As part of my vacation next year, I am ataying at a villa in New Port Ritchey for a week (with family, 3 kids ages 13,11,11).
I am not familiar with this area and would appreciate any feedback on :
Recomended restaurants/bars
Good days out
Beaches in the area
Golf in the area

How long to get to St-Petes Beach/Clearwater and is it worth the trip.
Regards

Lee

Hi Lee...I never stayed in New Port Richey, but I have been to St. Petersburg and Clearwater...I think they are worth the trip (about 35 miles)...St. Petersburg Beach offers parasailing and jet skiing among other things...St. Petersburg has Pier 60 with shops and restaurants...my favorite is the Columbia atop the building - great view - pretty at night...Clearwater also offers loads of water sports...You can also look into a day trip to Busch Gardens in Tampa...Tampa also has a section called Ybor City - it's where Cuban cigars were made - historical area - main street has shops and restaurants - the original Columbia Restaurant is there - supposedly one of the oldest standing restaurants the USA today...good Spanish food and a live flamenco show at night...Steven Spielberg helped create a video/games arcade that's there also...hope this helps...don't have info on golfing.

Forget to mention the Clearwater Marine Aquarium...kids love it...they have a turtle tour.

Let me recommend Tarpon Springs for some very delicious Greek cooking. I can still remember having one of the best meals of my life at a Greek place down by the wharf section at the Gulf. It's like a boardwalk of restaurants, fudge shops and the like. I think there are fishing head boats located there as well.

Tarpon Springs is a great idea...it's the sponge capital of the world...you can take a sponge diving boat ride complete with a guy who puts on an ancient diving suit...and of course when he surfaces from the water - he has a sponge...also great food, friendly people...

Lee, Is there a particular reason for choosing New Port Ritchey? I don't think of that as part of the tourist area. Most of what there is to do in this area is in Clearwater/St Pete/Tampa, which is not an easy drive from NPR. If you want "off the beaten path", it is definitely that, but if you want all the amenities of a FL tourist destination, I'm not sure you are getting them there! I don't know what they have for beaches in that area...never even hear them mentioned, and as odd as it seems, there are long stretches of the west FL coast with no swimmable beaches. There is boating, and the one time we were there in the 5 years we've lived in this area, we'd gone up to look at a boat for sale--saw canals, but never saw the Gulf.

Don't mean to put a damper on your plans, but did think you should be aware of what the area is, and isn't. I have seen posts from other in the UK who evidently have picked up brochures from travel agent offices of places that look wonderful in the brochure, but in fact are no where near swimmable Gulf. One mentioned earlier this spring, found through a UK travel agent, was in an area you absolutely would not swim in...on a small bay off the Intercoastal Waterway, not the gulf. This may all be fine with you, but I felt it was worth a warning in case it was not what you were looking for.

In answer to Oliveoyl
New Port Richey is often promoted in the UK, Generally many brochures feature rental homes/Villas suggested as being ideal for families - However the brochure often neglect to inform us brits that this is not a 'typical tourist destination'.
Lee - Do a search there are many useful websites for florida ideal for a tourist looking for area info. EG - www.visitflorida.com
www.beachdirectory.com (Helpful in locating local amenities - Shops, restaurants, golf)
I have stayed in-between Clearwater beach & St pete beach - let me know if you have any questions. Also bear in mind that if you are travelling during the summer, this is off season for the american market and you can find fantastic bargains at hotels/Motels - Eg - My family & I flew in to orlando in Sept 99 with no hotel reservations, spent a few nights there at a very resonable price, visited a very empty Disney (No lines for rides) then travelled to west coast, and the motels were well priced, also the beaches were very beautiful but surprisingly uncrowded.

Fellow Brit-Just to clarify, Walt Disney World is crowded during the summer months, June, July and August, that's summer vacation for kids here. September is a good time to go because the kids are back in school.

I was assuming from your original post that you needed to go to New Port Richey, like maybe you were visiting relatives there. But like Olive Oyl, for God's sake rethink your plans. You Brits are being taken by unscrupulous travel agencies as far as I am concerned. It is a huge lower to middle income housing area for retirees who can't afford anything better. (Sorry to offend anyone who lives there, but we all know that it is true.) There is no reason for tourists to go there, except that perhaps you can get a larger condo or apartment at a lower rent than you could in a more prime area where there was something to do besides shop at middle income strip shopping centers.

Lee, I agree with what's been said already. My family and I went over from Scotland on our annual Florida holiday in July and stayed in NPR in a villa. We thought it would be a change from the usual Kissimmee location. It was so boring, nothing to do, not attractive to look at. I don't have anything at all against the Gulf Coast. I've had a wonderful holiday staying in a beautiful aprtment in Indian Shores. Parts of the Gulf Coast are so beautiful, amazing beaches etc but certainly not NPR. If you've already booked the villa, well, at least its only for a week. We hated it so much we travelled back to Kissimmee and rented a villa there for the remainder of the holiday. We were very lucky to find one.

Sorry if this sounds really negative. I just wouldn't like you and your family to have part of your holiday spoiled.

Needless to say, next summer I am heading back to Kissimmee. Got the villa booked already.

I'm so sorry to hear of these experiences. This borders on being a scam and I wonder where the fault lies--here, there, or a combination of the two, and if anything can be done about it?

Basically, the good beaches/vacation spots end right around Clearwater Beach, which is one of the prettiest beaches on the entire Gulf coast. I'd go no further north from there than Honeymoon Island, and even that would be very low on the totem pole. They pick up again once you reach the Panhandle, but that is strictly a summer destination if you are looking to swim.

We stayed in a villa in New Port Ritchey last year. We were supposed to stay for two nights, but left after one because there was nothing to do in the area. When we asked for suggestions for a good restaurant, they suggested Applebee's!

Lee.....are you still here? I hope you are able to change that reservation. If you need alternative selections, there are plenty here who would be more than happy to help you out!