An introduction to sunny Tampa

Besides being a major business center, Tampa is a fun city to visit on Florida's Gulf coast. It's only 30-40 minutes away from St. Petersburg (which I've spoken about here) and it's a quick hop away from Clearwater (ranked as having one of the best beaches in the USA).

Amalie Arena

Sports fans will be delighted to have the Amalie Arena, formally known as the Tampa Bay Times Forum (and before that it was called St. Pete Times Forum), located right downtown. Besides hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning (hockey) and Tampa Bay Storm (American football), the stadium also hosts various other events and concerts, which you can look out for online. Personally I have never been there for a Lightning or Storm event, but I've been with the Eckerd College tennis club for the Champions Challenge in 2012 featuring tennis legends including John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors.

I am very grateful for Eckerd College Campus Activities to help the tennis club finance and attend this event!

Busch Gardens

One of my favourite memories of living in St. Petersburg is when I would go to Busch Gardens, which is an African-themed amusement park and zoo. Actually, I think it's my all-time favourite amusement park besides Islands of Adventure in Orlando. I've been to Busch Gardens for a total of six times, and three of those times was to go to the annual Howl-O-Scream in October.

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Eckerd College (where I attended school) provides to its students discount tickets for the Howl-O-Scream event every year and organizes buses for students to be able to go to it. The event starts at night, and the amusement park is decorated Halloween-style, with actors roaming around dressed up at creepy characters and whose mission is to scare the crap out of you. The good thing is that they can't touch you, but they're scary enough just looking at them, and they creep up behind you or jump out of the bushes when you're least expecting it. Sometimes they have chainsaws (fake ones) which kind of give me a heart attack.

Besides being able to enjoy all the normal rides at the Howl-O-Scream, there are also haunted houses which you can walk through and have a couple more heart attacks. It's really fun to go with friends. If you're not into the scary stuff, you can still go to Busch Gardens any other normal day of the year and enjoy the rides and entertainment without the Halloween creepiness.

At Busch Gardens, my two all-time favourite rides are Cheetah Hunt and SheiKra. The Cheetah Hunt is a high speed ride, topping 60 mph (97 km/h), and the duration of the ride goes for 3 minutes (one of the longest ever).

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This above image is of the Cheetah Hunt.

SheiKra is a floorless rollercoaster with one of the tallest dives in the world. You drop from 200 feet (61 m) and the ride reaches a maximum speed of 70 miles per hour (110 km/h). It's great because right before the rollercoaster hits the drop, it pauses and leaves you hanging mid-air for a good two to three seconds. Amazing thrills.

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This photo above is of the SheiKra ride.

You can upgrade your ticket at Busch Gardens and go on a safari ride and hand feed giraffes. I have never done the safari trip at Busch Gardens, but I have been face to face with giraffes at the Lowry Park Zoo.

Lowry Park Zoo

I've been one time to the Lowry Park Zoo. Usually I'm not a fan of zoos because I don't like to see animals in enclosed spaces outside of their natural habitat, although at this zoo many of the big animals like the giraffes and rhinos were roaming in large open spaces.

This giraffe was cute. He/she looks a little sad in this picture. I prefer to see animals out in their natural habitats.

University of Tampa

The University of Tampa is located right in downtown Tampa, so there are a lot of student-friendly restaurants and bars in the area. I didn't spend a lot of time around here, but a good friend of mine who was studying at UT took me once to a really good pizza place nearby.

Ybor City (nightlife)

There's an area of Tampa known as Ybor City, and I don't have the exact words to describe it except to say that it's pretty weird, but in an entertaining way. You'll find all kinds of people around there: old and young, drunk and drunker, gay, straight and in between, punk and posh, cute college students and creepy drug addicts. Like I said, it's an interesting area, and you'll either love it or you'll hate it. There's generally a lot of police in the area to keep it safe, and I've personally never felt unsafe there, but in any case you should be careful wherever you are and make smart decisions (as you always should! ).

Prana

This is one of the most common and popular nightclubs of Ybor city in Tampa. It has five floor levels with four different DJs and music genres, so most people can enjoy it. The music on the first floor varies, but usually it's hip-hop or pop, and the second floor has the same music as the first because it is all an open area with a bar and reserved seating which wraps around the balcony so you can look down at the dance floor on the first level.

The third level is VIP which I've gotten into because I was cool with the bouncer. You can sometimes get into the club for free and/or get into the VIP part if you're a girl (sorry, guys), go before 11pm, make a reservation online and/or are friendly with the bouncers. The music in the VIP section also varies, and I like the area because it's chill and cozy and it's not jam-packed with people like on the first and second floors. There's also an aquarium inside which is nice to stare at.

