Any Tampa area people here? Hotel/attractions

[Ottakee]

I am hoping to fly to Tampa or Clearwater airport late October/early Nov with my girls to come and see their biological siblings we just located. One lives on Land O Lakes, one in St Petersburg, and 2 in Pinellas Park.

 

We would be looking for a SAFE hotel somewhere between them or possibly a hotel 2 nights north and 2 nights south. Since these siblings have not allet each other yet it would be too emotional and hard to stay with any of the families As right now they are basically strangers.

 

We don't need fancy at all but safety os a must as I will be traveling with the girls alone. One night on the water would.be lovely but not a must as we live 10 miles from one of the best fresh water beaches.

 

How is Tampa zoo and/or Aquarium? Any other cheap/free attractions we should check out? We don't want amusement parks, etc just something mh girls can do with their siblings.

 

They are 28, 26, 25, 24, 21 and 19 but all but the oldest has some special needs so things that younger teens like would be fine.

 

How about a SUN pass thing? Will I need that for driving around?

 

Any other hints/ideas? How is weather that time of year?

[Dmmetler]

Haslam's books is nice :)

[displace]

St Pete and pinellas park are close to each other, with land o lakes about 1.5 hours north east of there. If you stay in Tampa it will be 30-45 min to either area.

 

I don't have specific hotel recommendations. I like Tampa aquarium ("FL aquarium"), but st. Pete has one too. I haven't been there. Tampa zoo is nice. At those ages probably the beaches will be the best bet? There's a Salvador Dali museum which is nice. Tampa theatre may be an option, a theatre from the 1920's. It shows independent films and has neat decor. They seats are small though so consider that if size may be an issue (unless they remodeled).

 

Weather will be hot (summertime hot 90s) likely. Bring sunscreen. Sun pass can be billed to you via license plate (I'm sure rentals also have some charge system). It only costs a few dollars at Publix grocery store if you want to buy one, but the savings over a just few days may not warrant it, plus the hassle. If they like art, Tampa has an art museum that is free after a certain time on Fridays, and the area is nice to "hang out". I haven't been there though.

 

Most of my time in the area is focused on kid stuff :).

USF sometimes has things going on, like shows, and the science museum MOSI is in the area with a huge dome IMAX they might appreciate.

Edited August 14, 2016 by displace

[meena]

I think the previous comment may have confused Land O Lakes with Lakeland. Land O Lakes is north of Tampa and is about 40 minutes from Pinellas Park (longer during high traffic times, but certainly not 1.5 hours). You won't need a Sunpass for traveling in between those cities if you take the 275 and streets. The Veterans expressway is a north/south toll road that some maps may suggest to get to LOL but you can take alternate routes. They may take longer but might be worth it not to have to mess with the tolls.

 

I also think the weather will be milder than the suggested by the previous commenter. Toward the end of October, beginning of November will still be warm but not as crazy hot as it is now.

 

Zoo, FL Aquarium, and MOSI are all nice. Outdoor mini golf and gokarting places are fun. I'll try to come back with the name of the one in north Tampa. In Clearwater there is one called Celebration Station. ETA: In looking up the gokarting place in Tampa, I saw current reviews that said it isn't very good, so just disregard that suggestion. :blush:

 

Since the weather will probably be pretty nice, you might want to go to a park or beach which are our favorite free activities.

Edited August 14, 2016 by meena

[Ottakee]

Thanks. Free and cheap are good. We are coming from Michigan so high temps of 50 or more is great outdoor weather for us....heck 40 and sun is sweatshirt weather for us.

 

Is this a high tourist time or not? Hoping to find reasonably priced lodging.

 

Does Tamp have a large farmers/ethnic food market like St Petersburg's Saturday market? We enjoyed that and I would love to lunch on various ethnic and regional foods.

[displace]

I think the previous comment may have confused Land O Lakes with Lakeland. Land O Lakes is north of Tampa and is about 40 minutes from Pinellas Park (longer during high traffic times, but certainly not 1.5 hours). You won't need a Sunpass for traveling in between those cities if you take the 275 and streets. The Veterans expressway is a north/south toll road that some maps may suggest to get to LOL but you can take alternate routes. They may take longer but might be worth it not to have to mess with the tolls.

 

I also think the weather will be milder than the suggested by the previous commenter. Toward the end of October, beginning of November will still be warm but not as crazy hot as it is now.

 

Zoo, FL Aquarium, and MOSI are all nice. Outdoor mini golf and gokarting places are fun. I'll try to come back with the name of the one in north Tampa. In Clearwater there is one called Celebration Station. ETA: In looking up the gokarting place in Tampa, I saw current reviews that said it isn't very good, so just disregard that suggestion. :blush:

 

Since the weather will probably be pretty nice, you might want to go to a park or beach which are our favorite free activities.

Yes, land o lakes =/= Lakeland. Doh!

[displace]

Thanks. Free and cheap are good. We are coming from Michigan so high temps of 50 or more is great outdoor weather for us....heck 40 and sun is sweatshirt weather for us.

 

Is this a high tourist time or not? Hoping to find reasonably priced lodging.

 

Does Tamp have a large farmers/ethnic food market like St Petersburg's Saturday market? We enjoyed that and I would love to lunch on various ethnic and regional foods.

Relatively low touristy. Downtown Tampa has a lot of Cuban food in ybor city (pronounced ee-bore). I don't know about farmers markets, but you could probably go to some nurseries to pick your own food.