St+Petersburg+Clearwater+FL


 * Travel Tips for St. Petersburg, FL:**
 * St. Petersburg Wikitravel Website:** [])
 * Tampa Wikitravel Website**: []
 * Clearwater Wikitravel Website**: []
 * Winter Haven Wikitravel Website**: []
 * Sarasota Wikitravel Website**: []
 * Sarasota Wikitravel Website**: []


 * Mike Summers - October 2016:**

We spent three days at St. Petersburg Beach. October is a great month to visit. Temperatures were in the 80's. Humidity was in the low 40's. We found a resort on the beach on Hotwire that was $75.00 per night called the Grand Plaza Beachfront Resort (Grand Plaza Resort Website: http://www.grandplazaflorida.com/ ). It had an outdoor heated pool, easy access to the beach, a panoramic view from the bar on the eleventh floor, a nice bar on the sand called Bongos, and easy walking distance to other bars. Nearby was Skidders (Website: http://www.skiddersrestaurant.com/ ), which we visited for breakfast on two mornings. One of our favorites for an evening meal was the Toasted Monkey which is located behind the Howard Johnson's on the beach (Website: http://www.thetoastedmonkey.com/ ). There is a second Toasted Monkey at the front of the Howard Johnson's, but the one on the beach has a great atmosphere with live music, TV's, sand volleyball, and good food. We enjoyed it on two different nights. Another spot located at the Beachcomber Hotel is Jimmy B's Beach Bar (Websites: http://www.beachcomberflorida.com/ and http://www.beachcomberflorida.com/dining/jimmy-bs-beach-bar ). Great live music, food, and drinks were easily found here. Spend some time at St. Pete's Beach!


 * Mike Summers - March 2012:**
 * Mike Summers - March 2012:**

My son and I went to Tampa/Sarasota for some spring-training baseball. We were not disappointed. After landing at TPA, we headed to the Tampa Bay Brewing Company (Website: [] ) where the beer was excellent and the calamari was tasty. The Brew Company is located in the Ybor City section (Websites: [] and [] and []) of Tampa near downtown. Lots of other nightlife in this area. Another restaurant near the airport that we visited before flying home was The Refinery (Website: [] ), I tried pumpkin gnocchi which was very good. We went south to Sarasota for baseball. While there, we tried a couple of restaurants. One was the Sarasota Brewing Company (Website: [] ) which had excellent pizza and salads. The beer was excellent also. Based on Roger's comments in the Tampa section of this website, we also visited Siesta Key and ate at the Lobster Pot (Website: [] ). The food was excellent. It's a New England seafood place in Florida! Here's a list of other restaurants on Siesta Key: []). My son and I also checked out the many beaches from St. Pete north to Clearwater. Here's some websites about St. Pete Beaches: [] and [] . Of the tiki bars that you'll find every 500 feet along the shore, Paradise Grille (Website: [] ) is the best dinner stop. Enjoy a cheeseburger (in Paradise) and fries while listening to a guitarist doing Cash or Travis. After eating, head a little further south along the beach to earn your dessert: a scoop of ice cream or some fresh ground coffee at Paradise Sweets (Reviews: [] ). If you want seafood, the overwater Wharf restaurant (Website: [] ) has great seafood in a great location. Order the grouper which comes with a lemony relish of olives, capers, and tomatoes is a hit. Another restaurant worth visiting is Sloppy Joes (Website: [] ); they have the biggest, tenderist calamari that I've ever enjoyed. If you want the best place for breakfast, head to the Seahorse and try the maple-pecan pancakes. Limited, but excellent breakfast food (Review: [] ). If you want something to do during a rainy day, two choices: 1) visit the Dali Museum near downtown St. Pete (Website: [] ) which is about ten miles from the beach, but worth the drive or 2) visit the Chihuly Collection of blown-glass sculptures (Website: [] ) which resemble forests, gardens, and coral reefs. If you're a beach guy like me, you need a minimum of two nights, but a week would not be out of the question. Oh, I forgot to mention, but the water temperature in March was 77 degrees! Enjoy! Mike Summers