4 Days in Clearwater and St. Petersburg FL

Clearwater is known for its sunny weather, dolphin sight, beautiful beaches, and spectacular sunsets. For all of that and free lodging thanks to my aunt, it was a no-brainer to spend the 4th of July weekend soaking up vitamin D here. Gabriela and I prepared a four day the itinerary, grabbed our bathing suits and headed to the waters of Gulf of Mexico. 

 

Day One

Dalí Museum

To start the day head down to St. Petersburg’s downtown area to the Dalí museum. As much as we like art we did not go in because did not feel like paying the $24 ticket (Washington D.C. have us spoiled with free museums), but if we would have done some research before hand, we would have found Thursdays’ special. Adults and children 13-17 are $10, children 6-12 are $8, and 5 and younger are free after 5pm. Even if you don’t want to see the exhibits it is still worth a visit to see the beautiful building and walk around where you can snaps some pictures on the yard including a massive **figure** of Dalí’s mustache.

St. Petersburg Central Ave.

After seeing Dalí’s brilliant work make sure you take Central Ave. in your way to John’s Pass. The avenue is full of colors and style with all the murals, boutiques, palm trees, restaurants, and breweries. We had lunch at Casita Taqueria. They offer excellent mexican food with indoor and outdoor seating. Did I mention the happy hour of margaritas every weekday from 4 – 6?

John’s Pass Village and Boardwalk

John’s Pass Is a fishing village with over a hundred of merchants. On the boardwalk you can eat and drink, rent jet skis, boat tours, watch dolphins, see the fishermen feed the pelicans, and have some freshly made Taffys at Zeno’s. If you get hungry or thirsty stop by Mad Beach Craft Brewing Company they a good selection of in house brewed beers. Just make sure you spend enough time to catch the Sunset Cruise.

Sunset Cruise

With free beer (budweiser) and wine, a highly percentage of dolphin sighting, and just $21.95 this cruise is bargain. The staff has good knowledge of the area and they could not have been more friendly. The tour is narrated by the captain. Our cruise started on Boca Ciega Bay where we navigated along massive mansions. Then, we stop by the mangroves to see the pelicans nesting, there is nothing more cute than a baby pelican (if you know how they are really called let me know in the comments below). I bet you have never seen one.

n our way out to the ocean to catch the sunset we found a pod of dolphins. The captain was kindly enough to stop the boat so we could watch them swim just a few meters away (in the video at the end of the post there is a shot where you can see the boat and the dolphins).

During this tour is when I got the inspiration to start this blog. I was having so much fun that I tough, why not share my traveling experiences. What about the sunset you may ask? Just take a look at the pictures above.

The boat is nothing fancy, but I assure you will have a good time. For reservations visit the Hubbard’s Marina website.

Day Two

Whimzeyland

One of my favourite things to do when I visit a new place is to find unique places. Whimzeyland is the perfect example in the Clearwater area.

To don’t lose the custom of starting the day in artistic places let’s start the second day in Whimzeyland, also known as the “Bowling Ball House”. The owners started by painting the house very bright and now 20 years later it’s decorated with bottles, CD cases, bowling balls, recycled materials, and anything you can imagine. The artwork has move to another house aw well across the street. It is a cool place to give it a quick visit on the way to Tarpon Springs.

address: 1206 3rd St N, Safety Harbor, FL 34695

Tarpon Springs

Located 35 minutes north of Clearwater, Tarpon Springs is known as the Sponge Capital of the World and has the mayor percentage of Greek Americans in the U.S. We visited the downtown, and the Sponge Docks area. I recommend to visit the docks where you can see boats coming back from recollecting sponges, have an authentic Greek lunch, or do some shopping. If you own a beach house this is the place to find some decorations. Some of the things you can buy are sponges, air plants, clothes, and the famous soaps with the integrated sponge.

Fred Howard Park

If you are tire of walking head to Fred Howard Park. It has playgrounds, fishing area and a beach at the end of the causeway. Great spot to watch dolphins and catch the sunset.

Day Three

 Caladesi Island

On day three you can start relaxing at the beach or keep your adventurer spirit, is your call.
With three miles of uncrowded white sand beach, turquoise waters, a great variety of wildlife (including Rattlesnakes, Stingrays, birds, and tortoise) is an unspoiled paradise. You have two ways to spend the day on the island:

1. Take the 15 minute ferry ($14 adults and $7 children) from Honeymoon Island. You can chill out at the beach, go shelling or walk the three miles of trail through beautiful palm trees. 
2. To keep your adventurer spirit rent a kayak and paddle you way to Caladesi to explore the three miles trail through the mangroves. Then you can go to the northern tip of the island where more than likely you will have the beach to yourself.

Things to note

• If  you take ferry you will have to pay $8.00 to enter to Honeymoon Island. 
• Bring you own snacks. There is a snack bar on the island but the prices are higher.
• Bring insect repellent if you are planning to do the hike, otherwise you won’t last five minutes into the hike. 
• If you have a beach umbrella bring it since there is no shade at the beach. If don’t is ok, you can rent one on the beach.
• If you want to see dolphins, there are big chances to see them either kayaking or on the ferry.

For more info about the ferry -> http://caladesiferry.org

Day Four

Clearwater Beach

 

 

 

In Clearwater beach you can relax at the beach or do some of the many things it has offers like volleyball, cruises, fishing, jet skiing, dolphin sighting, watch epic sunsets, flowrider pool, outdoor movies, rooftop bars, and daily festival. The festival is at the Pier from two hours before the sunset to two hours after sunset. We spend the day soaking up the sun and people wathching and during the evening we headed to the pier to see the street shows, vendors, dolphins, and the sunset.

Have you been or done any of the above? Let me know what you think, I would love to hear your experiences.

Want to see more? Watch the video below 😃


 

 

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