Florida Beach Vacation - My Vacation to Clearwater Beach, FL

Hello Readers. My Honey & I just back from our vacation in Clearwater Beach, Florida so I thought I would offer a little review of our traveling experiences there. Maybe you too can gain some tips, do's & don't, and ideas.

FLYING

As you know the airports have some very strict regulations these days so we decided to pile all of our luggage into one big suitcase. We both carried on bags. I had two and he carried on one bag. We flew Air Tran. Here is my tip with Air Tran: The flying experience was great, timely, and smooth but be sure to pack light. This is probably some advice you can take for all the airlines right now. Our big bad weighed a couple pounds over the basic pricing so the price of the bag would have gone from $20 to $60 additional bucks just for a couple additional pounds. I would suggest you take your Jeans and maybe a couple pair of Shoes in your carry on because the Jeans were what was making our bag heavier. Be sure to carry on bags that close tightly so that your stuff doesn't get lose and roll around all over the plane. We both almost lost our Ipods on the plane which we weren't happy about. If you are questioning the flight regulations regarding toiletries. Pack items like your perfume bottles & such into your baggage that you will be checking in. I purchased some of those TSA approved bottles and jars from Walmart and filled them with lotions and hair products. I packed them all in a clear zip lock storage bag and carried it all in my carry on. This worked out very well and no one bothered us. You can be searched completely at anytime so I wouldn't suggest you pack anything too personal in your carry on's that you wouldn't want for everyone around to see.

RENTAL CAR

We went with National. My first time using them. What they pride themselves on is that you can pretty much have your pick on what car you drive. We went with the Economy sized car since it was only two of us. When we got outside to take our pick we only had one car to pick from and it was extremely small. It was also a very basic car with no automatic options. I would suggest you go with the next size up even if it is only a couple people. We were pretty dissatisfied with the car.

The Hyatt Clearwater Beach Resort

We stayed at the Hyatt Clearwater beach Resort. The resort is beautiful and sits right on the beach. The room service was superb, the room was comfortable and included a nice full sized kitchen, balcony with chairs, and sink in Tub. We got some really good rest in that room. It was a great home away from home type of feel. The pool was heated and the exercise room was a very nice size. The hotel was gorgeous. The extra charges were a pain. This hotel charged for parking at their own hotel, held loads of extra money on your credit card, and had ridiculous extra charges for room service. The Hotel food was delicious but it was quite pricey. I would suggest staying somewhere like the Holiday Inn Express. We vowed that next time we travel there we would stay somewhere much more modest. The other hotels were just as nice but we probably would have saved a little.

Clearwater Beach

The area around the beach was accommodating, had lots of shoppes and things to do. The seafood was great! There are loads of activities right there on the beach such as sky diving, fishing, and jet skis. We spent days laying out on the beach. I would suggest you purchase your own umbrella if you plan on spending more than one day at the beach. The umbrella rental prices get expensive after a day of renting. You will save if you buy your own umbrella to use each day. The beach shoppes & souvenir shoppes were very nice. We purchased some very stylish beach hats during our stay. There are many little ice cream parlors along the strip. Everyone seemed friendly and helpful and if you dare try the Italian Ice cream. It didn't agree with us but it was well worth the tummy ache!

The beach was pleasant but unfortunately very trashy. Its sad that people litter on beaches just as they do the street. So beware of broken glass, cigarette buds, and all the above thrown around on the beach. The great place about this resort is that is for those who love to relax. As a couple we love to relax and just enjoy our surrounding so Tampa was perfect for us. If you are more a person who likes to be on the go most of the time this resort may not be the place for you. It was very peaceful and quiet.

The Jerk Hut

There is plenty to get into in Tampa, Florida. We drove to the Jerk Hut, which is located in Downtown Tampa. They have the best Curry Chicken you ever want to taste. We were covered in Sand & Salt Water when we got there. It was a small cafe style restaurant and no one seemed to mind! The food was delicious and the service was excellent.

Honey Moon Island

This was my favorite. We traveled to Honey Moon Island which has Kayaking rentals. We rented a Kayak boat and rowed out to a private small island. It was just us out there and it was breathtaking. I wasn't much help with the canoeing action but I did my best!

Dinner Cruises

All though it seems they try to nickel and dime you everywhere you go the dinner cruise was very nice. We really enjoyed ourselves. The food was great and the sites were even better. We got some really good pictures on the cruise and had good times.