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View Full Version : Tell me about Clearwater Beach and Tampa



castlegirl
08-10-2007, 07:58 PM
Our family is looking into some other non-Disney vacation places in Florida. The Clearwater Beach area caught my eye. We're thinking about sometime in late winter/early Spring, possibly Easter weekend. We thought we might even try to catch a MLB spring training game in the area.

What are some must sees in the area?

Any good restaurants you suggest?

How is the beach?

Anyone stay at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort? Do you recommend any others?

Thanks in advance for your help!:thumbsup:

chefmickey3
08-10-2007, 08:39 PM
In my opinion the Clearwater area (Sand Key beach in particular) is a piece of heaven on earth. The sand is white and the water clear blue. We have stayed at the Radisson Sand Key and a condo in Indian Rocks Beach. I highly recommend the area. The Sheraton is in a great location and looks nice.

As for things to do, I don't know what your family's interests are but besides the beach, we have done the Clearwater Aquarium (they resucue dolphins and the dolphin show was amazing!), the piers in Clearwater and St. Pete, a baseball game is always fun (esp. during spring training; we did a Devilrays game during the summer). Other families were raving about the Tampa Zoo, but we haven't tried it yet. We love eating at Crabby Bills (not fine dining but awesome seafood). There are several locations but our favorite is across from the pier in Clearwater. You then can walk to the pier from the restaraunt.

I am sure there are things I am missing. You won't regret a vacation to Clearwater and staying just south of Clearwater you get the best beaches. We will be returning in two years. Disney is still our favorite but we want our kids to know and love the beach and Clearwater has ruined the Jersey shore for us!

mickeysworld
08-10-2007, 09:10 PM
Our family is looking into some other non-Disney vacation places in Florida. The Clearwater Beach area caught my eye. We're thinking about sometime in late winter/early Spring, possibly Easter weekend. We thought we might even try to catch a MLB spring training game in the area.


Thanks in advance for your help!:thumbsup:

What are some must sees in the area?

The Dali Museum in St. Pete, The Florida Aquarium in Tampa is great, not huge but loads of fun with a great little splash park outside for the kids to cool off in. Piers in St. Pete and Clearwater, kinda tacky in a fun, touristy way, friends have done the Pirate Cruise and said it was a blast. The Nature Coast, just north of the Clearwater/Tampa area has some springs you can explore and maybe even get to swim with a manatee or two! And, even though you are talking non-Disney vacation, if you get the urge, the world is only 90 miles away!


Any good restaurants you suggest?
Crabby Bills as mentioned is fun, there are several locations some beach-side, some not. Salt Rock Grill in Indian Rocks is good. The Columbia at the top of the St. Pete Pier is good and has a great view of the bay.

How is the beach?
White sand, warm water, hardly any waves, lovely. Just don't feed the seagulls please!

Anyone stay at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort? Do you recommend any others?
Same friends that went on the Pirate cruise stayed at the Sand Key I believe and it was your typical chain hotel although, I don't believe their hotel was on the beach. I would highly recommend getting a place on the beach. There are nice condos on Indian Rocks Beach and if you come during the late winter you should be able to get a decent deal.

5fromabove
08-10-2007, 09:20 PM
My Dad lives in Clearwater/Largo area and we just loved it when we visited a few years ago in November. The beach is gorgeous...soft, soft, soft white sand. The pier area is cool. There's also a zoo in the area that is not as popular as the Tampa one called the Lowry Park Zoo (they have a website). It was voted the #1 Family Friendly Zoo in America. I hear you can get extremely close to giraffes and they can eat out of your hand. Over 2,000 animals. Anyway, back to the other attractions...DH and I took 3 of our kids to Busch Gardens, that was great. We'd love to go there again sometime. Also, we ate at a great restaurant ON the beach called Frenchy's. :) Have fun planning...oh and did I mention how SOFT the sand is?!?!? :)

Hammer
08-11-2007, 10:55 PM
I lived in St. Petersburg until I was a teenager, Most of my mother's family lives in Tampa and my parents retired in 2004 and moved back down there, settling in Clearwater. So, I have a great deal of experience with the area.

I love the beaches in the area; my favorite is Indian Shores. The Sheraton Sand Key was a beautiful resort, though it has been many years since I have been there. It is in a prime location. Regarding restaurants, Crabby Bill's is fun. I also like the Columbia on Clearwater Beach for Spanish food. Salt Rock Grill was fine, but it is not a favorite.

You mentioned Spring Training. The Philadelphia Phillies train in Clearwater, the Toronto Blue Jays train in Dunedin (5 minutes from the Phillies) and next year is the last year the Devil Rays will spring train in St. Pete (2009 they will start training in Port Charlotte). If you want to cross the Howard Frankland Bridge, the Yankees training facility is in Tampa, though tickets are hard to come by.

murphy1
08-15-2007, 12:14 PM
I left there at 30 ten years ago, my hometown. SandKey is gorgeous!! I also like Dunedin. Make sure you get over to Honeymoon Island and Caladesi, they are great! There are some great places to eat up that way, Kelly's on Main in Dunedin good in day and turns into a Martini bar at night, in Ozona there's a great local place called Molly Goodheads, if you venture to St. Pete Bch, go to the Hurricane or Sea Critters and then go out to Ft. DeSoto to see the Spanish Fort (this area is so much like Pirates of Caribbean) and the beach here was the #1 beach in America two years ago. Have a great time!