New to the Sunshine State? You won't be disappointed! There are many, many things to do and places to stay around St. Petersburg. I will post a few of them here in hopes of helping some that may be unfamiliar with the area.
First things first - where is the wedding? You can find out here!
http://www.loewshotels.com/en/Don-CeSar-Beach-Resort/index/map
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| The Don CeSar |
The address of the Don is 3400 Gulf Blvd., St. Pete Beach, Florida 33706.
While there is a discount for wedding guests at the Don (mention Alden and Kelley's wedding), if you are looking for somewhere else there are plenty of options! The Sirata on St. Pete Beach has low rates for Sundays ($101), check their site out here - http://www.sirata.com/ There are also many B&Bs scattered about, one which my roommate/travel agent found is the Sabal Palm Inn & Coconut Inn which also has low rates, check them out here - http://www.sabalpalms.com/caccommodate.html Another option is the Beach House Suites at the Don, which offer larger spaces with kitchens as well as access to all the Don's amenities, check them out here - http://www.beachhousesuites.com/ There are many more options nearby, such as http://www.postcardinn.com/ , http://www.aldenbeachresort.com/ , http://www.tradewindsresort.com/ , http://www.beachcomberflorida.com/ , http://www.plazabeachresorts.com/bayview-plaza-resort.html , http://www.grandplazaflorida.com/ , and many more. I am quite the fan of tripadvisor.com and you can check out their recommendations for places to stay and things to do in St. Pete at St. Pete Beach here http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g34606-Saint_Pete_Beach_Florida-Vacations.html
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| Cirque du Soleil at Disney! |
Things to do, things to do - there are so many! If you are looking to catch a play, try either the Mahaffey Theater, in downtown St. Petersburg - http://www.mahaffeytheater.com/index.cfm or the Straz Center for the Performing Arts (formerly the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center) - http://www.strazcenter.org/ Or my favorite type of show, Cirque du Soleil - http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/lanouba/default.aspx There are many music venues around the area, I suggest looking at Creative Loafing's website to get a good overview. There are many museums in St. Pete (and Tampa), a few of my favorites are: the Dali Museum (which is now in a new fancy building!) check it out at http://thedali.org/ , the St. Pete Museum of Fine Arts - http://www.fine-arts.org/ , and for the kiddos there is the http://www.greatexplorations.org/ - where my hand print is still on the wall! Of course, there are them parks galore in Florida, and Bush Gardens is right in Tampa, if roller coasters are your kind of fun!
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| Fort DeSoto Beach |
For outdoorsy folks, you can find plenty to keep you busy. There are more fishing spots and charters than you can name, beaches to see, islands to explore, and rivers to paddle in. Some of my favorites are Caladesi Island - http://www.floridastateparks.org/caladesiisland/ , my favorite beach is Fort DeSoto - http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/05_ft_desoto.htm and if your a fresh water person, Myakka River is just over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Sarasota - http://www.myakkariver.org/
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| Caladesi Island |
