St. Petersburg , FL is located approximately 20 miles south of Clearwater. This area offers an abundance of dining options, outdoor/family activities, attractions, and an apparent night life. Although St.Pete has plenty of hotel options to choose from, Bed and Breakfasts seem to be the popular choice towards the downtown and gulf areas.
Tropicana Field, home to the Tampa Bay Rays Baseball Team, is located in downtown St. Petersburg . Also located in the downtown district are the Florida Holocaust Museum, Salvador Dali Museum, Janice Landing, and The Pier. All four of these locations are well liked among the locals. The museums are not very large but are full of intriguing information. The Pier offers a couple of restaurants, food court, miniature sized aquarium, multiple shops, and a put put golf course. To be honest, I’ve gone to The Pier a couple of times and I can honestly say that there is nothing exceptional about it Janice Landing, located on 1st avenue, is a small yet acceptable concert venue that surprisingly puts on a couple good, worthwhile shows every month.
Central Ave in St. Petersburg offers a variety of different styled boutiques and shops.
Dining options range from simple diners, sports bars/grills, to upscale restaurants. I very rarely go out to dinner in St .Petersburg, or anywhere else for that matter. However, when I do I prefer to eat at Sushi Rock Grill, Pacific Wave Restaurant, Hurricane, and Gigi’s Italian Restaurant. If you are short on time or looking for a quick bite there’s the typical drive through located on just about every corner.
Oh St. Petersburg’s night life- where do I begin? I’m feeling pretty upbeat today so I’ll try to throw in some positive attributes! St. Petersburg is well known for having popular, trendy gay and lesbian bars. Although I’m not gay, therefore my opinion may not be that accurate, I always seem to have a great time at Georgie’s Alibi and Metro Station. Good news is that downtown St. Petersburg does house a variety of bars and clubs. The bad news is that unless you’re smoke or look forward to dying from lung cancer in the near future, this isn’t the spot for you. Both the locations and its inhabitants (other than Brandon and myself) were anything close to being spectacular or hygienic. Even though we only visited The Pelican, The Garden, and The Independent- we were far from being impressed and called the night quits. I can promise you that we will not be attending any downtown St. Pete bars anytime soon, if ever. In fact, Brandon stated “I would rather go to Detroit than St. Pete”.
*Brandon and I do not advocate going to any bar/club that is filled with smoke and/or ugly people. If you are inside and see more lit cigarettes than attractive individuals- it’s time to go!
*Running low on cash and feel the need to lower your standards for the night- St. Petersburg offers free cover into the bar/clubs and you can expect extremely low bar tabs. I guess you really do get what you pay for!
St. Petersburg Beach
Located just south of Treasure Island, St. Petersburg Beach is the highlight of the St. Petersburg area. Lining the beach are many local hotels that mix it up with the bigger brands. As with Madeira and Treasure Island, almost all of the hotels have beach bars right on the sand and are a great place to begin your adventure. But before you can begin you need to know two things:
First, parking is usually available in the many public lots that dot the beach. Some are coin operated while most utilize the parking machines in which you pre-pay and then leave the receipt in your car window, these machines to take credit.
Second, unlike Clearwater Beach it is illegal to have alcohol on St. Pete Beach. This generally isn't an issue as long as you have a plastic cup, we've found the majority of the issues relate to glass.
If you're looking for a cool place to hang out on St. Pete Beach we recommend the Undertoe, 3828 Gulf Blvd, which has a really laid back atmosphere. I've heard a lot about the Undertoe since I moved to Tampa and only recently checked it out, it was a cool bar but not as much as it was hyped to be. The Undertoe has three volleyball nets on the beach, outside tables and a large covered bar that was shaded. The crowd was slightly less than desirable (quite a few bikers) but all in all we had a good time.
Our second recommendation would be the Sloppy Pelican, 677 75th Ave, which we really liked. This is a 2-story restaurant/bar located just off the sand at the mouth of the intercoastal. It has a dock for boats and the drinks are priced very nicely. We recommend the $5 rum runners, which were large and strong. Both the upstairs and downstairs has an outside deck while the upstairs also has an enclosed portion with a bar and dining area.
If you're looking to get some rays and hang out with a drink remember those hotel bars! You can walk from bar to bar on the sand, grab a drink and then continue on down the line. It's a very chill way to have a good time and grab some sun.
Brandon & Jenny - Caribbean experts on information you SHOULD know but nobody tells you!
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