Great Things to Do in St Pete Beach

ATTRACTIONS PEER OVER THE PIER: It's the city's landmark, that inverted pyramid that juts a half mile into Tampa Bay from downtown's shores. The Pier, attracting two million visitors a year, is a five-story marketplace with shops and restaurants, The Pier Aquarium, an observation deck, a bait shop and more (727-821-6443).

STROLL THROUGH THE GARDENS: Everything is in bloom at Sunken Gardens, an exotic collection of more than 50,000 tropical plants and flowers. The four-acre botanical attraction features a butterfly garden, wedding lawn, a walk-through aviary with exotic species of birds, and an orchid arbor. This garden is open seven days a week. (727-551-3100).

TAKE THE HIGH WAY: The Sunshine Skyway, the Interstate-275 bridge that connects the southern tip of St. Petersburg with Manatee County and Sarasota to the south, is one of the largest suspension bridges in the Western Hemisphere, measuring 4.1 miles long and 19 stories high (more than 160 feet above the shipping channel leading into Tampa Bay). The toll is $1, each way.

SWING ON THE BOULEVARD: Baseball Boulevard, a series of home-plate plaques, tells an interesting 90-year history of St. Petersburg's love affair with baseball's spring training. The sidewalk plaques lead from Progress Energy Park/Al Lang Field to Tropicana Field, mostly along the south side of Central Avenue.

TAKE A WALK OF FAME: Visit the Tampa Bay Walk of Fame, located at the west side entrance to Tropicana Field. Here, dozens of sports legends who hail from the 11-county Tampa Bay metro are recognized - including Tampa Bay Bucs great Lee Roy Selmon, baseball all-star Wade Boggs, Babe Zaharias, the greatest woman athlete of all time, and Olympic and world champion swimmer Nicole Haislett. Free.

TAKE A RIDE: Wheel Fun Rentals offers Two, four and six-seater surrey bikes can be rented across fromt the Peir Bait House.

MUSEUMS FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELT: St. Petersburg is the birthplace of scheduled aviation. In 1914, pilot Tony Jannus flew the Benoist Airboat from St. Petersburg to Tampa on the world's first scheduled airline flight, transporting St. Petersburg Mayor Abe Pheil and a bag of mail. View a full-scale, operational replica of the historic airboat at the St. Petersburg Museum of History's Flight #1 Pavilion (727-894-1052).

GET SURREAL: The world's most comprehensive collection of Salvador Dali's surrealistic art works is housed at St. Petersburg's world-class Salvador Dali Museum, downtown on Bayboro Harbor (727-823-3767).

MAKE A LASTING FRENCH IMPRESSION: Six original Monets, along with other works by Fragonard, Vigee-Lebrun, Morisot, Renoir, Cezanne and Gauguin, comprise an impressive body of French Impressionism at the St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts. One of the best museums in the Southeast, the collection also includes a wealth of European, American, pre-Columbian and Far Eastern art, and an exquisite Steuben crystal gallery (727-896-2667).

REMEMBER THE HOLOCAUST: St. Petersburg's newest museum leaves a most memorable impression. The fourth largest Holocaust museum in the country, the Florida Holocaust Museum is housed in downtown St. Petersburg. The centerpiece of the museum is a Polish Boxcar used to transport victims to the death camps during World War II. The museum features an art exhibit including an acclaimed outdoor sculpture entitled "Endless Column" (727-820-0100).

KEEP IN TOUCH: At Great Explorations Museum, you don't just look at the exhibits. You touch them. Move them. Explore them. And, in some cases, you actually become part of them (727-821-8992).

JEWELED OBJECTS OF DESIRE: Florida International Museum -- From the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. This exhibit opens up visions of delight with exquisite, unique and whimsical decorative arts formed out of jade, ivory, semi-precious stones, gold and silver, embellished with such stars of the natural world as diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and rubies. This exhibit is created especially for FIM's salute to the Smithsonian.

EXPERIMENT WITH SCIENCE: The Science Center of Pinellas County offers a nature trail, static electricity exhibit, antique microscopes, minerals and ores, corals, an African-American exhibit, a replica of a mid-16th Century Indian village, and an observatory (727-384-0027).

VISIT OUTER SPACE: From September to May, special presentations and viewings are held at the St. Petersburg College Planetarium, a sky theater under a 7.3-meter domed ceiling projection screen (727-341-4320).

