Grand Plaza Hotel St. Pete Beach Florida
 

2 friends and myself are looking to travel to St.Pete Beach Florida for 1 week. We are planning on staying at the Grand Plaza Hotel on St.Pete Beach. So any and all information that you can share with us about the area would be FANTASTIC!! We have never been to St.Pete before, so we have no idea what to even expect besides a beautiful beach.

Some of the activities we are interested in are parasailing, cat boat rental, waverunners, snorkeling, dolphin tours so baically lots of outdoor things! Are these located in walking distance within the beach area or will we need to travel. Also what is within walking distance of the Grand Plaza Hotel. We are trying to avoid renting a car if at all possible. So will there be enough to keep us occupied in the are without renting.

We found the website for the Egmont Key Snorkeling Shelling Dolphin Show afternoon cruise has anyone taken the cruise and is it well worth the $30 ticket?

Also if there is any public transportation in the area such as a trolley or shuttle please let us know!
Please do NOT hesitate to throw out any and all suggestions you have we will appreciate them GREATLY!!!!

St. Pete Bch is a great beach. And, yes you can find parasailing, wave runners, and all the standard bch activities. All walkable from your hotel??? I'm not so sure about that. Best to call the hotel and ask questions, or call the tourist bureau.

And yes, there is a beach trolley. Don't know the route, schedule, or cost but there is one. And since there is one in downtown area also, it's possible it may go from beach to downtown and back. You'll have to check this out.

Things to do in St Pete, included downtown by the waterfront a Sat Market. Near there is Bay Walk area and also near there is The Pier. The market is local but the Pier is real touristy but still nice to go to the top for the view and a pleasant walk around. Also downtown SP, is the Dali Museum - IMHO a worthwhile stop - but not walkable from the Market and Pier area.

Tampa has the Aquarium and Busch Gardens - another theme park-Florida style and somewhat expensive. There are a couple of research geared aquariums open to the public both Clearwater, N of SP and S of St Pete - Sarasota, I believe.

I personally, if the season was right, would want to go to Homosassa Springs and swim with the Manatees.

You will find much to do around there - as though the beach isn't enough. They have a greyhound racing Dog Track in St. Pete. Oh, it might also be Baseball Spring Training time - a nice laid back ballgame experience. A little known fact about St. Pete, the intown folks often rent a place for a week or two after school is out, for their very own opportunity for a full-time beach experience.

I'm sure you'll have a great time if you like beaches.

Oh, if you want to know where to go to see alligators, post again and I can tell you where(they are in a park - very tame way to 'visit' a gator).

Sure that would be fantastic about the alligators!! We are looking for stuff to do! We are coming from Illinois and have never traveled without parents or planned a trip ourselves! So any info you have will be greatly considered!!!!

Hi Jaymee, you should be able to take the trolley from your hotel to John's Pass in Maderia Beach. I love walking the boardwalk here & watching and participating in the activities, and then doing some shopping. Check it out at: http://www.johnspass.com/

A couple of years ago, the Grand Plaza was the Holiday Inn of St Pete Beach. It was apparently bought out, renovated, and reborn in its current identity. It is in a good location, within walking distance of basic tourist-type shopping and not far from some good restaurants. As already mentioned, the trolley can take you all around town, including downtown St Petersburg, which is also worth exploring. The trolley doesn't go to Clearwater or Tampa, so if you want to go that far you will have to take other transportation. It does go all the way down to Pass-a-Grille on the south tip of St Pete Beach, where there is a neat eclectic community which is a national historic district. There's also a little local museum. An upcoming feature in Pass-a-Grille, in case you are here on April 23-24, is the annual concert on the beach, called "The Beach Goes Pops." It's free and great fun, with food vendors and two evenings of nice music facing the beach in front of the famous Hurricane restaurant.

The people at the hotel will have all kinds of information on local area attractions and will be able to provide a trolley schedule.

http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/16_Sawgrass.htm

A great place to see what the original old swampy Florida probably looked like. The hotel can give you directions.
And it's free! You have to be relatively still and quiet to not scare gators away.

Maybe there is a way you can rent a car for 2 or 3 days only

Oh, by the way. If you are there on a weekend, the kitefliers are on the beach around the Biltmore hotel. The Biltmore also has music on the beach = used to be Sun. afternoons.

Don't forget to come back after the trip and let us know how it went and maybe even give us old timers some updated infor on beach happenings.

Thank you all for your helpful responses!!! We are also looking for good Snorkeling within the area as well as a good place for awesome seashells!! If anyone knows a thing about snorkeling HELP! We are thinking of purchasing out own gear because we would prefer to not share!

Jaymee
We did not find the snorkeling in Florida to be real good but then we were comparing it to the Caribbean, Hawaii and Tahiti, boy, does THAT sound snotty! :-) Anyway, you have some real good choices for day trips from the area you are staying in. Try Honeymoon Island, Shell Key, Fort DeSoto, Egmont Key, and more. Here is a great website to begin reading up on these wonderful places to visit. http://www.beachhunter.net/bestbeach...te_beaches.htm