Florida Guide > Days Out
Treasure Island, Florida
We wanted to visit Busch Gardens for the
first time (we’ve been holidaying in Florida for 15 years but have
never had the time) so we decided to stay close to the Park for a couple
of days and stumbled across Treasure Island. It is a small barrier island near St Petes and Tampa. Supposedly named as in the early 1900s an investor saw the
potential as the area becoming a resort and buried a treasure chest and
made a huge announcement and opened it in front of a crowd and hence the
name was realised.
It was great to drive from our villa – a
little over an hour’s drive - spend the day on the beach then drive
from our motel to Busch Gardens the next day.
We managed to rent wonderful hotel room
right on the beach – Gulf Boulevard, so many motels/hotels to chose
from but we had already looked on the internet for St Petes and around
and this was recommended – Thunderbird Hotel. It was around $100 per night for a basic room that slept 4 with small
kitchenette. Prices are
seasonal however.
The beaches are pristine white and the
area was very quiet and relaxing. However, there was parasailing, jetsking, windsurfing, fishing
and golf courses for the more active.
The hotel’s Tiki Bar is just beside the
beach and the cocktails are served all day long.
After our day on the beach, we visited the
mall at Tyrone Square at St Petes (approx 10miles). The usual department stores are there Burdines,
Dillard's, JCPenney and Sears. A
food court and cinema would be the best place to leave Dad and the kids!
Many many restaurants nearby ranging from
MacDonald's to exclusive dining – some on the waterfront. There is also a nightclub and local bars – probably too many to
choose from. We ate a
fabulous fish restaurant at St Johns Pass – again so many to choose
from.
“Official” temperatures are:
During the summer months range between 72ºf
and 90ºf.
During the winter months range between 55ºf
and 75ºf.
We visited in January and it was not the
best weather for your holiday but that didn’t matter as the beach and
setting is just so wonderful. We are going back for a few days in April – the prices go down
a little from April 22nd as October – April is the US high
season.
AAA members get 10% discount and if you go
onto the net, various hotel sites offer 20% discount vouchers.
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