Clearwater Beach - The Perfect Weekend Getaway
These local insights will give you the best weekend vacation for you and your entire family.
My grandparents are smart people. After they retired, they decided to spend the winters in Florida. Being from Wisconsin, the winters can get long as they are filled with many negative temperature days and several snowstorms. From January to March, they make their trek down to Clearwater Beach, Florida to help make the winters go a little faster. Over the years I have made multiple trips down to visit them. Every time I have gone it has been such a relaxing time and I love where they are located. I just got back Monday from another wonderful trip to see them, and I want to share some of my favorite parts :)
My favorite thing about this trip is the location of my grandparents' place. They stay in a condo right on the Gulf of Mexico where they can see the sunset everyday. Also, they are within a five-minute walking distance of the beach. Who can complain about that? One reason why I have always loved it so much is because it is family friendly. People are not allowed to have alcohol on the beach, and this deters rowdiness and limits the number of cans being left on the beach. Another thing I really enjoyed this past week was renting a Cabana. It cost us $40 for us to use for the whole day, and it was well worth it. We spent the day hanging out at the beach and I have never had such a relaxing day in my life. Oh and the sand, I can't forget about the sand! The sand is very well kept, and it is the softest sand I have ever felt in my life. You will be amazed!
Another thing I really enjoyed this past week was renting a Cabana. It cost us $40 for us to use for the whole day, and it was well worth it. We spent the day hanging out at the beach and I have never had such a relaxing day in my life.
I also love the cute, little restaurants that sit along the beach. They have changed over the years and the past few times I have gone down, I have been impressed with the renovations that have been done to the area and the upgrades in restaurants. Below are a few of my local favorites:
Another Broken Egg Cafe - A new breakfast place a little bit of a walk away from the beach, but the food and atmosphere are great.
Surfside Taphouse - I did not try their food, but the alcoholic beverages were cheap and tasted so good.
Salty’s Island Bar and Grille - I really enjoyed their smoothies, especially on a hot day.
Ice & Cream Creamery - There are so many ice cream places along the beach, but this one has the most options and the best tasting ice cream.
scroll to see photos from each place! :)
Just off the main strip in Clearwater is an aquarium. This is home to the famous dolphin, Winter. Winter has a unique story and there is major motion movie telling her story. If you have ever seen Winter's Tale, you have heard the story of losing her tail, the aquarium rescuing her, and creating the first ever prosthetic tail for a dolphin. I recommend the aquarium to anyone, but mostly for people with children. They put on dolphin shows and have several different animals for everyone to see. And of course, you get to see Winter. If you are lucky, you will get to see her while she is swimming with her prosthetic tail.
The last thing I recommend to anyone who loves a little thrill, is renting a jet ski from one of the local places and taking it out to the Gulf of Mexico. I have done it twice now and have loved it both times. I have rented from "Clearwater Beach Jet Ski Rentals" and "H2O Jet Ski Rentals", and I recommend renting from H2O Jet Ski Rentals. They both have a tour guide that goes out with you and watches to make sure you are being safe. I believe the tour and guides provided by H2O are substantially better. I thought the views I had going through the gulf with H2O were amazing.. And if you are lucky, you will see a dolphin swim by your jet ski. This was a dream of mine, and I am so happy I got to see them swimming so close to me. Another great thing about H2O is they take many pictures of you along the way and even some videos of you riding! And if you get Rob as your guide, you will be in great hands!! It is just awesome to be in open water going 45+ miles an hour with the sun beating on you and the wind flying by your face.
If you are planning a trip to Florida, but don't know where to go yet, consider Clearwater Beach. If you have kids, it is really the perfect place to go. If you have been to Clearwater Beach, what are your favorite places to eat and things to do? Please reach out, I would love to have some new ideas for the next time I go! :)