ARTS, EVENTS & CULTURE GET FESTIVE: The Festival of States is St. Petersburg's premier festival, celebrating for more than 80 years of springtime events, parades, music, arts, food and entertainment. All year long, St. Petersburg hosts 1,000 events in its downtown facilities and waterfront parks, ranging from food fests to jazz concerts and sports events to Shakespeare festivals (727-893-7039).

BROWSE WITH THE HIGH BROWS: In addition to St. Petersburg's world class museums, the visual arts are vibrant in the Sunshine City. More than two dozen galleries comprise the Downtown Art Association, and open their doors on the second Saturday evening each month for a downtown gallery hop. Three galleries of note: Headquarters of American artist P. Buckley Moss, the Florida Craftsmen guild's statewide gallery, and the Arts Center of St. Petersburg (727-821-7391 or 822-7872).

GET IN THE ACT: Theater comes to St. Petersburg at a number of venues. The Mahaffey Theater for the Performing Arts at the Bayfront Center raises the curtain on a season of national artists and Broadway musicals (727-892-5767). And, Florida's top-ranked resident professional theater, American Stage, performs highly acclaimed works from its intimate theater downtown and each spring during its outdoor Shakespeare festival, American Stage in the Park (727-823-PLAY). The Palladium, originally a church sanctuary renovated into a community venue for performing arts, presents orchestra and opera, drama and dance, concerts and more (727-822-3590).

WALK THROUGH HISTORY: St. Petersburg's downtown streets are lined with hexagon block sidewalks, some of Florida's best Mediterranean-Revival style architecture, and two dozen properties located on the National Historic Register. Pick up a list of historic sites from the city's Planning Department (One Fourth Street N.), or a historic walking tour brochure from the St. Petersburg Museum of History (335 Second Avenue NE). Guided walking tours are offered by St. Petersburg Preservation (727-824-7802).

DATELINE: ST. PETERSBURG. Reminisce with early citrus growers or recall the Pass-a-Grille hurricane of 1921. Remember the Amazing Mets who wintered here or read of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge collapse as The St. Petersburg Times presents A WALK THROUGH TIME. The free display of 20 replica front pages from the St. Petersburg Times depicts significant events from our city's past. It is located in the first floor promenade of the BayWalk Parking Garage, between the Millennium Gateway sculpture and First Avenue N. (near Second Street).


DUST OFF SOME ANTIQUES: A thriving antique district lines both sides of Central Avenue in downtown St. Petersburg. Collectors will find more than a hundred antique shops in the city - and many within this eclectic five-block stretch of Central between Sixth and Eighth Streets.

DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY: The Coliseumin downtown St. Petersburg was featured in the motion picture "Cocoon." Now restored, it boasts one of America's largest dance floors - 13,000 square feet of polished maple - and vintage 1924 architecture. Its event calendar includes regularly scheduled ballroom dancing, a Big Band series, swing dances, sock hops, country-western dancing, gala events and more (727-892-5202).

MAKE A NIGHT OF IT: From sports bars by Tropicana Field, jazz bars on Central Avenue and nonstop entertainment at BayWalk, St. Petersburg comes alive after dark. Enjoy dinner in one of many fine downtown restaurants, followed by live music and entertainment at a number of venues. The newest entertainment spot, BayWalk/ Muvico 20, offers a 20-screen cinema with stadium seating, designer retail shops and theme dining establishments, along with martini and daiquiri bars (Baywalk, 727-895-9277 or Muvico, 727-502-9573).

GET A LECTURE: Outstanding educational institutions in St. Petersburg offer enriching lecture series all year long, including the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg College, and the Poynter Institute for Media Studies (727-821-9494). PARKS PARK IT: Pop a picnic basket under bright sunshine and palm trees in one of St. Petersburg's 125 city parks covering 2,500 acres. Along the downtown waterfront, there are seven miles of lushly landscaped waterfront parks (727-893-7335).

GO WILD: Visit Boyd Hill Nature Preserve,a city-owned 245-acre preserve along the shores of Lake Maggiore. This award-winning park features nature trails, an environmental studies area, an outdoor classroom, a conference center, a pioneer settlement/living history park, and the newly expanded Lake Maggiore Environmental Education Center. (727-893-7326).

LIE UNDER A PALM TREE: A wide variety of native palm trees grow at the Gizella Kopsick Palm Arboretum, part of downtown's North Shore Park. The unique arboretum features a variety of more than 200 palms, benches and brick walkways. Free (727-893-7335).

