Tampa Travel Forum

Hello,

My question is... Can you send me directions/information on how to get from the Econo Lodge on Busch St to the Tampa Convention Center? Does the HART trolley go that way and how much is the fair? What time does the transit start and end Monday thru Fridays?

Thanks
Dr. Victor Brown
Upcoming visiting guest

I will be visiting Tampa soon and wanted to know where some of the best vantage points are for taking pictures of the downtown skyline. I know that in the immediate area is a Riverwalk (or some portion of one), Harbour Island, Davis Islands, Channelside, Bayshore Blvd., Hyde Park Village, the University of Tampa, and the financial district, but I am not sure about the walkability of all these areas and what kinds of vantage points they offer. In other words, if you were going to take photos of downtown Tampa, where would you go? There will be two children with us, so I certainly would be looking for places that have sidewalks or are otherwise pedestrian-friendly. I appreciate any feedback. Thanks.

For tonight and tomorrow night, 3/26 and 3/7, is a second floor room available?

I have a conference at St Pete's beach until 1 July, and was planning to hang around a few more days until 4 July. Is there anything interesting happening there? What about the hotel and traffic situation? Will rooms run out fast and also flights out of Tampa? What about airport situation?

Oh, one last thing, what's temp like during that time? Thanks.

Will arrive at end of April.

I would like a place in beachfront and have free shuttle to tampa airport. - hate to drive

The price is below $100 per night. Is it possiable to save money?

hey guys!!

im planning a trip to tampa in march..ive never been there and im coming from canada. I would like to stay by clearwater beach...can anyone tell me if the hotels are far away?..what the weather is like now?..are there malls near by??
any recommendations????

thanks!!
any information would be helpful!!

Hello all. I have searched the forums and tips but am still unable to determine if 3.5 hour layover is enough time to leave the airport. I have read in the VT tips that "Tampa" is only 5 miles from the airport but I have also read that cabs and public transport are scarce and traffic can be a bear.
We will arrive at 2:30 and then fly out at 6pm on a Saturday. I was hoping we could at least get out of the airport for an hour or two. Maybe see something or grab a quick bite and get back to the airport at 5pm.
Any input?

Hi,
I have a group of 20 coming into Tampa to go on a cruise. We were all coming in a couple of days early to enjoy some things that Tampa has to offer. I was hoping someone had some good suggestions as to where to stay. We were hoping to avoid having to rent a car. Is there any hotel that is convenient to some attractions and things to do w/o having to get a car. We were hoping to find a hotel w/ shuttle service that would also take us to the cruise terminal. We were also hoping to stay in the price range of about 85.00-150.00 a night. If you have any suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated! I'm so lost and I want this trip to be so good for everyone. Most of the people that are traveling have never taken a trip before and are so incredibly excited!! Thanks in advance for your help!!!!! It is most appreciated!!! Teresa

Will arrive 11/20/07 in Tampa; need to know where to stay $60+ for the night preferably somewhere near a rental car office where I can pick up a rental car the following day. Two adults; don't need spa, valet parking, yada yada - just a place to sleep for the night. If restaurant nearby that's great; if not we'll cab it to somewhere. Any and all suggestions are welcome. I'll return the favor if you travel to NH. Thanks in advance for your help! Nancy in central New Hampshire.

Hello All!

We're planning a trip to the Tampa area in late October (2 adults/2 kids). We're planning on a day or two at Busch Gardens, then wanted to relax on a beach somewhere (or vice versa). Can anyone recommend some reasonably priced hotels on or near a beach close to Tampa (let's say within an hour or so)?

Any other advise or recommendations regarding the area would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

J

What is the best route to take from Orlando (probably around Disney area-haven't picked the hotel yet)to the Tampa baseball game? It will be around 3pm on a Thursday. We will be driving back that night. I've mapquested, but any "local" hints would be great.
Also, anything else we should really see in Tampa, as it may be the one and only time we are there?

Hi,

My wife and I, along with our two boys (10&7) need a hotel for one night near the airport. We aren't fussy, just want something cheap and clean with two double beds close to the airport. A place to eat nearby would be of benefit also if the hotel does not have a restaurant.

Thanks

Will be in Tampa end of Sept. Looking for a beach nearby that might have some fairly good size waves, not for surfing but for swimming.

Does anyone know if there are any luggage storage facilities near downtown Tampa (like at the greyhound or train station)? thanks

Hello,
We are looking for hotels between the fairgrounds and Crowne Plaza hotel. We have a big NSRA SE Nationals there in Oct. They will probably cruise Martin Luther King and we want a hotel on this street so we can sit out and watch the cars. Great show...all come!!
Thanks in advance,
O

We live in the north of England and want to go to Clearwater in April 2008 can anyone tell me the cheapest way to get there, ie straight from Manchester to a US city and then down to tampa, or would it be better to book from Man to NY on one ticket and then get an internal flight down. I have looked online and the cheapest tickets I can find are £525. I was under the impression the earlier you booked the cheaper the tickets, or am I wrong.
Can anyone help please
Thanks Chris

I'm looking for a good beach near Tampa/Clearwater for shell searching this coming weekend. I'll be staying along Indian Rocks Beach. Any ideas?

