How to Enjoy Clearwater, Florida

Clearwater is a great place to make your vacation headquarters while you’re in Florida. Located between the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay, you’ll find miles of beautiful sandy beaches allowing for fishing and water sports. When you tire of sun and surf, there are museums, art galleries, unique shops and trendy eateries to discover. Disney World, Universal Studios and other Orlando area attractions are less than two hours driving distance. Tampa with Busch Gardens and similar places are a mere 30 to 45 minutes away.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Swim, play volleyball and unwind at Clearwater Beach, which is listed as “the Best City Beach on the Gulf of Mexico” by Dr. Beach (He is a professor who rates America’s finest beaches). This beach has been awarded a “Clean Water, Clean Sand” award from the Healthy Beaches Campaign. Clearwater Beach has year-round lifeguards and is the only beach in Pinellas County with this service. The north side of the beach offers more space and has better views than the south beach area.
2. Visit the Beach Walk, a five-year work-in-progress, revitalizing the areas adjacent to Clearwater Beach. Several new hotels are going up on the Beach Walk and there are wide promenades dotted with palm trees for walking and bicycling. Retail shops and restaurants are also being added or remodeled along the walk along with new parking lots. There are also showers located along the promenade.
3. Fish from Pier 60. The fishing section of the pier is at the very end and there is a nominal fee to walk the pier. You’ll find dazzling sunsets in the late afternoons and there are nightly festivals featuring live music, street performers and local artists showcasing their wares.
4. Parasail over Clearwater and the Gulf of Mexico and enjoy breathtaking scenery. Enjoy a free fall as you gently descend towards the water, take a dip to cool off, or opt to stay dry. Parasail City will pick you up in a van and take you to one of their sites. Proparasailing is located at the Clearwater Marina. Other watersports available in the area include kayaking, catamaran sailing, banana boat rides, snorkeling and the rental of waverunners and jetskis.
5. Take a romantic dinner cruise with StarLite Cruises and enjoy live entertainment as you gaze at out at the beautiful passing scenery. Perhaps you'll spot a dolphin as you take in a spectacular sunset. After a superbly prepared dinner and dessert, you'll enjoy dancing the rest of the evening, until you dock about 10:00pm. Lunch cruises are also available and you can select between a two-hour cruise while learning about Clearwater history, or a three hour cruise which offers music for both listening and dancing. One of their vessels, the Starlite Princess, is a paddle wheel riverboat and there are several types of cruises you can take on her. Check out their website for details.

Tips & Warnings

• Please keep in mind this is a tourist area and you'll need to make reservations as far in advance as possible.