SUN & FUN BEACH IT: Three of the Top 20 beaches in the United States are in Pinellas County. From St. Petersburg, the closest and most pristine is Fort DeSoto, a 900-acre county preserve consisting of five islands, seven miles of undeveloped beaches, a camp ground, boat ramps, fishing piers, paved fitness trails and a historic fort. The sugary-white sands of St. Petersburg's 500-foot Gulf-front municipal beach on Treasure Island is certified annually by the National Clean Beaches Council as an outstanding environmentally-friendly "Blue Wave" beach.

DIVE IN: Swimming enthusiasts will enjoy all of St. Petersburg's nine public pools, and especially the North Shore Pool downtown. This Olympic-sized swimming pool is heated and open year round, and is the training home of Olympic champions and one of the largest Masters Swim Clubs in the United States (727-893-7727).

GO FISH: St. Petersburg's 244-mile shoreline is abundant with great fishing haunts that yield delicious catches of grouper, mullet and sheepshead. In addition to deep sea fishing charters, popular fishing piers are located at the St. Petersburg Pier, old Sunshine Skyway Bridge and Fort DeSoto Park.

FLOAT YOUR BOAT: No better place for recreational boating than St. Petersburg. More recreational boaters call Tampa Bay home than any other port in Florida. Within an easy stroll of downtown museums, shops and restaurants is St. Petersburg's Municipal Marina - the largest in Florida - with 610 boat slips and dockage for visiting vessels. Downtown, there are 22 boater-based businesses and a total of 1,500 dockages, and daily rentals of everything from a pontoon boat to a luxury yacht with crew. There are also sightseeing excursions along the St. Petersburg coast (727-821-6443).

HOIST A SAIL: The calm waters of Tampa Bay are ideal for learning to sail. The St. Petersburg Sailing Center at downtown's municipal marina offers sailing lessons. Several private companies can also teach you the tacks of sailing. (727-822-3113).

FEED A PELICAN: St. Petersburg's proud symbol is the endangered brown pelican. This marine bird normally feeds on bait fish that swim near the surface of the water. During cooler months, though, the fish swim deeper than the birds can dive, threatening the pelicans' food supply. The Pelican Fund, a volunteer organization, feeds St. Petersburg's brown pelicans at Spa Beach on The Pier daily at 4 p.m. whenever the water temperature drops below 65-68 degrees.

RECREATION HIT THE TRAIL: The Pinellas Trail is a 47-mile fitness trail built on abandoned railways. One of the longest linear parks in the United States, it runs from Tarpon Springs to the north to its terminus in south St. Petersburg (727-549-6099).

MAKE A RACQUET: St. Petersburg Tennis Center is the site where Chris Evert won her first professional tennis match. Opened in 1928, the historic center offers public play on 15 Har-Tru Clay Courts, day or night. Elsewhere in St. Petersburg, there are 66 public tennis courts (727-823-2225).

LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL: Hop on a pair of in-line skates and explore the downtown waterfront and Mediterranean-Revival style neighborhoods of Snell Isle and Granada Terrace.

DRIVE YOURSELF CRAZY: St. Petersburg is home to three acclaimed municipal golf courses, Mangrove Bay, Cypress Links, and Twin Brooks. In addition, there are numerous privately-operated championship golf courses in St. Petersburg and the Tampa Bay area (727-893-7800).

WALK INTO WEEDON: Take a walk along three miles of boardwalk and paved trails at Weedon Island, a pristine and natural resource once home to Seminole Indians. The park features a 50-foot-high look out site over Tampa Bay waters that shows a panoramic view of downtown St. Petersburg, Tropicana Field, and Tampa. An ideal park for biking, blading, canoeing, and birdwatching.

SPORTS & FITNESS SPEED THROUGH THE STREETS: The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, an Indy Racing Series street race, takes to a demanding 1.7 mile race course through downtown St. Petersburg each April (727-824-7223).

GET INTO THE SWING OF THINGS: St. Petersburg has been crazy for baseball since hosting Florida's first spring training in 1914 with the St. Louis Browns. Currently, more than half of the 18 teams that train each spring in Florida play in the Tampa Bay area. The Tampa Bay Rays call the city home for both spring training (Progress Energy Park/Al Lang Field) and during the regular season at Tropicana Field (727-825-3250).

SEE THE PROS: In addition to Major League Baseball with the Rays, the St. Petersburg area is home to many professional franchises, including three world champion franchises - NHL Tampa Bay Lightning, NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Tampa Bay Storm arena football team.

