On our last trip to Florida we went to Clearwater for a dolphin spotting trip on the Sea Screamer, something we had been promising ourselves for a long time.
We had been staying down at Manosota Beach for a few days so instead of returning directly to the villa we diverted to Clearwater going over the spectacular Skyway Bridge. The departure we were aiming for was Noon but somehow the journey took a little longer than we thought it would, mainly because we stopped to take photos of the Skyway Bridge. It was certainly worth doing this as it is quite a spectacular sight. It also took a little longer than we remembered to actually reach to beach at Clearwater. The traffice was quite heavy. We then had not realised that parking at Clearwater Marina would be so difficult so you do need to allow plenty of time. Although there is plenty of parking we does take sometime to actually find a space. It was obvious they are providing more spaces I cannot say when it will actually be ready. We had dropped our friends off to buy the tickets still hoping that we would be able to catch the Noon trip. They found that it was possible to buy a parking ticket for $2 which allowed you to park at one of the nearby meters for the duration. Well worth it as with most parking meters they eat money! ! By this time the Noon trip had departed so we went off for a meal at nearby Crabby Bills.
We had a delicious lunch and we were very tempted to indulge in some of their fresh fish dishes but as we had promised ourselves a meal at Mannys at Haines City on the way home we restrained ourselves. However as usual the portions were generous and my eyes nearly popped out of my head when my meal was placed before me. We had a window seat so were able to watch the comings and goings in the Marina including the return of the Sea Screamer.
After our lunch and a short walk down to the Beach we duly presented ourselves for boarding at 2. 30pm. The Sea Screamer is a very large catamaran and they are seats for about 200 people although there were only about 30 people on our trip so we were able to move around easily when allowed.
We had been staying down at Manosota Beach for a few days so instead of returning directly to the villa we diverted to Clearwater going over the spectacular Skyway Bridge. The departure we were aiming for was Noon but somehow the journey took a little longer than we thought it would, mainly because we stopped to take photos of the Skyway Bridge. It was certainly worth doing this as it is quite a spectacular sight. It also took a little longer than we remembered to actually reach to beach at Clearwater. The traffice was quite heavy. We then had not realised that parking at Clearwater Marina would be so difficult so you do need to allow plenty of time. Although there is plenty of parking we does take sometime to actually find a space. It was obvious they are providing more spaces I cannot say when it will actually be ready. We had dropped our friends off to buy the tickets still hoping that we would be able to catch the Noon trip. They found that it was possible to buy a parking ticket for $2 which allowed you to park at one of the nearby meters for the duration. Well worth it as with most parking meters they eat money! ! By this time the Noon trip had departed so we went off for a meal at nearby Crabby Bills.
We had a delicious lunch and we were very tempted to indulge in some of their fresh fish dishes but as we had promised ourselves a meal at Mannys at Haines City on the way home we restrained ourselves. However as usual the portions were generous and my eyes nearly popped out of my head when my meal was placed before me. We had a window seat so were able to watch the comings and goings in the Marina including the return of the Sea Screamer.
After our lunch and a short walk down to the Beach we duly presented ourselves for boarding at 2. 30pm. The Sea Screamer is a very large catamaran and they are seats for about 200 people although there were only about 30 people on our trip so we were able to move around easily when allowed.