Armature works is in downtown Tampa! It is about 20 minutes away from the main hotel blocks recommended in our "Travel" tab of this website. This is one of our favorite spots. It is basically a giant public food court with tons of vendors, and is right on the riverfront. It is a beautiful place to walk and coupled by surrounding bars, shops, and live music. One of the rooftop bars (M Bird) overlooks the city. We would definitely recommend coming here at any point of the day - whether it's for brunch, or to stay out late at night! You can also walk the the Tampa Riverwalk from Armature.

Sparkman's wharf is also in downtown Tampa. It is similar to Armature works. There is great food, drinks, activities, and live music. If you walk around outside of Sparkman's wharf, you will find more shops, bars, and restaurants near the Water street area.

Busch gardens is a popular amusement park in Tampa (the photo say it all haha).

Bayshore boulevard is a beautiful waterfront road that people love to run/walk on. It lasts about 4.5 miles and overlooks pretty houses and the water. We do a run club here once a week. Close to here is Hyde Park village which is right next to Bayshore. There's lot's of shopping and food options right around here so we'd definitely recommend knocking out Bayshore/Hyde park village the same day.

Davis island is a small man-made beach that we love to go to if we're not up for making the drive to St. Petersburg or Clearwater. It's somewhat of a hidden gem. This is also a dog beach, so there are furry friends always running around (but it's quite fun and entertaining if you're an animal lover).

Midtown is a relatively new area with tons of restaurants, cute little shops, live music, and more! We haven't spent too much time here, but we loved it during the times we did. There is a restaurant there called "True Food Kitchen" that is super good. They also do monthly outdoor markets (and hopefully one of them falls on our wedding weekend so you guys can enjoy if you decide to come here).

Salt shack on the bay is a seafood restaurant overlooking the water. Their food is delicious, and their pina coladas are to die for! This is a perfect place to go out with your friends, family, or even a date night. We personally think it's most worth while to go during sunset hours!

If you are a hockey fan (or live sports fan in general) the NHL season normally starts in early October. There might be an opportunity to watch the Tampa Bay Lightning! There are also tons of concerts that go on here.

Ybor city is considered the Cuban district of Tampa. There is a lot of good Cuban food here. A unique part of this little area are the roosters that roam the street! However, if you're interested in going here we would recommend doing it during the day time. The night life here is too crazy, we would NOT recommend lol.

Urban Kai Gandy offers paddle board and kayak rentals. It's a lot of fun here! There is also a nice coffee shop (Patrona) and restaurant (the Getaway) right next to this. It's a hidden gem.

This is pretty self explanatory (lol). But the Tampa Zoo is a great place to go to if you have little ones!

We love the Florida aquarium! This place is so big and a lot of fun!

There are a ton of Tiki Boats around Tampa, St. Pete, and Clearwater! Here are some options:

https://www.gotikitours.com/tampa

https://cruisintikistampa.com/

I think this goes without saying... but it's hard to list every single "beach" there is around here. However, if you want to make a day trip, I would HIGHLY suggest going down to either St. Petersburg or Clearwater. If you are renting a car, the drive from Odessa to St. Petersburg is around 45 minutes to 1 hour (depending on traffic). If you are staying in Tampa, these drives would be closer (around 35 minutes or so). OR, taking an Uber/Lyft with others and splitting the costs is also an option if you want to make a day trip out of it! Here are some of the beaches we like:

1.) Pass-a-grille beach (more lowkey)

2.) Upham beach (more lowkey)

3.) Clearwater beach (so fun, but can be crowded and full of tourists)

4.) Indian rocks beach (more lowkey)

5.) Treasure Island (can also be crowded, but lot's of activities around here).

FYI - Downtown St. Petersburg also has great night life....lot's of cool bars and restaurants around.

Needless to say, feel free to explore all the beaches around the area. I promise they will not disappoint! Just bring tons of sunscreen and brace for the sun...it's really strong here.

This website is also great if you want to check out other places outside of our suggestions! Another suggestion is downloading the "Viator" app if you're interested in doing any tours or excursions of any sort.