Tampa/ Clearwater Beach--Need Ideas

[jenk1013]

Hi everyone,

 

We are sailing on Carnival Inspiration on August 13th. We are flying in to Tampa on the 12th.

 

Our plan is to rent a car at the airport and explore the area. We are mainly interested in checking out the beaches around Clearwater. We will then need to return the car to the airport the next day before going to the terminal.

 

I'm not sure how to go about this. Should we get a hotel in Tampa or Clearwater? Any recommendations for hotels in either area would be appreciated. I'll take any suggestions on how we should do this.

 

Also, what time is the earliest we should plan to arrive at the terminal?

We would like to board the ship as early as possible and not have to wait in too many lines.

 

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions.

 

Jen

[signman]

If your primary goal is to enjoy Clearwater Beach, then I would stay in a hotel on the beach. The Hilton would probably be my first choice, Sheraton Sand Key second, and I think there is a Marriott right at Sand Key too. For any of these I would want to try Priceline, as August is a very slow month. See what others have been paying and learn how to bid at http://www.biddingfortravel.com Also see what Hotwire is offering.

[bajathree]

Stay the night in St Pete or Clearwater if you want to go to the beach. Take a look at Tradewinds on St Pete Beach.

[samiam519]

As stated before, since this is the "off" season, most of the area hotels will be discounted. Hotels.com, priceline, travelocity, etc should all have some good deals. It isn't a long ride from the airport to port Tampa and a cab would probably be the way to go. Enjoy!