📍Tampa | 3-Day Itinerary (Attractions & Experience Edition)

Here’s our 3-day Tampa trip: Day 1: Airport → Hotel → Silver Springs Day 2: Hotel → Deep Sea Fishing → Clearwater Beach → Dolphin Tour → Hotel Day 3: Hotel → Weeki Wachee → Cuban Town (Ybor City) → Airport 1️⃣ Attractions & Experiences Silver Springs 🌊 Highly recommended! You can see manatees, alligators, and other wildlife here. The water is incredibly clear — a paradise for paddleboarding and very photogenic! ⚠️ Tips: Renting a car is strongly advised! We took a taxi from South Tampa for around $130, but returning cost nearly $300 due to limited Uber availability in the area. If you know how to paddleboard, choose that over the transparent kayaks. The kayaks are hard to control (even with two people), and paddling upstream on the return is exhausting. Two guys in our group took 40 minutes longer than me and ended up paying extra for overtime. Girls, think twice! Deep Sea Fishing 🎣 An amazing experience! Beginner-friendly — no prior fishing experience needed. The 4-hour tour includes 2 hours of sailing and 2 hours of actual fishing across three different spots. We chose Double Eagle Deep Sea Fishing — highly recommended! ⚠️ Tip: Cash only on the boat. Clearwater Beach 🏖️ Nice white sand beach, but nothing particularly special. Not many entertainment options. Renting a shaded tent just to sit and watch the ordinary sea view didn’t feel worth it. The nearby restaurants are overpriced and average-tasting — we spent $35 per person and still didn’t feel full. ⚠️ Tip: Avoid swimming here. We didn’t see any safety nets, and rip currents could be risky. Just dip your feet in the shallow water. Dolphin Tour & Sunset 🐬🌅 Unfortunately, we didn’t see any dolphins. The sunset was okay but not as stunning as the ones at Xiamen’s Wuyuanwan Bridge. Honestly, the free sunset view from Clearwater Beach was better than the one from the boat. ⚠️ Tip: It can get windy and chilly on the boat in spring. Weeki Wachee 🛶💎 Even if you’ve been to Silver Springs, this place is still worth visiting! Unlike Silver Springs, there aren’t many animals here, but the water is even clearer — truly the “Little Jiuzhaigou of North America.” The kayaking route is downstream all the way, and a shuttle takes you back to the starting point. Relaxing and enjoyable! ⚠️ Tips: Paddleboarding is not recommended — the river is narrow and winding, and it’s easy to get stuck in branches. Arrive on time! Reservations are canceled if you’re more than 15 minutes late. Cuban Town (Ybor City) 🧨 Not really my thing, but it’s famous for its cigar culture. Lots of cigar shops to explore if you’re interested. #Tampa #TravelGuide #USATravel #Florida #BeachVacation 🏖️🐬🌴