I recently had the pleasure of tagging along to my boyfriend’s APEC Convention, which was being held at the Tampa Convention Center. APEC, which was some fancy shmancy Power Electrical Engineering conference. While he was busy studying, listening to lectures and presentations all day, I had the opportunity to get lost and explore some of Tampa on my own.

On the way to Tampa, I took the scenic route from Fort Lauderdale airport and made the 3.5 hour drive or so along the I-75 N highway. You can just pull over on the side of the highway at a rest stop and see the famous Everglades of Florida; known for its sawgrass marshes and coastal mangroves.

The Everglades seen on one of the rest stops on my drive up to Tampa from Ft. Lauderdale Airport.

The Tampa Convention Center

My stay was short and quick, 2 days and 2 nights, but I was still able to see and do a lot of things. A weekend away will be more than enough.

So, with some tips from the locals on some go-to spots and some things I have researched and found on my own, here’s a list of places and things to see and do if you’re visiting Tampa, Florida.

1. The RiverWalk

The Riverwalk

Located right immediately in front of the Tampa Convention Center. There’s restaurants, bars, and dining along the water. There’s even some water activities available where you can rent a paddle boat, kayak, take a cruise, and/or ferry across.

2. The Tampa Aquariam

It opens at 9:30 am. Probably the earliest to open of all the touristy attractions I was able to see, just because I was really up early this particular day and everything else wasn’t open yet. General Admission was about $24, extra for excursions like a dolphin sight-seeing and/or a penguin meet-and-greet, etc.

There are A LOT of animal petting attractions. I got to pet a shark, and a horse-shoe crab and a sting ray. They also have a “NO BONE ZONE” where you can touch and feel different anemone’s and corals and such but that’s beyond my comfort zone.

It’s more than just an aquarium! They have a Madagascar and Wetlands exhibit; crocodiles, otters, and different birds which are out in the open in this large enclosed indoor forest exhibit.

3. The Tampa Museum of ART

Tampa Museum of Art

Opens at 11am. Probably one of my favorite things to do anywhere is to go to the art museum. This one was pretty small, but you can spend a decent hour or more here.

The awesome part, free admission for students/college with ID! Regular adult admission is $15, even less for senior citizens and maybe $5 for kids.

*Travel Tip: Park your car in the William F. Poe Parking Garage located on N. Ashley Drive. It’s the main parking garage central to all of the major tourist attractions and museums, literally smack dab in the center between the Children’s Museum, The Public Library, The Straz Center for the Performing Arts and the Tampa Museum of Art. I believe all day parking is about $6.

4. Henry B. Plant Museum

Hours 10am-5pm. Also called, The Plant Museum, it’s actually a part of the Tampa University Campus. I was quick to jump to conclusions. Initially, I really thought it would be a museum featuring plants, but it actually was an old Hotel which was owned by a Mr. and Mrs. Plant and the exhibitions are a collection of fancy extravagant artifacts, antiques and furnishings they once collected on their overseas expeditions.

5. Ybor City

I don’t think it’s actually it’s own city, but one of the neighborhoods in Tampa South of downtown. But, AKA “Cigar City,” this place was known for it’s cigar factories in the late 1800’s and now has been designated as a National Historic Landmark District, as stated per Wikipedia.

This is the place to go to, where they still continue the tradition of hand-rolled cigars.

*Travel Tip: I felt like this kinda was sorta the hipster, LGBT friendly trendy part of the city. I only say this because there were multiple colored flags strewn along the storefronts of a few of the buildings and restaurants within this area.

6. The Stone Soup Company

Also located in Ybor. I was told to try some Cuban food and a few times this restaurant was mentioned amongst the locals I have asked. I would not say it is solely Cuban, it’s like fusion American-Vegan, a soup-and-sandwhich restaurant. Kinda grungy and hardcore, live music, with lots of art work hanging on the walls.

So we came, ordered “THE REAL CUBAN” which according to their menu was Voted 1st Place Traditional Cuban USA in 2015. Try for yourself!

We did not have enough time to play in the water and see the Florida beaches during the day. The nearest decent beach from Tampa is in Clearwater which is about 30-45 minute drive from Tampa. We had dinner on our last night in the city of Clearwater, and it is full of bright lights, beachside bars and restaurants, and carnival rides you definitely cannot miss on your next visit to Tampa.

Safe travels everyone!

Stay curious, stay humble.
-The OA