St Petersburg Beach Resort Guide
Introduction
The city has outgrown its status as a pensioner-filled village to now boast downtown waterfront festivals alternately featuring Caribbeana, top restaurants, artwork competitions and best-of-the-South barbecue contests. Downtown growth focuses on burgeoning medical centres, a public university, plus high-rise condos and gentrified neighbourhoods. Newer residents include yuppies, artists and international investors buying condos for their winter holiday. The town boasts a Grand Prix through city streets, won in 2006 by Helio Castroneves, and a major league baseball team, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Who goes there?
The city of 250,000 is popular with American families and Europeans. It was once even a destination for the granddaddy of no-frills flights, Sir Freddy Laker's Peoples Express. Prices are more moderate and the pace slower than in glitzy Miami, 435km (270 miles) southeast.
Where in the world?
St Petersburg was named by a Russian émigré when the Florida village was founded in 1888 and is on the central-west coast of Florida.
Situated between the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay, this peninsula is flat and subtropical except for a few modest hills; residents grow their own citrus, palms, hibiscus, oleander and royal poinciana. Pelicans, snowy egrets, herons, osprey and the occasional eagle fly over backyards or light in trees.
When to go?
St Petersburg is subtropical and humid, with winter temperatures being an average of 16°C (60°F) and summer months around 27°C (80°F). The busiest times to visit are around Christmas when holidaymakers flock here for some winter sun and the summer school holidays from June to August, although the constant sunshine makes it a great year-round choice. Hurricane season in Florida is June to November.
Beach
Drive 15km (9 miles) west from Tampa Bay on Central Avenue to Treasure Island, on the Gulf. Or head south to one of America's prime beaches, Fort DeSoto park (3500 Pinellas Bayway South), 21km (13 miles) from downtown. Spanning five small islands, the park comprises of 460 hectares (1,136 acres), with beaches lined by mangrove trees, fishing piers, campsites, picnic tables and marvellous big mortar guns for the kiddies to clamber over.
Beyond the beach
Arguably the finest works by the master of surrealism are displayed at the Salvador Dali Museum (1000 Third Street South), 1.5km (1 mile) from Central Avenue downtown (
www.salvadordalimuseum.org). On a more somber note, visit the Florida Holocaust Museum (55 Fifth Street South) (
www.flholocaustmuseum.org), one of America's largest on this topic.
Family fun
Stretching into Tampa Bay is the city's landmark Pier (Second Avenue Northeast), ending in an inverted, five-storey triangle building aptly named The Pier. Buy food for the pelicans, fish the bay, watch boats, and enjoy the 11-tank aquarium inside. Often tied up at The Pier and open for visits is a sea-going replica of HMS Bounty, of Mutiny on the Bounty fame. Not far away is Great Explorations: The Children's Museum (1825 Fourth Street North), 2.5km (1.5 miles) from downtown. It is full of interactive fun for the nippers: a lie detector, build-your-own (toy) race car and computerised art. To one side of the parking field is the recently updated, 72-year-old Sunken Gardens, a lush, 1.6-hectare (4-acre) display of tropical plants, waterfalls and exotic birds.
Retail therapy
Downtown choices are limited to shops inside and within a couple blocks of BayWalk (151 Second Avenue North), 300m (985ft) from Central Avenue's starting point on the waterfront. BayWalk is an open-air restaurant-shopping-movie complex: take the kids to Johnny Rocket's for American diner food, circa 1965. For more than 100 shops large and small, head to Tyrone Square (6901 22nd Avenue North), 11.5km (7 miles) from downtown.
A night on the town
A sprinkling of small clubs feature live music; it is best to get a copy of the St Petersburg Times paper any Thursday and check its Weekend magazine for the full list of who's playing what within a 35-mile range. For a taste of home, stop at The Moon Under Water (332 Beach Drive NE). Across the street from a tree-lined waterfront park, it resembles a pub from the days of the British Raj, with modestly priced Indian and US food, and a good selection of beers on draught. Then walk three blocks along the park to the upscale Marchand's Bar and Grill inside the beautifully restored, 1920s Renaissance Vinoy Resort (501 Fifth Avenue Northeast). It offers Mediterranean cuisine in an airy room, and this is where the city's elite stop for cocktails or a full dinner. Afterwards, check for live jazz or rock at the Ringside Cafe (2742 Fourth Street North), 3km (2 miles) north from the Vinoy.
Eating out
The mix of Florida seafood and Caribbean/Cuban seasonings are menu staples at cosy Tangelo's Grill (226 First Avenue North). For a wider choice of seafood, head for the pricier Bonefish Grill (5901 Fourth Street North), 6.5km (4 miles) from downtown. It has a lively bar, too.
Getting around
Downtown, with its grid of numbered streets, is easily walkable. Or step aboard the Looper Downtown Trolley, which is actually a small bus that serves each of its 14 stops about every 15 minutes. Car hire is available at Tampa International Airport, 34km (21 miles) to the northeast; there is plenty of parking downtown.
Exploring further afield
The number one tourist attraction around here is the world-famous theme park Walt Disney World, about 153km (95 miles) to the east, near Orlando. Take your sunscreen, hat and camera.
Splashing out
Take a four- or five-night cruise on one of the giant, glitzy cruise ships sailing out of Tampa. The main cruise lines are Carnival, Holland America and Royal Caribbean.
Flying in
Tampa International Airport (TPA)
