Things for a couple to do in Tampa

Turkey

We're moving to Tampa in the next week, and besides obvious stuff like Busch Gardens and the Zoo, we have no idea of what activities are available. We're not really into the night life. We like to take walks and see stuff, so places like parks and museums would be great. Are there any places we should avoid? I've been told that the Universal Mall is kinda dangerous.

Liquid Hellz

I think your thinking of the University Mall in Tampa up by USF.. yeah its not the greatest but your not going to get shot on sight. International mall is much much nicer and has some good restaurants. The beaches in Pinellas are great, specifically Clearwater beach and Fort De Soto. Lots of parks as well, they are all over just hit google and look for the green blobs. If your into sports your in luck we have NFL football, college football, hockey and baseball the only one not actually in Tampa are the Rays. The Dali museum in St. Pete is pretty awesome as is MOSI, the museum of science and industry which is just down the street from University mall across from USF.

Etch

Yeah, Dali and MOSI are definitely cool places to check out. If you're close to Brandon, the Westfield mall which used to be called the Towncenter is actually a pretty nice mall, especially if you've got a kid. The Regency 20 theatre also got a huge revamp and has all sorts of new amenities. Ybor has some fun things to do even if you're not into the night life. There's a Gameworks that got bought out by some other company that has a decent selection. It's also where I prefer to go to play pool. The tables are always free because no one thinks to go there to play. The drinks are pretty cheap too. If you want something different, check out Boing. It's basically a warehouse with wall to wall trampolines to screw around on. They do dodgeball games there too.

I've lived in this area for about 17 years, so if you hear about any activities and want an opinion, I'm glad to help.

Jasconius

Don't go to Universal Mall

Best mall in town is International Mall, especially for food. Plenty of nice restaurants in this outdoor walk area.

It sounds like you're in the USF area, so if you go north on Bruce B. Downs up to Wesley Chapel you'll come across the Wiregrass mall which is a good close alternative to Universal Mall

The best walk in town is down Bayshore avenue. Popular spot for joggers and bikers, right along the water.

If you can stomach the drive to St. Pete, downtown St. Pete is my favorite place in Tampa Bay and worth looking into for a night scene with plenty of culture to absorb if you do your research on where to hit

Turkey

I'm writing this stuff down. Once we're settled it looks like we'll have a bunch of stuff to do.

honkymcgoo

I play a lot of golf. I live in Westchase and the golf course here is really nice and open to the public. So if that's your thing or something you might want to try it's nice and fun.

We have a horse racing track and a couple of greyhound racing tracks. I never bet but it's still kind of a fun way to spend an evening with friends.

Kayaking is pretty popular amongst my group of friends, and there are several places where you can rent kayaks for a reasonable price if it's something you just want to try out.

If you're into music you're going to be going to downtown st. pete or ybor a lot. Both of them are fun to walk around and have some great food choices.

As far as places to avoid, it's like any other fairly large metropolitan area. Just be aware of your surroundings and you should be fine.

And of course, Orlando is not a bad drive at all. I drive up there fairly often to see bands who don't come to tampa for one reason or another, and as long as I miss rush hour traffic I can make the drive in just over an hour. Straight up I4. So if the Disney or Universal scene is your thing, go for it.

Pel

Do yourself a favor and drive a bit north to Crystal River for a few days/week. Rent or buy kayaks, and wake up early and meet some manatees. Go to Three Sister's springs, swim in the crystal clear water, have fun and freeze your private bits off. The place is off the beaten path, so nothing is too expensive, but the boating and wildlife is top notch if you're into that sort of thing.

AManFromEarth

MOSI is brilliant, Wiregrass is nice but doesn't have much in the way of variety though it's got some good food options.

Lots of nature, Hillsborough park, Withalacoochee up in Hernado, Weeki Wachee is fun the first time. The St Pete beaches are the best in the country imo.

And it's just a two hour drive over to the Space Coast.

Turkey

Pel wrote: »

Do yourself a favor and drive a bit north to Crystal River for a few days/week. Rent or buy kayaks, and wake up early and meet some manatees. Go to Three Sister's springs, swim in the crystal clear water, have fun and freeze your private bits off. The place is off the beaten path, so nothing is too expensive, but the boating and wildlife is top notch if you're into that sort of thing.

That's actually where we're from! Lovely town, just didn't have much in the way of software jobs.

Thank you so much people!