Area Attractions for the Family

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

Busch Gardens Tampa, FL 33674

888-800-5447

Admission Charged

Hours vary by day and season, call for details

Just a short 30 minute drive from Clearwater Beach, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is the ultimate family adventure park offering an array of fascinating attractions based on exotic encounters with the African continent. A unique blend of thrilling rides, one of the country's premier zoos featuring more than 2,700 animals, live shows, restaurants, shops and games, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay provides unrivaled "real" excitement for guests of every age.

Adventure Island Tampa Bay

4500 Bougainvillea Ave. Tampa, FL 33612 813-987-5600

Admission Charged

Hours vary by day and season, call for details

Adjacent to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Adventure Island’s 30 acres of water-drenched fun in the sun features the ultimate combination of high- speed thrills and tropical, tranquil surroundings for guests of all ages. Within a soothing Key West atmosphere awaits an unrivaled blend of slides, corkscrews, water falls, a wave pool, children’s water playground and other family attractions such as outdoor cafes, picnic and sunbathing areas, gift shops, arcades and a championship white-sand volleyball complex.

Heritage Village

11909 125 Street North, Largo

727-582-2123

Admission Free

A 21-acre, open-air historical village and museum located in the heart of Pinellas County.  The natural pine and palmetto landscape is home to some of Pinellas County’s most historic buildings.

The Village includes 28 structures, some dating back to the mid-to late- 19th century. The Village includes a school, church, railroad depot, and store as well as a variety of historic homes. The homes range from the McMullen-Coachman Log Cabin, the oldest existing structure in the County, to the magnificent Victorian-era House of Seven Gables. Also on the grounds of Heritage Village is the Pinellas County Historical Museum. The Museum’s exhibits trace the history of Pinellas County from the Indian-Spanish period to contemporary times.

Moccasin Lake Nature Park

2750 Park Trail Lane, Clearwater 727-462-6024

Admission Charged

Hours: Monday: Closed, unless legal holiday; Tuesday-Friday: 9:00am-5:00pm; Saturday-Sunday: 10:00am-6:00pm Holidays: Open: Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday, President's Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Veteran's Day.  Closed New Year's Day, Thanksgiving Day (and the day after), Christmas Day Moccasin Lake Nature Park is an Environmental and Energy Education Center providing visitors to beautiful Clearwater with a natural retreat from the concrete and asphalt setting of the urban environment and offers a change of vistas from the famous white sandy beaches. This is a place where you can enjoy a small piece of Florida's natural history. Come walk the nature trails where you might visually encounter egrets, ospreys, butterflies, turtles or the occasional alligator. Visit the gift shop and other live wildlife exhibits where you can see non-venomous snakes, tortoises, freshwater fish, amphibians and many birds of prey such as the Bald Eagle.

Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI)

800-995-MOSI

MOSI is located in north Tampa at 4801 E. Fowler Ave., across from the USF Sun Dome, and just one mile from Busch Gardens.

Admission Charged

Open year round:  Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm; Saturday and Sunday, 10am-7pm

Approximately a 30 minute drive from Clearwater, the Museum of Science and Industry is a great attraction for any age. MOSI is the largest science center in the southeast, featuring more than 450 interactive exhibits in all areas of science, and is the home of Florida's first IMAX® Dome Theatre.

Sunsets At Pier 60 Daily Festival P.O. Box 3595, Clearwater Beach, FL 33767 727-449-1036

Admission Free

Started in 1995 and patterned after the highly successful Sunsets at Mallory Square Festival in Key West, FL. this event is responsible for a marked increased in visitors to Clearwater Beach during the evening and off season periods.  Sunsets at Pier 60 Daily Festival is the only form of free family oriented entertainment available on Clearwater Beach.  A nightly "street" festival on Clearwater's famous fishing pier celebrating the setting of the sun and featuring artists, craftsman and performers with musical entertainment.

Caladesi Island State Park

# 1 Causeway Boulevard, Dunedin 727-469-5918

Admission Charged

Open year round, 8am-sunset

Note:  Caledesi Island is only accessible by boat or ferry

Picnic pavilions, bathhouses, and a park concession all make the visit more comfortable. Fishing, shelling, and nature studies are all ways to further enjoy a visit. Caladesi Island State Park is ranked the sixth finest beach in the United States. For those who like to walk, Caladesi Island is accessible by foot from Clearwater Beach (a three plus mile walk; no automobile access nor available parking) The unspoiled island offers natural vegetation, abundant bird life and interpretative programs for Florida nature study.

Captain Memo’s Original Pirate Cruise

25 Causeway Blvd., Clearwater Beach

727-446-2587

Admission Charged

Call for exact dates and sailing schedule

Sail like a pirate about The Pirate’s Ransom.  She was custom designed and built  just for pirate sailing and is equipped with all of the latest life saving equipment, including life jackets, life rafts, and ship-to-shore radio. Clean men's and women's restrooms are on board. It is also equipped with a professional sound system with a large variety of C.D. and cassette music for your listening pleasure.   She can accommodate 125 hearty souls and sails daily.

Great Explorations – The Hands-On Museum

1925 Fourth Street North, St. Petersburg

727-821-8992

Admission Charged

Open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday

A "hands on" museum where visitors touch, move and interact with exhibits that educate and entertain. Exhibition areas include Phenomenal Arts. Explore Galore, Exchange, Think Tank, Touch Tunnel and Body Shop. A gift shop is also included. Exhibits include a climbing wall and a raceway where visitors build a tabletop racecar from motor to axle and race on a slot car-type track. "There's also a great sailboat exhibit where visitors learn about direction and air pressure and a lie detector. Great Explorations is a museum for children of all ages with the goal of making learning fun.

Planetarium

St. Petersburg Junior College, Science Building, 6605 Fifth Ave. North, St. Petersburg

727-341-4320

Admission Charged

Showings are held September through May and special presentations are regularly scheduled.

Call for exact dates and hours of operation

The planetarium is a sky theater under a 7.3 meter domed ceiling