Beaches near Tampa
 

I will be going to Tampa with my husband while he attends a seminar March 5-10. While I will have lots of free time he will only have one day free. Which is the best nearby beach to spend all day. We will have a car so driving a bit isn't a problem.<BR>Thanks

ttt

Lots to choose from but I prefer Sand Key which is just south of Clearwater Beach. I think Clearwater Beach is for teens and a real touristy crowd. Sand Key Park is a nice place to park and head out to the beach.

st petes beach is nice I think clearwater will be hard to get to with all the traffic.

Tampa beaches the first week of March? Bring a sweater. I've never had good beach weather there that early.

Clearwater Beach from Pier 60 northward is the prettiest stretch, IMHO. If you are looking for solitude, you can walk from the north end of CWB to Caladesi Island (about 3 miles from the Pier to the boardwalk at Caladesi, but you don't need to go that far to have the beach absolutely to yourself). It's no longer an island, the cut having been filled in by a storm. <BR><BR>The next most pristine of the beaches is Ft Desoto State Park just south of Tierre Verde (and near St Pete Beach). You'll escape the crowds of CWB here, but the sand, though pretty, isn't quite as fine or white as CWB.<BR><BR>The weather is anyone's guess. We've had a terrible winter thus far, much colder and wetter than normal.