2 days in Tampa

Day by day

1. Day 1: Tampa Riverwalk and Henry B. Plant Museum

   Tampa Riverwalk, Henry B. Plant Museum, Glazer Children's Museum and Tampa Theatre, then Ybor City Historic District in the evening. A walking day (longest hop 0.5 km, straight line).

   1. Breakfast

      Breakfast: Cuban bread

   2. Morning

      Tampa Riverwalk

      It passes the convention centre, Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, the Tampa Museum of Art and Armature Works, with bronze busts of local historical figures along the way.

   3. Late morning

      Henry B. Plant Museum

      One wing is a museum of the hotel's Gilded Age furnishings and its role as headquarters during the Spanish–American War.

   4. Lunch

      Lunch: Tampa Cuban sandwich

      Ybor City bakeries and cafés and long-running Cuban sandwich counters across West Tampa.

   5. Afternoon

      Glazer Children's Museum

      A hands-on museum on the edge of Curtis Hixon Park with play zones on themes from water and weather to grown-up jobs, including a large water-play gallery and a multi-level climbing structure, aimed at children up to about ten.

   6. Café break

      Café break: Guava pastries

   7. Late afternoon

      Tampa Theatre

      It is run by a non-profit and still screens independent and classic films, often with a pre-show on the Mighty Wurlitzer organ.

   8. Evening

      Ybor City Historic District

      Visit by day for the history and cigar shops, then come back after dark if you want the bars on 7th Avenue.

2. Day 2: Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and Lettuce Lake Park

   Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and Lettuce Lake Park, then Columbia Restaurant in the evening.

   1. Breakfast

      Breakfast: Café con leche and Cuban toast

   2. Morning

      Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

      Between rides, the 65-acre Serengeti Plain holds giraffes, zebras and rhinos that you can see from trains or on a guided safari truck.

   3. Late morning

      Lettuce Lake Park

      Paved trails loop through the hardwood forest and suit walking and cycling.

   4. Lunch

      Lunch: Deviled crab

      Cuban bakeries, Ybor City cafés and old-school West Tampa sandwich shops.

   5. Evening

      Columbia Restaurant

      Book the flamenco dinner show ahead; at lunch, the café side serves a classic Cuban sandwich without a reservation.

Before you go

• Busch Gardens Tampa Bay: Tickets bought online in advance are usually cheaper than at the gate; safari truck tours sell out on busy days.

If it rains

• Swap in The Florida Aquarium (Channel District): Time your visit with a scheduled dive show at the coral reef tank; the timetable is posted at the entrance.
• Swap in Ybor City Museum State Park (Ybor City): Start your Ybor visit here to make sense of the buildings you will pass on 7th Avenue.
• Swap in J.C. Newman Cigar Company (El Reloj) (Ybor City): Book a tour slot online; you can buy cigars rolled on site at the shop afterwards.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 18–24 hours of visiting over 2 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 10.4 hours in December to 13.9 hours in June.

Getting between stops: Tram. The TECO Line Streetcar uses replica vintage cars on a short line between downtown, the Channel District and Ybor City's 7th Avenue, and has been fare-free in recent years.

More or fewer days

• One day in Tampa
• 3 days in Tampa
• 5 days in Tampa

Questions travellers ask