwater Beach is a lot of fun. All the beaches in the area are great and SO beautiful.
Our last trip we drove North to Caladesi Island, a secluded beach you need to ride a ferry to get to. It was definitely worth the cost of the ferry! We saw armadillo and dolphins, and collected amazing shells along the coast.
The entire gulf coast is so nice, what's not to love!!

 

[happybratpack]

We took the Egmont Key Ferry out for the day, it was SO much fun. They take you to Egmont Key, a small island outside of Tampa, and you can swim, snorkel, explore the island, etc. We paid a little extra and in the middle of the day the ferry took us to deeper water to snorkel, dive for sand dollar beds. It was the kid's favorite day that vacation. (ages 10, 7)

http://www.egmontkey.org/

When we did this we were based out of Anna Maria Island, just south of Tampa. It was gorgeous and there was tons to do.

http://www.annamariaislandchamber.org/


From Anna Maria:

From Egmont Key:

I have tons of pics of both places if interested.

Have fun!

 

[Tinkerbell3014]

Although I haven't been there in many years, we would always go on vacation to Clearwater Beach. A short distance from Tampa. We enjoyed Busch Gardens and the Aquarium. Clearwater has a great beach and also a Pirate Cruise. Have a wonderful vacation!

 

[busy mom]

We love to visit the sponge docks at Tarpon Springs. Lots of little shops to look in, and Greek pastries to enjoy. We took one of the boat rides to see how they find sponges, my 8 year old son had a blast.

 

[ibob52]

Our week long Tampa vacation was a mix of ... Busch Gardens (3xs) ... Clearwater Beach (with car rental) ... MOSI = museum of science and industry (childrens museum) ...

 

[HeatherFeather]

If you are going to be in the area between Nov 1 and April 15, please consider a visit to TECO's Manatee Viewing Center in Apollo Beach. It is only a few miles off of I-75 and is totally FREE. There is a viewing platform, manatee museum, tidal walk, butterfly garden and some other neat activities. There are other animals besides manatees there....today I saw two types of rays, black tip sharks, pelicans and other birds, as well as some crabs and other fish. I am a volunteer docent at the center and I just love it. Here is the website:

http://www.tampaelectric.com/manatee/

 

[mh1973]

We took the Egmont Key Ferry out for the day, it was SO much fun. They take you to Egmont Key, a small island outside of Tampa, and you can swim, snorkel, explore the island, etc. We paid a little extra and in the middle of the day the ferry took us to deeper water to snorkel, dive for sand dollar beds. It was the kid's favorite day that vacation. (ages 10, 7)

http://www.egmontkey.org/

When we did this we were based out of Anna Maria Island, just south of Tampa. It was gorgeous and there was tons to do.

http://www.annamariaislandchamber.org/


From Anna Maria:

From Egmont Key:

I have tons of pics of both places if interested.

Have fun!

Where did you stay on Anna Maria?

 

[happybratpack]

Where did you stay on Anna Maria?

We stayed at Cedar Cove Resort in the Sand Castle Penthouse. It was fabulous!!

http://www.cedarcoveresort.com/

 

[MMitchell29]

We stayed at Cedar Cove Resort in the Sand Castle Penthouse. It was fabulous!!

http://www.cedarcoveresort.com/

Beautiful pictures, Is this near Tampa?

 

[Jesussavedme]

Well, there's MOSI (Museum of Science & Industry)
http://www.mosi.org/

There's always Busch Gardens
http://www.buschgardens.com/Bgt/default.aspx


There's Adventure Island (which is right next to Busch Gardens)
http://www.adventureisland.com/Ai/default.aspx

Lowry Park Zoo
http://www.lowryparkzoo.com/


Tampa is very close to St. Petersburg Beach/Clearwater Beach.
We like to go walk around the Don CeSar hotel and sight see, and stop in their ice cream parlour.
http://www.loewshotels.com/en/Hotels/St-Pete-Beach-Resort/Overview.aspx

The Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary is on Redington Beach (between St. Pete Beach and Clearwater Bch), about a 40 minute drive from Tampa.
http://www.seabirdsanctuary.com/
It's a smallish sanctuary, but very neat to see the birds they care for.

Our favorite mall is in New Tampa...
http://www.theshopsatwiregrass.com/
and
http://www.groveshopping.com/

You are an hours drive from Prime Outlets, a super outlet mall in Ellenton,
http://www.primeoutlets.com/

and from there, 20 minutes from the BEST little Amish restaurant!!!
Yes, there are Amish in Sarasota, no horse & buggies, they ride 3 wheeled bikes. YODER'S RESTAURANT - watch the video on their site...
http://www.yodersrestaurant.com/
Be prepared to wait in line ! It's a popular place and oh, try the pot roast and the mashed potatoes, and the stuffing and the chicken and the shoo fly pie and the ........ we love this place!!


The Florida Aquarium is in Tampa
http://www.flaquarium.org/

The Pier is a neat place to visit, about 20 minutes from Tampa, straight down 275
http://www.stpete-pier.com/

The Rays play at the Trop (Tropicana Field) right near the Pier
http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=tb

And another super restaurant, Kobe Steakhouse.
We've been to the one near Disney and the one on Dale Mabry in Tampa is definitely our favorite.
Oh the food is incredible!
http://www.kobesteakhouse.com/

Sight Seeing, Sunset, Dolphin Watching and Dinner cruises:
http://www.starlitecruises.com/

That's about all I can come up with for now, have fun!
Let me know if you have any questions!

 

[budbeerlady]

Wow, we will need more than a long weekend when we go back!

 

[TikiGoddess07]

Lowry Park Zoo is FABULOUS. We never miss going there with our kids (ages 5 and 7). They have wonderful animal exhibits (you can feed a giraffe!), interactive water play areas, kiddie rides, all in a very well kept and themed zoo.

We visit my in-laws in Seminole every summer. Thanks for posting this thread -- I am hoping to do some different things this summer...

Kathy

 

[caribear]

and from there, 20 minutes from the BEST little Amish restaurant!!!
Yes, there are Amish in Sarasota, no horse & buggies, they ride 3 wheeled bikes. YODER'S RESTAURANT - watch the video on their site...
http://www.yodersrestaurant.com/
Be prepared to wait in line ! It's a popular place and oh, try the pot roast and the mashed potatoes, and the stuffing and the chicken and the shoo fly pie and the ........ we love this place!!

Oh I love Yoders!!! They have the best chicken salad...coleslaw..and their homemade pies are sooo yummy!!! We always go when we are in Siesta Key!! Sometimes we go down for the day...as we live about 1 1/2 hours away...other times we stay for the weekend.

We have been to Caladesi Island for the day, Siesta Key for long weekends (beautiful beaches!!) and Anna Maria Island for a week over Thanksgiving. Anna Maria is very laid back...there's a free trolley that goes up and down the island....but not much to do without driving into Tampa or off the Island. A great place for a relaxing beach vacation if you want to avoid the hussle/bussle of the theme parks and other beaches.