My family and I are planning a trip to Florida and wanted to stay in Tampa, mainly for the Beaches, Entertainment and Busch Gardens any suggestions...

Is your first priority the beach, or Busch or nightlife? If it's the beach you love and want to be near primarily, look for places to stay from Clearwater Beach (different town from Clearwater) to St Pete Beach.

Busch can be done in a day...the beaches are an every day pleasure.

Entertainment...don't know your age group, but lots of people think Ybor City when they think of entertainment. I personally dislike Ybor immensely, but perhaps that's age related. A friend of mine overheard a comment as a group of 20 somethings passed her in Ybor..."I sure would hate to be 40 and still going to Ybor City". That pretty much sums it up for me.

The area is big, and traffic can snarl, especially around Clearwater Beach and the drive from there to Tampa, which is over surface streets. For that reason, I prefer St Pete Beach vicinity for the easier drive back and forth.

I agree with OO (who advised me when we moved to Tampa-thanks again!): if you're mostly coming for the beach, stay near the beach and not in Tampa, which can be a 45min+ drive in traffic from, say, Clearwater Beach. Driving to Busch Gardens for the day won't be as big a deal.

As for Entertainment, what do you like to do, and how old are your kids? The Aquarium in Tampa is cool, there is good shopping, and lots of restaurants at all price points and most ethnicities.

Ybor is more about nightlife for the 20-somethings. There are some nicer venues in Tampa if you'd like to hit an upscale nightclub, or listen to some music. I think Ybor is a nice daytime stop, though--very evocative architecture, and some cool, unique shops, plus loads of restaurants to choose from, make for a fun day. On Saturdays, there's a small farmer's market.

Thanks, I am actually traveling with 4 other adults. Three twenty year olds and two 45yrs. I have heard good and bad reviews about Tampa. We would love to stay by the beaches and travel for the day to Busch gardens. Any places near the beaches (mainly), shopping, entertainment that you would suggest staying at...

The Don Ce Sar on St. Pete beach is a pretty resort and a piece of history. Also the Sheraton on Sand Key in Clearwater Beach is nice.

Ybor is really fun during the day, you need to be a bit careful at night. Don't miss having some sangria at the Columbia Restaurant. Also, grab one of the famous Cuban sandwiches and a deviled crab.

There are also a lot of fun restaurants and shopping on/near Harbor Island in Tampa. For a really good steak, you must try Bern's Steak House. It is a Tampa fixture and gets ranked as one of the top steak houses in the world! The wine list is one of the most extensive anywhere.

I'm a native and I love Tampa. Sadly I don't live there anymore and only get home about 3 times a year. Hope you have a great time!

NewbE...I think you had just started posting here when you moved to Tampa. I've loved watching your evolution! No longer a NewbE, at all!

Like nolefan, we no longer live there either, but are back often. Our boat is still there requiring trips back for that alone, but now our DD, SIL and grandson are living there too...requiring even more frequent visits. We leave in 3 weeks for one of them.

Shopping...International Plaza, upscale shopping. My favorite womans' shop, M on Dale Mabry, I hear is no more. I am SO sorry to about that. They had great clothes, and I'll miss them. I sort of enjoy Hyde Park shopping too, Anthropologie, Restoration Hardware, Williams Sonoma, and now Wine Exchange has moved deeper in too.

Entertainment near the beach for us primarily was a beach bar after coming in off the water, and something we still do. Our favorite was Woody's, but now they've lost our favorite singer, Tony, who I believe can be found at Caddys on Treasure Island at times, still singing his JT type songs. It is just a very laid back bar, with some bar food, but don't stray too far there. Chicken wings are OK, smoked fish too. The location is terrific, at an inlet from the Gulf with boats going back and forth, picnic tables to sit outside and enjoy the sunset over the Gulf.

Living there we didn't do a lot of staying there, (especially since my husband ran a Tampa hotel and we lived in that) but we have stayed at the Don CeSar...beautiful property, but $$$$. Have also stayed at the Vinoy in downtown St Pete, also lovely, but not the beach, it's on Tampa Bay in downtown St Pete. Downtown St Pete is another neat place to go in the evening, stroll, have a gelato, stop at shops that interest you, al fresco dining. Central Avenue, once the scourge of St Pete, actually is getting some decent shops...close to the downtown end.

Agree with the Sheraton Sand Key. I have stayed there numerous times (albeit a long time ago) but always enjoyed it.

Thanks so much for all your help! My family and I have decided to stay at Tradewinds Island Grand Resort on St.Petersburg beach. Has anyone stayed there? Or any suggestions on what to do around there? Also is it expensive to eat around there?

I stayed there last May with a large group. Some of the rooms were very nice and some were not. The resort is large and has a very nice beach.

By the way, we found the new seafood restaurant across the street (Snappers?) to be quite excellent.

I have been hearing good and bad reviews about Tradewinds Island Grand Resort. But, mostly good reviews. We will be staying in the pool view suite, Has anyone stayed in that suite? We are also going in the middle of November, How's the weather down there?

I was in Tampa during Thanksgiving this year and it was in the high 70's~low 80's. The weather was great. Factor in the humidity...I don't know where you are coming from but I'm willing to bet it isn't as humid as Tampa. Personally, I love it!

The Tradewinds island resort seems nice but expensive! Any other great resturants near St.Petersburg beach? Also is there any places near there to get seashells on the beach?

You'll find shells everywhere along those beaches. Best shelling is when the tide is going out and if that coincides with an early hour, before other shellers are up, all the better for you. There are plenty of nice ones for everyone though, early or no. Take a walk, bring a bag, and collect as you go.

Last time we were in that area, found that Central Avenue in St. Petersburg was the place to go ... and avoiding Tampa was a good idea ... just too much congestion. For good places to eat, Central Avenue. The beach area is so-so. Have fun. Ciao

Thanks again for all the posts. We probably will stay away from Tampa! We were thinking of just going to Busch Gardens. The Tradewinds Grand Island Resort was recommened by many people. Has anyone heard anything else good or bad about the resort?