Your Summer Bucket List Trip to St. Pete-Clearwater
For folks who love to travel, this summer bucket list will help you live life to the fullest – with the best beach days ever, and a side of city life thrown in.

Sip a cool drink at a laid-back beach bar.
If your ultimate happy place is the beach, you need to know this: Nobody does #beachlife like St. Pete-Clearwater. In fact, Clearwater Beach recently made Travel + Leisure’s "15 Best White-Sand Beaches Around the World" list, the only beach in the United States to do so.
For sure, our beaches are amazing! But the best thing about a summer trip in St. Pete-Clearwater is that you can enjoy the beach & so much more! So, put on a floaty dress or a sherbet-hued linen shirt and let’s make those bucket list dreams a reality.
Celebrate the Salt Life at Clearwater Beach

The beach is the heart and soul of this town. It’s wide and welcoming, a soft, white-sand playground for any activity your beach-lover's heart might desire, from swimming to beach volleyball to sandcastle building. Clearwater Beach has perfected its sunshiny vibe, with beachfront hotels and resorts, shops, and restaurants/beach bars galore.
Come for the scene and stay for the sunset party: Sunset at Pier 60, a nightly celebration of all things sandy, happy and wonderful. Street performers, artisans and vendors of all stripes gather together for a family-friendly, joyful time, starting two hours before sunset each evening.
Meet Sea Creatures at Clearwater Marine Aquarium

Clearwater Marine Aquarium's dolphin habitat offers amazing views of their dolphin residents!
This summer bucket list attraction has a Hollywood connection: Clearwater Marine Aquarium was featured in two movies, Dolphin Tale and Dolphin Tale 2, starring CMA's most famous resident, Winter the dolphin (along with Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick Jr. and Ashley Judd). Winter was rescued from a crab trap as a baby, and fitted with a prosthetic tail, drawing visitors from around the world who were captivated by her amazing story. (This dolphin diva was sometimes seen lounging in the pool with sunglasses on. Really.) Winter passed away in 2021, but her legacy lives on.
Meet rescued animals here at CMA, a cast of characters that includes river otters, stingrays, sharks, pelicans and other marine animals, including Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, the rarest sea turtle species in the world. Bonus: This state-of-the-art aquarium is designed for excellent viewing.
Dive deeper by booking one of the immersive animal care experiences, such as the VIP Dolphin Experience, Paint With a Dolphin, and the Shark Care Experience. You can also take a behind-the-scenes tour of the aquarium, or head out on the sparkling waters of Clearwater Bay on a Sea Life Safari Tour.
Cruise (or Tiki) from John's Pass

Tour John's Pass and Boca Ciega Bay in a fun tiki boat.
John’s Pass in Madeira Beach was created by a hurricane in 1848 and named after a pirate. (Isn’t that the most Florida origin story you’ve ever heard?) Now a turn-of-the-century-style fishing village with scores of retail outlets and eateries, it is one of the region’s top attractions and a prime departure point for some super-fun boat trips.
A sunset cruise, enhanced with music (and adult beverages if you choose) is a surefire way to create those "life is good" moments. On a Sunset Cruise from Hubbard’s Marina, you’ll slip into back bays and alongside Gulf beaches, lined with hotels illuminated in rosy light. John's Pass Village & Boardwalk also has this: a floating tiki bar. Seriously, a party cruise in an actual octagon-shaped tiki bar is one of those gotta-try-it situations. (Just bring along 6-18 of your closest friends, depending on which tiki you choose.) Offered by Florida Tiki Tours, this tiki-licious float around John’s Pass and Boca Ciega Bay is totally bucket list-worthy.
Go on the Best Museum-Hop Ever

Tip: Do not save your museum-hop for a rainy day! With an average of 361 days of sunshine, full-on rainy days are very rare in St. Petersburg. Plus, one day is not enough to see all the treasures that await you in these halls of beauty and awe.
Witness the 75-foot-tall geodesic dome made of glass that houses the Salvador Dalí Museum; it’s a stunning showcase for the master surrealist. The permanent collection is fascinating all on its own, but the museum also offers special experiences in the Dalí Dome, and hosts fabulous events, too.
Get in touch with your inner cowgirl or cowboy at the James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art, the impressive personal collection of Tom and Mary James, now available for all to admire.
St. Pete is the home of the only museum dedicated to the handcrafted, one-of-a-kind works of the American Arts and Crafts movement (from 1890 to 1930 or so), inside the Museum of American Arts & Crafts Movement.
Surround yourself with eye-popping glass art at the Chihuly Collection and see a live glassblowing demonstration at the Morean Glass Studio. Encounter more contemporary glass artworks at Imagine Museum, or check out a number of unique glass art galleries.
Art and technology form a wondrous, wacky collaboration at FloridaRAMA, an immersive 15,000 square foot interactive experience in St. Pete’s Warehouse Arts District.
You may discover a new artist, or pay homage to some of your favorites, at the renowned Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, amid a collection that spans 5,000 years.
From magnificent murals to performing arts, there's are so many ways to explore the arts in St. Pete-Clearwater.
Salute the Sunshine City at the St. Pete Pier

Downtown St. Pete has some of the best waterfront dining in Florida, with restaurants such as Doc Ford's Rum Bar & Grille at the St. Pete Pier.
The 26-acre St. Pete Pier was named one of the best urban designs in the world by the Urban Land Institute: how’s that for street cred? As piers go, the Southeast’s largest waterfront playground is peerless.
Fun features include a fishing deck, Spa Beach, a family park/playground and splash pad, a weekend Marketplace, and the Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center, dedicated to educating visitors about the bay and estuary through hands-on exhibits.
But wait, there’s more! The St. Pete Pier is home to one of the coolest spots to enjoy a tropical drink in the neighborhood, a rooftop bar cheekily called Pier Teaki. This tiki bar offers great views of Tampa Bay and the St. Pete skyline, along with more than 30 varieties of rum (and every tropical beverage concoction imaginable), plus tasty bar bites like fish tacos and empanadas. You'll find several other waterfront restaurants to enjoy at the Pier, too, such as the very-popular Doc Ford's, serving up fresh seafood with a Caribbean flair.
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