What better place for a Florida family vacation than Tampa. A Tampa vacation offers spectacular golf courses, snow white beaches with colorful seashells, marinas with luxurious yachts, art and science museums, all types of water sports, tennis and the excitement found in Busch Gardens.Things To Do In Tampa
Tampa offers plenty of attractions aimed at kids, making it a prime destination for family vacations. Kids will love the state-of-the-art 120,000 square-foot Florida Aquarium that contains over 10,000 aquatic animals and plants, including fish from the ocean, exotic sea dragons, plus alligators and otters and wading birds. You can also see animal and dive shows and experience Explore-a-Shore, an outdoor water adventure exhibit. Visit www.flaquarium.org for more information.
Go to Lowry Park Zoo, a dedicated zoological garden, and the kids can see giant manatees in the Pepsi Manatee and Aquatic Center. This zoo is one of the few places in Florida where kids can see manatees close-up swimming underwater. This zoo with its 1,600 animals, has been designated the family-friendliest zoo in the country! www.lowryparkzoo.com
Take a forty-five minute gondola ride around Tampa's rivers and bays from Harbour Island's waterside. Captain Memo's Original Pirate Cruise will take you family into the fantasy world of pirates aboard the ship Pirate Ransom for a two-hour cruise.
If you like to shop, Tampa, is perfect for you. Two shopping areas to check out include - Harbour Island Market and Old Hyde Park Village. Both cater to the upscale market with exclusive shops and boutiques. For the best bargains in Tampa, head to Fairground Outlet Mall on Buffalo Avenue, where wholesale outlets sell clothing, shoes, jewelry and other items.
Tampa offers a wide assortment of cuisines and restaurants. Chain restaurants of every variety are available and there are plenty of delicatessens and sandwich shops to provide good lunches at moderate prices.
Looking for sports activities for the family to enjoy? Tampa is where the Cincinnati Reds and the New York Yankees do their spring training in march. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers play football from August to December.
