City Guides: Things to do While Boating in Tampa, Florida
Whether you’re looking for exciting nightlife, a relaxing riverfront scene or the fun of tropical fish, you can find it along Tampa’s sunny Gulf shores, rivers and inland canals. Private boat slip rentals offer easy access to a variety of Tampa Bay area attractions and activities.
Keep reading to check out our suggestions for Tampa parks, zoos and historic sites you can visit from your Florida boat slip rental.
Florida Aquarium
Photo: Florida Aquarium Facebook
701 Channelside Drive / Tampa, Florida 33602
The 250,000-square foot Florida Aquarium is the perfect place to get an up-close look at what’s swimming beneath your boat. Creatures include Florida’s native marine and land animals as well as habitats from all corners of the world. From the wetlands and the coral reef to Madagascar and the open ocean, the aquarium is home to river otters, lemurs, stingrays, lionfish, sand tiger sharks, a 300-lb grouper and more.
While it’s fun to see these aquatic animals, it’s also a great opportunity to learn how to conserve the waterways for future boaters. Visitors can learn about ocean conservation issues such as red tide, shark finning and preserving the coral reef.
Other aquarium attractions include traveling art exhibits, an outdoor 4-D theater and a Splash Pad water play area for kids with spraying fountains and dumping buckets. You can also book dolphin cruises, in-water experiences with sand tiger sharks and tropical fish and backstage encounters with African penguins and alligators.
Tampa Zoo at Lowry Park
Photo: Lowry Park Zoo Facebook
1101 W. Sligh Ave. / Tampa, Florida 33604
Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo is a must-do for anybody with a private boat slip for rent in the area. More than 1,300 animals include Florida panthers, manatees, stingrays, Malayan tigers, African elephants, Bornean orangutans, pygmy hippos and more African, Asian, Australian and native Floridian creatures. Have fun feeding giraffes, watching monkeys and visiting aviaries with lorikeets, Southeast Asian birds and hornbills. Enjoy a birds of prey show and up-close animal encounters or take a ride on the expedition Africa Safari Tram, a carousel and other family-friendly rides.
In addition to animal exhibits, the zoo offers educational programs, conservation seminars and summer camps for kids. Rescue and rehabilitation efforts include a manatee critical care center where injured or cold-stressed manatees are taken care of until they can return to the wild.
Tampa Riverwalk
Photo: Tampa Riverwalk Facebook
The Tampa Riverwalk is a 2.5-mile pedestrian trail along the Hillsborough River, making it convenient to visit from your private boat lift rental or downtown Tampa. Along with biking, jogging and walking, the area hosts shops, restaurants and attractions. There are several parks and playgrounds as well as the Yacht Starship dining cruise and the WWII American Victory Ship.
Museums along the Riverwalk include:
- Tampa Bay History Center
- Tampa Museum of Art
- Florida Museum of Photographic Arts
- Glazer Children’s Museum
Visit Hyde Park Village for shops like Vineyard Vines, Anthropologie, Brooks Brothers and the Cinebistro Movie Theater. Special events include a holiday lighted boat parade, trick-or-treating, Riverfest and the Christmas-time Holiday Harbour. It’s also a stop on the Pirate Water Taxi.
Hillsborough River State Park
15402 US 301 N. / Thonotosassa, Florida 33592
Located near downtown Tampa, Hillsborough River State Park has 2,990 acres and more than seven miles of hiking, biking and equestrian trails along the Hillsborough River. Paddlers will enjoy kayaking or canoeing Class II rapids. Other park activities include camping, swimming, picnicking and horseback riding. There’s a reconstructed 1836 fort at the Fort Foster State Historic Site that’s open for guided tours and special events.
Ybor City Historic District
Photo: Wikipedia/Commons
2015 East 7th Avenue / Tampa, Florida 33605
Looking for nightlife, culture and art? Tampa’s Latin Quarter of Ybor City is the place to go. The 135-year-old neighborhood, a former cigar manufacturing district was founded by Vicente Martinez-Ybor. The area was known as the Cigar Capital of the World until the 1930s. These days, you can find nightclubs, art galleries, murals, a museum, Cuban and Latin restaurants and jazz clubs. You can still find hand-rolled cigars and coffee shops. And chickens. Lots of roaming chickens.
Visit the Ybor Art Studio, attend the annual Cuban Sandwich Festival or hang out in Centennial Park, which has cool permanent dominoes table. Ybor City’s 7th Avenue is a National Historic Landmark District and features unique architecture among its historic buildings.
A private boat dock for rent along Tampa Bay or the Hillsborough River is a great location to discover all of these attractions and more. Where are you headed next?
