Clearwater Travel Guide 2024

 2024 Clearwater Visitors Guide

Clearwater, Florida boasts of 2.5 miles of sugar-white sand beaches considered one of the finest beaches in Florida.  Clearwater Beach is a popular vacation destination that is located on the Gulf of Mexico on Florida’s West Coast.

Clearwater and its island beaches are one of Florida’s most popular vacation spots. With walking distance to restaurants and attractions, and all types of accommodations designed to fit every budget and taste, and nature-based attractions, Clearwater Beach is the place to play in Tampa Bay!

Long revered as a fishing destination, Clearwater Beach is also a haven for sunbathers, sports enthusiasts, and golfers. With over 50 courses in the Clearwater Beach/St. Petersburg area, golf lovers will find courses to suit a variety of skill levels.

Baseball, hockey, soccer, and football are all popular spectator sports in Clearwater Beach, adding to the wealth of tourist attractions in this area. For visitors looking to get in on the action, a number of fishing charters can be found in Clearwater Beach, allowing anglers to get out and cast for grouper, kingfish, snapper, and more.

About Clearwater

Clearwater overlooks the Gulf of Mexico from Florida’s Pinellas Peninsula. It is a resort city with a large retirement community. Clearwater Beach is also considered part of the city, connected to the mainland by the two-mile Clearwater Memorial Causeway. The Clearwater Municipal Marina offers a host of activities including deep-sea fishing charters, dolphin encounters, and tours to Caladesi Island State Park. For a break from the many water activities, visitors can take in a concert or theater production at Ruth Eckerd Hall.

The Beach with its white sand is one of the ten best beaches in the world. It was chosen to be the best “City Beach” on the Gulf of Mexico. The average annual temperature is 73 Fahrenheit and, on average, the sun shines 361 days a year. According to The Guinness record book, the record stands at 768 consecutive days of sunshine. This happened in the late 60s. Besides this, there are many things to do here in Clearwater Beach. You will find everything in water sports, shopping, restaurants, entertainment, miniature golf, and lazy moments at this long and beautiful beach. You can also rent everything from rollerblades to luxurious yachts. The beach offers shallow water, which is perfect for families with small children.

Famous for its beautiful white sands and excellent swimming, this beach is the area’s premier seaside location. There is plenty to keep visitors busy, from water sports to fishing. There are also numerous playgrounds to accommodate young vacationers. It’s always busy in the summertime but is a great place for a day out all the same.

When the sun starts to go down over the Gulf of Mexico, the festival begins at Pier 60. Two hours before and after the sunset, the pier is full of activities. Local area performers, stands, live music, and other entertainment are here to enjoy.

The pier stretches 350 yards out in the ocean and is the center of many activities from late in the afternoon until late in the night. Artists, stands, music, entertainment and a lot of other things are located at the beginning of the pier, while at the outer end you can fish or just stroll around and watch other fishermen try their luck, day or night. During dark hours, fishermen are using spotlights to catch all kinds of exotic fish.

Here, right in the Gulf of Mexico, you will find one of the ten most beautiful beaches in the world, where something always happens. You can enjoy a nice swim or just bask in the sun. You can also rent Jet Ski’s, Parasail’s or join a dolphin cruise. Let Captain Memo take you and your family on an exciting pirate cruise where he sails in from the south and fires at the beach with his cannons.

Clearwater Beach Attractions

Clearwater Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, west of Tampa with the sun, swimming and rich tourist life. Our motel is located one block from the beach, with only a short walk to the most popular bars, restaurants, and nightclubs. In the Clearwater Marina, approximately 200 yards from the motel, there are many possibilities of going sightseeing, parasailing and Jet Skiing, etc. From here you can also go on dinner cruises, pirate ship cruises, and dolphin cruises.

Offering both quality and quantity of species, Clearwater is a birdwatcher’s paradise. Commonly seen birds include osprey, numerous species of egret, heron and gull, white ibis, roseate spoonbill, immature bald eagle, brown pelican, double-crested cormorant, willet and sanderling.

Adventure Island

Tampa Bay’s only outdoor water theme park.

Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay

An extraordinary atmosphere filled with naturalistic animal habitats and shows, hair-raising roller coasters and other rides, and dazzling live entertainment.