TRI SOMETHING NEW: St. Anthony's Triathlon is a season opener on the professional triathlon circuit, attracting some of the sport's biggest names and 3,000 competitors with a purse of $30,000. Athletes converge on the downtown waterfront each April for the Olympic-distance event - a 1.5K swim, 40K bike and 10K run.

RUN LIKE CRAZY! Amateur and professional runners take advantage of year-round sunshine and unparalleled beauty to compete in running events, such as the annual Race for the Cure and the Jingle Bell Run.

GAMBLE ON IT: Several day cruises offer casino-style gambling and depart from local area ports. And, Derby Lane, the oldest continuously operated greyhound racing facility in the U.S., offers parimutuel wagering and live racing action ten months of the year.

Top Vacation Rentals for SuperBowl 2009

Consider Beach Vacation Rentals For the Big Game

This Year the road to NFL finale leads directly to the beautiful beaches of Tampa Bay and Super Bowl XLIII. Everyone in the Tampa Bay Beaches community is excited to welcome you and know you'll enjoy our rich history, year-round sunshine, white, sandy beaches and thrilling attractions.

If you are planning to attend the SuperBowl in Tampa at Raymond James Stadium February 1, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. EST then hopefully you know that the Tampa Region also boasts the Top Rated Beaches in the Continental USA.

Why spend Hundreds of dollars a night on hotel rooms in Tampa when the Gulf Coast Beaches, just 20 miles away from the stadium offer Sun, Sand and Convenience for less!

One example at Indian Shores Vacation you can get a 10 day rental, direct beach front, 2 bedrooms/2 bath with almost 1400 sq ft for just under $400 per night. Compare that to what local hotels are charging and you will see the value.

There are literally thousands of beach rentals available in this area. Check them out before you make your final plans for the Big Game

Things To Know Before Using a Vacation Rental

Some people go right into renting for their Vacation, not knowing that there could be hidden costs. These can substantially change the economics of your vacation on the beach. So be prepared and ask the questions up front to make sure you get the most for your money on any vacation rental.

The owner or agent may require a cash security deposit before they hand the keys over, at the final checkout this will be returned to you minus any expenses for damaged property, unexpected cleaning or phone bill. The waiting period to get your money back can be as long as 30 days with some agencies. With phone charges the way they are today - look for owners who offer free local and long distance. Many owners will waive the security deposit as well but cleaning fees almost always apply.

Make sure you know the cancellation policy. The owners aren't trying to punish you here, but if you wait too long they run the risk of not finding another renter, which greatly impacts their income. If you cancel your trip you may not get the deposit back; this is also the case for if you cancel the trip after you make the full payment there is always a chance that you won't get your money back. Most agencies and owners don't require full payment until 30 - 45 days before arrival. In an emergency many will work with you to credit for future dates.


Some other hidden fees could include Travel Insurance, Linen Rental, Pet Fee, Unit Service fee, and Reservation Fee. Most of these are optional but they could still be something you should plan ahead of time. Realistically speaking Linens should be included in the rate as should the Unit Service Fee. Anyone charging for this I would avoid. Travel insurance is cheap and can be obtained easily, just make sure you are clear on what it covers before buying. Whether it makes sense is a personal call. If you know you are going I would avoid the extra expense. Pet charges should be fair and reasonable.

All in, Beach Vacation Rentals provide the best of both worlds. You save money on the nightly rate with larger parties, you get more room, more comfort and great locations. As is always the case look for reputable members of Travel Organizations such as TET (Trust Earned Travel) or Trusted Vacation Rental and enjoy your Vacation.

Here is a quick and dirty list of all the best attractions along the Gulf Beaches between St Petersburg and Tampa, Florida. Just what the vacationer needs to plan their trip!

