For entertainment and leisure activities you’ll find plenty to do in the area and nearby.
Disney World and Epcot Center are only about an hour and a half drive. The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on the east side of Tampa is about an hour drive. The Florida Keys are about 8 hours away if you wanted to go there.
But in the Tampa Bay area there is so much to do that you won’t have to make any long trips if you don’t want to.
For sports enthusiasts there are 3 professional sports teams – Tampa Bay Rays baseball, Tampa Bay Buccaneers football and Tampa Bay Lightning hockey. In addition we have spring training for the Toronto Bluejays in Dunedin, the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater and the New York Yankees in Florida.
If you like concerts there is the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, the State Fairgrounds on the east side of Tampa and Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater – where performers like Billy Joel, Sting, Bon Jovi, 3rd Eye Blind, Matchbox 20, Linkin Park, Tobey Keith, Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw, John Mayer, Alicia Keys and other have had concerts. In addition, during the summer the Tampa Bay Rays sometimes have concerts on Saturday evenings after some of their home games and in the past they had John Fogerty, Hall and Oates, the Go-Go’s, ZZ Top, REO Speedwagon, Darius Rucker of Hootie and the Blowfish and the Goo Goo Dolls.
Some of the local attractions include a Busch Gardens amusement park in Tampa, the Tarpon Springs sponge docks, the St. Pete pier and Ybor City in Tampa plus museums like the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa and the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg.
There are also lots of good restaurants with good seafood restaurants in all of the beach areas. 2 unique and exceptional restaurants in Tampa near the airport are Bern’s Steak House and BoiZao Brazilian Steak House.
Last but not least is the 20 mile strip of beaches that goes from Clearwater Beach down to St. Pete beach with all the parasailing, jetskiing, volleyballing and sunbathing you can stand.