With kids · Tampa · United States
Tampa with kids
Family-tested sights, a calm base and the practical details that make travelling with children easier.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Pictured: Tampa Bay History Center, Tampa · Photo: Christopher Hollis, Public domain
Quick answer
Tampa is one of Florida's easiest family bases outside Orlando: Busch Gardens and Adventure Island, a big aquarium, a zoo with manatees and calm Gulf beaches within an hour. Summer heat and afternoon storms shape the day, so plan outdoor sights for the morning. Top picks: Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, The Florida Aquarium and ZooTampa at Lowry Park. Families usually base themselves in Channel District and Water Street.
Key facts
- Family picks
- 7
- Best area for families
- Channel District and Water Street
- Rainy-day options
- 3
- Busiest months
- March
Plan a trip to Tampa
Compare flights, places to stay and rental cars, then book with the provider you choose.
Best things to do with kids
Theme park · North Tampa
1.Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
An Africa-themed theme park with some of Florida's biggest roller coasters, including the dive coaster SheiKra, the inverted Montu and the wooden-steel hybrid Iron Gwazi. Between rides, the 65-acre Serengeti Plain holds giraffes, zebras and rhinos that you can see from trains or on a guided safari truck.
Ride the big coasters in the first hour, before queues build and summer thunderstorms close them in the afternoon.
- Time needed
- Full day
- Cost
- Expensive
- Book ahead
- Tickets bought online in advance are usually cheaper than at the gate; safari truck tours sell out on busy days.
- Kids
- Iconic
- Active
- Nature
Aquarium · Channel District
2.The Florida Aquarium
The aquarium follows a drop of water from Florida's springs and wetlands to its coral reefs, with a mangrove gallery under a glass dome, a large coral reef tank and a penguin habitat. It runs a coral conservation programme for the Florida Reef Tract, and an outdoor splash area suits younger children.
Time your visit with a scheduled dive show at the coral reef tank; the timetable is posted at the entrance.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Nature
Zoo · Lowry Park
3.ZooTampa at Lowry Park
A medium-sized zoo north of downtown known for its Florida section and its manatee critical care centre, which treats injured and sick manatees from across the state; visitors can watch through underwater windows. There are also African, Asian and Australian sections and animal encounters for children.
Head to the manatee area first; it is one of the few places to see manatees up close outside the winter season.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Nature
- Outdoors
Museum · Downtown
4.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.
Bring a change of clothes for the water-play gallery.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
Nature · Apollo Beach
5.Manatee Viewing Center
On cold winter days hundreds of manatees gather in the warm discharge canal of a power station on Tampa Bay, about 30 km south of downtown. A free viewing platform, boardwalk and tidal walk let you watch them surfacing, and stingray touch tanks and exhibits are on site.
Go on the morning after a cold night in January or February, when the most manatees crowd into the canal.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Nature
- Kids
- Off the beaten path
Museum · Channel District
6.Tampa Bay History Center
Three floors of exhibits on the region, from the Seminole and earlier Indigenous peoples to cigar factories, Spanish explorers and the pirates of Gulf legend, including a walk-through pirate ship. It sits on the Riverwalk next to the Florida Aquarium.
The map gallery upstairs holds centuries of rare Florida maps and is easy to miss.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Kids
- Rainy day
Park · North Tampa
7.Lettuce Lake Park
A county park on the Hillsborough River with a boardwalk through cypress swamp and an observation tower over the water, where alligators, turtles, ibis and herons are common. Paved trails loop through the hardwood forest and suit walking and cycling.
Visit in the cooler morning hours; wildlife is most active and the boardwalk is shaded.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Nature
- Outdoors
- Kids
- Photo spot
Rainy-day ideas
- The Florida Aquarium — Time your visit with a scheduled dive show at the coral reef tank; the timetable is posted at the entrance.
- Glazer Children's Museum — Bring a change of clothes for the water-play gallery.
- Tampa Bay History Center — The map gallery upstairs holds centuries of rare Florida maps and is easy to miss.
Where families should stay
$$$$ · Best for families, luxury and first-timers
Channel District and Water Street
The Channel District, next to Port Tampa Bay's cruise terminals, holds the Florida Aquarium, the Tampa Bay History Center and the downtown arena. The Water Street Tampa development has added new hotels, restaurants and walkable streets, and Sparkman Wharf has a container food garden by the water.
- Good
- Walk to the aquarium and cruise terminals; Newest hotels in the city; On the streetcar line
- Watch out
- Expensive; Event nights at the arena bring heavy traffic
- Nearby
- Florida Aquarium, Tampa Bay History Center, Sparkman Wharf, Port Tampa Bay
Family travel tips
- Gulf beaches have gentler surf than Florida's Atlantic coast, which suits young children.
- Do the 'stingray shuffle' — slide your feet in shallow water — to avoid stepping on stingrays.
- Busch Gardens has a dedicated children's area, Sesame Street Safari of Fun, for younger kids.
- Pack rain jackets in summer; storms usually pass within an hour.
- Use sun protection with a high SPF and reapply often; the sun is strong even in winter.
Day trips for families
- Clearwater Beach (About 45 minutes by car) — A wide white-sand Gulf beach with calm, shallow water and a busy waterfront of hotels and restaurants.
- Tarpon Springs (About 45 minutes by car) — Greek sponge divers from the Dodecanese settled here in the early 1900s, and the sponge docks on Dodecanese Boulevard still have sponge boats, shops and Greek bakeries and tavernas.
- Weeki Wachee Springs (About 1 hour by car) — A state park built around a deep, clear spring where 'mermaids' have performed underwater shows in a submerged theatre since 1947.
- Crystal River and Three Sisters Springs (About 1 hour 40 minutes by car) — In winter, hundreds of manatees shelter in the warm springs of Kings Bay at Crystal River.
- Orlando theme parks (About 1.5 hours by car) — Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando are reachable for a long day, though traffic on I-4 is heavy.
When to go with children
The best months overall are March–May and November. March is the busiest, so book the big sights early. Weather by month.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Tampa good for kids?
Tampa is one of Florida's easiest family bases outside Orlando: Busch Gardens and Adventure Island, a big aquarium, a zoo with manatees and calm Gulf beaches within an hour. Summer heat and afternoon storms shape the day, so plan outdoor sights for the morning.
+What can kids do in Tampa?
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, The Florida Aquarium, ZooTampa at Lowry Park, Glazer Children's Museum and Manatee Viewing Center.
+Where should families stay in Tampa?
Channel District and Water Street: New towers, the cruise terminals and the Florida Aquarium on Garrison Channel.