Beach Art Center

Attraction, Museum, art gallery

1515 Bay Palm Blvd

Indian Rocks Beach, Florida 33785

596-4331

Beach Gameland

Attraction, Arcade

John's Pass/Upper Level at The G

Madeira Beach, FL 33706

727-398-4494

Busch Gardens

Attraction, Amusement park

3000 E Busch Blvd.

Tampa, Florida

Captain Bill Fehl

Attractions, Fishing trips

10405 114th Terrace

Largo, FL 33773

727-430-2455

Derby Lane

Attraction, Dog Track

10490 Gulf Blvd.

St Petersburg, Florida 33702

812-3339

Dolphin Quest

Attraction, Dolphin Watching/Water activitie

Johns Pass Boardwalk/Pelican Pie

Madeira Beach, Florida 33708

727-392-7090

Dolphin Watch, Snorkeling and Shelling at Egmont

Attraction, Dolphin Watch, Snorkeling & Shel

1866 Dolphin Blvd. South

St. Petersburg, FL 33707

727-345-4500

Eagle Parasail

Attraction, Parasailing

Johns Pass Boardwalk/Pelican Pie

Madeira Beach, FL 33708

727-687-8132

Fly-N-High

Attractions, Parasailing/Waverunner

207 Boardwwalk Place/John's Pass

Madeira Beach, FL 33706

727-397-1050

Gators Parasail

Attraction, Parasailing, Watersports

John's Pass Boardwalk

Madeira Beach, FL 33076

727-363-1881

Gulf Coast Museum of Art

Attraction, Museum, art gallery

12211 Walsingham Road

Largo, Florida 33778

518-6833

Heritage Village

Attraction, Museum

Indian Rocks Beach Historic Museum

Attraction, Museum

2nd Street

Indian Rocks Beach, Florida 33785

Kids & Kubs

Attraction, Senior Softball

330 5th St

St Petersburg, Florida 33701

893-7108

Liquid Extreme and Speed Boat Tours

Attraction, Boats, Parasailing

12754 Kingfish Drive

Treasure Island, FL 33706

727-389-4449

Pinewood Cultural Park

Attraction, Park & museum

11909 125th St North

Largo, Florida 33774

582-2200

Pirate Ship

Attraction, Pirate Ship Cruises

Johns Pass Boardwalk/Pelican Pie

Madeira Beach, Florida 33708

727-423-7824

Psychotic Ink

Attractions, Body Art/Body Piercing

432 Poinsettia Avenue

Clearwater, FL

727-298-0968

Smugglers Cove Adventure Golf

Attraction, mini golf

19463 Gulf Blvd.

Indian Shores, Florida 33785

517-7664

Suncoast Botanical Gardens

Attraction, Garden

Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, Inc

Attraction, Non-Profit Seabird Rescue

18328 Gulf Blvd

Indian Shores, FL 33785

(727) 391-6211

Tampa Bay Watersports

Attraction, Dolphin Watching/Boat Charter/Ky

215 Boardwalk Place

Madeira Beach, FL 33708

727-512-9113

Tides Golf Club

Attraction, Golf

11832 66th Ave

Seminole, FL 33772

(727) 393-8483

Treasure Island Casino Cruz

Attraction, Casino Boat

12601 Gulf Blvd

Treasure Island, FL 33756

(727) 735-4141

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Great Florida Beach Video

Adding some videos from Youtube that give you a great view of some of our beaches.

For the Best Beach Rentals stop by Florida Gulf Vacation.com

A nice tour of Fort Myers, Florida

ParaSailing off Key West:

We list ONLY Beach Front Vacation Rentals, ONLY in Florida and ONLY on the Gulf Coast!

Our owners take pride in their communities and properties - for the best beach vacation for you!

Fall Arrives - But Spring is HOT!

While the leaves are starting to Fall in the Midwest the heat is turning up on "Snow Birds" and families looking for Early Spring rentals along the gulf beaches. While this is always the high season in the Tampa / St Pete Beach communities it appears that this Spring 2009 is going to be a HOT Ticket for local Vacation Rental Property users.

Florida Gulf Vacation continues to add Owner Rental Properties to the site to keep up with the demand and is also redesigning the site for easier search, expanded beach content and hundreds of additional properties available from Key West (one of our newest properties) to the Crystal River area.

"We are already booked for most of the first Quarter 2009" was the comment of one long time property owner in the area when asked how it looked. Personally - we are seeing 4-5 times the demand for weeks in April than last year - and its not even Halloween.

On top of that you have the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series and the SuperBowl slated to occur in the area all in the next several weeks.

We recommend that anyone looking to book a property in 2009 start to look now. Summer weeks are already booking up with reservations on the slate all the way into August.

For all the best properties on the beaches in Madeira Beach, Indian Shores, Indian Rocks, Treasure Island, Clearwater and St Petersburg - all direct from owner, stop by www.floridagulfvacation.com. We now also carry properties in Key West, Crystal River and Fort Myers.

Vacation Rental Property owners! check out our free trial - you won't be disappointed!