My wife and I and our three year old duaghter are plannig a trip to North Redington Beach mid May and would love to have some suggestions for things to do and not to do....we love the beach, shopping, culture and of course dining. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

We are traveling from the (currently)very cold province of Nova Scotia and are looking forward to some heat! (We just had a blizzard a few weeks back...YIPES!)

Also any tips on doing a day trip to disney would be a big help....we will have rental car and want to at least have a few pics of our little girl with the big mouse nothing much more....this would just be a day trip.....our real purpose in taking the trip for the heat and the water!!

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

Randdog

My wife and kids and our three-year old children will be spending two nights in Tampa this June. We enjoy walking the riverwalks and historic San Marco district of our home city, Jacksonville, and are very interested in checking out Tampa's Bayshore Blvd. and Hyde Park neighborhood during our stay there. We were thinking of parking at Hyde Park Village one afternoon and making a walking triangle of South Dakota Ave., Bayshore Blvd. and Swann Ave. Of course, we have never been there so we don't know if that would be safe crime-wise, how long that might take, and if that would be a pedestrian friendly route. We have twin toddlers so we would want to make sure there are sidewalks. Does this sound like a feasible plan? Please provide us with the inside scoop on this part of Tampa. Also, does Hyde Park Village have any good but relatively inexpensive restaurants for dinner?

Thank you.

Steve

Traveling on Business to St Pete and Holiday FL in April. Could anyone recommend an area where to stay where one could walk to a nice area ie people watch, restaurants, pubs, natural beauty?

Hi there. Moving to Tampa in June 2007. Wondering about real driving time between downtown Tampa to Orlando Int'l Airport? Thanks.

Hello!

I will be visiting the Tampa area for 5 days in mid-may. We will be staying in downtown Tampa due to a conference on a couple of those day. I have a few questions:
1.)What is the best way to travel back and forth to Clearwater Beach or other beaches from downtown tampa? Is there a shuttle or should we rent a car?
2.)What days are the busiest at Clearwater Beach? Is there another beach we should check out that would be less congested?
3.)Are there any nice waterfront parks near downtown Tampa?

Thanks for any info you can provide!

Scott

Hi, I am moving to tampa this weekend, but dont know anything abt tampa. I want to be close to downtown, st. petersburg, and bradenton. So, reading through this forum I narrowed it down to Riverview or closer, and South Tampa. My reasoning is that I need activity, and closer to my wife's work. I need help from you guys.
1. How is Riverview? Anything good to do here.
2. What is the IT job scene in Tampa. I need to find a job yet, but have a few months time as I continuing to work for my current employer remotely.

Thanks for your help.

Hello and thanks for any help, we are arriving in Tampa on the evening of 9th March, will be hiring a car the next day for 7 days, than joining a cruise on the 18th March, will be back in Tampa for the night of the 1st April, flying out at 7am on the 2nd April. Hope to collect the car from Hertz at South Florida Ave (looks to be near downtown). What hotel should we stay at, and what street does the Downtown/Uptown connector trolley run in, also where do you get the Teco street car from. Is the complimentary catamaran cruise around the port worth doing?

I'm wondering where is good area to live and where i should avoid for sure. temple terrace sounds good but for now, it was a bit far for my convinience...so looking in more like in north tampa, north west area or something....after i get used to living in tampa then im planning to do a longer commute too.

If you can give me some street name or sections, I can look it up on map so that will be great!
is crossing areas of dale marbly HWY and hilsbough street or something...are they decent? how about dale and busch? or gunn HWY area? or more north area?
i'm looking for area where a young professional can afford and live safely...and hoping to understand the city a bit....so can avoid not to step into a bad areas without noticing...

also where is good shopping areas? any outlets?

thanks in advance!

Can anyone give me an idea what it's like to work in Clearwater and live in the suburbs, probably north of Tampa? I'm very close to accepting a position in Clearwater but I'm worried about traffic and commuting in from the burbs. Currently I live in Northern Virginia and traffic is a nightmare at just about any time of the week, so I'm no stranger to bad traffic.

I'm planning a trip to see some Yankees spring training games in March...I've never been to a spring training game before (never been to Tampa, either), so I was wondering if anybody here could give me advice on:
1. A hotel convenient for Legends Field (I was thinking of AmeriSuites Tampa Westshore)
2. Good restaurants near the field (I've researched two places named Crabby Bill's and Carrabba's Italian Grille)
3. Ticket-buying advice (They officially go on sale on January 5th, but if it's anything like buying regular season tix, my chances of getting good seats that way are small. Has anybody bought spring training tix on ebay or stubhub.com?)

Thanks for any help...happy new year, everyone!
Tara

I am going to Tampa May 3-7 2007. I would like to find some beachfront hotels, things to do, places to eat, etc. Any suggestions would be helpful!! thank you!

I'm going to Tampa for New Year's eve and wanted to know if i need to buy tickets in advance. I am interested in going to Ybor City and Channelside, and am driving from Orlando, but i didn't want to drive to Tampa only to find out i needed to buy tickets in advance. I did see Bannana Joe's is having a block party that is selling tickets, is that worth going to? Are there any other block parties worth going to? Thank you!

Hi I am intending to do a roadtrip from Miami to Indiana during the post-christmas-new year period and will be passing by Tampa and staying for abt 2 days to sightsee.

Can someone recommend what I can do there and whether the beaches are suitable to visit. Would it be too cold? Thanks.