When our family visited Asheville last year, the kids really enjoyed our day trip to Lake Lure. Since then, they had started talking and asking about the beach pretty often, so we decided it was time for our first beach vacay!
We decided to check out the Tampa Bay Area and to keep the trip pretty relaxed (no amusement parks or packed schedules). It turned out really well! Below are the places/activities we checked out and what we, as a family of four with two preschoolers, thought of them:
Indian Rocks Beach
Let’s start with the obvious – the beach! We stayed just south of Clearwater, near Indian Rocks Beach. I would 1000% stay/visit here again!
I loved that Indian Rocks Beach was not crowded, especially compared to the Clearwater beach that looked absolutely packed with rows of people when we visited. We were able to space apart from other beach-goers, which helped us relax; it was easy to see our children wherever we were, and easy to see our things when we were in the water.
I was also pleasantly surprised that the water was super shallow for quite a while. I’m not sure if this was unique to the spot where we were (8th Avenue Access), but it was nice to splash and seashell-hunt without worrying that it would drop off and get deep out of nowhere.
My favorite time to go was right before sunset – it was so beautiful and relaxing, without all the sweat and sunblock-applying of the mid-day.
The Pool
Again, a pool in Florida feels obvious, right? But maybe not! If you are planning a trip and thinking just the beach will suffice, it probably will, but we loved having the option of the pool. Going to the beach required much more prep and gear, while the pool called for just a quick swipe of sunblock and we were in.
Also, if you’re looking at Airbnbs with pools, I would make sure to really look at pictures or ask the owner about the safety around the pool to make sure it fits your family needs. For example, we gravitated to an Airbnb that had a sunroom because we liked that we could hang out “outside” without being inches from the water.
St. Pete Pier
We really enjoyed exploring the St. Pete Pier! I was worried that it would be a bust when we started our day at the pier’s playground and we all instantly agreed it was way too hot. But, luckily, the splash pad was just a few feet away! We cooled off by playing in the spray and grabbing some snow cones from the food stand.
After we dried off, we kept walking and popped into the Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center. The Discovery Center was tiny but fun, hands-on, and informational. My four year old enjoyed seeing a lionfish, watching seahorses get fed, and touching starfish and other creatures. My two year old liked learning about the topography of the ocean (by playing in the sand :D). At the time of our visit, it was $5 per adult, $3 for our four year old, and our two year old was free.
We continued on to the end of the pier where we stopped at Pier Teaki. The kids shared some appetizers and mom and dad enjoyed a cocktail, while we all took in the views.
I’d like to visit this area again and try some of the abundant breweries next time.
Clearwater
We drove up to Clearwater a couple times during our trip. One visit was to take the Little Toot dolphin boat tour, because we thought our budding marine biologist son would get a kick out of it. This tour was great! The entire boat was one level and pretty much covered, making it very pleasant with the shade and sea breeze, even at the hottest time of day. It had a bathroom and little drink bar, but we didn’t use either. We were lucky enough to see some dolphins jumping – it really is incredible and they are so close to you!
We also hit up Pier 60 one evening. At that time, the pier is full of vendors, which was fun to browse even though we didn’t buy anything. We opted to pay a couple extra dollars to go all the way to the end of the pier. You definitely end up close and personal to pelicans if you do this! Back on land at the other end of the pier, there’s a park where our kids enjoyed burning off some energy. We finished off the night by walking to grab some ice cream then strolling along to the beach to watch the sun dip below the water.
Food and Drinks!
Salt Rock Grill – Salt Rock Grill was the food recommendation I saw the most while planning our trip. It’s a little fancier than some of the others, so I felt slightly guilty when we entered with our kids, expecting them to cause chaos. But they ended up rising to the challenge and staying chill, so mom and dad got to enjoy an awesome meal! There was a sushi roll special that was the BEST sushi roll I’ve ever had, along with a goat cheese salad that I loved. Would def recommend this place!
Jake’s Coastal Cantina – I can’t speak to the food (though my kids enjoyed the quesadilla), but the real gem here is the FOUR DOLLAR MARGARITAS until 6 pm. After a morning in the sun, we popped in here and were delighted to find that special. $8 in and I was feeling greeeeaaat. Both flavors I tried were tasty – def a fun little spot!
The Original Crabby Bill’s – Crabby Bill’s was our dinner spot for the first evening. It was a great way to start off the trip! You’ll see a lot of grouper on menus in this area and it was super tasty here. This place is pretty large, with an outdoor area that had a band and an indoor sports-bar type area.
Pub Subs – On this trip, we learned the magic of the Pub Sub (which is… a sub from Publix, lol). It was convenient to be able to order them online and snag them while we grabbed other supplies from the store. It worked best for us to each get one and stash it in the fridge for when we got snackish between activities.
Caddy’s Indian Shores – We visited Caddy’s for an early dinner and thought it was fun – it has a large waterfront patio and there was a live band playing when we went. That said, it was pretty loud, so if you have a kiddo with sensory issues, you might want to pack some headphones.
Keegan’s Seafood Grille – Neither ambiance or food blew me away, personally, but we enjoyed our meals.
Florida Botanical Gardens
The Florida Botanical Gardens was a cool little find near our Airbnb. Best of all, it’s free to enter! The gardens are full of plants and flowers, as you’d imagine, including a butterfly garden and my personal favorite, the tropical fruit garden. It also has a creek running through it that has alligators! We didn’t get to spot the mama gator, but we did see a little toddler one, which was pretty cool.
Next to the gardens is the Heritage Village, which is an exhibit of historical houses and buildings. This was interesting to see, but I think our kids were a bit too young to appreciate it.
Overall, I liked visiting here but it felt way too hot for us that particular day. I would’ve liked to wander and relax, but that just wasn’t in the cards.
John’s Pass Village & Boardwalk
After reading about John’s Pass, I thought that it sounded suuuuper touristy and maybe not my vibe. And… I was not wrong. But the kids had lots of fun looking through the souvenir shops, we had some ice cream, and we walked along the pier for a bit, continuing our trip-long obsession with pelicans. We had fun but I would pass on going here again.
We came back from our trip feeling very relaxed and connected (which is what it’s all about, right?). Can’t wait for our next journey together!
