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Travel guide
Tampa
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: March to May and October to November
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Welcome
Tampa, in a few days
A port city on the Gulf of Mexico where Cuban, Spanish and Italian cigar makers built a whole district of brick factories at the end of the 19th century, and where a hotel with silver minarets recalls the arrival of the railway. A 4 km promenade follows the river from one museum to the next, and in winter, manatees crowd by the dozen into the warm waters of a power station on the bay.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 3 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 1 thing
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
3 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Tampa Riverwalk free · 2 to 3 hA continuous 4.2 km promenade along the Hillsborough River downtown, linking Curtis Hixon Park, the art museum, restaurant terraces and the Armature Works food hall, with views of the Plant Museum's minarets.
- Afternoon · Henry B. Plant Museum · about 1 h 30The former Tampa Bay Hotel of 1891, a Moorish-style red-brick palace with silver minarets built by a railway magnate, whose south wing preserves the hotel's parlours, furniture and art objects.
- Late afternoon · Tampa Theatre · about 2 hA 1926 movie palace by John Eberson whose auditorium recreates a Mediterranean courtyard at night under a starry ceiling, still screening classic and independent films with a Wurlitzer organ.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Haya ↗ · All places to stay by budget →€220 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Florida Aquarium · about 3 hAn aquarium under a shell-shaped glass dome on the port, following Florida's waters from springs and mangroves to a coral reef with sharks and rays, plus a wetlands trail with otters and alligators.
- Afternoon · Ybor City free · half a dayThe historic cigar district founded in 1886, with brick streets, wrought-iron balconies, immigrant mutual aid clubs, cigar rollers still at work on 7th Avenue and the Columbia Restaurant of 1905.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Haya ↗€220 a night
D3
Day 3
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- All day · Busch Gardens Tampa Bay · a full dayA theme park and zoo opened in 1959, famous for roller coasters such as Iron Gwazi and SheiKra, with a 26-hectare savannah of giraffes, zebras and rhinos explored by safari truck.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Haya ↗€220 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Manatee Viewing Center free · about 1 h 30At Apollo Beach, a power station's warm, clean discharge canal where dozens or hundreds of manatees gather when the bay cools below 20°C, watched from wooden walkways from November to April.
- Afternoon · Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg · half a dayOne of the world's largest collections of Salvador Dalí's work, shown since 1982 in a concrete building of 2011 with a bursting glass bubble and a spiral staircase, plus a waterfront garden.
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
Some links are partner links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Burgers and barbecue: brisket and ribs cooked low and slow, done differently in every state.
- Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl: the classic lunch on the San Francisco waterfront.
- Mexican food: tacos from a truck in Los Angeles, a Mission burrito in San Francisco.
- Pancakes and weekend brunch: a national habit, generous to the point of excess.
- Craft beer, and California wine from Napa and Sonoma.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Tipping is not optional: add 15 to 20% in restaurants and bars.
- Prices on menus and in shops exclude sales tax, which is added at the till.
- Do not plan more than four or five hours of driving a day: the distances are larger than they look on the map.
- Never travel without health insurance. A night in hospital can cost thousands of dollars.
- In summer, do not hike down into the Grand Canyon in the heat of the day: the climb back out is where people get into trouble.
Getting by
Words that help
🗣️ English is the main language here, so there is nothing to learn by heart.
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyUS dollar (USD, $)
BudgetAbout €165 a day, mid-range
Best seasonMarch to May and October to November
PlugA/B · 120V
Tap waterSafe to drink
Tipping15 to 20%, expected
Emergency911
EntryUK, Australian and most EU passports need an ESTA, applied for online before departure, for stays of up to 90 days; a few EU countries sit outside the Visa Waiver Program and need a full visa. Canadians need neither, only a passport. Anyone who has been to Cuba since January 2021 cannot use an ESTA and must apply for a visa.
HealthNo vaccination required. Keep tetanus, diphtheria and polio up to date; hepatitis A is worth considering if you eat well off the tourist trail. In the desert parks, the heat is the real risk.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/tampa
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.