My favourite level is the fourth one, which is the Latin music dance floor. People actually know how to dance here, and personally I think it's the funniest level.

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The fifth level is the open roof level which is nice for fresh air and a view of the city. I think the music in this section is more chill than the other levels but it also varies.

Czar

This is another popular nightclub in Ybor, although I've never been to it so I cannot give my personal experience and opinion about it. It's up to you to find out!

Honey Pot

The Honey Pot is the LGBT nightclub which I've been to twice and I really enjoyed my time here. On Friday nights they have "Steam Fridays" featuring good-looking male dancers and entertaining drag shows, and Saturday nights are "Tease Saturdays" featuring sensational female dancers and $1 drinks from 10-11pm. I'm also pretty sure that there is free entry into the club before 11pm.

Once when I was at the Honey Pot, they had a bubble pit which was really fun. Even if you're straight, it's fun to come here with your friends. One time my straight female friend got lucky and found a hot straight guy to dance with there, so there's hope for everyone. Another time, one of the hot guy dancers named Jose who I had assumed was gay, turned out to be straight and asked me for my number. It was quite flattering, but I had to decline. Maybe I'll call him up for a bachelorette party.

Hookah places

If you've read my other articles, you'll know by now that I always talk about my favorite shisha places in a city because shisha is my favourite.

Babylon Hookah

For an Arabic/oriental and chill ambiance, Babylon is the place to go. When I used to go, they had a belly dancer with music on Saturday nights and it was really fun. I have great memories with my friends at Babylon and I even bought their t-shirt. They don't serve alcohol here, but they offer a selection of juices, soft drinks, tea and coffee. Don't skip out on the Arabic desserts.

The Kahwa

For a quieter, study-friendly shisha ambience, I recommend Kahwa. The lighting is good and the music isn't overpowering so you can focus on reading or studying. They have normal tables and upright chairs to sit on rather than low couches and tiny tables, which is ideal for students who want to go there to smoke shisha and have a coffee while studying. They also offer food and drinks.

Gasparilla Pirate Festival

Every year Tampa has a big pirate festival and celebration. Since 1904, the people of Tampa and all around have come to celebrate the legend of the Spanish pirate José Gaspar (Gasparilla) who was said to have operated in Southwest Florida around two hundred years ago. Most people don't really care about the real significance of the festival and just come to see the parade and drink. The parade, by the way, was the third largest parade in the United States in 2015, so you have an idea of how big of a deal this is!

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Transportation

Like in all parts of Florida, the public transportation here is lame. The best way to get around the city is by car or Uber. To travel longer distances, you can take a train at the Amtrak train station or take a plane at the Tampa International Airport. I've taken the Amtrak train many times to go to Orlando (about a 2-3 hour ride) and to Miami (5-6 hours).

One downside to the Amtrak trains is that they are not very reliable. They are either on time or very delayed. Most times that I've taken the train, they've been delayed anywhere between 30 minutes and 3 hours, but the one time that I was late to get to the station due to heavy traffic, the train was on time. Great luck. On the other hand, one time when the train was 3 hours late, they gave us free dinner on the train (I took two), which was great.

Clearwater beach

Very close by to Tampa is the famous Clearwater Beach area. As I mentioned, Clearwater is ranked as having the top beaches in the USA.

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I have to admit it's quite nice and worth going to, although I didn't think it is much more amazing than St. Pete Beach or Pass-A-Grille Beach. People can participate in water sports here (also possible at St. Pete beach) like parasailing, jet skiing, and I think wakeboarding too. There are plenty of surf shops and restaurants all over the place, and the ambiance is really relaxing and chill.

The Surf Style shop is unique because it features the opportunity to surf indoors. It costs $30 for 30 minutes. I have never tried it, but I've been in the shop many times and I have seen people doing the indoor surfing. It seems very popular.

Clearwater Marine Aquarium

If you have seen or heard of the movie Dolphin Tale, the star of the film (Winter) lives right here at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

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Winter, a rescued dolphin with a prosthetic tail, is the top attraction to this aquarium. The Clearwater Aquarium rescued and helped to rehabilitate Winter, who as a young dolphin got stuck in a crab trap, and lost her tail. After being sent to the Clearwater Marine Hospital, she was given a new tail. Unfortunately I haven't had the opportunity to visit the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, but I know from friends who work there that it is really cool to see.

I like the idea of this aquarium because it specializes in "Rescue, Rehab and Release", which is different from Seaworld and other aquariums which hold perfectly healthy marine animals outside of their natural environment. Clearwater releases its rehabilitated animals after they are determined to be fit to live on their own. In certain cases when the animals are dependent on care for their entire lives because they will die if they are on their own, they must stay at the aquarium.