Things To Do

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

Like a zoo and theme park all in one! We love Busch Gardens! There’s something for all ages with large roller coasters, kid-friendly rides, huge animal enclosures, and even Sesame Street!

ZooTampa at Lowry Park

ZooTampa participates in some major conservation efforts— both globally and locally! They are one of the biggest helpers towards saving and assisting our local manatee population and are currently expanding their manatee critical care centers! Check them out if you want to feel good about your zoo visit and know that these animals are recieving top care!

The Florida Aquarium

LEGOLAND® Florida Resort

Lego land is a ton of fun, and has a lot to do! Great for younger kids. For toddlers and younger, consider pairing this park with its sister park, Peppa Pig land. If you want a theme park on a budget and that’s good for kids, we highly recommend Legoland and Peppa Pig!

Universal Studios Florida

Unfortunately, the new park (Epic Universe) doesn’t open until May 22. However, universal studios can still be an absolute blast! Recommended for older kids/teens and adults! If you’re a big Harry Potter fan, this is where you want to go!

Walt Disney World

Magical Walt Disney World! Always a classic!

Sunken Gardens

One of Kaitlyn’s favorite botanical gardens to see the best of Florida’s flora!

Great Explorations Children's Museum

Taking a trip to sunken gardens with your kids? Check out this children’s museum! While we haven’t been inside, we have seen it through the windows, and it looks like so much fun!

Lettuce Lake Park

A great little park to check out if you’re in the area and looking to kill time! Definitely hike the boardwalks!

Bok Tower Gardens

Clearwater Beach

St. Pete Beach

Manatee Viewing Center

Anna Maria Public Beach

Glazer Children's Museum

Tampa Riverwalk

Tampa Theatre

Armature Works

FRAMMI

Our favorite very small Italian restaurant.

Hole In One Donuts

Babushka's - Temple Terrace

Please try the dumplings

Foxtail Coffee - Telecom Village

Kaitlyn loves this coffee shop. There are several foxtails across Tampa too. Her personal favorite: an iced latte with caramel, coconut, and oat milk. They also serve locally crafted ice cream.

Soupa Saiyan

A dragon ball Z themed ramen restaurant. Worth it if you’re in the area.

TaKo Cheena

Pan-Asian and Mexican fusion. Very casual Outdoor seating. Very tasty!

Briarpatch Restaurant

Excellent brunch and lunch restaurant. On the pricier side but very worth it!

The Salty Donut

We haven’t tried this but it’s a favorite of friends!

Twisted Rolls Chimney Cake

Edison: Food+Drink Lab

Reservations recommended.

Player 1 Video Game Bar

Ajisai 3

All you can eat sushi, ramen, and hibachi for $30/person. Is the food amazing? No. But it’s still very good and for the price, its great. You can eat like a king, so to speak. Be warned, with the all-you-can-eat, they charge you for anything you don’t finish. Typically they’ll let a few pieces of sushi slide though. We recommend ordering hibachi or ramen first and then moving on to smaller plates. Food comes out quickly, so we normally order 4-5 times per dining with just a few items at a time.

Rainbow River

This may be the top favorite paddle of both Ben & Kaitlyn and they have completed it multiple times. If you rent from a local company, you can swim at the spring head and then paddle south where they will pick you up and return you back to your car. This is our favorite paddle as the trip features striking clear water the entire way down. We often see wild river otters playing with each other in the sea grass and the water typically stays a wonderful 72 degrees year round thanks to the spring head. Don’t forget to bring plenty of water and sunscreen.

Weedon Island Preserve

Another one of our favorite paddles! There is a brief paddle across the open bay and then follow the numbered signs and paddle through the mangrove trail! Because of the shallow salt water, you can often see crabs, unique birds, and fish literally jumping out of the water. Fun fact: this was the first place we saw wild manatees up close! Please bring wayyyyyy more water than you think you need. I recommend at least one gallon per person. Because you’re paddling over salt-water, you dehydrate much quicker than you expect. And lots of sunblock!

Silver Springs State Park

Enjoy swimming at the clear spring head and then take a paddle down Silver Springs River. While you may see manatees, it’s much more likely that you’ll see wild rhesus macaque (monkeys). This paddle in incredibly popular, and they will not bother you on the water. “In 1938, a tour boat operator, Colonel Tooey, released just 6 Rhesus macaque monkeys onto a small island, later converted to Silver Springs Park. His motive was to create a park closely resembling the Tarzan story; therefore, he procured the monkeys from New York City. But what Colonel Tooey didn’t know is that this particular species of monkeys are excellent swimmers – they escaped the premises within minutes of releasing them. Thus, to replace them, six more monkeys were bought. They, too, escaped like the previous batch. By the early 1980s, these monkeys had already spread across what now is the 5000-acre Silver Springs Park.”

Weeki Wachee Spring

Weeki Wachi Springs was previously the biggest tourist attraction in all of Florida before Disney arrived. Their claim to fame: live mermaid shows!

Crystal River

Best known for seeing wild manatees.

Space Coast

Bioluminescent kayaking tours. Have we been? No. Do we want to? YES. In some areas bioluminescent tours happen year round and in other places they’re seasonal. Most of them happen near the space coast though. So if this is an adventure you’d like to have, we suggest looking it up and seeing what you can find!