Tampa, FL: 9 Awesome Things To Do for an Amazing Visit

Much to the enjoyment of locals and visitors, Tampa is beach-friendly city practically all year-round. The ever-popular Clearwater Beach is a must visit to those craving a beautiful beach with a number of restaurants and clubs for a night out. Local favorites that are a bit away from the buzz but still just as beautiful include: Indian Rocks Beach in Pinellas County and Honeymoon Island State Park. Pay a visit to any of these beaches for an experience you can’t find anywhere else.

One of the most visited theme parks in America, Busch Gardens Tampa is a 335 acre African themed park with a speciality for adrenaline inducing roller coasters. Favorites include “SheiKra”, which has a 200 ft high monster with a 90 degree plummet, and “Montu”, the twisting roller coaster that has seven inversions. Though the roller coasters now draw in the crowds, Bush Gardens started its life as an animal park and remains today one of the largest zoos in North America, home to 12,000 animals including giraffes, hippos and cheetahs.

Opened in 1957, Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo is spread out over 63 acres of land and is Florida’s center for wildlife conversation. The zoo is also operated by the Lowry Park Zoological Society, a non-profit, charitable organization. Lowry Park offers educational experiences for schoolchildren throughout the city and state. Come to the zoo to see a diversity of animals from nearly every continent in the world.

Down on Channelside is the Florida Aquarium, home to thousands of animals and plants from all over the world. The aquarium is an educational center for students across the state, and has large plots of simulated environments compatible to the species of animals and plants it houses in each exhibit. Check out the large coral roof community in the aquarium, which is housed in a 500,000 gallon tank.

If you’re wanting to get a little bit of fresh air beside the ocean, then you’ll want to head over the Bayshore Boulevard. It’s the world’s longest sidewalk, running right alongside the view of the bay, and you can walk it or run it at your own pace. If you’re lucky, you’ll catch dolphins swimming in the water or the odd Manatee floating by slowly. It’s the perfect spot for a romantic stroll or a bike ride to get a bit of excersize while in one of the biggest cities in the state. It runs 7.2 km in total. Recommended by Lydia Picknell