Clearwater Marine Aquarium

A very unique natural attraction where one can view, touch and experience the biology and behavior of bottlenose dolphins, loggerhead sea turtles, river otters, sting rays, local fish, coral reefs, mangroves and more. At the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, vacationers can meet Sam, the bottlenosed dolphin,Big Mo, a 500-pound loggerhead sea turtle and get a fish-eye’s view of a mangrove and seagrass community. Nearby, Celebration Station offers a variety of rides including go-karts and bumper boats, plus miniature golf and batting cages. And parents will have a difficult time prying kids away from the park’s two-story arcade.

Dunedin Fine Art Center/David L. Mason Children’s Art Museum

Includes a unique children’s museum in addition to works of many local and Florida artists.

The Florida Aquarium

A world-class educational facility featuring nearly 5,000 aquatic plants and animals which tell the tale of water, native land and marine animals in Florida.

Florida Botanical Gardens

Specialty gardens featuring Florida plants, including wildlife nesting habitat, restored wetlands and natural bridges.

Florida International Museum

A Smithsonian Institute Affiliate with the largest private collection of Kennedy family artifacts.

Gulf Coast Art Museum

Features contemporary Florida art with a special focus on contemporary craft media objects from the twelve southeastern states.

Heritage Village

An open air living history museum featuring 23 “turn-of-the century” structures.

Moccasin Lake Nature Park

A showcase of the plant and animals species native to the area.

MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry)

Largest science center in the Southeastern United States and home to one of Florida’s two IMAX theaters.

Pier 60

Clearwater Beach’s Pier 60, open 24 hours a day, offers a full-service bait house with gear rental and sales, live bait, snacks, and beverages. Fishing season is year-round. Sunsets at Pier 60 – A nightly “street” festival on Clearwater’s famous fishing pier celebrating the setting of the sun and featuring artists, craftsmen, and performers with musical entertainment.

Sunshine Skyway Bridge

Florida’s first suspension bridge, 4.1 miles in length and soaring 183 feet above Tampa Bay.

Wildlife on Easy Street

Big Cat sanctuary featuring over 20 exotic and endangered species.

Dance Cruises

In addition to the vast variety of beach and souvenir shops, there are many types of dining, most within walking distance. Enjoy the beautiful sunsets while having a fantastic meal at one of the gulf view restaurants of your choosing. There are also dance cruises available for lunch or dinner. These six-hour tours offer live music, cocktails, and casino gambling.

Boating

Other boating activities include sightseeing tours, charter, and deep-sea fishing, sailing, boat rentals, pirate ship excursions, parasailing, and almost any water-related activity you can imagine. Other area attractions feature sightseeing trips to one of our nature parks or aquariums. You can also see dolphins and seabirds in their natural habitat on one of the many Dolphin encounter cruises. Clearwater is also known as the golfer’s paradise with a large number of public courses available as well as miniature golf for kids.

Reef and Wreck Diving

The Gulf of Mexico offers some fantastic and diverse dive sites. Colorful reefs, fantastic wrecks, and abundant marine life are the earmarks of Gulf diving. Most of the dive sites that we visit are located within an hour or two of the Clearwater Municipal Marina. During the brief travel times, you can catch some rays on our sundeck or swap stories with the other divers.

The Plunger visits wonderful reefs starting from 4 miles up to 20 miles offshore. You can see our beautiful reefs covered in all kinds of hard and soft corals in vibrant colors all teeming with life. We also have a wonderful artificial reef program in Pinellas County Florida as part of our Wreck diving which includes “The Sheridan” and many other sites.

Celebration Station

This amusement park is home to a variety of rides and activities, including go-karts, bumper boats, mini-golf, and much more. There is something for the whole family to enjoy year-round at Celebration Station. Address: 24546 U.S. Highway 19 North | Clearwater, FL | 33763. Telephone: 1 727 791-1799

Captain Memo’s Pirate Cruise

The Pirates Cruise is very popular both among children and adults. The adults can enjoy complimentary drinks in the ship’s bar while a highly educated crew entertains the children.

Calypso Queen

Casual Dining and Tropical fun. There is a delicious buffet, dancing, drinks, fun

Dolphin Encounter

Join the double-decked Clearwater Express on a dolphin encounter and bird feeding tour.

Sea Screamer

Do you like speed? Join the ride on the world’s largest speed boat, a cruise you won’t forget about.

Distance to Theme Parks

Many of the largest theme parks in America are just a short drive away from Clearwater. These include:

• Disney World – a 90-minute drive
• Universal Studio – 90-minute drive
• Sea World – 90-minute drive
• Lowry Park Zoo – 45-minute drive
• Busch Garden – 45-minute drive
• Adventure Island Water Park – 45-minute drive